Warning
Be aware: every portal works differently, and we only list a portal as supported once a real enquiry has come through it. Many portals can send new enquiries to a web address you give them, usually set up by your account manager at the portal. Ask yours whether lead delivery or a webhook is available on your plan, and whether it costs anything.
Before you start
- Your own account with the portal. VelBEE does not sign in to it and never holds its password.
- Your portal account manager, who usually sets up the sending on the portal’s side.
- A VelBEE workspace and the settings permission.
The idea
VelBEE gives you a secret address that belongs only to your workspace. You ask your own portal account manager to send each new enquiry to it; VelBEE does not contact the portal for you. The enquiry becomes a lead with the portal as its source, repeat deliveries of the same enquiry are ignored, and the lead goes to the right person.
Add a portal source
In your workspace open Connect, press Add a source, choose Property portal and pick which portal. Copy the secret address. It is shown once.
Give it to your portal account manager
Send them the message VelBEE writes for you on the source’s page. In plain words it asks them to deliver new enquiries to your address and to send you a sample of the data. Everything you need is in the Share with your portal panel.
Please set up lead delivery (push / webhook) for my account so that every new enquiry is sent to this address: https://api.velbee.com/v1/ingest/src_…/vbu_… The address accepts a POST request with JSON or form data. Please reply with a sample of the data you send.Let VelBEE learn the format
A new portal source is in learning mode. It keeps the first five requests, with personal details hidden, so you can see the portal’s field names. Leads are still created as they arrive, so nothing is lost while you set up.
Match the field names
Open the source’s Activity tab. Fields VelBEE recognises are marked. For any it does not, choose what it should be saved as, for example the portal’s “buyer_nm” as the name. You can also paste an example under Try an example to see how it would be understood.
Check the first real lead
When the first real enquiry arrives, open it in Leads. Check the name, phone, project and source. If something is wrong, adjust the mapping and the next one will be right.
The source’s Connect tab keeps track for you. It shows where the connection stands and ticks a checklist as the portal’s first requests arrive.
The Activity tab shows every request and what happened to it, and lets you match the portal’s field names to lead fields.
If the portal gives you a file instead
Some portals let you download enquiries as a file. VelBEE can import those files from Leads. It is slower than delivery to an address, but it works with every portal.
What you will have at the end
- A property portal source with a secret address that belongs only to your workspace.
- The message for your account manager, ready to copy, with a sample request.
- Leads with the portal as their source, each one created once however many times the portal sends it.
Good to know
- The secret address is like a password: share it only with the portal. If it leaks, make a new one under the source’s Connect tab. The old one stops working at once.
- If the portal sends the same enquiry twice, VelBEE uses the portal’s own enquiry number, when there is one, to create the lead only once.
- Some portals send several enquiries in one request. VelBEE handles that.
- Each portal source belongs to one company. One company’s address never receives another’s enquiries.
Troubleshooting
The source’s Activity tab lists every request, accepted or refused, with the reason in plain words and never anyone’s details. Your portal’s team will see these answers.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
404 Unknown address | The address was copied incompletely, or the source was deleted. | Copy the whole address again from the source. It has two parts, one starting src_ and one starting vbu_. |
401 Not authorised | You made a new address, so the old one stopped at once. | Send the new address to your account manager. |
403 This form is switched off | The source is paused. | Resume it on the source’s page. |
422 No phone number or email | The enquiry has neither a phone number nor an email. | Ask the portal to send at least one. Nothing is saved for a refused enquiry. |
429 Too many requests | The portal sent faster than the limits allow. | The portal should wait the time in the Retry-After header and retry. Lists of enquiries use fewer requests. |
500 or 503 | A problem on our side, or intake paused for a moment. | The portal should retry after a short wait. Retrying is safe. |
| The portal sent it twice, but there is one lead | Repeats are ignored by the portal’s enquiry id. | Nothing to fix. This is intended. |
| City, budget or another detail is missing from the lead | Fields VelBEE does not recognise are kept in the lead’s note. | On the Activity tab choose what each unknown field should be saved as. The next enquiry will use it. |
| Nothing has arrived at all | The portal has not started sending. Many portals need a request through your account manager first. | Ask your account manager. Until a real enquiry has come through, we do not call a portal supported. |
Questions
Does VelBEE log in to my portal?
No. You ask your own portal to send enquiries to your address. VelBEE does not contact the portal.
Which portals work?
Any portal that can send new enquiries to a web address. We list a portal as supported only after a real enquiry has come through it, and none has yet.
Does it cost extra?
Ask your portal. Some portals charge for lead delivery or webhooks. Your VelBEE plan covers lead capture from Starter up.
Does your portal’s team want the technical details? Send them the sheet for portals and their developers. Not sure where to start? Tell us which portal you use and we will help you through it.