When a campaign is set to Let me check each lead first, its new leads wait for you in Review leads. Nothing is posted until you say yes, so you only pay for the leads you want.
Open the leads waiting for you
Click Letter campaigns in the sidebar and open the campaign. Its Overview says how many leads need review.
Click Review leads, on the Overview or in the campaign's menu on the left.
Each lead is a real planning application: the address, what they're building and when it went in.
Send or skip a lead
Check the job. Under Who gets letters you'll see the people you can write to, every letter each will get, and what it costs.
Untick anyone who shouldn't get letters.
If it's the kind of job you want, click Send. The button says what it costs now, or when the first letter posts. The first letter goes out on the next sending day.
If it's not for you, click Skip lead. Nothing is sent.
The next lead comes straight up. When there are none left you'll see All caught up.
Changed your mind? Click Undo in the message that pops up, and the lead goes back to review.
Go faster with the keyboard
A sends the lead.
S skips it.
The left and right arrow keys move between leads without deciding.
When do letters go out?
Letters are posted once a day, at 7pm your time, every day of the week. Follow-ups go on the dates in your letter sequence, or when the council decides, if that's what they wait for.
Why are some people unticked already?
Buildscout unticks people when there's a reason to check first, and says why on the lead:
No address to post to, No postcode — the letter may not arrive, or the address looks wrong.
The application was rejected or withdrawn, was approved more than two months ago, or has waited over six months for a decision. The job may have moved on, so everyone starts unticked.
Your team binned the lead in Planning data.
Tick them if you still want to write to them.
Why can't I send to a lead?
The lead says why nothing can be picked:
Marked do not contact
One of these letters has a template problem, so they can't be sent until it's fixed: open the letter and fill in what's missing.
None of these letters can go now the application has been decided: the letters were waiting for a decision that's already been made.
No letters left to send in this sequence
Click Mark reviewed · nothing sent to clear it from your queue.
Why can't I undo a decision?
Undo only works while nothing has been sent. Once a letter has gone, or the lead has been stopped, it can't go back to review.
Why did leads disappear from Review leads?
Leads left waiting longer than the campaign's Cancel unreviewed leads after setting are cancelled, so no one gets a letter about an old application. They show as Expired. Open one and you can still send its letters after all. Leads also leave the queue when their campaign is paused.