We've been live for four months!

And time flew by. Planda Portal is a new way for architects and planning consultants to submit planning applications online - without the back-and-forth, the chasing, and the paperwork headaches that come with traditional submission routes. We're building something that actually works for the people using it, and that means listening closely, moving fast, and improving constantly.

Four months in, a lot has already changed. Here's what we shipped last month.

What's new on Planda Portal

Here's everything that's gone out recently: some things you might have already noticed, some you might not have, and a few things we're excited to tell you are coming next.

Keeping better track of your applications

This one matters a lot to us, because we know how much of your day is spent chasing application status.

We've been running our IBex system in the background to monitor applications and pull status updates, and we've now started surfacing more of that information to you directly. That means clearer, more timely comms about what's happening with your applications.

A few specific things that went into this:

• Email subject lines are better. We updated them so the important stuff is easier to spot at a glance, so you don't need to open emails to figure out what they're about anymore!

• You can now rename your applications. If your internal naming convention doesn't match what was submitted, you can now update the title to match how you track things.

• Mobile got some love. We've noticed a lot of you checking in on the go, so we've improved the mobile experience. This experience will be updated constantly as we add new features!

Other things we shipped

Add labels to your site plan map. If something's missing from the location shown on your site plan, you can now add extra labels directly on the map in the Location Plan step.

More application types, now open to more users. We've been gradually unlocking additional application types, some for all users, some currently in beta.

Longer login sessions. Your session stays active for longer now. Fewer "please log in again" moments. You're welcome!

Action required nudges. We'll send you a reminder when something needs your attention on an application. No more things slipping through the cracks because an email got buried, we'll be reminding you once every few days about a pending application.

Share applications with your clients. You can now add a client's email to give them visibility into their application. They can check progress themselves without going through you for every update. Only people you've explicitly added can access it, so it's secure by design.

AI improvements

We've ingested the validation checks that councils actually run - and importantly, the ones they don't - so our AI can give you feedback that's more specific to the council you're submitting to. This will keep improving over time as we learn more about how different councils operate.

On the council side

We've started onboarding councils onto the dashboard we built to help them process applications faster. We're having more conversations with them, collecting feedback, and tweaking our processes to suit how each council works. It's slower, relationship-led work, but it's important, and it's moving.

What's coming next

• Team access. We know this has been on your wishlist. We're building it and it's well underway.

• A referral programme. You've been spreading the word (we appreciate it more than you know), so we're building something to make it worth your while.

• Something new for post-submission. We're making changes to how you manage your application after it's been submitted. We're not ready to share the details yet, but it's coming in the next update.

As always, if you've got feedback or something's not working the way you'd expect, reach out. We read everything.