In brief: A Sale-Compromise workflow consists of six steps that follow automatically between your seller client, your buyer client, and your follow-ups with notaries. Configuring this workflow in Client Vault Pro takes twelve minutes. Here is the sequence, the template checklist, and the best practices that my real estate agent users have validated across hundreds of transactions.
The Compromis de vente is the pivot point of a real estate transaction. As long as it is not signed, the mandate can fall through. As long as the conditions precedent are not lifted, the sale can collapse. As long as the notary has not received all the documents, the authentic deed is delayed. If you manage this process via email and phone, you spend your time chasing information. If you configure it in an automated workflow, you focus on what matters: the client relationship.
This tutorial shows you the exact sequence I recommend for a standard Sale-Compromise workflow. You can adapt it to your specific needs (primary residence, secondary residence, rental investment), but the structure remains the same.
The 6 steps of the standard workflow
Step 1 — Seller documents (property title, DPE, diagnostics)
Upon acceptance of the offer, your seller receives the link to their deposit space. The checklist includes: property title, latest property tax bill, complete technical diagnostic file (DDT), co-ownership regulations if applicable, and the latest assembly minutes. The workflow automatically checks for completeness. Follow-ups at D+3 and D+7 if documents are missing.
Step 2 — Buyer documents (identity, financing, marital status)
In parallel with step 1, your buyer receives their own link. The checklist includes: identity document, proof of address, bank financing certificate or proof of equity, family record book or marriage contract depending on the situation. Both processes move forward in parallel, and you can see at a glance who is delaying what.
Step 3 — Drafting the Compromis
When the documents for steps 1 and 2 are complete, step 3 is automatically unlocked. Your workflow notifies the drafter (yourself or the notary, depending on your mandate). The target turnaround time is generally 5 to 7 days. If you exceed this, an automatic alert is triggered.
Step 4 — Signing the Compromis
The Compromis is ready. You upload it to the vault. The seller and buyer each receive a review notification, with a 3-day response window. Once validated by both parties, the signing appointment is automatically proposed via your connected calendar.
Step 5 — Lifting conditions precedent
After signing, the process switches to the phase of lifting conditions. The standard timeframe is 45 to 60 days. The buyer submits evidence as they go: accepted loan offer, urban planning certificate, purged prior declaration, right of first refusal waived. The workflow sends reminders 15 days and 7 days before the deadline.
Step 6 — Preparation of the authentic deed
The final stretch. The notary automatically receives access to the documents collected in the previous steps (with your approval). No more email transfers, no more searching through old files. The appointment for the authentic deed is scheduled. Everyone knows what they need to do.
The checklist of the 6 templates to prepare
To ensure a smooth process, you need six notification templates. Prepare them once, and you can reuse them for all your transactions.
- Welcome email for the seller with the list of documents and the upload link
- Welcome email for the buyer with their own specific list
- Notification of drafting for the notary or your firm
- Email proposing the review of the preliminary agreement to both parties
- Reminders for conditions precedent (D-15 and D-7)
- Transfer notification to the notary for the authentic deed
Each template should reflect the tone you desire, your agency’s signature, and a reminder of the schedule. Maximum fifteen to twenty lines. Once written, they can be used for all your future workflows.
The actual configuration timing
On Client Vault Pro, creating a new standard ‘Compromis’ (sales agreement) workflow takes twelve to fifteen minutes in practice: two minutes to name the workflow, six minutes to align the six steps using drag-and-drop, and four minutes to link each step to its template. Afterwards, for every new transaction, you simply click ‘create a folder from this workflow’—thirty seconds, and everything is in place.
I generally see a return on investment from the third transaction onwards. By the tenth, agents who have adopted it tell me they could never go back. The time saved is real, but what comes up most often is peace of mind—knowing that nothing is forgotten, and that the tool keeps track even when you are out on site visits.
Beyond the Sales Agreement
The same workflow logic applies to all your recurring operations: sales mandates, furnished rentals, rental management, and sales in the future state of completion (VEFA). Once you have developed the reflex for one workflow, you will want to apply it to your entire business. That is exactly what my users do in the weeks following their first implementation.
