It's 4:32pm on a Friday. You're trying to finish listing a property on Rightmove before the weekend. Everything's ready—photos uploaded, description written, price set. But Rightmove requires an EPC rating graph. You have the PDF certificate, but you need to:
- Open the PDF
- Take a screenshot
- Crop it to the right size
- Save it as an image
- Upload to Rightmove
Multiply this by 10 properties this week, and you've wasted 2 hours doing tedious image editing work that has nothing to do with actually letting properties.
This week, we solved this problem in LetAdmin. When you import an EPC certificate (either from the government database or manually uploaded), LetAdmin automatically generates the exact EPC rating graph Rightmove requires—correct colors, correct format, correct dimensions. No screenshots, no cropping, no manual work. The image is ready instantly and syncs to Rightmove automatically.
The Problem: Rightmove Requires Specific EPC Graphics
Rightmove mandates EPC rating graphs on all rental listings. The graph must show:
- Color-coded energy bands (A=green through G=red)
- Current rating marked clearly
- Potential rating (after improvements)
- Energy efficiency scores
- Government-compliant styling
Most letting agents create these manually:
The Manual Process (Painful)
- Find the EPC PDF (if you can—see previous article about chasing landlords for certificates)
- Open the PDF and scroll to the rating graph page
- Take a screenshot of the relevant section
- Crop the image to remove headers, footers, unwanted text
- Resize to correct dimensions for portal upload
- Save as correct file format (usually PNG or JPG)
- Upload to Rightmove (and Zoopla, and OnTheMarket, and...)
- Repeat for every property
Time per property: 10-15 minutes For 100-property portfolio: 16-25 hours initially, plus updates whenever certificates renew
What Goes Wrong
Wrong image size: Rightmove rejects images that don't meet dimension requirements. You have to go back and resize.
Poor quality: Screenshot quality varies. Sometimes the PDF renders poorly, text is blurry, colors are off.
Outdated images: Landlord gets a new EPC after energy improvements. You have to manually create a new graph and re-upload to all portals.
Forgotten step: You list the property quickly, forget the EPC graph, and the listing looks incomplete compared to competitors.
Multiple portals: Each portal might want slightly different formats. You're maintaining multiple versions of the same graph.
How LetAdmin Solves This: Automatic Graph Generation
When you import an EPC certificate into LetAdmin (either from government database lookup or manual upload), the system automatically generates a professional EPC rating graph within seconds.
What Gets Generated Automatically
Color-coded rating bands (A through G):
- A/B: Dark green (highly efficient)
- C: Light green (good)
- D: Yellow (average)
- E: Orange (below average)
- F/G: Red (poor—legally cannot be let)
Current rating marker:
- Bold, filled marker showing where the property currently sits
- Energy efficiency score displayed (e.g., "72")
Potential rating marker:
- Outlined marker showing achievable rating after improvements
- Shows tenants and landlords what's possible
Professional formatting:
- Government-approved color scheme
- Clear, readable fonts
- Correct dimensions for Rightmove (600×400 pixels)
- High-quality PNG format
- Optimized file size for fast loading
The Process (From Your Perspective)
Step 1: Import EPC certificate (3 seconds using government database lookup)
Step 2: LetAdmin generates the rating graph automatically (happens in background, takes 2-3 seconds)
Step 3: Graph attaches to property automatically
Step 4: When you advertise on Rightmove, the graph syncs automatically
Your involvement: Zero. You never think about it.
Real-World Example: Listing 10 Properties in One Week
Before LetAdmin:
- Find EPC PDFs for all 10 properties: 60 minutes
- Screenshot and crop each graph: 120 minutes
- Upload to Rightmove for all 10: 30 minutes
- Total time: 3.5 hours
With LetAdmin:
- Import EPC data (government database lookup): 5 minutes total
- Graphs generate automatically: 0 minutes (your time)
- Sync to Rightmove automatically: 0 minutes (your time)
- Total time: 5 minutes
Time saved: 3 hours 25 minutes per week (nearly 180 hours per year for an active agency)
What About Properties With Manual EPC Uploads?
If a property isn't in the government database (new builds, recent renovations), you manually upload the EPC PDF and enter the key details:
- Current rating (A-G)
- Energy efficiency score (1-100)
- Potential rating and score
LetAdmin still generates the graph automatically from this data. You get the same professional-quality image whether the certificate came from government database or manual upload.
Why This Matters Beyond Time Savings
Better Listings, More Enquiries
Properties with proper EPC graphs look more professional. Tenants browsing Rightmove see complete listings with all required information. This builds trust and increases enquiry rates.
Data from portal studies: Listings with complete information (including EPC graphics) receive 18-24% more enquiries than incomplete listings.
Portal Compliance Without Thinking
Rightmove requires EPC data. Without it, your listings look incomplete, unprofessional, and may be deprioritized in search results. With automatic generation, every listing is always compliant.
Never Outdated
When a landlord gets a new EPC (after improvements, or renewal after 10 years), you re-import the certificate and the graph regenerates automatically. Rightmove updates automatically. You don't manually maintain multiple versions.
One Less Thing to Remember
During the chaos of listing a property—photos, descriptions, prices, availability dates, viewings—you don't need to remember "did I create the EPC graph?" The system handles it.
How It Works Behind the Scenes (Simple Explanation)
When you import EPC data, LetAdmin:
- Reads the rating and scores (Current: C-72, Potential: B-81)
- Generates a professional graph using the government's official color scheme
- Saves as high-quality PNG at exactly 600×400 pixels (Rightmove's preferred size)
- Attaches to the property record
- Makes available for portal sync
All of this happens in 2-3 seconds. By the time you've moved on to entering the next property detail, the graph is ready.
What This Means for Your Agency
No more image editing. You're not a graphic designer—you're a letting agent. LetAdmin handles the tedious visual work.
Faster property onboarding. Less friction means you can list properties faster, which means landlords are happy and properties get tenants quicker.
Consistent quality. Every EPC graph looks professional, uses correct colors, follows government standards. No more blurry screenshots or poorly cropped images.
Automatic portal sync. When Rightmove requires EPC data, it's already there, already in the correct format, already uploaded.
Scales effortlessly. Whether you're listing 1 property or 100 properties this month, the effort is the same: zero.
The Boring Features Are the Best Features
EPC graphs aren't sexy. Nobody gets excited about energy efficiency visualizations. But small frustrations add up:
- 15 minutes here cropping an image
- 10 minutes there re-uploading a corrected version
- Forgotten steps causing listing delays
- Portal rejections due to wrong image formats
All of these tiny annoyances steal time from actually running your agency.
Good software makes boring tasks invisible. You never think "I need to create an EPC graph" because it's already done before you even considered it.
We'd Love to Hear from You
How much time does your agency spend creating EPC graphics for portal listings? Most agencies don't track this, but it adds up to dozens of hours per year.
Do you ever skip adding EPC graphs because it's too tedious? Be honest—it happens. But it makes your listings look incomplete.
Would automatic generation change how quickly you can list new properties? We think removing friction from onboarding makes the entire process faster and less frustrating.
Get in touch: paul@letadmin.com
LetAdmin is in active development, built by letting agents for letting agents. This automatic EPC graph generation is being used at Phillip James (370+ properties) and refined based on real-world usage. If you're interested in seeing how it works or want to join the priority list, we'd love to hear from you.