For estate agents: clear quotes for your clients, and commission for you

At a glance

• Your own referral link, code and partner page with your agency's name, and a QR code to print on window cards and boards
• Your buyers and sellers get an itemised quote in minutes, and keep a free choice of conveyancer
• You see whether each sale goes ahead and completes, and which law firm is acting, with its updates where your client agrees
• Commission is agreed with you in writing before you start, and your portal shows what is due and what has been paid

Why it helps your sales

Sales slow down when legal costs come as a surprise or nobody knows what is happening. Keyfolio gives your buyers and sellers a clear, itemised quote in minutes. When they go ahead, we introduce them to a regulated law firm that handles their type of transaction, covers the area and is on their lender's panel, the list of firms the lender allows to act for it.

For you, that means a referral process you can explain in a sentence, a record of every introduction, and whether each one goes ahead and completes, without chasing. Your clients keep a free choice of conveyancer throughout.

What your clients receive

Every client you introduce gets:

• an itemised quote in minutes, separating the legal fee, VAT, third-party costs and estimated property tax
• two linked quotes, with separate PDFs, if they are selling and buying
• a private link to come back to, with the option to ask questions by message
• an introduction to a regulated law firm, with its name and referral fee disclosed
• no completion, no fee: every law firm on our panel, other than a firm a client chooses instead (their quote page says whether it does too), charges them no legal fee if their sale or purchase does not complete, only the disbursements already paid out, and, on a sale, carries on with the next buyer on the same quote if the first pulls out, charging for the work done only if that second buyer pulls out too
• the firm's details and a fraud warning on their private page, with the firm dealing with them directly from then on

Leasehold flats, new builds, shared ownership homes and probate sales each have their own instant quote, so the extra work is shown from the start.

Your referral link and code

When you join, you get a personal link to the Keyfolio quote form, a partner page with your agency's name, and a short referral code. Add the link to your memorandum of sale emails (the confirmation of an agreed sale that you send to both sides), your website or your offer letters, or give clients the code. Your portal also gives you your partner page as a QR code to print on window cards, sale boards and brochures: a phone's camera opens it, so a buyer can see their costs from the street.

When a client arrives through your link, we ask whether they would like us to remember who referred them, and if they agree we do so for 60 days. Your partner page and each client's quote name your agency and say what we pay you and when. You are notified each time a quote is created through your link.

Referring a client through the portal

You can also refer a client directly in the introducer portal. Enter their name and contact details, the type of transaction, the property and the price, and any notes that will help, such as a deadline or a chain (linked sales that depend on each other).

Before you submit, you confirm that the client has agreed to be contacted. Our team then gets in touch, prepares their quote and updates the referral as it moves forward. If you refer the same client again within a short period, the portal asks you to confirm it is a different transaction, so introductions are not duplicated.

What you see of each sale

For every client you introduce, the portal shows whether their matter goes ahead, completes or closes, and the name of the law firm acting. You are notified when it goes ahead and when it completes, and, if your client agrees, of the updates the law firm acting sends you. You can send our team a note about any referral.

You never see the confidential legal file. The firm's advice, documents and private correspondence stay between the client and their lawyer.

Commission

Commission for each introduction is agreed with you in writing before you start, including the point at which it becomes due, such as instruction, exchange or completion. Your portal shows what is due and what has been paid, lets you send us your invoice with the bank details to pay, and gives you a statement to download for your records. If the law firm's fee for a matter is cancelled or credited, the commission for it is reduced or withdrawn, and any already paid comes off your next payment.

Keyfolio pays the commission itself, so it is not a separate charge to your client. Your client's quote says that you introduced them and, once your commission is agreed, what we pay you.

Doing it properly

Referral arrangements must be open and fair. When you work with Keyfolio:

• Ask before you refer, and refer a client only once they have agreed to be contacted.
• Tell your client in writing, before they decide to use us, that you have a referral arrangement with Shreef Holdings Ltd trading as Keyfolio and how much you may receive. For buyers, put it in or attach it to the property particulars before you mention our service; for sellers, in your terms of business with them, and in any case before they agree to be referred. National Trading Standards guidance expects estate agents to disclose referral fees in this way, and your redress scheme may have its own requirements. Your portal gives you short wording to use.
• Make clear that the client is free to choose any conveyancer, and never make using Keyfolio a condition of your service.
• Share only the personal information the referral needs, and keep it secure in line with UK data protection law.

How to join

Apply to join with your agency's details, the areas you cover and a rough idea of how many sales you expect to refer. We review every application and talk to you about how the arrangement would work.

Commission and other terms are agreed in writing before your portal is set up. We then create logins for you and your team, with two-step verification available, and give you your referral link and code so you can start straight away. Read more about the partner network.