Answers that keep your shop moving.

Every new contact automatically gets a starter project the moment you add them, so there's always somewhere to build an estimate right away. You don't have to create a project as a separate step.

If you already have a project going for that contact and use the "create a project" button again by mistake, Square Away notices there's an untouched starter project sitting there and reuses it instead of making a second one, so you never end up with duplicate projects for the same job.

Building a real client list already in a spreadsheet or exported from another CRM? Use the CSV import on the Contacts page. It matches common column headers automatically (name, email, phone, company, address) so you usually don't need to rename anything first, and only a name column is required.

On a computer, the menu includes Dashboard, Inbox, Assistant, Projects, Production, Payments, Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Templates and Reports. "Marketing" opens Lead Forms, Campaigns and Social Posts. "Tools" opens Scheduler, Estimator, Calculators, Price Book, Library and Automations. Click your shop name at the bottom for Resources, Settings, switching shops and Log out.

Short laptop screen? The menu scrolls on its own, so you can reach every item without zooming out.

"Search" at the top of the menu finds anything in your shop. On a computer, press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows) from any page.

One login, more than one shop: click your shop name at the bottom of the menu and choose "Switch to (shop name)". On a phone, use More.

Times and dates: everything is shown in your shop's time zone, wherever you or your team are. Set it in Settings, then Company brand, under "Time zone", and click "Save company brand".

On a phone, More, then "Help and resources" opens the app’s Resources page. On a computer, use Resources in your account menu. Both link to this help center.

Everything your client sees carries your shop's brand, not Square Away's. The app you work in stays Square Away.

Set it up in Settings, then Company brand:

Under "Logo and brand color", click "Upload logo" (a PNG or SVG on a transparent background works best) and set your "Brand color". It colors the buttons, links and accents your client sees.

Under "Company theme", set your fonts and colors for proposals, templates and emails.

Where your brand shows: proposals and invoices, the pages where clients sign, pay and approve files, your client portal and its login, your booking page, your lead forms, the unsubscribe page, and the emails your clients get.

Emails go out under your shop's name, from a Square Away address, so they arrive reliably. When a client replies, it comes back to your Inbox and a copy goes to your own email.

One-off emails you send from a job use the same branded look: your logo on top, your colors, and your signature. Blank lines you type are kept. In that email window, "Add my booking link" puts a booking button for one of your session types right where your cursor is.

"Apply company theme" (inside "Customize theme" on a proposal, lead form or email) brings in your company theme in one click.

Fonts in email: your fonts show in Apple Mail and some phones. Gmail, Outlook and others use Arial or Georgia instead.

For your texting number, "Business type" is "Sole proprietor", "LLC", "Corporation", "Partnership" or "Nonprofit". "EIN (optional)" is a federal tax ID such as 12-3456789 and must match the company name; sole proprietors can leave it blank. Verification uses the company name, website, business address, and your name and email from this page. These details are for texting number verification.

When signup goes through, the shop owner gets a welcome email from Allen. It starts with "Start here: watch this first", a six-minute video about getting paid and making Square Away look like your shop. "Then these three" has short videos for "Connect your bank", "Add your brand" and "Open your Price Book". "See all the setup videos" opens the How to use Square Away playlist. Reply any time; it goes to Allen.

There are two kinds of AI help. The Assistant is on every plan: it answers how-to questions in numbered steps from this help center ("Print these steps" takes them to the bench). Shop Hand is on the Shop and Crew plans: it looks things up in your jobs and does small jobs for you. On Bench, the Assistant shows a "See plans" link instead.

Open it from anywhere

On a computer, click the round button in the lower right of almost any screen, including the proposal builder, quick estimate and change orders. The Assistant opens over the page, so you don't lose your place. On a phone, tap Assistant in the tab bar. "Full page" opens the Assistant page. Close it with the X.

You can also click Assistant in the menu, or tap Assistant in the tab bar on your phone. It's the same conversation in all three places.

Talk instead of type: tap "Talk", say it, and your words fill the box. Read them over and tap "Send". Tap "Stop" to finish early. If your browser can't listen, use the microphone on your phone's keyboard.

What Shop Hand can look up

Ask in plain words. It reads your real shop data:

Your contacts, pipeline, and any job by its name or the client's name: stage, due date, tasks and recent notes.

Everything written on a job, to answer a question like what size a tabletop is: notes, lead form answers, estimate and proposal lines, emails and texts, and meetings. It tells you where it found the answer, and warns you when the notes are older than the latest meeting or message, or when two places give different sizes.

A job's materials from its estimate and saved cut plans, and a job's money: proposals, invoices, what's paid, open and overdue.

Shop-wide: who owes you, overdue payments, unpaid deposits, proposals out, open and overdue tasks, your schedule for the coming days, the latest emails and texts with a client, new leads (from your forms, Facebook and Instagram lead ads, bookings and Auto DM), price book prices, automation steps waiting for your OK, and your social posts (scheduled, posted or failed).

When a new job could start, based on your production queue.

Shop math: board feet, tape-measure fractions, and how many sheets a list of parts needs, with the same math as the Calculators page.

When it finds something, a button like "Open the job" takes you there.

What Shop Hand can do for you

Add a contact (and start a job for them in the first stage).

Add a note to a job (only your team sees it).

Build a lead form from a description. It's saved as a draft, never live, so you check it and switch it live yourself.

Several steps from one sentence, like "create contact Jane Smith and put a proposal for a mantel in draft, cost 800, sell 1600": add the client, start the job, put the items on the estimate and make a draft proposal.

Before it does anything, a card shows "Shop Hand will:" with every step. Click "Do it" to go ahead, or "Not now" to stop. Nothing is changed until you click "Do it", and nothing is sent to your clients. Drafts stay drafts until you send them.

Credits: each message you send uses 6 AI credits. "Do it" and "Not now" don't use more. The top of the Assistant shows your balance and has a "Buy credits" button.

What each plan includes

Every plan (Bench, Shop and Crew) runs your whole shop: estimates, proposals with e-signature, invoices, payments, emails, your shop’s own toll-free texting number for reminder updates after your first payment, the online booking scheduler, lead capture forms, follow-up automations, reports, the client portal, and how-to help from the Assistant.

Shop and Crew add: more team seats (Shop 3, Crew 10) and more live lead forms (Shop 10, Crew unlimited; Bench has 2); social posting; QuickBooks payment sync; cut planning and drawing reads; and Shop Hand, the assistant that looks up and updates your shop data.

What credits are

Credits pay for the AI parts of Square Away. Your plan gives you credits when checkout goes through, and each renewal tops your balance back up to your plan's number (Bench 300, Shop 600, Crew 3,000). A renewal never lowers your balance, so credits you buy carry over. On a yearly plan the top up happens once a year.

What uses credits: a drawing read, 20 (only when it finishes); a social video, 40, 60 or 120 depending on quality; an Assistant message, 6; "Draft with AI" in a message, 6; each of a project's "AI actions", 6; AI writing in the email builder, 6; a lookup from your own Claude or ChatGPT connection, 6. "Write one for me" on a social caption doesn't use credits.

Buy more credits

1. Click "Settings", then "Membership".
2. Under "Buy more credits", click a pack: 300 credits for $25, 750 for $55, or 2,000 for $130.
3. Pay on the Stripe checkout page.

You'll land on "Credits added" with a button back to where you were. You can also buy from "Buy credits" at the top of the Assistant, from the running low card, or under any "Not enough credits" message.

When you're running low

When your balance drops under 10% of your plan's credits (or under 20 if that's higher), a "You're running low on credits" card shows once per visit. Pick a pack there or close it. It doesn't show if auto-reload is on.

Turn on auto-reload

Before you start: your plan's card has to be on file. If it isn't, add it with "Manage billing" under "Billing".

1. Click "Settings", then "Membership".
2. Under "Auto-reload", turn on "Auto-reload credits".
3. Under "Buy this pack", pick the pack.
4. In "When I drop below", type a number, like 50.
5. Click "Save auto-reload".

Each reload charges the card on your plan and emails a receipt, at most 2 times a day. If you're already below your number, it reloads right away. If a charge doesn't go through, auto-reload turns itself off, you get an email, and the Membership page says what happened. Update your card, then turn it back on.

See where your credits went

1. Click "Settings", then "Membership".
2. Scroll to "Where your credits went".

You'll see this month's credits used and added, a line for each kind of use (like "Assistant", "Drawing reads" or "Social videos") with how many times, and your recent credit changes with dates.

Finishing signup

If you signed up but didn't finish paying, signing in takes you to "Finish setting up your plan". Your shop is saved. Click "Go to checkout". The app opens and your plan's credits land once checkout goes through. On a yearly plan your 14 day free trial starts at checkout.

Texting back and forth and taking inbound calls on that number costs $8 per month on any plan. See Your shop’s texting number.

Know another shop that should be on Square Away? Send them your link.

1. Go to Settings, then "Refer a shop".
2. Under "Your referral link", click "Copy link". On a phone, "Share" opens your phone's share sheet so you can text or email it.

How the rewards work: when a shop applies with your link and signs up, their shop gets 500 bonus AI credits. After their first paid month, you get a free month of your plan. One free month for every shop that becomes paying, up to 12 a year.

Your own shop, or someone at your own company, doesn't count. A shop can only be referred once, by the first link it used.

"Your referrals" lists every shop that applied with your link and where it stands, with "Referred", "Paying" and "Free months this year" totals.

Removing someone: go to Settings, then Team, and click "Remove" next to their name. It asks first: "Remove (name) from your team? They'll lose access right away." Click "Remove" to do it, or "Keep" to leave them.

Top of every job: a photo banner with the job name, client and stage. Click "Change photo" (or "Add a banner photo") to pick from "Upload", "This job", "Library" or "From the client", then "Frame it" to drag and zoom, or "Show the whole picture" for renderings and sketches.

Under the banner: who's on the job, with "Add" to put a teammate on it. Then four menus:

"Schedule": "New meeting on this project", "Check next availability", "Send a booking link".

"Attach": "Upload files" or "Upload for the client to approve" (photos and PDFs; they show in Files and the client portal).

"AI actions" (6 credits each; nothing is sent or added until you say so): "Draft project summary", "Draft email", "Suggest items for the estimate", "Suggest next steps", "How's the client feeling?", "Ask something about this project".

"Create": "Start the estimate" (or "Estimate"), then your proposal once the estimate has lines, an invoice, and a "Change order" once they've accepted.

Right side: "Move stage", "Upcoming tasks", the client portal card, your automations ("View details" shows every step on this job), and "Archive and more".

File approval: to approve a file, your client clicks "Approve", types their full name and draws a signature, then clicks "Sign and approve". They can also "Deny" or "Request changes". When they approve, you get an email and it shows in your Inbox.

The Inbox is one list of everything your clients and leads do, newest first. The Inbox is the list you come back to.

Where: on a computer, "Inbox" in the left menu, right under "Dashboard", plus an Inbox card on your dashboard. On your phone, the Inbox card on Home, and "Inbox" in the More menu with your unread count.

What shows up: new leads from your lead forms and Facebook or Instagram lead ads; a past client answering your check-in; someone booking a time with you; a client opening, accepting or declining a proposal, or asking for changes; a client approving invoice changes, or approving or declining a change order; a client approving a file, saying no to it, or asking for changes; payments that come in online, and payments that didn't go through; comments on your Facebook and Instagram posts; client email replies and client text replies.

Tabs: "All", "Unread", "Leads", "Clients", "Payments", "Social". "Leads" is only new leads. Bookings, check-ins, replies and approvals are under "Clients". Comments are under "Social".

Using it:

1. New items are bold with a green dot.
2. Click an item to go straight to the job, proposal, invoice or file. It's marked read for your whole team and says "Read by" with the name.
3. Search with the box that says "Search names, jobs, messages".
4. Click "Mark read" or "Mark unread" on one item, or tick a few and do them together. "Mark all read" clears everything.
5. To answer, click "Reply", then "Email" or "Text". The same email or text window you use on a job opens, addressed to that client. What you send is saved on the job's messages.
6. A long reply shows the first part. Click "Whole message" to read it all.

Email replies: when a client hits Reply on an email you sent from Square Away, their answer comes into your Inbox and onto that job's messages, without the old email history underneath. You also get a copy in your own email, so you can answer from either place. The copy goes to the "Company email" in Settings, then Company brand (or your login email if that's blank).

Attachments: photos and PDFs they attach are saved on the reply on the job. Up to 10 files come in, up to 25 MB each and 30 MB together. A file that's too big is named in the reply with "Too big to bring in", so you can ask for it another way.

Text replies: when a client texts back, their text is saved on their job's messages and shows in your Inbox, and you get a copy by email. A plain "Yes" is saved as their reply too.

Pictures clients send by text land on the job and in the client portal.

Automations: a step set to stop when "They reply" counts both email and text replies.

A client reply sends you an alert email. You can hit Reply from your own team's email address. Your response goes to the client from your shop and stays on the job with any attachments.

Texts to clients go from your shop’s own toll-free number after it is set up. Clients must have agreed to texts. Inbound replies reach your Inbox when "Text back and forth and take calls" is on.

1. Clients can say yes on a lead form under "Can we text you about your project?" or on your scheduler under "Can we text you about your appointment?". Or record their permission only after they tell you yes.
2. Check consent on the contact page or job Details, under the phone number: "Opted in to texts", "Not opted in to texts", "Opted out of texts" or "Can’t text this number". The text window shows it too.
3. If they told you yes, click "Client said it’s OK to text" and "Yes, record it". Their permission starts over if their phone number changes. STOP cannot be overridden this way.
4. If the client has not agreed, the text window says so and the text does not send. Emails still work.

For replies and pictures to come into Inbox, turn on "Text back and forth and take calls" under Settings, then Texting number. The free number for reminders sends updates only. See Your shop’s texting number.

Your clients log in with their email (no password) on a page with your logo and brand color. Square Away only shows as a small "Powered by Square Away" line.

What they see: the next thing that needs them, like "One signature to go", "Next payment", "A file needs your approval" or "You're all caught up". They also see their proposals and invoices with a Pay button, payments made, files to approve, your updates, and how to reach you. One login shows all their open jobs.

"Where your project is": a row of your stages with theirs highlighted, how long it's been in that stage, and your last update. Clients see your real stage names, so name your stages in words you'd say to a client.

Once a job has build days on your Production board, the portal adds "Projected start", "Projected build time" and "Projected finish" (shown by the week), with a note that the dates are an estimate, not a commitment. It never shows other clients' jobs. A finished job says "Your project is complete".

Archived jobs are hidden from clients. Leave finished jobs in your completed stage if you want clients to keep seeing their records.

Go to Settings, then "Client portal & domain". Only the shop's owner can change this.

Option 1, a Square Away address (nothing to set up):

1. Under "Use our domain", type a short name in "Your prefix", like your shop name. Lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only.
2. Click "Save prefix". It shows "Reserved:" with your address, like yourshop.squareawayhq.com.

Your portal works there right away and opens straight to your branded login.

Option 2, your own domain:

1. Under "Use your own domain", type an address like portal.yourcompany.com and click "Use this domain". It needs something like "portal." in front; your bare yourcompany.com won't work.
2. Square Away shows a record with a Type, a Name and a Value (sometimes two records).
3. Log in where your domain's settings live (GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Google or wherever you bought it), open the DNS settings, and add each record exactly as shown.
4. Back in Square Away, click "Verify". It reads "Waiting for the DNS record", then "DNS found, verifying", then "Live". DNS can take a few minutes to an hour, so click "Verify" again later if it isn't live yet.

Once it's live, your portal works at that address and portal login emails use it. One domain per shop. "Remove" takes it off.

Find duplicates (the shop's owner): on Contacts, open "Find duplicates". It groups contacts that share a name, email or phone.

1. In each group, pick "Keep" on the one to keep.
2. Tick "Merge in" on the copies to fold into it. Untick any that aren't really the same person.
3. Click "Merge" (it says how many, and into whom).

Their jobs, tasks, messages, form answers and tags move to the one you keep, missing details get filled in, and the copies are removed. If someone opted out of texts or email on any copy, that opt-out stays. There's no undo, so check the group first. Click "Not duplicates" to stop a group from showing.

Search: click "Search" at the top of the left menu, or press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows), and type in "Search contacts, projects, invoices...". It finds contacts (by name, email, company or phone, even just the digits), jobs, proposals, invoices, estimates, lead forms and email templates. On your phone, tap the magnifying glass at the top.

Contacts and Projects each have a search box at the top. Contacts searches name, company, email, phone digits (including a partial number such as 586 580), city and tag. Projects searches job name, client or address. A count such as "12 of 516" shows the matches.

One contact page brings together a person and all their jobs.

1. "Contact info" shows email, phone numbers, company, address and other details. "Edit" changes them.
2. "Text" and "Email" at the top send through one of their jobs. "Get directions" under the address opens Google, Apple or Waze.
3. Tap a job card to open it, or click "New project" to start another.
4. "Communication", "Meetings", "Payments" and "Notes" bring together activity across their jobs.
5. "Payments" shows "Client worth" across every invoice, including archived jobs, split into Paid, Processing, Upcoming and Overdue. An invoice shows Square Away's number first, such as "Invoice #7 (HoneyBook #000394)".

Every plan includes your shop’s own toll-free number. Reminders go from it, so clients see your shop.

1. Go to Settings, then Texting number.
2. The number is set up after your free trial and first payment, when business information in Settings, then Company brand is complete. Missing information is listed with "Open Company brand".
3. Carriers verify the business before the number can text. It usually takes 3 to 5 business days; sole proprietors may take longer. The page says "Being verified", "Live" or "Needs a fix". For "Not verified yet" or "Needs a fix", the owner clicks "Send for verification" or "Send it again".
4. Until the number is live, client reminders go by email.
5. The included number sends updates only. If someone texts it, they receive one reply with your shop phone. If they call, they hear the shop phone. Those messages do not enter Inbox.
6. For clients to text back and call this number, the owner turns on "Text back and forth and take calls". It costs $8 per month, prorated today. Texts arrive in Inbox, their pictures land on the job and client portal, and calls ring through. During the free trial, turning it on sets up the number right away. Turning it off keeps the number for updates and credits the unused part of the $8.

On Shop and Crew, tap Call on a job or contact. Square Away rings your cell first, then connects the client from your shop’s number. It can write up the call.

1. Go to Settings, then Phone calls. Enter "Your cell". Your shop’s number shows under "Your shop’s number".
2. Tap "Call" on a job or contact. Turn on "AI notes" if you want a recording and write-up, then tap "Call me now".
3. Answer your cell and press 1. Square Away connects the client. Both of you hear that the call may be recorded.
4. After you hang up, the transcript, summary and next steps land in job Notes as "Needs a look". Check them and tap "Looks right". The owner can set "Save call notes without review" under Phone calls.
5. With "Text back and forth and take calls" on, inbound calls to your shop number ring your cell. With it off, callers hear your shop phone instead.

Shop includes 200 minutes per month and Crew 600. After that, calls use 1 credit per 2 minutes; a call cannot start without enough credits. Settings, then Phone calls lists "Recent calls".

An email window stays open until you click "Cancel", X or Escape, or the message actually sends. If sending fails, the error stays in the window. Closing the window saves the draft on that job for next time.

On a computer, a live preview shows the finished email beside your draft. On a phone, tap "Preview". "Include logo & signature" puts the logo at the top and your signature at the bottom. To make a link, select words and click "Link", or paste a web address over the selection.

Each teammate can put their own signature under client emails.

1. Go to Settings, then Email signature.
2. Fill in "Your name", optional "Your title", and a "Phone line": "Your shop's texting number", "Your shop's main phone", "Another number" or "No phone line". Add an "Extra line" such as a website or hours.
3. Check "How it looks under your emails" and save.

A blank line uses the default shown there. Automatic emails use the owner's signature. Your logo appears once at the top.

Offer your next open times inside an email.

1. In a job email or a proposal's "Email to client" window, click "Add a scheduler".
2. Pick a session type. Link-only types, such as an install visit, show "Only by link".
3. The email gets a card with your next open date, three tappable times and "View more dates & times". Availability is checked when the email sends.
4. For a plain booking button, choose "Just a button" on that row.

Send a friendly reply when a client or lead emails or texts you.

1. Go to Settings, then Auto Responder and turn on "Auto-reply to new messages".
2. Under "Who gets the auto-reply", tick pipeline stages. Clients get a reply only when their job is in a checked stage; anyone without a job never does.
3. Write your email and text replies. Texts go only to clients who agreed to texts.
4. Under "The number in your replies", choose what {shop phone} fills in: "Your shop’s texting number", "Your shop’s main phone" or "Another number". "Your replies show" previews the number. The same number goes in Out of Office replies. Until you pick, it follows the owner’s email signature.
5. Click "Save". Edits take effect when saved.

"Who never gets one": anyone you replied to or contacted in the past two days, no-reply addresses, bounced mail, other auto-replies, newsletters or marketing mail, your team, texts saying STOP or asking you to stop, Google Voice relay emails, and texts from numbers outside your contacts.

Set your away dates, replies and coverage in Settings, then Out of Office.

1. Set "First day away" and "Back on" under "When you're away". It ends on the morning you return and sends a heads-up the night before.
2. Turn on "Send an away reply" and write it. It replaces your regular auto-reply for the stages checked under Auto Responder, with the phone number picked there, at most once every two days per client.
3. Turn on "Block my calendar while I'm away" to stop bookings.
4. Under "New consultations and sales notifications", pick "Who's covering": "Keep sending them to me", "Send them to (name)" or "Send them to me and (name)". Save.

Forward your shop email so a client’s first email lands on their job and in your Inbox, even if they did not reply to an email you sent. Under Settings, then Email forwarding, copy your private address under "Send your shop email to Square Away". Keep it to yourself.

Gmail

1. On a computer, open Gmail's gear, then See all settings, then Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Click Add a forwarding address, paste it, then Next, Proceed and OK.
2. If Add a forwarding address is missing, open Filters and Blocked Addresses, click Create a new filter, type anything in From, click Create filter and then add forwarding address by Forward it to. You do not have to save the filter.
3. Gmail sends a confirmation. Refresh Square Away and look for "Gmail sent your confirmation". Click "Confirm in Gmail", or enter the code in Gmail.
4. In Gmail's Forwarding, choose Forward a copy of incoming mail, keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox, then Save Changes.

Outlook on the web

Go to Settings, then Mail, then Forwarding. Turn on Enable forwarding, paste the address, tick Keep a copy of forwarded messages and Save.

The card says "Receiving your mail" after the first forwarded email. A contact's email goes to their most recent open job; a clear inquiry becomes a lead. Receipts, vendors, newsletters and sales pitches are ignored. Google Voice texts and voicemails match by phone number and do not get auto-replies.

After you set up the address, the same page has "Follow up on email leads". See New leads from email.

Square Away drafts replies for new leads from email. Nothing sends until you approve it.

1. Open Inbox. "Ready to send" sits at the top with a count. The home screen’s Inbox card also links to replies ready to send.
2. Each draft shows the recipient, job, subject and reply. Tap "What (name) wrote" to read their email.
3. Tap "Approve and send". The reply goes from your shop, lands on the job and their answer returns to the job.
4. To change it, tap "Edit", change "Subject" or "Reply", then "Send it". "Cancel edit" restores the draft.
5. "Skip" drops it without sending.

A shop booking link is included if you have one. Drafting uses AI credits; with too few credits, no reply is written.

The next visit appears below the job banner with the details you need on the way there.

1. Open the job. "Upcoming appointment" or "Happening now" shows its date, time and place.
2. "Directions" opens Google, Apple or Waze and remembers your choice. "Join call" appears for video calls. "Notes" and "Details" open the appointment.
3. "Details" shows "Prep notes", "Latest on this job" and reminders, plus "Call", "Text", "Edit" and "Delete". Delete asks first and removes its Google Calendar event if Square Away made one. The Calendar opens the same details and has "Open job".
4. To bring appointments from another calendar, the owner opens Settings, then Import appointments. Pick "My Google calendar" or "A calendar file (.ics or JSON)", then "See what would come in". Match unmatched appointments to jobs or choose "Leave it out", then click "Import (number) appointments". Repeating an import updates the same appointments. Google is not changed and nobody receives a message.

Files, drawings, estimates and invoices stay together on the job.

Tell your client: before uploading, tick "Let (client) know by" and choose "Email" or "Text". One message lists all the files. The box starts off. Pictures saved from a drawing have the same choice.

From the client: photos sent by email, text or lead form show as thumbnails under "From the client". Only your team sees them.

Open in place: files, PDFs, drawings, terms and Library files open inside Square Away with a "Back to job" button.

Estimates and invoices: the Files tab lists the job's estimate and every invoice. An invoice's three dots offer "Open invoice", "Download PDF" and "Print". A file offers "Open" and "Download".

Shop ticket: see Drawings and printing.

Activity is the job's log of every file, invoice, proposal, payment and message that came in or went out. Tap a row to open it, or use its three dots to open, download or print. When a job has an invoice, Financials opens on Payments so the invoice is the first thing you see.

Tap a job photo to see it in the viewer. Swipe or use the arrows to move through photos. Close with X, a tap outside, Escape or your phone's back gesture. Delete from the thumbnail or viewer trash, then click "Delete photo". Anyone on your team can delete a job photo.

Take photos of handwritten notes and Square Away types them into the job.

1. On the job's Notes tab, tap "Snap your notes".
2. Choose "Take a photo" for up to four pages, "Choose photos", or "Pick from this job's photos".
3. Tap "Read my notes". The credit cost appears first. If no writing is found, there is no charge.
4. Under "Check your notes", compare the result with the paper. Unclear words are marked; fix any errors.
5. Tap "Save to Notes" or "Throw away". The photos remain in Job photos.

Every project opens with an estimate already there. On the project's Financials tab, add materials under "Materials & other costs" and labor under "Labor & services". "Add row" adds a line, and each line has its own category or phase, quantity and rate. Overhead, contingency, target margin and sales tax come from your estimator settings, so you're not retyping shop-wide numbers on every job.

Your categories and phases: add one right from the Category or Phase list with "Add a category" or "Add a phase", and drag them into your order with "Manage options". See Estimator touch-ups for the steps.

Manage options: next to Materials or Labor, it also lets you delete a category or phase, and keep your own description examples ("Description examples" for materials, "Work description examples" for labor). Make the lists match your shop.

These are the numbers every estimate is built on. Set them on a computer.

Where: Settings, then Estimator Settings, under "Rates and pricing". The same boxes are also on Tools, then Estimator: open "Estimator settings: labor rates, margin, and overhead" at the bottom of the page.

Labor rates: "Shop labor rate ($/hr)", "Install labor rate ($/hr)" and "Design labor rate ($/hr)".

Pricing: "Default material waste (%)", "Overhead allowance (%)", "Contingency allowance (%)", "Target gross margin (%)" (what a job's recommended price is built to hit), "Round price to nearest ($)" and "Sales tax rate (%)".

Payment split: "Deposit (%)", "Progress payment (%)" and "Final payment (%)".

Click "Save settings".

Where the payment split goes: when you make a new proposal, its payment schedule starts with three payments, "Deposit", "Production Deposit" and "Balance Due", split by these percents. Change them for one client right on that proposal (see Payment options: card, bank transfer and late fees). Proposals you already made keep their own schedule.

These are your shop-wide starting point. If one job needs a different rate or split, change that line or that proposal and leave your settings alone for the next job.

The same Settings page also has your cut planner settings and offcuts (see Plan my cuts).

Open Tools, then Price Book (it's also in Settings, then Price Book). It's your shop's catalog of material prices: enter a price once and reuse it on every estimate. It has four lists:

"Vendors": the suppliers you buy from. See Price book vendors.

"Sheet goods": plywood, MDF, melamine. Each has "$ per sheet", "Sheet width (in)", "Sheet length (in)" and a "Vendor" picker.

"Linear & consumables": edge banding, hardwood, finish, glue, fasteners. "Priced by" offers "$ per linear foot", "$ per square foot", "$ per unit" and "Lump sum". Each also has a "Unit label", a "Banding thickness" for edge banding, and a "Vendor" picker.

"Purchased components": doors, drawer boxes, slides, hinges, pulls, tops. Each has "$ per unit", a "Vendor" picker, a "Part no." box and "Lead time (days)".

On an estimate: the Materials table has a "Price book" column. Pick an item and its description, unit and cost fill in. Leave it on "Custom" to type a line yourself. The price book saves typing; it's never required.

Changing an item's price from an estimate: see Estimator touch-ups.

Labor rates aren't in the price book. They're in Settings, then Estimator Settings.

If a single project is really several distinct things bundled together, like a dining table and a matching bench, type an Item tag on each material and labor row: "Dining Table," "Bench," whatever makes sense for that job. As soon as a second tag shows up anywhere on the estimate, the pricing summary automatically splits into one card per item, plus a combined total, instead of one lump sum.

Leave every row untagged and nothing changes. If a row's Item box turns red, it means you've got two or more real items elsewhere on the estimate but that one row still isn't tagged: not broken, just telling you that row's cost isn't showing up under either item card yet, even though it's still counted in the combined total.

Some lines belong to another item, like installing a mantel or delivering a table. Group them under that item, and let your client decide on the extras.

Add a sub-item

1. On a project's Financials tab, in the Estimate, find a line with an Item name, like Mantel.
2. Click "Add sub-item" under that name. It works on Materials and on Labor.
3. A new line appears under that item with its name box ready. Type the name, like Installation, and fill in the rest of the line as usual.

The sub-item shows "Sub-item of Mantel". Under "Pricing by item" it gets its own card and price, and its item's card adds a "With sub-items" line: the item's price plus its sub-items.

Another way: type a new item name on any row, then pick "Part of: Mantel" in the small list that drops down.

Let your client choose

1. Add the extra as a sub-item and price it as usual.
2. Under "Pricing by item", find that sub-item's card and tick "Client can choose". It saves right away.
3. Make the proposal the way you always do.

What your client sees: on a regular proposal, the sub-item is a line on the pricing page that starts unticked. On a proposal with a "Your options" page, it's an add-on named after its item, like Installation (Mantel). Either way they tick it or leave it, their total updates, and whatever they pick goes on the invoice when they accept.

It starts off. Leave it off for work that is always part of the job, like installing built-ins, and the sub-item stays priced into its item.

You can also do this on a proposal's pricing page: click "Add sub-item" under a line, then tick "Client can choose" on the sub-item.

Picking "Part of: (item)" on a row fills in the row's name. Pick the same name and it is another line of that item. Type a different name and it becomes a sub-item. Renaming the parent item carries its sub-items with it.

1. On a project's Financials tab, click Expenses.
2. Every material and labor line from your estimate is listed with its estimated cost. The "Actual" box starts empty, with the estimate shown in light gray.
3. Type what you really spent and click away. It saves.

A box you leave empty counts at its estimated cost. Clear a box to go back to the estimate.

Add anything that wasn't on the estimate under "Unforeseen expenses" with "+ Add row".

The top shows Estimate, Actual, and your Profit so far. Actual costs are yours only; your client never sees them. Deleting an estimate line that has an actual cost asks you first, because it removes that actual too.

Your own categories and phases: the Category list (Materials) and Phase list (Labor) start with common shop choices. At the bottom of either list, click "Add a category" or "Add a phase", type the name, and press Enter. It's saved to your shop's list.

Reorder: click "Manage options" next to Materials or Labor and drag a row by its grip. On a phone, press the grip and drag.

Search in long lists: a dropdown with more than 8 choices has a search box at the top. In a list of jobs, type the job name or the client's name.

Cut planner lines: a line added from Plan my cuts shows Waste 0% with "Included in count" and an "i". Hover or tap the "i": the waste is already counted in the sheet or board count, so it stays 0%.

More room: on a computer, click "Open full screen" on the project's Financials tab to open the estimator on its own page. "Back to project" returns you to the Estimate.

Picking a price book item fills in the unit too: sheet goods come in as "sheet", items priced by the foot as "lf", lump sum items as "lump", and everything else as "each". You can still change it.

Changing a price book item's cost: type the new cost on the line and click away. A bar under the Materials table says "You changed (item) from (old price) to (new price). Update your price book too, so new estimates use the new price?" Click "This estimate only" to keep the price book as it is, or "Update my price book too" so every new estimate uses the new price. It asks once, after you finish typing, not on every number you type. If you pick "This estimate only", it won't ask again for that same price. Lines you typed in yourself (not from the price book) never ask.

Shop math, no project needed. On a computer: Tools, then Calculators. On a phone: More, then Calculators. There are three tabs: "Fractions", "Board feet" and "Cut list".

Fractions

At the top, pick the mode, "Calculate" or "Convert", and "Round to": 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 or 1/64. Your pick is remembered on that device.

Calculate: type sizes the way you'd say them: whole numbers, decimals like 0.4375, fractions like 5/8, and mixed numbers like 23 5/8 (tap the space key between the whole number and the fraction). Feet and inches like 4' 3 1/2" use the feet and inches keys, and millimeters like 19mm work too. Plus, minus, times, divide and brackets work when you need them.

The answer shows as you type. Tap = to save it to your tape. Keep going from the answer with an operator, or tap a number to start fresh.

The big number is in tape measure fractions. When rounding changed it, a note starting "Rounded to 1/16:" says how far over or under exact. Under the answer: the exact decimal, millimeters, and feet and inches once it's over a foot.

Convert: type a decimal, like .4375, and the big answer is the fraction. Type a fraction, like 9 7/8, and the big answer is the decimal. Millimeters, like 19mm, work too. The "Decimal equivalents" chart is right there; tap a size to load it.

"Tape": your last 25 answers, saved on that device. Tap one to use it again. "Clear", then "Clear the tape", starts fresh.

On a computer you can just type. Enter is equals and Esc clears.

Board feet

1. Pick the "Thickness" in "Quarters" (4/4, 8/4 and so on) or switch to "Inches" and type it.
2. Type the "Width" in inches and the "Length" in feet or inches. Fractions like 6 1/2 work.
3. Type the number of "Pieces". "What wood", "Waste" and "$ / BF" are optional.

Your board feet, and the cost if you gave a price, show right away.

"Add to a project": pick a "Project" (type a job or client name to find it) and click "Add to estimate". It goes on that project's estimate as a material line. No price? It adds the board feet and you price it on the estimate.

Cut list

Planning a cut list without a project is coming soon (the tab says "Coming here soon"). For now the cut planner lives inside a project (see Plan my cuts). On Shop and Crew you can pick a "Project" on this tab and click "Plan my cuts" to jump straight to its planner.

On a phone, the board feet total stays pinned at the bottom as "Total ... BF" while the keyboard is open. Type lengths like 8', 8 ft or 96", and fractions like ½ or ¾.

Vendors are the suppliers you buy from: your lumberyard, your hardware supplier, your local big box store.

Where: in the menu, Tools, then Price Book (it's also in Settings, then Price Book). "Vendors" is the first list.

Add a vendor: at the bottom of "Vendors", fill in "Name", "Email", "Phone", "Address" and "Notes", and click "Add". Only the name is needed, but add the email if you want to email orders to them, and the address if you want a maps link on your shopping list.

Change a vendor: edit the boxes on its row and click "Update". The trash can deletes it.

Link your items to a vendor: in "Sheet goods", "Linear & consumables" and "Purchased components", pick the vendor in each item's "Vendor" list and click "Update". Purchased components also have a "Part no." box, and the part number goes on the order.

Once your items are linked, any job that uses them on its estimate can email its order to each vendor and has a shopping list. See Shop Ticket: email orders to vendors, and Shop Ticket: shopping list.

Number boxes on the estimate behave like a calculator. A stray scroll or arrow key never changes a price.

1. Click into any number box, such as Qty, Unit cost, Waste, Hours or Rate. An empty box shows a gray 0, so you can type without deleting a 0 first.
2. Number boxes have no up and down arrows. Scrolling the page or pressing Up or Down does not change their values.
3. Click "Add row" under Materials or Labor. The row scrolls into view, the cursor lands in it, and it flashes gold.

On a Materials line priced by the foot, you can type a tape measurement in Qty. Type 72 3/4" or 6' 1" on a line with a unit such as "lf". Square Away saves it in feet.

If a plain number, such as 72, makes a line cost 10 times more than the same item on other lines, the row asks "Did you mean inches?" and shows the converted feet. Click "Use (number) ft" to convert it, or "It's feet" to keep your number.

When you cover the card fee yourself, count it as a cost so your price still reaches your margin.

1. Open the job's Financials tab, then its Estimate.
2. Turn on "Card fees on me". It starts at 3.5%. Change the "Fee" box if your rate differs.
3. The fee is added as a cost on the client's total, and the recommended price rises to cover it. This choice is saved with that estimate only.

The estimate warns you before you leave with changes that are not saved.

1. Make a change and try to leave the page.
2. "Unsaved changes" opens. Click "Save" to save and go, "Leave without saving" to drop your changes, or "Stay" to keep working.
3. Rows brought in through "Add to estimate" from a drawing read save right away.

Lock the install day or build start you agreed on with your client from the estimate.

1. Open the job's Financials tab, then the Estimate. Under "Build time", pick "Build job" or "Filler job" and set "Shop days to build (count install days)". It shows "Saved" and explains what it did to the schedule.
2. Under "Client's date", pick "Install day" or "Build start", choose a date and click "Lock it".
3. A conflict shows "Next open days" you can tap. You can also click "Lock (date) anyway".
4. Your client sees a locked date as firm on the proposal and in the portal. An install day appears on your calendar as "Install (held)" until the deposit is paid.
5. Click "Unlock" to return to projected dates. This does not email the client.

Mark material you already have in the shop. It stays charged to the job without being bought again.

1. On the estimate's Materials table, open a line's "Order" list.
2. Choose "From shop stock". The other choices are "Undecided", "Email", "Online order" and "Local pickup".
3. This line stays in the estimate but is left off the shopping list and vendor order emails.

Price two or more versions of a job separately, so the client picks one and the prices are never added together.

1. On the Estimate, make each version its own item.
2. Under the items’ pricing, turn on "Either/or". It appears with two or more items and saves as soon as you flip it.
3. The combined total says "Client picks one:" and lists each price. Each item has its own "Selling price", "Sales tax", "Total client price", "Deposit if picked" and "Gross margin".
4. Make the proposal from the estimate. The versions go in a Pick one group, and the deposit and payments follow the version your client picks.

Optional add-ons stay separate from the either/or prices. On a phone, the estimate summary lists each price and says "Either/or is on".

Plan my cuts lays your parts out on sheets and boards, tells you how many to buy, and draws every sheet so you know where each cut goes. It handles straight cuts, the kind a table saw or panel saw makes.

Plans: cut planning and drawing reads come with the Shop and Crew plans. On Bench, clicking "Plan my cuts" shows a note with "See the Shop plan", and "Upload a drawing" offers "Save this drawing to the job" so the drawing is kept in the job's Files.

Open it: on a project's Financials tab, in the Estimate, click "Plan my cuts". From a drawing read, click "Plan cuts with these". Saved plans show under "Cut plans" on the project's Files tab, where "Plan my cuts" starts a new one.

1. "What you're cutting from": one box per material, like 3/4 maple ply. Click "Add a sheet material" or "Add a board material" for each one. Pick sizes with "Add from your price book..." so the plan knows the price, or type a size. Typed stock has no price until you click "Add to price book". Leave "On hand" blank and the plan tells you how many to buy.
2. The parts: type each part's Label, Material, Length, Width, how many, and Grain ("Either way", "Along the length" or "Along the width"). Or use "Paste from a spreadsheet" or "CSV file". If you read a drawing on this project, its parts show under "From your drawing"; "Add all" puts each part on the right material.
3. "Saw settings": "Blade thickness" (most blades are 1/8), and if you like "Trim the factory edges of sheets first" and "Trim each board end".
4. Click "Plan my cuts".

Reading the results: the top shows how many sheets and boards and the cost from your price book. "What to buy" lists every size; "Copy list" copies it for your supplier. Each material gets its own section and drawings, and parts never mix between materials. "Cut 3 like this" means that layout repeats.

Finishing up: "Save to project" keeps it under "Cut plans" on the Files tab. "Add to estimate" adds one line per material. The count already covers the waste, and adding the same plan again updates its own lines instead of doubling them. "Print labels" makes a sticker for every part.

Edge banding and finished sizes

Put your banding in the price book first: Settings, then Price Book, under Linear & consumables. Price it by the foot and type its "Banding thickness", like 1/32. You can also click "New banding" in the planner.

On a sheet material, pick the banding under "Edge banding for these parts". Type every part at its finished size, then mark the banded edges on the little drawing or type the shorthand: 1L is one long edge, 2L both long edges, 2L 2S all the way around.

The plan cuts each part a little smaller so it finishes at the size you typed, and shows both, like "cut 18 1/4 x 11 7/32, finished 18 1/4 x 11 1/4, banded 1L". "What to buy" lists the feet of banding.

Miter cuts on boards

On the board material, type its "Face width, for miters". On each board part, set each end to Square, 45, 22.5, 30, or "Other angle" (up to 60), and type the length at the short point. The cut list shows both, like "long point 33, short point 30". Put your tape on the long point.

Part labels

Click "Print labels" and pick "6 per sheet, biggest" (Avery 5164), "10 per sheet" (Avery 5163) or "30 per sheet" (Avery 5160). Print at 100%, no scaling. Each label shows the job, part, finished size, cut size or miter points, material, banded edges and grain arrow.

Shop settings

Settings, then Estimator Settings, then Cut planner:

Units: "Inches, with fractions" or "Millimeters". The planner, labels and cut lists follow it, and you can type either one anywhere.

"Take banding off cut sizes" starts on. Turn it off if you cut oversize and trim flush. "Extra banding per edge" adds a little for trimming.

"Smallest leftover worth keeping" (12 inches to start) tells the planner which leftovers count, and it avoids cutting thin slivers.

"Which stock first" is picked per plan in Saw settings: "Offcuts first" (or "The order I listed" if you don't track offcuts), "Cheapest first", or "What's already in the shop first".

Offcuts: tick "Keep track of my offcuts" under Settings, then Estimator Settings. Leftovers from each plan go on a list, later plans can use them with "Use my offcuts", and "Update my offcuts" takes used pieces off when you're done cutting.

Take your saved cut plan to the saw on your phone and check parts off as you cut them.

1. Open the project, go to its Files tab, and under "Cut plans" tap "Open" on a saved plan.
2. Tap "Cut list: tick off as you cut".
3. Each sheet or board is a card with a big row for each part size, like "6 x Side", with its size, its finished size and banded edges when they apply, and "turned" if the part was turned to fit.
4. Tap a row when those pieces are cut. It checks off and saves right away. The count already includes every copy when a card says "Cut 3 like this".

The top shows how many pieces are cut so far, with a progress bar. Ticks are saved on the plan, so anyone in your shop who opens it sees the same ticks.

"Show the sheet layout" (or "Show the board layout") shows that card's drawing. "Hide cut parts" leaves only what's left to cut; "Show cut parts" brings them back.

"Start over" clears every tick. It asks first: "Clear all" or "Keep".

"Print / Save as PDF" opens your phone's print screen. "Share" sends the list as text to Messages or email. If your browser can't share, it copies the list instead.

The cut list never shows prices. "The whole plan" takes you back to the full saved plan.

Every cut plan starts without material, so pick the stock you intend to use.

1. Under the material, click "Pick from your price book" or "Add a size" for stock that is not there.
2. A price book item fills in its name, size and price. A board item fills its board size so rips can be planned.
3. Other stock shows "Not in your price book yet". Type the price, choose a vendor, "New vendor..." or "No vendor yet", then click "Save to price book".
4. "Add a size from your price book" adds another size of the same material. "Remove" takes a size off.
5. If the material name and price book item disagree, a red note says "Name says (name), priced as (item). Fix it:". Click "It's (item)" to use the listed item, or "It's (name), take off that price".

Set your blade once in Settings, then Estimator Settings. Under cut planner settings, enter "Blade thickness (kerf)" and save. Most blades are 1/8 (3.2 mm); thin kerf blades are about 3/32 (2.4 mm).

Every new plan starts with that blade and opens on the sheet used by the job's estimate. When cutting is done, "Update my offcuts" saves the leftovers. Edge banding shows its per-foot price, and offcut sizes show in millimeters when your shop uses metric units.

Plan rips and crosscuts for board stock such as 4x4 posts and 1x6s.

1. Enter each part's length. In "Width or rip to", enter the thickness and width to rip to, such as 3/4 x 2, or leave it blank for the full board.
2. The plan crosscuts, then rips, and packs strips into each board. Rip sizes print on labels; a ripped board counts once on the estimate.
3. Miter sizes are measured long point to long point (LP). LP appears on every list.
4. Flat stock can flip end for end so two miters share a cut; those parts show "(flipped)". For trim with an edge profile, tick "Profiled (can't flip)" so each miter has its own allowance.

Read a paper cut list, photo or PDF into the cut planner, then check every part.

1. Click "Read parts from a photo or PDF" and choose the file.
2. Parts arrive unticked. Compare them with "View the original", fix dimensions and tick the correct ones. "I checked them all: tick all" ticks the rest after you review them.
3. Only ticked parts are added to their sheet or board material. Board parts bring their thickness and width as the rip size.
4. On an Estimate, "Plan cuts with the (number) parts it read" opens the planner with the drawing's parts.

Always check a machine read against the original.

On Shop and Crew, Shop Hand can draw a dimensioned frame around a TV, soundbar, fireplace insert or appliance from photos on a job.

1. Put photos of the tags or spec sheets on the job. Your client may send them by email or text, or you can add job photos.
2. Ask Shop Hand to "frame it around the gear on (job name)". It reads printed model numbers and dimensions. If a size is missing, it asks you instead of guessing.
3. Say yes to save front and side views under Files, then "Plan drawings", as v1, v2 and so on. A "Please confirm: we are building to these exact specs" box lists each item and the source for its numbers.
4. "Open" views the drawing; "SVG" downloads it; "Send to (client)" drafts email and text. Choose "Email (client)" or "Text (client)", edit and send. Nothing is sent without that step.
5. Under Settings, then Estimator Settings, "Plan drawings" sets "Frame material", "Frame depth", "Clearance each side", "Clearance above", "Soundbar space", "Openings round up to" and "Deeper than the frame goes on the floor". Click "Save drawing rules" or "Use the standard rules". For one drawing, tell Shop Hand something like "make it 3 inches around this one".

Fireplace and insert drawings carry a heat warning. Shop Hand does not do structural or code work, such as stairs, railings, beam spans or wall-mount ratings.

Start it: on the project's Financials tab, save the estimate, then click "Generate proposal". Pick from "Your templates", "Starter templates", or "Blank". Pricing comes from the job's estimate either way.

The builder shows the proposal in the middle, just as your client sees it. The panel on the right has two tabs: "Pages" and "Design".

Pages tab: click a page to jump to it. "Add page" gives you a "Blank page", a "Contract page", or "Service options". Your client only sees the page names you give them.

"Back" and "Next" sit at the top and bottom of each page so you can move through it the way your client will.

Blocks: hover between two blocks and click +. "What block do you want to add?" opens. Content blocks include text, pictures, video, layouts and "Files". Action blocks are "Services", "Contract", and "Invoice & Pay".

The header: click your logo and shop details at the top of the page. Pick "Logo on left", "Centered", or "Logo on right", and which of your business name, phone, email, address and website show. The number and date always show. Tick "PO number" to add your client's PO number; it carries to the invoice and the invoice email.

Design tab: page background color and picture, content width ("Narrow", "Normal", "Wide"), spacing ("Compact", "Normal", "Roomy"), heading and body fonts, accent and text colors, and button shape ("Square", "Rounded", "Pill"). "More theme settings" opens the full theme.

Money settings: click "Tax, discount and payment settings" under the total for the discount, tax, payment schedule and how your client pays. See Payment options: card, bank transfer and late fees. For sub-items your client can tick, see Sub-items and client can choose.

Check it: "Preview" shows it on desktop or phone ("Exit preview" to go back). "Client page" opens your client's real link in a new tab.

Settings pages: the Save button reads "Saving..." and then "Saved", so you know it went through.

The Services section holds option groups. The proposal total follows what your client picks.

1. In the proposal builder, open Services and click "Add a Pick one group", "Add a Pick any group" or "Add an Add-ons group".
2. Pick one requires exactly one choice, such as with or without installation. The client sees "Pick one".
3. Pick any requires one or more choices, such as a mantel, bookcase or both. The client sees "Pick one or more".
4. Add-ons are optional extras. The client sees "Add any you like".
5. To change the group, click "Pick one", "Pick any" or "Add-ons" at its top. After the client accepts or pays, it is locked and the group explains why.
6. Use bold, lists and other formatting in each option’s description. Type "- " or "* " for a bullet; Enter adds another, and Enter on an empty bullet ends the list. Formatting appears on the proposal, printout and invoice.

When the design has a Services page, an estimate puts its items in a Pick any group and optional items in Add-ons. An estimate with "Either/or" puts its items in Pick one.

Pricing a mantel, a bookcase and a coffee table, and your client might want some or all? Tag each piece as its own item on the estimate, click "Generate proposal", and pick a template with a "Your options" page, like "Options + terms & conditions".

Each item on your estimate becomes its own option at its estimate price, sub-items included. Sub-items marked "Client can choose" become add-ons.

The pricing page starts empty. Your client's picks build the price.

Your client sees "Choose what you'd like". They must pick at least one option to accept ("Pick at least one to move forward."). Add-ons are never required.

Want a fixed line too? On the pricing page click "Add my estimate lines". If a line is already an option, it asks first so nothing is charged twice.

Estimate changed? Pull the latest pricing in. Options that came from the estimate get the new prices and new items are added. Options you added or renamed yourself stay as you left them.

Go to Templates, then "Proposal Templates".

Starters: "Basic invoice" (small jobs, nothing to sign), "With terms & conditions" (your client signs your terms before they pay), and "Options + terms & conditions" (your client picks, then signs).

Make one yours: on a starter click "Use this template", name it, and click "Make my copy". The starters always stay there to start over from. Or click "Start from scratch".

Under "Your templates": "Edit", "Rename", "Duplicate", or "Delete". Deleting a template never changes proposals made from it.

See it like a client: in a template, click "Preview as client". It shows the template with a sample client, sample pricing and a sample payment schedule.

Save a proposal as a template: in the builder click "Save as template", name it, and click "Save template". It keeps every page, option, your terms and files. Pricing and payments stay with that job.

Three ways to get your terms in:

1. Bring in a file: drop a Word (.docx) or PDF file on the contract, or click "Choose a file". It comes in as text you can edit, not an attachment.
2. Type or paste right on the page.
3. "Draft terms for me": in the Contract panel, type anything to include (like a non-refundable deposit once materials are ordered) and click "Draft terms for me". It takes about 20 seconds. It's a starting point, not legal advice. Have your terms reviewed by a lawyer licensed where you work before you rely on them.

"Smart fields" fill in your client's name, the total, a payments recap and more, and stay current.

Signatures: your side is signed for you the moment you share the proposal. With a contract, your client signs right after they accept, and before they can pay. With no contract (like "Basic invoice"), they accept and pay.

Files block: add a "Files" block and click "Upload files" or "Choose from Google Drive". Your client sees them under "This proposal is based on".

Print or save a PDF: your client's proposal and invoice pages have "Print / Save as PDF", on a computer or a phone. When they finish they're asked "Want a copy for your records?". To print your own, click "Client page" in the builder, then "Print / Save as PDF". Your logo prints at its normal size, and your client's invoice page shows your logo at the top too.

For terms on every proposal, put your terms on a proposal's Contract page and click "Use these as my default terms" under "Your default terms". Every proposal begins with them, regardless of template.

Delete a draft: open it and click "Delete draft proposal" at the top of the builder (it's also under Shortcuts on the project). Click "Delete" to confirm or "Keep it" to back out. It can't be undone. Only a draft your client never got can be deleted. Once it's been shared you'll see "This one's already been sent, so it can't be deleted."

What do you call it: go to Settings, then Preferences. Under "What do you call it?" pick Proposal, Estimate, Quote, Bid, or "Something else" and type your own word. Click "Save preferences". Your word shows everywhere you and your clients see it, including buttons like "Generate estimate". Anything your client already accepted stays as they agreed to it.

If you pick Estimate: "Go to Estimate" opens your pricing and "View Estimate" opens your client's copy.

The builder's Checkout page shows the real payment form your client will use, with the amount, payment types and any card fee. It reads "Preview: this is exactly what your client sees. Nothing can be paid here." Not connected yet? It shows a "Connect Stripe" button instead.

Set when a payment is due as a term. The calendar date is worked out when the client signs.

1. Under Settings, then Client payment methods, open "Default payment terms". Pick "First payment" and "Final payment" terms: "When the client signs", "Days after signing" with a number, "When I send it (no date)" for the first, or "When the job's done" for the final payment. Save.
2. For one proposal, open "Invoice & Pay" in the builder. Under "Payment terms", pick "When signed", "Days after signing" (10, 15, 30 or your own number), "On a set date", or "When I send it". The final payment can be "When the job's done".
3. Middle payments have no date until you set one. Your client can pay the next payment early.
4. With "Show payment terms to my client" on the proposal or "Show payment terms to my client" in Settings, clients see terms such as "Due 30 days after you sign". With it off, they see "Due at signing" or "Due date to come" until a date is set.

In the proposal builder, open "Invoice & Pay" and find "Start date your client sees". Choose "From my schedule" to use the Production board date, "Pick a date" to enter an "Estimated start", or "Hide the start date". Once the client accepts, the start stays as they agreed to it.

Square Away can draft a proposal line’s description in three ways. Check the draft before using it.

1. On the proposal pricing page, click "Write description" under a line.
2. Pick "Polish what I wrote" after typing what you want to say in the description box; it makes clean bullets. Or choose "Write from the conversation" and tick the job’s emails, texts, notes, calls or lead form to use. You can also choose "Upload a plan or drawing".
3. Review the result, then click "Use it", "Try again" or "Don’t use this".

"Polish what I wrote" uses the description box, not the job’s Notes tab. A conversation draft leaves out phone numbers, emails, prices and private team notes. This uses AI credits.

In the builder click "Share", then "Copy link", "Email to client", or "Text to client".

It counts as sent only when the email or text really goes out, or when you click "Copy link". Close the window without sending and it stays a draft.

Until you share it, your client's link shows "This proposal isn't ready yet" with your logo and name, and drafts never show in their portal.

Your client can "Accept", "Decline", or "Decline with changes" (with a note).

When your client accepts, the job moves to your "Won" stage on its own if it was in an earlier stage, and any automation you set to start at Won runs. A job already past Won stays where it is.

When you use "Draft with AI" while texting a proposal, the real proposal link stays in the text.

Once your client accepts, what they agreed to is protected. They approve every change first.

Adding or taking something off the job? Write a change order (see Change orders). The steps below are for changing what's already there, like a price, a payment, or a due date.

1. Open the accepted proposal and make your edits. Your client keeps seeing what they agreed to.
2. Click "Review and send changes". (Just a date? Click "Change a due date".)
3. "Send changes for approval" shows "What changed" and the payment schedule "Now" and "After they approve". Add a note if you like and click "Send to (your client) for approval".
4. Your client reviews, types their name, signs, and clicks "Approve changes".

Due dates on the Payments card: change a date right in the "Due date" column on the project's Financials tab. The same "Send changes for approval" window opens. The old date stays in force, and payable, until your client approves. The card shows "Waiting on approval:" with the new date. If your client hasn't signed yet, the change applies right away and they sign the updated version.

Paid payments never change.

When the job changes after your client accepts, like adding crown molding or dropping the shelf lights, write a change order. Your client approves it and it's added to their invoice. Nothing they already paid ever changes.

Write one:

1. Open the project, go to Financials, then Payments, and click "Change order". (It's also in the project's Create menu, on the invoice, and on the accepted proposal.)
2. Give it a short title, like "Add crown molding".
3. Under "What changes", click "Add line", or "From price book" to pick an item. Click "Add a credit" for something coming off the job.
4. Add a note for your client if you like.
5. Under "How it's paid", pick "Add to the final payment" (the usual choice), "Its own payment" (due on a date you pick), or "Split over the payments left".
6. Check the project total and payment schedule before and after. They update as you type.
7. Click "Save draft" to finish later, or "Send for approval", then "Send to (your client)".

Your client gets an email with a "Review change order" button. They pick "Approve" and sign with "Approve change order", or "Decline or ask for changes" and tell you what to change. Until they approve, nothing on their invoice changes and they can keep paying their current schedule.

After they answer: approved lines go on the invoice under "Change order #1" with their own total, and the schedule updates the way you picked. Declined: you see their note; fix it and click "Send again for approval", or leave it as history. Need to fix one you already sent? Click "Withdraw to make changes", edit it, and send it again.

Add an option they didn't pick: if your proposal offered add-ons or "Client can choose" sub-items your client skipped, and they change their mind later (the coffee table they passed on), click "Add an option they didn't pick" on the Payments card or the invoice. Tick the options under "Options they skipped on the proposal" and click "Make a change order". It's at the price they saw. It opens as a draft change order, added to the final payment, so you can review it before you send it. Pick one choices aren't listed, since that's a swap, not an add; write that change order by hand. An option already on a draft, sent or approved change order isn't offered twice.

Good to know: change orders are numbered for each invoice (#1, #2, #3). A change order is priced as written plus sales tax; the original discount and service charges aren't added again. If a credit is more than what's still owed, Square Away asks you to lower it or refund the difference from the Payments card. One thing waits on your client at a time, so send other changes after they answer. Your client never sees declined or withdrawn change orders; you still do, in the "Change orders" list.

1. Go to Settings, then "Bank details".
2. Click "Connect your bank".
3. Stripe's secure form opens right inside Square Away, under "Finish setting up". Follow its steps.
4. If you already use Stripe, it will ask you to sign in once. That's Stripe confirming it's you.

Have these handy. Stripe may ask for your business type (sole proprietor, LLC or other), a website or a short description of what you sell, your legal name, date of birth, home address, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and a bank account or debit card for payouts.

The status at the top reads "Not connected", "Action needed", "Pending review", "Restricted", or "Verified". If Stripe still needs something, "Stripe needs a few more things" lists it; finish it in the same form. Click "Refresh status" to check again.

Once you're "Verified", "Pay out now" sends your balance to your bank, and "Update account information" lets you change your details.

For balances, processing status and payout choices, open Payments in the main menu. See Payments and payouts.

Online payments (card and bank transfer) need your bank connected first, in Settings, then "Bank details" (see Connecting your bank). Until then nothing can be paid online, and your client sees that you aren't set up for online payments yet, plus your offline instructions. The project's Payments card says "Stripe isn't connected." with a "Connect Stripe" button.

Offline payments always work. Go to Settings, then "Client payment methods", and under "Pay you offline" fill in "How clients can pay you offline" (like: check to your shop name, or Zelle to your number). Click "Save default". Your client sees it on their invoice and in their portal. Once your bank is connected it shows as another way to pay next to the online form. A client paying offline can still finish and reach your thank-you page.

When an offline payment comes in: on the project's Payments card, click the payment's "More" menu, then "Mark as paid". Under "How did the client pay?" pick Cash, Check, Venmo, Zelle, or Other. Add the "Check number" for a check, set "Payment made on", and click "Mark as paid". The payment shows as paid on the invoice and in your client's portal, your Inbox lists who paid and how, and any automation you set to run when a payment comes in runs too.

Pay early: the client can pay the next unpaid payment before its due date. Later payments open on their due date.

Not due yet: Checkout names the next payment and its due date instead of leaving the page blank.

After acceptance: "Go to checkout" on the accepted proposal opens the invoice payment page.

Apple Pay and Google Pay: clients can use them when their phone and browser support them. Both count as card payments.

Receipts: a card or bank payment sends the client a receipt email with your logo, and the payment is logged on the job.

Connect your QuickBooks Online company and every client payment that comes in online is added to your books on its own, so you never type a paid invoice into QuickBooks again. It's a one-way sync: Square Away sends payments to QuickBooks. It never reads anything back, and it never touches your expenses or your chart of accounts.

Connect it

1. Go to Settings, then Integrations.
2. On the "QuickBooks Online" card, click "Connect to QuickBooks".
3. Sign in to QuickBooks, pick your company, and allow it.
4. You come back to Integrations and see "QuickBooks connected." The card shows "Connected" and "Connected to (your company) since" the date.

What syncs: each time a client pays a payment online, by card or bank transfer, a sales receipt for that amount goes into your QuickBooks company under that client's name. If there's no QuickBooks customer with that client's name yet, Square Away adds them as a customer with their email and phone. Each receipt has a private note with the Square Away invoice number and the payment's name, like Deposit. It uses a service item that's already in your QuickBooks (or adds one called "Square Away Synced Payments" if you have none), so there's nothing to set up.

What doesn't sync: payments you mark as paid yourself (cash, check, Venmo, Zelle or other) and anything that happened before you connected. Enter those in QuickBooks yourself.

Checking on it: the card shows "Last successful sync:" with the date and time, or "No payment has synced yet."

If a payment doesn't make it over, a "Payments that failed to sync" card lists it with the reason. The payment still shows as paid in Square Away. Fix the problem (usually a reconnect), then click "Retry" next to it.

If QuickBooks stops accepting Square Away's access, the card says "Connection needs to be reconnected." and payments won't sync until you click "Reconnect". A banner on your dashboard and your Settings pages will point you there too.

Disconnect: click "Disconnect" on the card. It asks first: "Disconnect QuickBooks? Payments won't sync again until you reconnect." Click OK to disconnect. What's already in QuickBooks stays there.

QuickBooks comes with the Shop and Crew plans. On Bench, Settings, then Integrations shows "QuickBooks sync comes with the Shop plan" and "See the Shop plan". If a connected shop moves to Bench, syncing pauses but the connection stays; moving back to Shop resumes it. The shop's owner or anyone on the team can connect it.

One page shows what clients owe, what they have paid and when money lands in your bank.

1. Click "Payments" in the menu. On a phone, open More, then "Payments and payouts".
2. "Outstanding" groups Overdue, Payment processing and Upcoming. "Paid" lists every payment. Open one for its timeline, fees, payout timing, QuickBooks sync and refund controls.
3. The balance card shows "Ready to pay out" and "Still processing". Choose Standard (free, usually 1 to 2 business days) or Instant (about 30 minutes, any day, with a 1.5% fee and $5 minimum taken from the payout), then click "Pay out (amount) now". Instant appears only when Stripe says your bank or card is eligible.
4. Instant asks "Pay out instantly?" and shows the fee and amount received. You can tick "Always use instant" or "Don't show this again", then click "Send".
5. Under Settings, then Bank details, "Automatic daily payouts" sends ready money each business day for free. Add a "Debit card for instant payouts" there too.
6. "When does money land?" opens the payout timing chart on Resources. A brand new account's first payout can take 7 to 14 days while Stripe reviews it.

Only the shop owner can pay out.

The shop owner can delete an invoice with no payments on it.

1. Open the job, then Financials, then Payments, and open the invoice.
2. Click "Delete invoice". The confirmation says "Delete invoice #(number)? Your client's invoice link stops working. This can't be undone." Click "Delete" or "Cancel".
3. If any payment was made, refund it first. The button explains that requirement.

The client's old link says "This invoice is no longer available."

Square Away emails payment reminders in your shop's name with standard wording until you change it. Until you save Settings, then Preferences once, the owner sees "Review your client reminder settings". Click "Complete now" to review "Payment reminder emails", or "Remind me later" to see the default wording first.

Payments of $0 and archived jobs do not get reminders.

Tell a client a late fee may apply after a payment is past due. Square Away does not add a fee to the invoice or charge it.

1. Go to Settings, then Client payment methods, find "Late fees", and turn on "Warn about a late fee on overdue payments". You can also turn it on for one proposal in its payment settings.
2. Set the amount and grace days. They go into the contract terms Square Away drafts. A late fee must be spelled out in your contract to be enforceable.
3. In Settings, then Preferences, turn on the "Late fee warning" email. Once a payment is overdue on a job with the switch on, your client gets the warning.

Click "Tax, discount and payment settings" under the total on the pricing page to open that proposal's own tax and fee settings: on the document itself, not buried in a separate settings screen, because these are calls you make per client, not once for the whole business.

Sales tax: add as many named tax lines as you actually need (state, city, whatever applies), each with its own choice of percentage or a flat dollar amount. Every line item has its own "Taxable" checkbox, so something like a delivery fee can be left out of the tax calculation while the rest of the job is taxed normally.

Service charge: a separate add-on line, same percentage-or-flat-dollar choice as tax, but its own thing entirely. Whatever you type as the label is exactly what the client sees on the proposal and invoice.

Each proposal has its own payment settings. In the proposal builder, click "Tax, discount and payment settings" below the total or "How your client pays" on Checkout. This opens "Invoice & Pay".

1. Set the payment schedule: "Deposit", "Production Deposit" and "Balance Due" start from your estimator settings. Enter a payment in $ or %. The last unpaid payment is "The rest". Use "Add payment", the trash can or "Split evenly". Percent payments follow the total as client selections change; dollar payments stay fixed. Paid payments are locked.
2. Choose "Accept credit card", bank transfer, or both. One stays on. "Pass the card fee to the client" follows your state’s card fee rules. Connect your bank to take online payments.
3. Under "Late fees", "Warn about a late fee on overdue payments" gives clients a warning. Set its amount and grace days, and include it in your contract. Square Away does not add or charge the fee.

Your starting defaults are under Settings, then Client payment methods. Choose how clients pay, the card fee, offline payment instructions and late fee warning, then click "Save default". Existing proposals keep their settings.

"Pass the card fee to the client" follows the state in your business address (Settings, then "Company brand").

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico don't allow it, so the switch stays off. Many shops there offer a discount for paying by bank transfer or check instead.

Colorado caps the fee at 2% of the payment. Everywhere else: credit cards only, never debit, at most 3%, and shown to your client before they pay.

No business address yet? The switch stays off until you click "Add your business address".

California deposit limit: if your address is in California and the first payment is more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract (whichever is less), the payment schedule and the Payments card show a warning. Click "Learn more" for the rule. It's a warning, not a block.

Send each vendor the list of what a job needs, right from the job's Shop Ticket.

Before you start: the vendor needs an email in your Price Book, your items need that vendor picked, and the job's estimate needs those items on it. See Estimating: price book vendors.

1. Open the project and, under "Shortcuts", click "Shop Ticket".
2. At the top is "Email orders to vendors". Each vendor gets its own box with its email, its address if you added one, the subject line, and a table of what you need from them: Item, Part number (when there is one), Qty and Unit.
3. Tick each vendor you want to email. A box opens for a note, like pickup day or delivery address. It's optional.
4. Click the button at the bottom. It counts them, like "Email 2 vendors".
5. It asks "Send to (vendor names)?". Click "Yes, send", or "Cancel" to back out.

When it's done you'll see who it went to and "A note is on the job." That note lists exactly what was ordered from each vendor, and only your team sees it.

What goes on each order: the materials on the job's estimate that came from your price book and have a vendor picked. The same item at the same unit is added together into one line. Labor, lines you typed in yourself, lines with no vendor, and lines with a quantity of 0 are left off.

Vendors with no email: their box can't be ticked, and it shows "Add an email for this vendor", which takes you to the Price Book. You can still see their list and use their shopping list.

Nothing linked yet? The card says none of this job's materials are linked to a vendor yet, with a link to the Price Book.

What the vendor gets: an email with your logo and colors, subject "Order from (your shop name): (job name)". It says "Hi (vendor)", "Here's what we need for (job name):", the table of items, your note if you wrote one, and ends with "Please reply to confirm pricing and when it'll be ready." It's signed with your shop name, phone, email and address from Settings, then Company brand. It never shows prices.

Replies: when a vendor replies, it goes straight to your shop's email (the "Company email" in Settings, then Company brand, or the owner's login email if that's blank). Vendor replies don't come into your Inbox.

Who can send: only the shop's owner. Your team sees the same lists, with "Only the shop's owner can send these."

The order card never prints. Printing the Shop Ticket still gives you just the ticket.

Materials marked "From shop stock" stay charged on the estimate but do not appear on vendor order emails.

Running to the lumberyard or your local big box store? Open the job's shopping list on your phone and check items off in the aisle.

Open it: on the job's Shop Ticket, in "Email orders to vendors", click "Shopping list" under any vendor. When a job has more than one vendor, "Shopping list, all vendors" shows everything on one page.

What you see: the job name at the top and one card per vendor (or store), with the vendor's address (tap it to open it in your maps) and how many of its items are checked, like "2 of 5". Each line shows the quantity, unit and item, like "4 sheet · 3/4 maple ply", plus the part number and your price book price for one unit when there is one, like "Price book $108.00 / sheet".

Switch stores: when a job has more than one vendor, buttons at the top let you pick "All vendors" or one vendor's name.

Check items off: tap a line. It gets a check and is crossed out, and the top shows "Checked 2 of 5". Tap it again to uncheck it.

Shared with your team: anyone on your team can open the list and check items off, and everyone sees the same checks. So if one person grabs the plywood, the next person sees it's done.

"Clear checks" unchecks everything on the list you're looking at: one vendor, or every vendor on "All vendors". It doesn't ask first.

The list is the same items as the vendor order email (see Shop Ticket: email orders to vendors). Change the estimate and the list changes with it. "Back to Shop Ticket" takes you back.

Materials marked "From shop stock" are omitted from this shopping list.

Any picture in the job's Files tab can go on its Shop Ticket. Tick "Show on shop ticket" beside the picture and it prints full width in the "Drawings" section. Printing the Shop Ticket prints just the ticket, without app menus or buttons.

Click "Production" in the menu. This is your shop's build schedule, so you can give clients honest start dates.

Two views at the top: "Timeline" and "List". Changing the schedule is done on a computer. On a phone, the Production page only shows a list of the dates.

Getting a job on it

On a job's page, click "Add to production queue". Or in the "List" view, find it under "Add a job to the queue" and click "Add".

Build days start from the estimate's labor hours divided by "Shop hours in a day" (8 to start). Change them any time.

Small jobs go in as filler jobs. "Filler jobs: up to this many days" sets the size (3 to start).

The two lanes

"Main lane": big builds, one at a time. They set when the next job can start.

"Filler lane": mantels, shelves and small pieces worked while glue and paint dry. Overlap is fine, and fillers never push the main jobs.

On the Timeline

Drag a bar to move it. Drag its right edge to change its days. Click a bar for its details.

Moving a main build pushes the builds it now overlaps later. Shortening one, or marking it done, pulls the jobs after it up.

"Lock" keeps a bar where it is. Builds already underway and finished builds don't move either.

Weekends are skipped. Striped columns are blocked days.

The top shows "Today", "Next open build start", and "Past a promise".

Give a job a "Promised by" date in its details and click "Save". A dashed red line marks it, and the job shows as "Past the promised date" if the schedule runs past it.

"Not on the calendar yet" lists jobs with no dates yet and installs still owed. Click one, pick a day and how many days, and click "Add to calendar" to put it on the board.

Blocked days

In the "List" view, under "Days the shop isn't building", pick a date, add a reason if you like, and click "Block it". "unblock" opens the day back up.

The settings

"List" view, "How the dates are worked out" (owner only): "Shop hours in a day", "Filler jobs: up to this many days", "Padding on the projected start a proposal shows (work days)" (5 to start, about a week), and "Tell the client when their start moves more than (days)" (3 to start). Click "Save".

Timeline view, "Board settings" (owner only): "Crew can move jobs", "Email the client when a job moves more than" so many work days, "Installs block my booking times", "Send the install booking link when a job reaches Project Ready", and the final invoice setting (see Production board: Project Ready and the final invoice).

Why this date: on a queued job's page you'll see "Projected build:" with its dates and a "Why this date:" line, like which job it follows and how many shop days it takes.

Next available start: on a job that isn't on the schedule yet, its page shows "Next available start:" with a week, so you can tell a lead when you could start.

Build time on the estimate: the estimate has a "Build time" box. Set "Shop days to build (count install days)", or click the "Use" button to take the suggestion from the labor hours. A proposal needs this first, so it can show a start week.

What clients see: the proposal shows a "Projected schedule" box with "Projected start" (a week, like the week of Oct 12) and "Projected build time" (like about 6 shop days). It always says projected, with this note: "These dates are an estimate, not a commitment." Their client portal shows the same kind of projected dates.

The start a proposal shows includes your padding, so finishing early is the surprise, not starting late. The start and build time are saved on the proposal when you send it.

When a job's start slips: if a job's start moves more than your set number of days, Square Away writes a schedule update email for the client and holds it at the top of the Production page. Read it, change it if you like, then click "Send it" or "Don't send". Nothing goes out until you say so. Only the shop owner can send these.

If you lock a client date from the Estimate, the proposal and portal show the firm date instead of a projected week. See Client's date and build time.

Only install days go on your Calendar (and Google Calendar), as all day entries that start with "Install:". They move when you move the install. Build and paint days stay on the Production board only.

To set an install yourself: click the job's bar, under "Install" pick the day and 1 to 3 days, and click "Schedule install" (or "Move install").

"Installs block my booking times" (Production, Timeline view, "Board settings"): off to start, so installs show as free and clients can still book consultations during an install. Turn it on if installs should block your booking times.

Let clients pick their own install day from your Scheduler.

Set it up once: Tools, then Scheduler. Open (or add) the session type clients book installs with, turn on "This is an install visit", and click "Save details".

Send the link: on the Production board, click the job and click "Send install link". It's also on the job's card under "Not on the calendar yet". The email ("Pick your install date") is written for you and held at the top of the Production page. Click "Send it" when it looks right.

When the client books, the install lands on their job on the board. If they reschedule, it moves. If they cancel, it goes back to "Not on the calendar yet".

If you move a booked install on the board, the booking moves too (same time of day), and an email telling the client their install date moved is held at the top of the Production page for you to send.

If someone books an install but has no job on the Production board, your dashboard shows it under "Needs attention" so you can add their job.

"Mark build complete" (click the job's bar) and your Project Ready stage stay in step. Mark the build complete and the job moves to Project Ready. Move a job to Project Ready and its build shows as done on the board. The days between build and install stay open.

Changed your mind? "Not done after all" undoes it on the board.

Two optional settings, both off to start. They're in Production, Timeline view, "Board settings" (owner only):

"Send the install booking link when a job reaches Project Ready": the install link email is written and held for you to send, if no install is set yet.

"Send the final invoice the morning of the install (7 AM), due when the install ends": on the first install day the last payment is set due at the end of the install, and the client gets an email with the link to pay. The number in "Hold the first" (3 to start) is how many are held at the top of the Production page for your OK. After that they send on their own.

Put your jobs on a TV in the shop: the production board, job tickets, cut lists, today and this week, the timeline, and what's late. It never shows prices or money.

What you need: a TV with a small computer plugged into it (a mini PC works best) and a keyboard.

Pair a TV:

1. On the TV's computer, open a web browser and go to app.squareawayhq.com/tv. It shows "Pair this TV" with a 6 digit code and a QR code.
2. On your phone or computer, go to Settings, then Shop TV. (Or scan the QR code on the TV.)
3. Under "Pair a TV", type the code in "Code on the TV", give it a name in "Name it" (like "Shop wall"), and click "Pair".
4. The TV shows your jobs in a few seconds.

Codes last 10 minutes. If one runs out, the TV shows a new one. Only the shop owner can pair a TV.

Choose what each TV shows about clients: under "About your clients, show", tick "Client name", "Email", "Phone", "Address" and "Job notes". Name, email, phone and job notes start on; address starts off. "Use these on every TV" copies them to all your TVs.

Set the screens and timing on each TV, then click "Save screens".

Keys on the TV's keyboard: 1 to 6 jump to a screen, P pauses, B blanks it to your logo, H hides client details at once (for visitors), F goes full screen.

"Send to TV": on a job's page or a cut plan, click "Send to TV" and your TVs show the job for 10 minutes, then go back to rotating. A cut list stays until you stop it or the day ends. Press D on the TV to clear it sooner, or click "Back to rotating" in Settings, then Shop TV.

To unpair a TV, go to Settings, then Shop TV, click "Revoke" on its card, then "Revoke" again to confirm. The TV goes back to showing a code.

Pick each TV's screens under Settings, then Shop TV. Each TV lists six: "Production board", "Job tickets", "Cut list", "Today and this week", "Timeline", and "Late and blocked". Switch a screen on or off, set its duration from 5 to 600 seconds, and move it up or down. "Save screens" updates the TV within 15 seconds. Keep at least one screen on.

"Pause" and "Resume" on a TV card work like the P key on its keyboard. If you scan the TV's pairing QR code while signed out, signing in returns you to the pairing step.

Every Shop TV screen stays inside the TV edges, including TVs that trim the picture.

A stock build is something you make with no client: pieces for a craft fair or market, for your showroom, or to sell online. It goes on your Production board like any job, so it gets shop days and shows on the Shop TV, but it stays out of everything about selling.

Add one

1. Click "Production" in the menu, then "Add a stock build".
2. "What are you making?": like 12 walnut cutting boards, market.
3. "Shop days": how many shop days it will take, like 1 or 2.5.
4. "How many (optional)": how many pieces, like 12.
5. "Lane": "By size" (it picks main or filler by how many days it takes), "Main (one at a time)", or "Filler (fits around the main job)".
6. "Notes (optional)": wood, finish, which market. It's saved as a note on the build.
7. "Picture from your Library (optional)": tap one of your recent Library photos to use it as the build's banner.
8. Click "Add to the queue". You'll see "(name) is in the queue."

Anyone on your team can add one. It goes straight into the production queue and starts in your "Planning" stage (if your shop doesn't have a Planning stage, it uses your next open stage).

On the board: it shows "Stock" in the queue lists and "Stock build" on the timeline, never a client name. It never gets an install, an install link or a final invoice.

Its job page: click its name on the Production page. The banner says "Stock build". The tabs are Files, Financials, Details, Tasks and Notes.

Financials has two tabs. "Costs" is the estimate for its materials and labor, cost only: no client price, deposit, payments, proposal or "Client can choose". "Expenses" is where you put what you really spent, the same as on a client job. So you can see what the build costs while you plan it and while you make it.

Details shows "What it is", "How many", "Shop days" and "Lane", with an "Open Production" button. "Send to TV" puts it on your shop TVs. You can also add files, tasks and notes, "Move stage", and use "Archive and more".

When it's done: click its bar on the timeline and click "Mark build complete" (or move it to your Project Ready stage). A stock build skips Project Ready: it's archived as "Stock build completed" and drops off the board.

Kept out of sales: stock builds never show in your Projects pipeline, your dashboard's pipeline numbers, the "Needs attention" follow-up reminders, your Contacts, or your lead reports, and Shop Hand leaves them out of your pipeline and contacts. No automations run on them and no client emails go out. Behind the scenes Square Away uses a stand-in called "Shop stock" as the client, and it never shows anywhere.

Keep a cut list on the shop TV while you work.

1. Open the job's saved cut plan or the cut view at the saw and tap "Send to TV". Pick a TV if there is more than one.
2. It stays on screen without rotating until you tap "Stop" or the day ends. "Showing on (TV name)" shows where it is. "Another TV" sends it to a second screen.
3. Under Settings, then Shop TV, "Stop the cut list" takes it down too.

The TV production board uses your own pipeline stages as its columns.

1. Go to Settings, then Shop TV, then "Production board columns".
2. Tick the stages to show in pipeline order. Your starting selections say "Default".
3. Click "Save columns". The TVs update within 15 seconds.

Three job cards fit above the LATE strip in each column; the heading shows "+(number) more" if there are others.

Add finish time or more build time to a job already on the timeline.

1. Under Production, click the job on the timeline.
2. Under "Add a step", choose "Paint / finish" or "More build days", its start date and shop days.
3. Click "Add to the timeline". Paint and finish appears in purple.

The Production page shows the next available "Big job" and "Small filler job" starts. A job page uses the lane that fits that job.

Put a picture, drawing, plan or PDF from a job on the shop TV, full screen, while you work.

1. Open the job’s Files tab. Pictures and PDFs in "Documents & photos" have "Send to TV". Job photos have a TV button at the top left, and the photo viewer and file page have "Send to TV" too.
2. Tap it. Your phone confirms what went up and shows "Clear TV".
3. The file stays up until you tap "Clear TV", someone presses D on the TV keyboard, or the day ends.
4. On the TV keyboard, + and - zoom, the arrows pan while zoomed, and 0 fits the file to the screen. On a PDF, arrows or Space turn the page.

Only pictures and PDFs have this button. A shop TV must be paired first.

Put a whole job ticket or just the part the shop needs in big type on the TV.

1. On the job page, tap "Send job ticket to TV".
2. Pick "Whole job ticket", "Just the cut list", "Just materials" or "Just notes".
3. The whole ticket stays for 10 minutes. One part stays until you clear it.
4. On the TV keyboard, C shows the cut list, M the materials, N the notes, and Esc returns to the whole ticket.

The cut list shows what is left to cut, sheet by sheet, and how many parts are done. Prices never show on the TV.

Go through a job’s pictures on the big screen.

1. In the job’s Files tab, tap "Send photos to TV" by Job photos. It is also on the job’s Add photos page.
2. The TV shows the client’s pictures, your job photos and pictures in Documents & photos, one at a time, oldest first.
3. Your phone confirms the number of photos and opens the remote.
4. On the TV keyboard, arrows or Space move to the next photo. The photos stay up until you clear the TV.

Control what is on the TV from your phone, anywhere in the shop.

1. After you send a file, photos or a ticket, the remote opens at the bottom of your phone. If you close it, tap "Remote" next to what you sent.
2. "Previous" and "Next" move through photos or PDF pages. Use the + and - Zoom buttons, or "Fit" to show the whole picture.
3. For a job’s photos, tap a thumbnail to jump to it.
4. "Clear TV" returns it to the rotation. The X closes the remote and leaves the item on the TV.

The TV catches up within a few seconds. Keys pressed on the TV are reflected in the remote.

Pick the picture on the job card and job ticket on your shop TV.

1. Open the job’s Files tab. Photos have a star at the bottom left; Documents & photos has "Use on TV"; the photo viewer has "Use on Shop TV".
2. Tap the star on your choice. It fills in and the TV uses that picture.
3. Tap the filled star to return to the automatic choice.

Without a choice, Square Away uses the job banner, then the first client inspiration photo (lead form before email or text), then your newest job photo. It does not automatically pick a drawing, cut list, plan or PDF. The star appears after a TV is paired.

Under Tools, then Scheduler, you build "session types": the different kinds of meetings you'll actually take, like a consultation call or an on-site walkthrough. Each one has its own duration, location (phone, video, or in-person, with an address or link you fill in), time zone, and instructions the client sees once they book.

Every session type also has its own buffer time before and after, a minimum notice window (e.g. no bookings inside the next 4 hours), and how many days out you're willing to be booked. Set these once per session type and they're enforced automatically.

The "Taking bookings" switch has the hint "Shows on your booking page." Turn it off to hide a session type without deleting its settings.

Click "Calendar" in the menu to see your month: "Meetings", bookings (in each session type's color), "Projects due", "Tasks", and your Google Calendar events.

Use the arrows to change months. "Today" brings you back to this month.

Click a day to open it. You'll see everything on that day, a "Join call" button under any video booking that hasn't ended, and a "Create meeting" button at the bottom.

To start a meeting on a day, hover over it and click the "+" that shows up, or click "New meeting" at the top.

In "New meeting": type a "Title", set when it "Starts" and "Ends" (or turn on "All day"), pick a "Meeting type" ("In person", "Phone call", "Video call", "Personal" or "Other"), link a "Project" if you like, and add "Notes". Click "Schedule".

Times are in your shop's time zone, shown at the top of the "When" section (like Times in EDT).

Click a meeting to see it, then "Edit" or "Delete". Deleting also takes it off Google Calendar if it was added there.

Installs from your Production board show as all day entries that start with "Install:" and the client and job name. Build and paint days never show on the Calendar. See Production board: installs and your calendar.

Tap "+", then "Create meeting", or open your calendar and tap the create meeting button at the bottom.

The meeting form is the same one as on a computer: "Title", "Starts" and "Ends" (or "All day"), "Meeting type", "Project" and "Notes", then "Schedule".

On an empty day you'll see "Nothing on the books this day." with an "Add a meeting" button.

A video booking that hasn't ended has a "Join call" button right on its card.

The gear opens "Calendar settings": show or hide "Projects due", "Meetings", "Bookings", "Tasks", "Payments" and "Archived projects", plus each Google calendar and each session type. These choices are saved on that phone.

Go to Tools, then Scheduler (or Settings, then Scheduler), and click a session type. On the Details tab:

"Timezone": the zone your hours are set in. Clients see the open times in their own time zone on your booking page.

"Calendar color": Brass, Pine, Rust, Slate, Walnut, Sage, Heather, Charcoal, or a custom color. Bookings show in this color on your Calendar.

"Clients can reschedule or cancel until (hours before)": how close to the booking a client can still change it from their link. It starts at 24.

"This is an install visit": turn it on for the session type clients book installs with. See Production board: client-booked installs.

"Remind the client the day before" and "Remind the client 1 hour before": see Booking: client reminders.

Click "Save details".

Every booking confirmation email has a link: "Need to change it? Reschedule or cancel here". No login needed.

On that page the client can pick a new open time and tap "Move my booking", or tap "Cancel my" (followed by the session name), say why if they want, and tap "Yes, cancel it".

They only see times that are really open for that session type.

If the booking is closer than your cutoff, the page tells them it can't be changed online and to call or text you.

Set the cutoff on each session type: Tools, then Scheduler, open the session type, Details tab, "Clients can reschedule or cancel until (hours before)". It starts at 24 hours. Click "Save details".

When a client moves or cancels, the shop owner gets an email saying so. A move also moves the Google Calendar event. A cancel takes it off your calendar and frees that time for someone else.

Moving a booking yourself: on the Tasks page, "Extend" a booking to a new day and it keeps the same time of day and length. Its Google Calendar event stays at that time instead of turning into an all day event.

Square Away reminds a client by email the day before a booking and one hour before. Each message includes the date, place or video link, and a reschedule or cancel link. Clients who agreed to texts get a short text with the same link.

Both reminders start on. Under Tools, then Scheduler, open a session type's Details tab and turn off "Remind the client the day before" or "Remind the client 1 hour before", then click "Save details".

A booking made inside one day skips the day-before reminder. A booking made inside one hour skips the one-hour reminder.

When a session type's Location is "Video call", each booking gets a Google Meet link from your connected Google Calendar. Square Away puts that link where you need it:

Dashboard: a "Meetings" card shows today's video calls, the next one big with a "Join call" button and how long until it starts (like "Starts in 12 min" or "Happening now"). "Open booking" takes you to the job. Later calls are under "Later today", each with its own "Join call".

Calendar: open the day and click "Join call" under the booking. On your phone, it's on the booking's card. It shows until the call ends.

15 minutes before: the host gets an email with the Join link and the client's name, email and phone, plus a phone notification if you turned notifications on. If the session type has no host, the shop owner gets it.

Your client just joined: the client's Join link goes through Square Away. When they tap it, from 15 minutes before the call until it ends, you get a phone notification saying they just joined your call, and a line in your Inbox. Tap it to join.

These two notifications don't have their own switch in Settings, then Notifications. They go to every device you turned notifications on for.

Set Google-style reminders for meetings on your calendar.

1. Create or edit a Calendar meeting, or choose "Edit" on a job appointment.
2. Under reminders, click "Add a reminder" for up to five. Pick the lead time or "Custom..." and enter minutes, hours, days or weeks, up to four weeks.
3. Choose "Me and my team" for phone notifications and email, "The client" for email and text if they agreed to texts, or both.

A meeting starts with a one-hour team reminder. All-day reminders count back from 9:00 AM; multi-day all-day events appear on each day they cover.

Control booking types on install days and send each job the right install link.

1. In Settings, then Scheduler, open a session type's "Details" tab. "This is an install visit" puts a client booking on that job's Production board. "Only by link (hide from my booking page)" keeps it bookable through a link you send and marks it "Only by link" in the list. "Can be booked on install days" controls whether the Production board's install days appear in its availability.
2. When you make or move a meeting on an install day, "Heads up: (install) is on (day). Book it anyway?" warns you without blocking the choice.
3. On Production, "Send install link" asks "Which install?" if you have several install types.

A booking confirmation includes your logo, "Join the video call" for a video session, "Add to Google Calendar", an attached calendar file with a one-hour alarm for other calendar apps, and "Reschedule or cancel". Video call reminder emails include the join button. A shop with its own number also has "Save our number" so it appears under your shop's name when you call or text.

An automation is a trigger plus one or more steps. The trigger is what starts it. The steps are what happens next: a wait, a condition, or an action like sending an email or moving the job's stage.

Make one: go to Tools, then Automations. Type a name in "New automation name" and click "Create automation", or pick one under "Start from a template". "View all" opens every template by category; click "Use this template" and it's built for you, emails and all. You land on the canvas: one line down the page, with round "+" buttons wherever you can add a step. Click any block, including the trigger card, to change it in the panel on the side.

Turn it on: click "Save", then set the canvas switch to "On". "Off" means "Nothing sends until you turn this on". The list shows On or Off. Templates, copies and automations from "Automate with AI" start Off so you can check them first.

Triggers: click the trigger card, then "Change". Pick one under "Starts when":

"Project enters a stage": the moment a job lands on the stage you pick.

"Client books a session": when a client books the session type you pick.

"Proposal went quiet": when a proposal has had no answer for the number of days you set. It uses your own word, like "Quote went quiet".

"Lead form submitted": "Any lead form", or the one you pick.

"Proposal sent": the moment you really share a proposal.

"Payment received": pick "Any payment", "First payment on the job", "Second payment on the job", "Final payment (the balance is paid off)", or "A payment whose label contains..." and type the words. Capital letters don't matter.

"Stage sits stale": when a job has sat in one stage for the number of days you set.

"Manual (run by hand)": never starts on its own. You start it with "Run an automation" on a job's page.

Stop when they answer: on the trigger card, under "Stop this automation when...", tick any of "They reply" (an email or text reply, including texting STOP), "They book a time", or "The job moves to another stage". For that last one, pick a stage under "Stops if moved out of", or leave "The stage it started in". It's checked before every wait ends and before every step runs, so a lead who already answered doesn't get another follow-up. The job's Automations card shows why it stopped, like "Stopped: they replied".

Steps: add one with any "+" button.

"Wait": a real pause before the next step, in minutes, hours or days.

"Condition": splits into Yes and No paths right away. It can check "Proposal responded", "Proposal not responded", "They replied", "They haven't replied", "They booked a time" or "They haven't booked" (proposal uses your own word).

"Action": "Send email", "Send text", "Move stage", or "Recommend a stage (creates a task, doesn't move it)".

Fields in emails and texts: under a text step's message box, click a field to add it, like the client's first name, project name, proposal link, invoice link, client portal link, or the session's date and time. The first name field is written as {{client.firstName|there}}, so someone with no first name on file gets "Hi there". If a message uses a link or session the job doesn't have yet, the automation holds it for your review instead of sending it blank.

Hold for review: every action step has "Hold for my review before sending". Turn it on and that step never goes out on its own. When a run reaches it, it waits on your dashboard's "Needs attention" card with the automation, what it's about to do, and the client and job. "Approve" sends it and the run keeps going. "Skip" skips that step and the run moves on.

My automation isn't running (check these in order):

1. Is it On? The switch sits next to "Save" on the canvas and the list shows On or Off.
2. Is the trigger set? If the trigger says "No trigger", or a stage, session type or lead form was never picked, nothing starts.
3. Give it a little time. Waits and the "went quiet" and "sits stale" triggers are checked on a schedule, not the second they happen.
4. Payment label: "A payment whose label contains..." looks for your words in the payment's name on the schedule. To tell a deposit from a production deposit, use "First payment on the job" or "Second payment on the job" instead.
5. Already running: if a job already has an active or paused run of that automation, moving it back into the same stage won't start a second one.
6. Stage triggers start only when a job enters the stage, not for jobs already sitting there. Use "Stage sits stale" for those.
7. "New lead from email" starts when a new inquiry comes through shop email forwarding, once per person. Google Voice texts and voicemails have no email, so they do not join.
8. "Manual (run by hand)" automations never start on their own. Use "Run an automation" on the job's page.

Editing a live automation: you can edit an automation while it has active runs in progress. Adding, removing, or reordering steps and saving doesn't wipe out what's already happened: every client mid-run keeps their history, and any run that's waiting or paused stays exactly where it was. One real caveat: if you delete the exact step a run is currently sitting on, that run loses its place. Everything else is untouched by later edits.

The switch next to "Save" on the canvas says "On" or "Off". Off means "Nothing sends until you turn this on". The automations list also shows On or Off. Automations made through "Automate with AI", a starter or a copy begin Off. If yours is not running, check that it is On.

Ask Shop Hand to build an automation and it points you to Automations, then "Automate with AI", with a description ready to paste.

Your dashboard's "Needs attention" card (on your computer and your phone) shows "No follow-up running for (name): run one" for a lead that's been in an early stage for at least a day with no automation running and no time booked.

1. Tap it. The job opens at its Automations card.
2. Pick an automation from the list and click "Run an automation".
3. Click "Run" to start it. Its first step goes right away.

The "Manual (run by hand)" trigger is for automations you only want to start this way.

A lead form is a public page you share (on your website, in an ad, in your email signature) that turns a visitor into a real lead: a contact and a starter project. You build lead forms on a computer.

Before you start: to let people book a call on the form, set up a session type first under Tools, then Scheduler. To tag new leads automatically, make the tag under Contacts first.

Start one: click Marketing, then Lead Forms. Click "New lead form", or under "Starters" click "Use this starter" on a ready-made form.

The builder: your form is in the middle, the way a visitor sees it. The panel on the right shows "Theme", your pages, and "Form settings". Changes save on their own; the top says "Saving..." and then "All changes saved".

Add blocks: hover between two blocks and click +, or click "+ Add a block" on an empty page. "What block do you want to add?" opens. "Questions" opens "Add questions": Short text, Long text, Dropdown, Single choice, Multiple choice, Date picker, Number, Link, File upload, Phone number and Address. You can also add Text, Image, Video, Divider, Company Info, Layout and Footer, plus one Scheduler under Actions. Every form starts with the required "Full name + Email" block.

Change a block: click it. Type your question and turn on "Question is required" if they have to answer. For Dropdown, Single choice and Multiple choice, list the "Options" ("Add option" adds one). For a Scheduler block, pick the "Session type to book". "Manage session types" opens the Scheduler if you need a new one.

More pages: "Add page" in the panel adds another page to the form.

Your look: click "Customize theme" next to "Theme" for your colors and fonts. "Apply company theme" brings in your company theme in one click.

After they submit: visitors see a short "Thanks, got it!" message. Click "Add a thank-you page" under "After submit" to build your own. In that page's settings, pick "Show this thank-you page" or "Send visitors to a web address".

Form settings: click "Form settings" in the panel.

"Internal name": only you see it. "Short name": a word or two, like Apply or Waitlist, shown in your new lead emails. "Public link": the end of the form's web address, like kitchen-quote.

The "Live" switch: a "Draft" form can't be reached by anyone. Switch it to LIVE, click "Copy link", and paste it wherever you want leads to come from. Your plan allows a set number of live lead forms at once, and the Lead Forms page shows how many you've used. Drafts don't count.

"Past client check-in": see Past client check-in.

"Start a project for new leads": on is the normal lead form. Someone with no open project starts a new lead in your pipeline. Turn it off for a signup form, like a free guide or a newsletter: people land in your contacts with the form's "Auto-tag on submit" tags, and nothing is added to your pipeline, so signups don't mix with real jobs.

"Email they get right away": the subject and message the person gets the moment they send your form. It goes out with your logo and colors. Leave the message empty to send nothing. To put a button in it, write a line with just the button words in square brackets and the link in round brackets, like this: [Book a call](https://yoursite.com/book)

"Auto-tag on submit": tick the tags every new lead from this form gets.

Check it: "Preview" shows the form as a visitor sees it. Once it's live, "Preview live" opens the real page. "View submissions" shows who filled it out.

If a visitor books a time right on your lead form, they don't also get your thank you, book a call follow-up. Any automation started by the lead form that is set to stop when "They book a time" is skipped for them, so they only get the emails for the call they booked.

People who send the form without booking still get those follow-ups.

Check in with past clients without cluttering your pipeline.

1. Click Marketing, then Lead Forms (it's also in Settings, then Lead Forms). Under "Starters", click "Use this starter" on "Past client check-in".
2. You get your own copy: numbered questions about how their space is living and whether a refresh is on their mind, plus "Show us the space" for photos. Edit it, then turn it live.

When a past client answers: their answers go on their contact under "Form answers", they get the "Past client check-in" tag, and you get an email and a notification that say "Check-in answered". It also shows in your Inbox. No new lead lands in your pipeline. Someone new who finds the form still comes in as a normal lead.

In an email: add a button linked to the form (the "Checking in" email starter has one). Each client's link opens with their name and email filled in. Those links stop filling in details after 60 days; the form itself keeps working.

Any form can work this way: open the form and switch on "Past client check-in" in its settings.

Where: Marketing, then Campaigns, then "New campaign"; or Templates, then Email Templates, then "New email template".

Starters: Simple letter, Shop news, Project spotlight, Thank-you and review request, 2026 Design Trends Guide, and Checking in. Change anything after.

Layouts: "Picture left, words right", "Words left, picture right", "Two columns", "Three columns", "Big picture with words", "Before and after". They sit side by side on a computer and stack on a phone.

Style: each block can have its own background color or picture, rounded corners, font and words color. Buttons can be "Filled" or "Outline", "Small", "Medium" or "Large", any color, and "Full width".

Video: add a Video block and paste a YouTube or Vimeo link. Square Away makes a picture with a play button that opens the video and saves it in your Library. Video can't play inside an email.

Links in text: click the link button, fill in "Link" and "Text", and click "Save". To take a link off, click it, then "Remove link".

Write with AI (6 credits each): "Write this for me" from a short note, "Shorter", "Friendlier" or "More professional" rewrites, and "Subject line ideas". It uses your shop's voice from Settings, never makes up prices or promises, and never sends anything. Out of credits? You can buy a pack right there.

"Preview" shows the real email on a computer and a phone.

"Send a test": type up to 5 email addresses in "Send test to" (yours is filled in), then "Send". Each gets the real email with [TEST] in the subject. The same "Send a test" is on the campaign page.

Social posting comes with the Shop and Crew plans. On Bench, opening Social takes you to Settings, then Membership, with a note about upgrading.

Make a post

1. In the menu, click Marketing, then Social Posts, then "Create post". On your phone, open the More menu and tap "Social posts". You can also start from a photo in your Library with its "Create post" button.
2. Accounts: tick the accounts to post to. Tick a network's name to pick all of its accounts at once.
3. Photo: pick from "Library" or "A job's photos" (pick the job, or search by job or client). Photos you took for a job on your phone show up in both.

   To add a new one on a computer, click "Upload from computer", then "Choose a photo" or "Choose a video". On a phone, tap "From your phone", then "Take a photo", "Choose a photo" or "Choose a video".

   Photos: up to 10 MB, and they are saved to your Library too. Videos: MP4 or MOV, up to 250 MB. A bar shows "Uploading video..." with a percent. Keep that screen open until it finishes.

4. Caption: type your own, or click "Write one for me" (it needs a photo picked first, and it never makes up materials). Click "Regenerate" for a different one. Each network shows its character count, and "Customize for Instagram" (or any network) changes the caption for just that one. "Resync" puts it back.
5. Video (optional): turn on "Turn this into a video?" to make a short video from your photo. Pick "Good" (40 credits), "Sharper" (60) or "Best" (120). It usually takes 1 to 3 minutes.
6. When: pick "Post now", or "Schedule" and a day and time (quick buttons like "Tomorrow 9 AM"). Times are in your shop's time zone. You confirm before anything goes out. "Save draft" keeps it for later.

Posting a video you uploaded

YouTube only takes a video. When YouTube is ticked, a YouTube box shows under your video: "Title (needed)", up to 100 characters, and "Thumbnail (optional)". Click "Add a thumbnail" for a JPG or PNG under 2 MB (1280 x 720 works best). Your caption becomes the video's description.

On Instagram your video goes out as a Reel. On Facebook a tall video goes out as a Reel and a wide one goes on your Page. TikTok and Instagram Reels show video tall, so a wide video gets bars above and below. Square Away tells you before you post.

The Social page

"List" shows every post. "Calendar" shows them on a "Month" or "Week" calendar, with "Today", the arrows, and "Show weekends".

Filter by status: All, Scheduled, Posted, Failed, Drafts. Filter by "Account", and by "Posted by" to see who made each post ("Anyone" shows everyone).

Click "Finish" to pick up a draft, or "Clone" to start a new post from an old one.

Letting your team post (owners only)

Go to Settings, then Social posting. Under "Team", turn on "Let my team handle social posting". Your team can then post and schedule from Social, and every post shows who made it.

With it off, only the owner sees Social. A teammate sees "Your shop's owner handles social posting".

1. Go to Settings, then Social posting.
2. Under "Connected accounts", click "Connect Facebook", "Connect Instagram", "Connect LinkedIn", "Connect TikTok", "Connect YouTube" or "Connect X".
3. Sign in and allow it. You come back to Square Away and see "Account connected." Your account shows in the list right away.

Before you connect: connect your business account, not your personal one. Instagram, Facebook and TikTok use whatever account your browser is signed into. Sign into your business account first, and check the name on the approval screen before you allow it. If the name is wrong, cancel, sign out of that site, sign in as the business, and connect again. On Facebook, pick your business Page only.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn connects every company page your login manages, plus your personal profile. Square Away then asks "Which LinkedIn pages should get your posts?". Tick only this business's page and click "Keep this page" (it reads "Keep these 2" and so on when you tick more than one). The ones you leave unticked are not connected and never get posts from here. "Connect none" keeps none of them.

To remove an account, click its "Disconnect" button.

Connect your Facebook Page and the Instagram account linked to it, and new comments on your posts come into Square Away. You see them in Social, then "Comments", and in your Inbox, and you can answer them there. It also lets you send one private message to people who comment a keyword (see Comment keyword Auto DM). This comes with the Shop and Crew plans.

What it does not do: Square Away never posts from this connection. It reads comments, sends the replies you write, and sends your Auto DM. Posting is a separate connection under Settings, then Social posting.

Before you start: your Instagram has to be a business or creator account linked to your Facebook Page. If it isn't, only Facebook comments come through, and Settings, then Integrations says "(no Instagram business account is linked to this Page)".

Connect it

1. Go to Settings, then Integrations, and click "Connect Facebook & Instagram comments". (Social, then Comments has a "Connect Facebook & Instagram" button that does the same.)
2. Facebook opens and asks you to sign in and pick what to share.
3. If you've connected Facebook to Square Away before, Facebook may skip the picker and ask to continue as you. Don't continue. Choose Edit settings, then tick every Page you want Square Away to see and the Instagram account that goes with it. If you run two businesses and the other one's Page is already connected to its own Square Away shop, leave that Page ticked too. Unticking it there can take it away from the other shop.

One Page per shop: Square Away skips any Page another shop already has. If Facebook only shared Pages another shop uses, you'll see a message naming them. Connect again, choose Edit settings, and tick the Page for this shop.

Answering comments: Comments has "New" and "Done". Click "Reply" on a comment, type your answer and click "Send reply". Click "Mark done" when you've handled it. A comment that already got your Auto DM shows "DM sent".

When it's connected: Settings, then Integrations shows "Connected to" your Page and your Instagram account. If Facebook stops letting Square Away answer, you'll see "Reconnect". Click it and go through the same steps.

When someone comments a word like "price" on your post, Square Away sends them one private message with a button. Connect Facebook & Instagram comments first. You can make rules before it's connected, and they start working once it is.

Make a rule

1. Go to Social, then "Comments", then "Auto DM".
2. Click "Add a rule" and fill in:
   • "When someone comments": the word or words to watch for, like price, info. Separate more than one with commas. Capital letters don't matter, and it has to be the whole word, so price matches "Price?" but not "priceless". Keep the list under 100 characters.
   • "Send them this message": what they get, up to 600 characters.
   • "With a button to": one of your live lead forms, "Any link", or "No button". For "Any link", paste a web address that starts with https:// in "Link". "Button words" can be up to 20 characters and start as "Get a quote".
   • "Also reply to the comment (optional)": a short public reply under their comment, like "Sent you a message!", up to 300 characters. Everyone sees this one.
   • "Where": "Facebook and Instagram", "Facebook only" or "Instagram only". "One post only (optional)" keeps the rule to one post. Leave it blank for every post.
3. Click "Save rule".

You can also set a rule for one post from the post builder: on the Caption step, click "DM people who comment a keyword". That rule comes first on that post.

How it works: Facebook shows a real button. On Instagram, Square Away sends a button first, and if Instagram won't take it, the message goes out with your button words and the link written out. Each person gets one message per post, ever. Only a first comment on the post counts, not a reply inside another comment's thread. Meta only allows the message within 7 days of the comment.

Use "Pause" to stop a rule for a while and "Turn on" to start it again. "Edit" changes it, and "Delete" asks first.

"Messages sent" at the bottom shows each message as "Sent" or "Not sent", who it went to and their comment. When one isn't sent, it says why.

Leads from it: when someone fills out your lead form from the button, they come in like any lead form lead. Shop Hand can list them for you too.

If you run Facebook or Instagram ads with a lead form (Meta calls them Lead Ads, or instant forms), connect them and every lead comes straight into Square Away. Nobody has to download a spreadsheet from Meta.

What it does: the moment someone fills out the form on your ad, they show up as a new contact with a starter project in the first stage of your pipeline, the same as a lead from your own lead form. The contact's lead source says Facebook/Instagram. You get a new lead notification, it lands in your Inbox, and the shop's owner gets an email. Any automation that starts on that first stage runs too.

What it does not do: it only reads leads. Square Away never posts, edits or manages an ad, and it never spends money on Meta.

Connect it

1. Go to Settings, then Integrations, and click "Connect Meta Lead Ads".
2. Sign in to Facebook and pick the Page your ads run from.
3. Same tip as comments: if Facebook asks to continue as you, choose Edit settings instead and tick every Page you want shared. Keep a Page ticked if another business of yours uses it in its own shop. Square Away skips Pages another shop already has.

When it's connected: Settings, then Integrations shows "Connected to" your Page and the last lead that came in. If Meta stops accepting Square Away's access, it says "Connection needs to be reconnected." and shows "Reconnect". New leads won't come through until you reconnect.

A lead form can take a design fee or other payment before a booking is made. Connect your bank under Settings, then Bank details first.

1. Open the form builder and add an Actions block named "Packages and payment". A form may have one.
2. Set the "Heading" and add package names, prices and included work with "Add a package".
3. Under "Clients can pick", choose "One package" or "Any of them". Under "They pay now", choose "The full price", "A deposit, as a percent" or "A deposit, a set amount".
4. The client pays before the booking is made, with your card fee setting from Client payment methods. The payment becomes a paid invoice on the job and sends a receipt. Someone who does not finish paying stays a lead marked "Didn't finish payment" without a booking.

When someone new emails your shop about work, Square Away starts follow-ups and drafts a reply for you to approve.

1. Set up Settings, then Email forwarding.
2. On that page under "Follow up on email leads", pick which automation "New leads from email go into", or "Don’t start one". Without a choice it says "Picked for you: your quote request follow-ups."
3. Each person joins once. Their follow-up stops when they reply or book if the automation’s stop rules say so.
4. A reply is drafted for each new email lead and waits in Inbox under "Ready to send" until you approve it.
5. The card counts "In follow-ups", "Ready to send" and "Went quiet".

"Went quiet" means the follow-ups ended and another 14 days passed with no answer or booking. The job is archived with a reason; bring it back from Projects. Google Voice texts and voicemails have no email, so they receive no email follow-ups. After one day they appear under Needs attention for you to call or text.

The Library holds every photo and file in your shop: job photos, files from your projects, and anything you add here. Its photos are what you pick from when you make a social post.

Where it is: in the menu, click Tools, then Library. On your phone, open the More menu and tap "Photos and library".

Add files

1. Optional: type a folder name in "Folder (optional)", like Mantels. What you add next goes in that folder.
2. Click "Upload" and pick photos or PDFs. On a computer you can also drag them onto the page. Photos (JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF) can be up to 15MB, PDFs up to 20MB. Each file shows its progress, then "Added".

Add from Google Drive

1. Click "Add from Google Drive". The first time, Google asks you to connect.
2. Pick photos or PDFs (up to 20 at a time) and they come into your Library.

Square Away only sees the files you pick. To stop, click "Disconnect" next to "Google Drive is connected".

Add from Google Photos

1. Click "Add from Google Photos". The first time, Google asks you to connect.
2. Google Photos opens in a new tab. Pick your photos, then tap Done there. They come into your Library on their own.

If the tab didn't open, click "Open Google Photos". Click "Cancel" to stop waiting. Square Away only sees the photos you pick.

Send from your phone (on a computer)

1. Click "Send from your phone". A QR code shows up.
2. Point your phone's camera at the code and tap the link. No sign in is needed on the phone.
3. Tap "Choose photos" and pick photos (iCloud photos work too) or PDFs. You can type a folder there too.
4. They show up in the Library on your computer in a few seconds.

The code works for 15 minutes. "Copy link" copies the same link if you'd rather text it to yourself. When it runs out, make a new one.

Folders: the folder buttons above your photos filter the Library, and "Everything" shows it all. To move a photo or PDF you added, click its folder tag (it says "No folder" when it has none), type a folder and click "Save". A PDF you added can be taken out with "Remove", then "Remove it".

On each photo: "Create post" starts a social post with it (if you can post), and "View project" opens the job it came from.

Reports has three tabs: Financial, Leads and Social. Pick a time window with the buttons: "Last 7 days", "Last 30 days", "Last 90 days" or "All time". Reports remembers the one you picked on that device. Long lists show 20 at a time; click "Show more" for the next 20.

Financial shows "Paid", "Upcoming" (owed, not due yet), "Overdue" and "Invoiced"; "Revenue by month"; and "Fees": the card fees your clients covered and Square Away's platform fees (0.25% on cards, 1% on bank payments up to $150). "Overdue payments" lists each one with "Open job".

Download payments CSV (owners only): on the Financial tab, click "Download payments CSV". You get a spreadsheet of the payments in the time window you picked, ready for your bookkeeper: date paid, client, job, invoice number, amount, card fee paid by client, total collected, Stripe fee, Square Away fee, net, method, refunds and notes.

Leads shows "Open pipeline value", "Won", "Win rate" and "New contacts"; "Pipeline value by stage"; "Won vs. lost"; "Where leads come from"; and "Lead form submissions".

On your phone, Reports is in the More menu.

When you make a post, click "Add my lead form link" under the caption (pick the form first if you have more than one). It adds "Get a free quote:" and your form's link. Anyone who fills in your form from that link is counted for that post.

The Social tab starts with "Posts that brought in leads": each post, how many leads it brought, who they are and how many became won jobs. "Every post" shows views, likes, comments, shares and saves. A dash means that network doesn't report the number. "By account" totals each connected account.

Views and likes refresh every few hours. Click "Refresh the numbers" for the latest.

Only people who come in through the post's link count for it. The time window picks posts by when they went out.

Square Away works in your phone's browser. Log in with the same account; everything saves to the same place as your computer.

The tab bar along the bottom: Home, Projects, the "+" button, Calendar, and Assistant. It steps out of the way while you're typing.

The "+" button opens "Quick actions": "New lead or contact", "New project", "Estimate" (pick the job first), "Add a task", "Add photos to a job" (pick the job first) and "Create meeting".

The magnifying glass at the top searches your whole shop.

The More menu (the menu button at the top right): "Inbox" (with a count of what's unread), "Tasks" (with a count of what's due today or overdue), "Contacts", "Calculators", "Social posts", "Photos and library", "Reports", "Help and resources", "Notifications", "Settings", and "Log out". If your login has more than one shop, the "Switch to" rows are here too.

The round Assistant button in the lower right sits above the tab bar on most screens. See Assistant and Shop Hand AI.

Under More, "Payments and payouts" opens payment balances, history and payout timing.

Turn them on in Settings, then Notifications (on your phone, More, then Notifications). Click "Turn on notifications" and say yes when your phone or browser asks.

On your phone's Home you'll see a "Get a buzz when a lead comes in" card with the same "Turn on notifications" button. On an iPhone it says "Show me how" instead. "Not now" hides it on that phone.

On an iPhone, notifications only work from Square Away on your home screen:

1. Open Square Away in Safari and tap the Share button at the bottom.
2. Tap "Add to Home Screen", then Add.
3. Open Square Away from your home screen, go to Settings, then Notifications, and turn them on there.

Click "Send me a test" to check. Under "What you get notified about", each switch is yours alone: "New lead", "New booking", "Proposal opened", "Proposal accepted", "Proposal declined or changes asked for", "Changes approved", "Payment received", "Payment didn't go through", "Tasks due today", "Automation waiting for you". If you picked your own word for proposals in Preferences, those switches use it.

"Your other devices" lists every phone and computer you turned on. Click "Remove" to stop one, or "Turn off on this device" for the one you're holding.

Price a job standing in the client's kitchen.

1. Tap "+", then "Estimate", and pick the job (search by job or client name). Or open the project's Financials tab and tap "Start estimate" or "Edit estimate".
2. Lines already on the estimate show up and you can change them right there. Use the minus and plus buttons or type a number. Tap the x to remove a line; "Undo" brings it back.
3. Under Materials, tap "Add material". Search your price book or tap a filter ("Sheet goods", "Lumber and trim", "Hardware"), then tap items to add them. "Custom item" is for anything not in your price book.
4. Under Labor, tap "Add labor". Pick the kind of work, the hours, and the rate.
5. Tap "Add photos from this visit" to snap a few photos for the job.
6. The bar at the bottom shows materials, labor, your price and your margin. Tap "Save". It turns to "Saved".

This quick estimate is for your phone. Open it on a computer and it takes you to the project's Financials and the full estimator.

The summary card: on a phone, the project's Financials tab shows "Your price" with your margin, plus Materials, Labor, Total cost and Profit. "Edit estimate" opens the quick estimate. "Make proposal" starts one from your estimate (it uses your own word, like "Make quote"). Once one exists it says "Open proposal", or "View signed proposal" after it's signed.

Got a drawing? Tap "Save a drawing to this job" on the summary card. It goes in the job's Files, and you run the read later on your computer (Shop and Crew).

Fillable PDFs for the jobs you quote. Open one on your phone or computer, fill it in, and add it to the job's files.

Where: click "Resources" at the bottom of the menu. The "Build-Ready Project Toolkit" card is on that page.

Take to the site visit

"Measurement and Photo Guide": shows a client what to photograph and measure before your first review.

"Client Discovery Questionnaire": goals, style, function, budget, site details and who makes the decisions.

"Project Checklist": a checkpoint list for planning and getting a job ready to build.

Planning to handoff

"Quick-Use Guide": how the pieces fit together and which ones to use on which jobs. Start here.

"Concept Review and Revision Worksheet": collects clear feedback on a design and keeps a record of what was approved.

"Scope of Work and Project Handoff": what's included and what isn't, who handles what, and how it's delivered.

"Change Order Template": writes down the scope, price and schedule change before the changed work starts.

"Design to Production Handoff Checklist": confirms final selections, dimensions, files and install details before the shop starts.

"Sample Build-Ready Mudroom Package": a real job from rendering to shop drawings to cut layouts, to show what a finished package looks like. It's the big one, 27 pages.

Each one shows how many pages it is and its file size. Click "Download" to get it.

Add my branding: tick "Add my branding" at the top of the card and every download gets your shop name, phone and website on the first page, plus your logo if you have one. On the forms, your shop name goes in the "Your company" box. The forms stay fillable. Untick it to get the plain copy with no branding.

It starts ticked when your shop has a logo. Your logo needs to be a PNG or JPG for it to go on. No logo yet? The card says so, with an "Add your logo" link to Settings, then Company brand. Your phone and website come from Company brand too.

Nothing is saved to your account when you download. Change your logo or details in Company brand and your next download uses the new ones.

Square Away gives you tools to charge tax, take a deposit and set payment fees. Before you use them, check the rules where your shop works with your accountant or attorney.

• Confirm your deposit limit and how it applies to your work.
• Confirm whether a card fee is allowed and what notices you need.
• Confirm your sales tax rate, what is taxable and when tax applies.

The app checks some payment rules from your business address. Those checks do not replace advice about your own business.