OctopusPro is a comprehensive cloud-based service management software designed for service-based businesses of all sizes. It caters to various industries, including mobile service providers, fixed-site location services, and virtual/online services. The platform streamlines business operations from initial inquiries to payment processing and complaint management under one unified system.

Key features of OctopusPro include lead management, built-in CRM, booking and invoice management, scheduling and dispatching, automated reminders, customer self-service, integrated mobile app, GPS tracking, inventory management, and more. The software offers compatibility across devices, offline access for fieldworkers, and a dedicated support team to ensure optimal performance and enhanced customer satisfaction.

OctopusPro is a versatile management tool suitable for various service businesses, including mobile or field services, fixed-site locations, and virtual/online services. Examples of businesses that can benefit from OctopusPro are:

1. Mobile or field services, such as cleaning, gardening, mowing, locksmiths, pool care, plumbing, antennas, dog washing, babysitting, car detailing, removals, skip bins, private tutoring, security, painting, tiling, heating & cooling, solar system installations, pest control, and more.
2. Fixed-site location services, including beauty salons, massage studios, and car wash shops.
3. Virtual/online services, such as online education, technical support, virtual assistance, and consulting services.

Additionally, OctopusPro is ideal for real estate agents and builders to manage fieldworkers working on properties they oversee. The platform provides all the necessary tools to run your business efficiently and the features required to help you grow your business smoothly while maintaining control over your operations. Whether you need to schedule a mobile mechanic for regular service, book a massage at a studio, or book and schedule online education services, OctopusPro has you covered.

Our support team is ready to assist you, regardless of your chosen subscription plan. 24/7 chat and email support are available as part of the Established and Corporate plans. We also offer paid support packages through https://success.octopuspro.com if you prefer to pay one of our customer success agents to set up your account or provide additional assistance.

OctopusPro is a versatile service management software that caters to a wide range of industries, particularly those involving field services, fixed-site services, and virtual/online services. Some of the industries that use OctopusPro include:

1. Mobile Service Providers:
   • Mobile mechanics
   • Mobile massage and beauty services
   • Mobile vets and animal care services
   • Private tutoring
   • Furniture removal services
   • Handyman services
   • Cleaning businesses
2. Fixed-Site Service Providers:
   • Beauty salons
   • Massage studios
   • Car wash shops
3. Virtual/Online Service Providers:
   • Online education services
   • Technical support
   • Virtual assistance
   • Consulting services
4. Real Estate Agents and Builders: OctopusPro is ideal for managing fieldworkers working on properties they oversee.
5. Home and Property Services:
   • Gardening and landscaping
   • Mowing
   • Locksmiths
   • Pool care
   • Plumbing
   • Antennas
   • Dog washing
   • Babysitting
   • Car detailing
   • Removals
   • Skip bins
   • Private tutoring
   • Security
   • Painting
   • Tiling
   • Heating & cooling
   • Solar system installations
   • Pest control

OctopusPro’s flexibility and comprehensive features make it suitable for a wide variety of service-based businesses, helping them streamline their operations, improve customer satisfaction, and grow their businesses.

There is no limit to the number of devices any user, including fieldworkers, can be logged into simultaneously using the same user account.

OctopusPro caters to businesses of all sizes, from owner-operators to large companies with thousands of fieldworkers. When you need to add more fieldworkers, your plan type will automatically adjust, and you’ll be charged for the additional users based on the pricing available on our website. As your business grows, you can seamlessly scale up your OctopusPro subscription to match your needs.

Yes, OctopusPro offers a comprehensive partner and affiliate program designed to help you grow your business by referring potential users to our field service management software. The program caters to a range of business models, such as white-labeling our software or reselling our services to your clients. To find out more about our partner program and how to get started, please get in touch with our support team, who will be more than happy to provide you with additional information and guide you through the process.

Yes, OctopusPro is committed to compliance with both GDPR and CCPA. All customer data is securely stored on Amazon EC2 servers, ensuring full compliance with both regulations.

OctopusPro offers various types of notifications to keep your customers, fieldworkers, and office users informed and engaged. These notifications include email, SMS, and in-app notifications. You can customize the content and timing of these notifications based on the user type, booking status, or other triggers. Examples of notifications include appointment confirmations, reminders, changes, cancellations, and follow-ups.

Yes, OctopusPro is designed to manage multiple locations and teams within your organization. You can create separate service areas for different locations and assign fieldworkers to specific regions. Additionally, you can manage teams by grouping fieldworkers and assigning a team leader who oversees their tasks and performance. This flexible structure allows you to manage and monitor your operations efficiently across different locations and teams.

OctopusPro integrates with various payment gateways, such as Stripe, Braintree, and Square, to provide a seamless and secure payment processing experience for your customers. You can accept payments directly from your customers through the app or web portal, and your customers can pay using credit cards, debit cards, or other supported payment methods. OctopusPro also supports partial payments, deposits, and refunds, allowing you to manage transactions with ease.

Yes, OctopusPro allows you to set up recurring bookings and subscriptions for your customers. You can create a subscription plan with a specified billing cycle (e.g., weekly, monthly, or yearly) and include the services provided under that plan. Your customers can then subscribe to these plans, and OctopusPro will automatically generate and manage the recurring bookings based on the chosen frequency. This feature helps you maintain long-term relationships with your customers and ensures a steady revenue stream.

During the free trial period, you can accept customer payments as long as a payment gateway is integrated. The trial provides full access to all features and functionality, though certain restrictions apply, such as the inability to activate automated emails and SMS confirmations and reminders, which are reserved for paid accounts to prevent spamming and fraudulent activities.

OctopusPro enables you to create checklists for gathering information from customers, fieldworkers, or office staff. You can design forms for customers to complete when booking a service or job completion checklists for fieldworkers to ensure all required tasks are completed on-site. Completed forms and checklists can be sent to customers or other parties after a site visit or job completion. You can choose when and to whom these forms are displayed, select from various field types, and assign different forms to various services and booking statuses.

Forms and checklists differ from custom fields, which are related to service-specific questions asked during the booking process. Forms and checklists pertain to questions asked after a job has started or when the job is completed, whereas custom fields can influence service pricing and availability and appear in the invoice breakdown. Forms are related to the overall booking, while custom fields are tied to individual services.

You can also use forms and checklists to ask customers generic questions when booking, automate customer satisfaction surveys after a booking is completed and paid, and gather information to improve your services and operations.

Absolutely, OctopusPro offers advanced location-based management, including GPS tracking and job check-in/check-out capabilities for your workforce. Employees can effortlessly check in and out of their assigned tasks, provided their GPS location is within a 500-meter radius of the scheduled job site. It’s crucial to understand that location tracking is activated only when workers confirm they are en route or at the job location, in compliance with app store guidelines and to respect individual privacy.

OctopusPro prioritizes the privacy and security of its users’ data by implementing strict measures that restrict location tracking to certain circumstances. Furthermore, the platform only acquires location data when workers explicitly grant permission. These protective measures are designed to maintain privacy while empowering businesses to effectively manage their operations.

In summary, OctopusPro’s location-based management and workforce monitoring features are instrumental in optimizing workflows and enhancing communication between employees and employers. By ensuring transparency and control over user data, OctopusPro aspires to be a trusted and reliable solution for businesses of all sizes.

OctopusPro tracks fieldworker locations through the app, provided the fieldworker grants permission for the app to access their GPS location. Location tracking is only active from the moment fieldworkers press the ON THE WAY button when heading to a customer’s location and stops when they finish the job or check out from the job site. If a fieldworker arrives at a job site and doesn’t check in, the app will automatically check them in. Similarly, if they leave the job site without checking out, the app will automatically check them out. The app does not track fieldworkers’ locations when they are not working, except when they are on their way to scheduled bookings.

You can create mailing lists for your customers and filter them based on labels, location, services, and other criteria. Integrate your account with MailChimp to keep your mailing lists synchronized.

You can share files, such as photos and PDF documents, with customers through OctopusPro. Fieldworkers, admin users, and customers can upload and share attachments for bookings, quotes, invoices, complaints, and discussions. Customers can access these attachments through the customer portal or branded app.

Absolutely! OctopusPro provides the ability to create voucher codes, enabling you to offer discounts on particular services, within specific regions, or during special events and holidays. You can also collaborate with other brands to generate voucher codes, promoting your services to their customer base.

Voucher codes are alphanumeric strings that customers input during checkout to receive discounts on services or products. Various voucher code types exist, such as one-time use codes, personal referral codes, pre-launch codes, exit-intent offers, and influencer offers.

Admin users have the ability to generate voucher codes, which will be visible to other admin users who have account access. Fieldworkers with the appropriate access can also create voucher codes. Employing voucher codes can be a powerful marketing strategy for digital campaigns, including social media promotions, newsletters, email marketing, and search engine marketing. Offering discounts to customers can enhance your brand’s reputation and potentially increase revenue.

It’s important to note that discounts applied through voucher codes are reductions from the original service price. Customers don’t need to input a code to receive the discount, as the booked services will automatically calculate the discounted price. For step-by-step instructions on creating voucher codes in OctopusPro, please refer to the user guide.

While OctopusPro does not have a specific waiting list feature at present, you can still create a similar system by utilizing custom labels and booking statuses. To do this, generate custom labels for categorizing your customers, quotes, and bookings, as well as custom booking statuses for managing those bookings you’d like to place on a waiting list. This approach allows you to effectively handle customers and bookings that require a waiting list arrangement.

Yes, you can restrict customer bookings during specific hours by adjusting the availability settings on both the company level and individual fieldworker level. To manage availability effectively, follow these steps:

1. Company Level: Adjust the general fieldworker calendar to block specific time slots, affecting all fieldworker schedules. Utilize the “unavailable time” feature within the calendar to mark certain hours as off-limits for bookings.
2. Fieldworker Level: Make adjustments to individual fieldworker calendars by using the same “unavailable time” feature. This allows for more personalized scheduling and can accommodate unique needs or preferences.
3. Real-Time Availability: To ensure the most accurate scheduling, enable real-time availability in the customer portal settings. This allows customers to see the up-to-date availability of your fieldworkers when making a booking.

By managing availability at both the company and fieldworker level, you can maintain control over your team’s schedules while ensuring that customers can book appointments during suitable time slots.

Yes, OctopusPro offers an automatic Next Service Date Reminder feature designed to generate repeat business from existing customers and improve customer retention. By reminding clients to rebook your services before they need them next, you can maintain an ongoing relationship with your customers. To take advantage of this feature, set a follow-up date and choose to include a special offer or recommend scheduling a recurring booking in the customized reminder email or SMS templates.

The Next Service Date Reminder form is enabled by default but can be deactivated if desired under Settings > General Settings > Forms and Checklists. You can view the count of bookings that are due for follow-up under Bookings > Next Service Due in the left menu, and add notes in the reminder section to assist with follow-up activities.

When automatic next-service date reminders are enabled, clients will receive a reminder through their preferred method of communication (email or SMS) on the specified follow-up date. You can customize these reminders in the Settings > Communications > Automations and Templates & Canned Responses sections, ensuring that your message is tailored to your clients’ needs and preferences, further enhancing the effectiveness of your reminder strategy.

Yes, OctopusPro provides the ability to upload and share a variety of document formats, including images, PDFs, and Word documents. Users with the appropriate permissions can collaborate and share documents seamlessly within the platform.

Administrators and fieldworkers can attach PDFs, images, and other documents to inquiries, estimates, bookings, invoices, and complaints using their PC or app. Customers can also upload and share photos and PDFs related to their inquiries, quotes, bookings, invoices, and complaints through the customer portal, receiving notifications when new uploads are made.

In addition, fieldworkers can directly upload essential documents, such as licenses and insurance papers, to their profiles using the app. Administrators have the ability to view, edit, or add additional documents to fieldworker profiles as needed. To gather more information from fieldworkers or customers, custom fields can be created and added to user profiles through the general settings.

While OctopusPro allows you to select multiple customers from the list and send an email to them, this approach might not be feasible for extensive customer lists. Instead, OctopusPro offers integration with Mailchimp, enabling you to create mailing lists and conduct mass email campaigns through their platform. To learn more about this integration, refer to the official OctopusPro integration guide at https://help.octopuspro.com/integrate-existing-mailing-list. Please note that OctopusPro’s automated email procedures are designed for automated reminders and notifications, rather than mass email campaigns. Utilizing the Mailchimp integration ensures a more efficient and effective way to manage large-scale email communication with your customers.

Yes, you can reassign a complaint to another fieldworker in OctopusPro. To do this, simply create an additional appointment within the related service and assign the new fieldworker to that appointment. Since fieldworkers are associated with specific services, this approach allows you to effectively reassign the complaint to the preferred fieldworker, ensuring that the issue is addressed by the right person.

Yes, users will continue to receive notifications even after logging out of the OctopusPro app. However, they will not be able to access these notifications within the app until they log back in. This feature is designed to prevent users from missing critical notifications or bookings, as they might be logged out of the app for various reasons.

To stop receiving notifications completely, users can either delete the app from their device or log in as a different user. Additionally, an admin user can force logout a user by navigating to “Settings” > “Company Settings” > “Users” and using the “Logout” link under the “Actions” button for that user. If a user wants to receive notifications on one device but not another, they simply need to remove the app from the device they don’t want to receive notifications on.

Yes, OctopusPro provides the option to automatically notify customers through SMS or email when a job has started. To enable this feature, go to the “Settings” tab and navigate to “General Settings.” Within this section, locate the “Job Assignment” subsection and enable the “Activate Booking Tracking Process” option. When a fieldworker initiates the booking process by pressing the “ON THE WAY” button in the app, an SMS or email notification will be sent to the customer. Another notification will be sent upon pressing the “Start Job” button, ensuring that customers are kept informed about the status of their service.

As an administrator, you will receive push notifications within the OctopusPro app whenever new inquiries are submitted through the inquiry widget on your website. To guarantee that you receive these notifications, ensure that the notification flag for new inquiries is enabled in your settings. Furthermore, you can review all notifications, including those related to new inquiries, on the notifications page within the app. This way, you can stay up-to-date on incoming inquiries and promptly respond to potential customers, enhancing your customer service and engagement.

You can remove inquiries from the “New Inquiries” page in two ways: by converting the inquiry to an estimate or booking, or by adding a label to the inquiry. When an inquiry is converted to an estimate or booking, it will automatically be removed from the “New Inquiries” page and can be found under the respective sections for estimates and bookings. Alternatively, if you add a label to an inquiry, it will no longer appear on the “New Inquiries” page. You can then locate the inquiry under the “All Inquiries” tab or filter your inquiries using the label you assigned.

OctopusPro offers a variety of features to help you efficiently manage and follow up with leads and inquiries. To keep track of follow-up tasks, you can assign specific follow-up dates to each lead. These leads can then be viewed in a centralized location by clicking the “To Follow” link in the “Inquiries” tab. To add a follow-up date, go to the inquiries listing or inquiry view page and click the “Actions” button.

OctopusPro also enables you to set automated follow-up reminders via email or SMS, ensuring that no lead is overlooked. You can customize and personalize follow-up templates to suit your business needs, providing a comprehensive solution for managing and tracking leads and inquiries. Additionally, you can record contact attempts within OctopusPro, creating a detailed history of follow-up activities for each lead. By utilizing these features, you can effectively manage your leads and inquiries and maintain a high level of customer engagement.

In OctopusPro, colors are used to represent different booking statuses rather than individual fieldworkers. Displaying multiple fieldworkers using different colors might not be manageable or practical. However, you can easily identify the assigned fieldworker for a booking by looking at the name displayed on the calendar entry. This way, you can quickly and efficiently view and manage your fieldworker assignments.

If you wish to prevent customers from scheduling bookings through the customer portal, you can hide the services from the listing page by enabling the corresponding flag in your settings. This action will stop customers from booking services through the portal. However, customers will still be able to view bookings through links in confirmation and reminder emails and perform any other actions for which you have granted permission. 

If you want customers to view the services list and submit inquiries without scheduling bookings, keep the services visible and disable the “Allow scheduling bookings through the customer portal” flag. This configuration allows customers to submit inquiries for services without directly scheduling them.

When creating a new booking, the fieldworkers displayed in the list are determined by the following factors:

1. Assignment of services
2. Assignment of custom field options selected
3. Travel radius set

If a fieldworker does not appear in the list, it may indicate that one or more of these factors have not been properly assigned. To resolve this issue, go to the fieldworker’s profile and make the necessary service assignments, adjust the custom field options, or modify the travel radius if the booking location falls outside the specified radius.

Yes, fieldworkers have the ability to view their new booking requests on a map within the OctopusPro app. To access this feature, navigate to the booking requests section and switch to the map view. This visualization provides an intuitive and convenient way for fieldworkers to view their new booking requests, allowing them to plan their routes and schedules more effectively.

In OctopusPro, you can easily send receipts for payment or refunds to your customers. For credit card payments, you can either activate automatic receipts through your payment gateway settings or manually send a receipt from your OctopusPro account by selecting the “Email receipt to customer” option when processing a payment or refund. For other payment methods, such as bank transfers, cash, or cheques, you can send a receipt by checking the appropriate box on the payment form. Keep in mind that the receipt will only be sent after the payment has been approved by an admin.

OctopusPro enables you to provide your customers with the ability to leave a tip for their fieldworkers when paying their invoices. You can create a custom field with a text field type and set it to affect pricing, which will allow customers to include a tip amount when making a booking. Alternatively, administrators can manually add a tip amount to a booking through the admin portal.

Yes, OctopusPro allows you to add job notes for your team to view within the app. You have multiple options for adding job notes, each with different levels of visibility. You can add private notes through the booking form, which are only accessible to administrators and fieldworkers. For notes intended for a broader audience, you can use the discussion board feature and select the desired recipients when posting. Additionally, a description field is available within each service, which is visible to all users.

OctopusPro allows you to add your terms and conditions to your quote, booking, and invoice templates. To include your terms and conditions, go to the Settings menu, navigate to Financial Settings, and select Invoice Settings. Enter your terms and conditions in the designated area, and they will be automatically incorporated into all quote, booking, and invoice PDFs sent to your customers. This ensures that your customers are aware of your business policies and helps to protect your company from potential disputes.

OctopusPro allows you to designate a specific service area for mobile service bookings and limit access to customers within that area. You can set a radius around both your main location and each fieldworker location to ensure that only customers within the designated radius can schedule bookings. This feature helps you manage your service area effectively, ensuring that bookings are only available to customers within the designated service area and that fieldworkers are only booked for appointments in areas they are available and willing to travel to.

Yes, you can establish different cancellation fees for various services or bookings within OctopusPro. Set the default cancellation fee in the software settings, and then adjust it on a job-by-job basis from the booking/invoice page. You can find the cancellation fee amount near the total on the booking/invoice page, which can be edited as needed. This flexibility allows for customized management of cancellation fees for different services or bookings, ensuring a fair and tailored approach to cancellations.

Currently, the call-out fee and cancellation fee can only be set as fixed amounts. Nonetheless, you can adjust the cancellation fee on the booking/invoice page at any time, offering flexibility in managing the fee structure for your services.

OctopusPro allows you to establish different pricing options for add-ons within a service using custom fields. For example, if you offer a car washing service with a base rate and want to set varying prices for different vehicle sizes, you can create custom fields within the service to accommodate this. This feature provides increased customization and flexibility in managing pricing options for various add-ons in your services.

Customers can indeed provide payment method information during the quote approval process. Once the invoice is generated from the signed quote using the “Generate Invoice” feature, it can be sent to the customer with payment terms. If you have integrated a payment gateway, customers can pay directly via credit card by clicking the “Pay Invoice” button in the invoice email. Additionally, customers using the customer portal to self-generate quotes can enter their payment method information when booking a service, enabling automatic or manual charging upon job request acceptance.

Clients can pay a deposit after accepting a quote. After the quote is signed, you can convert it into an invoice, which will have a unique invoice number. The invoice can be emailed to the client with various payment options, such as credit card or bank transfer. OctopusPro integrates with multiple payment gateways like Square, Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal, and eWay, ensuring a seamless and convenient payment process for your clients.

While the OctopusPro app allows offline access to booking information, payment processing and storing card details require a stable internet connection. Credit card payments need an active internet connection as card information is stored directly with the integrated payment gateway. In cases of limited or no internet connectivity, fieldworkers may need to collect payment over the phone or request that the customer make an online payment.

OctopusPro enables you to activate and use multiple payment gateways within your account, including PayPal, along with other supported gateways such as Square, Stripe, Authorize.net, eWay, WePay, Tap, Checkout.com, and more.

PayPal uses Braintree as its platform for API integrations with third-party systems like OctopusPro. Although embedding PayPal on a website can be done through direct integration, facilitating communication and functionality with a system like OctopusPro requires an API, which is provided by Braintree.

Credit card payments processed via an integrated payment gateway are automatically approved and assigned a unique transaction number, eliminating the need for administrative approval. However, payments processed through bank transfer or cash methods added by the fieldworker to an invoice will require administrator approval before being reflected on the invoice.

You can withhold the full booking address from fieldworkers until they activate the “On the Way” button, available on the day of the booking or a few hours prior to the scheduled start time. To adjust this preference, go to “Fieldworker Permissions” under “Settings” > “General Settings” > “Booking Settings.”

Yes, you can schedule follow-up reminders for quotes by adding a follow-up date through the “Actions” button on the quotes listing or quote manage/view page. Automated quote reminders can also be activated, sending email reminders to customers based on the specified follow-up date and frequency until the follow-up date is removed or the quote status changes.

OctopusPro integrates seamlessly with Xero and QuickBooks, enabling bidirectional synchronization of payments. To accurately reconcile payments, it is recommended to process payments through OctopusPro and sync them with your Xero or QuickBooks account.

Customers receive an activation email upon booking through the customer portal. Administrators can also manually initiate the activation process from the customer’s listing page. If an activation email bounces back due to an incorrect email address, the email address is blacklisted to maintain email integrity. To resume email communication, update the customer’s email address in the system.

Yes, you can attach documents when sending quotes via email. Standard documents can be linked to specific services in the service settings, and these attachments will be automatically included in automated quotes, bookings, invoice reminders, and confirmations. You can select or deselect attachments when sending emails manually.

OctopusPro enables customers to set up accounts via a customer portal, where they can manage recurring bookings. Admin users can also create recurring bookings for customers without an account, providing a flexible and streamlined booking process for both customers and administrators.

OctopusPro allows you to keep clients informed of changes in their appointment schedule through automated email and SMS notifications. Admin users can initiate notifications when updating existing bookings, while customers making changes through the customer portal will receive automated confirmations upon request submission and acceptance. You can also enable automated booking reminder emails and SMS in the automations section of the software’s settings.

While OctopusPro currently supports uploading and managing product lists and pricing for selling alongside services, it does not offer inventory/stock management at this time. This feature is under active development and will be available in the future. For now, you can use third-party software to manage inventory control externally.

OctopusPro allows you to send booking confirmations to clients with or without the booking overview PDF attachment. To exclude the PDF attachment, disable the “Send PDF attachments with all automated emails” option under the “Booking Settings” tab in the General Settings section. Alternatively, when sending a manual confirmation email, simply uncheck the “PDF attachments” option.

Yes, OctopusPro features a “Nearby Booking” tool that helps you view and plan bookings in close proximity to each other. Accessible from the create, edit, and manage booking pages, this tool displays nearby bookings in order of proximity to the job being scheduled. Using this feature, you can minimize travel time, respond more efficiently to emergency calls and last-minute bookings, and provide more accurate and prompt arrival time-windows for improved customer communication.

Yes, OctopusPro’s customer portal offers a comprehensive set of tools for clients to effectively manage their bookings in real-time. Through the portal, customers can submit inquiries, obtain accurate quotes, schedule appointments, modify bookings, make payments, track booking status, communicate with your office and fieldworkers, provide feedback and ratings, and more. This streamlined experience ensures a seamless and efficient booking process for your clients.

OctopusPro’s customer portal provides clients with real-time updates on their booking status, including acceptance, confirmation, initiation, and completion. Additionally, customers can track the location of their assigned fieldworker and receive automated SMS and email notifications for various booking-related events. The portal offers a complete suite of tools, allowing clients to submit inquiries, generate quotes, book services, manage their bookings, make payments, communicate with your team, and provide feedback once the job is done.

Fieldworkers’ ability to view notifications for job requests assigned to other fieldworkers depends on the job assignment settings. If set to automatic, once a job request is assigned to a fieldworker, the notification will no longer be available for acceptance, and other fieldworkers will be informed that the request has already been assigned. However, if set to manual, multiple fieldworkers may accept the job request, and the admin users can view a list of all fieldworkers who have accepted or declined the request, manually assigning the job to the preferred fieldworker. Even after the job is assigned, the list of fieldworkers who have accepted the request remains accessible in case the assigned fieldworker cancels.

Migrating data from your existing management system to OctopusPro is simple. OctopusPro offers two data transfer options: importing via a CSV file or synchronizing through integration with Xero or QuickBooks. Both methods provide flexibility and ensure a smooth, accurate transfer of your data, including customers, users, services, products, and more. The import process is user-friendly, while integration with Xero or QuickBooks enables direct and seamless data transfer.

OctopusPro allows you to export essential information such as customer data, payments data, and various reports. Although direct bookings export is currently unavailable, you can sync your bookings with Google Calendar for further analysis and management. OctopusPro utilizes secure Amazon EC2 servers to store your data in the cloud and ensure regular backups, safeguarding your information. You can also easily export customer information and other relevant data as needed.

OctopusPro integrates with Twilio for SMS communication. However, sending mass marketing text messages is considered spam and strictly prohibited by Twilio. Instead, automated group reminders, such as booking and payment reminders, can be sent through the platform. To ensure compliance with Twilio’s policies, refrain from sending mass marketing SMS messages through OctopusPro.

OctopusPro enables customers to set up accounts via a customer portal, where they can manage recurring bookings. Admin users can also create recurring bookings for customers without an account, providing a flexible and streamlined booking process for both customers and administrators.

When you add new users to your OctopusPro account, they will receive an invitation email containing instructions to verify their email address and set up a password. Upon completing these steps, the user will be able to access their account through the OctopusPro website or mobile app, regardless of their assigned role (administrator, fieldworker, etc.).

OctopusPro provides two methods for importing data for your Customer Properties: bulk import and individual import. For bulk import, include the customer properties data in the same CSV file as your customer data. For individual import, navigate to a customer profile page, click the “Actions” button, and select the “Import Customer Properties” link. You can also access this feature from the customer listing page by selecting “Actions” and then “Import Customer Properties.” To ensure successful import, follow the instructions displayed in the import pop-up closely.

Yes, OctopusPro enables you to print Quotes, Invoices, and Bookings in PDF format. Simply click the “Actions” button on the relevant view page and select the “Print PDF” link to generate a printable version of the document.

Although OctopusPro does not offer a specific progressive invoicing feature, you can achieve a similar result through split payments and partial payments. You can add items to invoices as needed and make edits accordingly. It is also possible to invoice for the total job and collect payments in installments, or to create separate bookings for each part of the job with individual invoicing. If you have specific invoicing requirements, we recommend contacting our support team for assistance.

Currently, OctopusPro does not offer a built-in video conferencing feature. However, you can manually add a video conferencing link to each Booking. OctopusPro is actively working on integrating with popular video conferencing solutions such as Zoom and Google Meetings in the near future.

Fieldworkers using the mobile app will see your company’s logo and branding if you are subscribed to the Corporate Plan. For customers who have not subscribed to the Corporate Plan, the app will display the OctopusPro logo. The branded app is an exclusive feature of the Corporate Plan, which caters to larger teams and involves additional maintenance costs. For customers who prefer to use a branded app but are not on the Corporate Plan, the Established plan offers the option to pay for the maintenance cost of a white-labeled branded app. Contact our support team to learn more.

Yes, when adding a new FAQ, you can select a specific service from the “Filter By Service” drop-down menu. This will associate the question with the chosen service, making it visible on the corresponding service page.

FAQs pertaining to particular services can be found on the corresponding service page in the customer portal. Additionally, these FAQs can be incorporated in booking confirmation and inquiry acknowledgment emails to supply clients with further information about their booking, quotation, or inquiry. If you prefer not to include FAQs in your emails, you can easily remove them from your email templates by accessing your account settings.

The OctopusPro customer portal streamlines the customer experience by providing a comprehensive platform for them to interact with your business. Key benefits of the customer portal include:

1. Easy access for customers to request quotes, book services, reschedule or cancel bookings, make payments, track orders, and sign documents.
2. Efficient communication between customers, your office team, and fieldworkers, while allowing customers to provide feedback.
3. A mobile-friendly interface that can be customized to match your branding and integrated into your existing website.
4. A seamless onboarding process for potential fieldworkers, enabling them to create an account, submit their information, and await your approval.
5. Showcasing your active fieldworkers with an integrated map feature, allowing customers to locate and book available professionals in their area.
6. Control over the visibility of fieldworker profiles, including personal and contact information, enabling customers to request specific fieldworkers during the booking process.
7. Centralized management and monitoring of all customer interactions within your account.

The OctopusPro customer portal simplifies customer engagement, making it easier for them to access and utilize your services. This user-friendly platform enhances the customer experience, contributing to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, business growth.

Yes, the customer portal can function as a standalone website. However, it is recommended to maintain an independent website, such as a landing page, to optimize search engine ranking through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While the customer portal has been optimized for SEO, you may want to target specific keywords or pages for SEO based on your marketing strategy and the services you offer. Maintaining a separate website can provide additional opportunities for customization and optimization.

If you offer services charged by time and want customers to enter the time required for the booking, there are several ways to set this up:

1. In the service settings page, set the service pay type to “Charge by time” under the Cost & Payrate tab for your service.
2. Set the service charge type as “charge by time,” allowing customers to enter the required time themselves.
3. Set the service charge type as “charge by unit” and create a unit for time.
4. Set the service charge type as “charge by booking,” add a custom field that asks the question, and connect it with your service.

If you offer services charged by booking or by unit, customers typically only need to select a start time. The portal then calculates the estimated time of completion based on the service and custom field settings values, automatically displaying the visit end time to the customer. In this case, the customer is booking a service with a set estimated cost and time, so altering the time required shouldn’t be allowed since it’s connected to the requested service.

By default, customers can choose the exact start time within your available working hours when booking. If your business cannot guarantee an exact start time and provides a time range instead, disable the flag labeled “Allow customers to select an exact start time for their bookings” in your customer portal settings. Once disabled, customers can select a time range (e.g., dawn, morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night, mid-night) rather than an exact time.

OctopusPro allows you to set individual working hours for each fieldworker in their profile, which can be updated by office staff or fieldworkers. You can add different sets of hours for each day of the week, with unavailable time between the sets considered as break time. For example, a fieldworker could be available from 8 am-11 am and 5 pm-9 pm on the same day, with the time between these sets considered as a break. This break time won’t be available for booking requests made by customers if the real-time availability feature is activated in your account settings.

To receive notifications about new bookings made through your website or customer portal, you will need to verify and adjust your notification settings. Make sure the new booking notification option is enabled, which will allow you to receive notifications on your phone when new bookings are created, provided you are logged into your admin account on the OctopusPro app. Additionally, you can choose to receive SMS notifications about new bookings if you prefer.

For office users to receive push notifications regarding new bookings, they should log in to the OctopusPro app. You can enable SMS notifications for office users by toggling the relevant option in your notification settings, as long as you have a digital phone number connected to your account. To receive email notifications for new booking requests, enable the email notifications option within the same settings menu.

When the automatic assignment feature is activated, all available fieldworkers who match the requested services and location will receive booking requests as soon as a customer creates a new booking. The booking will be automatically assigned to the first fieldworker who accepts the request, eliminating the need for admin user intervention. By fine-tuning your notification settings and leveraging the automatic assignment feature, you can ensure seamless communication and efficient handling of new bookings across your team.

Yes, you can enable the option for customers to purchase gift cards and certificates through your customer portal by activating the corresponding feature under the Flags & Permissions page within your customer portal settings. Once enabled, a “Buy Gift Card” button will be displayed in your customer portal, allowing customers to purchase gift vouchers for your services.

You have the option to enable or disable the gift card feature for each of your services in your service settings. The “Buy Gift Card” button will only appear for those services that have the feature enabled. This allows customers to buy gift vouchers for specific services that you offer or even purchase standalone gift card services with a specified value.

OctopusPro provides a seamless experience for customers purchasing gift cards. Upon completing the purchase, the buyer will receive a confirmation email, and the recipient will receive a notification email containing the gift card details, a redemption link, and instructions on how to book a service using the gift card. Gift cards must be paid in full before they are sent to the recipient.

Each gift card includes a unique booking code that can be redeemed online through your website or app, or over the phone with your office staff. When booking over the phone, customers can simply provide the gift voucher booking number. You can track the usage of specific gift cards through your booking reports.

Offering gift vouchers is an excellent marketing strategy to boost sales and increase brand awareness. By enabling the gift card feature, your customers can conveniently purchase electronic gift vouchers for any service or amount they desire, which are automatically emailed to the recipient—making it an ideal gift for special occasions.

Please note that disabling the gift card feature will not affect the redemption of existing gift cards; it will only prevent new ones from being purchased.

To learn more, please visit Selling Gift Vouchers

OctopusPro allows customers to request a specific fieldworker during the booking process by enabling this feature in the customer portal configuration settings. You can also display relevant fieldworker profile information, such as ratings, reviews, date of joining, location, contact information, and additional biographical details.

Yes, you can provide your customers with bank transfer and cash payment options when booking a service. To enable the bank transfer option, go to your customer portal settings and navigate to the general settings tab. Under the payment methods section, activate the bank transfer option.

Once enabled, your bank details will be displayed to your customers when they choose the bank transfer payment option during checkout. You can add a custom message with instructions for customers alongside your bank details. To update your bank details, visit the payment integration page in your financial settings.

To allow customers to pay in cash on the day of the booking, enable the cash payment option from the list of payment methods. This will show the cash option during the checkout process. If you want to display any notes or instructions to your customers, add them to the notes field that appears when you activate the option.

Please note that these payment options must first be enabled in your company payment settings before they can be activated in your customer portal. Your customer portal settings will only display the payment options that are active for your business as a whole.

Yes, you can display the minimum service price for each of your offerings by enabling the “Display Service Minimum Price” option, which is located under Flags & Permissions in your customer portal settings. By activating this feature, your customers will have a clearer understanding of the minimum cost associated with each service, allowing them to make more informed decisions when booking through your platform. This transparency can lead to increased customer satisfaction and trust in your business. To learn more, please visit Display Service Minimum Price

Yes, you can present a comprehensive list of FAQs to your customers by adding them to your Settings > Communications > Frequently Asked Questions section. This allows you to create a general FAQ list and associate specific questions with particular services or custom field values.

To make sure your FAQs are visible on your website, double-check the corresponding flag in your customer portal settings and confirm it is enabled. By providing a well-organized FAQ section, you can address common inquiries and enhance the overall customer experience on your website.

To incorporate your Privacy Policy within your customer portal, navigate to the General Settings tab within your Customer Portal settings and input the tracking script for your Privacy Policy there.

Having a Privacy Policy is crucial if your website collects personal information from visitors, as it is mandated by privacy regulations such as:

• The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• The California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) from the United States
• Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

These regulations, among others, apply to businesses worldwide, regardless of their physical location, as long as their website is accessible to users in the respective regions.

By incorporating your Privacy Policy in the customer portal, you ensure compliance with these laws. The Privacy Policy URL will be displayed in the footer of your customer portal homepage. If you do not have a Privacy Policy yet, it is highly recommended to create one. Online services such as TermsFeed can help you generate a Privacy Policy tailored to your website within minutes.

To display a booking disclaimer in your customer portal, navigate to the General Settings tab within your Customer Portal settings and input the relevant information. The booking disclaimer can cover topics such as payment terms, travel conditions, booking timelines, or any special conditions that customers need to be aware of before finalizing a booking.

The disclaimer text will be visible to your customers on the confirmation page at the end of the booking process. This feature ensures that customers are well-informed of any relevant terms and conditions, helping to create a transparent and clear booking experience.

Within a single account, your customer portal can only accommodate one trading name and one branding theme. If your business operates under multiple trading names with distinct logos and branding styles, and you require separate websites for customers to book through with unique branding themes, you will need to establish individual accounts for each trading name. This will allow you to create a dedicated customer portal for each brand that is visually and stylistically distinct from the others.

For admin users and fieldworkers who work across different trading names, switching between these separate accounts can be seamless, provided they use the same login credentials for all associated companies. This allows for easy management of bookings and customer interactions while maintaining the unique identity of each trading name.

The customer booking process in your portal has been carefully designed to guide your customers through a streamlined experience that efficiently collects necessary information while avoiding intimidating, lengthy forms. This approach has been shown to yield higher conversion rates, particularly on mobile devices, compared to single-page forms.

However, if you have specific adjustments in mind or would like to discuss potential modifications, please reach out to our support team. They will be more than happy to assist you in optimizing the booking process for your business, ensuring the best possible experience for your customers.

Integrating a Google Analytics tracking script into your OctopusPro customer portal allows you to monitor user behavior, traffic, and other valuable insights. To embed the tracking script, follow these steps:

1. Go to your OctopusPro account and navigate to the Settings menu.
2. Click on Customer Portal Settings and select the General Settings tab.
3. Find the “Google Analytics Tracking ID” field and enter your Google Analytics tracking ID, which typically starts with “UA-” followed by a series of numbers.
4. Save your changes.

Your OctopusPro customer portal is now connected to your Google Analytics account, and you can start collecting and analyzing data on your portal’s performance.

For a detailed walkthrough on setting up Google Analytics with OctopusPro, refer to our user guide: Integrating Google Analytics with OctopusPro.

Tracking the conversion rates of your Google Ads campaigns is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of your advertising efforts. Google Ads provides a way to monitor conversion rates using global site tags and event snippets.

1. Global Site Tags: These tags are placed on every page of your website and create new cookies on your domain. These cookies store unique identifiers for users or ad clicks that directed users to your site, enabling Google Ads to measure conversions more accurately.
2. Event Snippets: These snippets are used to specify which interactions on your website should be counted as Google Ads conversions. They work in conjunction with global site tags to deliver precise conversion tracking.

To set up conversion tracking for your Google Ads campaigns:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click on ‘Tools & Settings’ and then select ‘Conversions’.
3. Follow the prompts to create a new conversion action and choose the type of conversion you want to track.
4. Add the global site tag and event snippet codes to your website or OctopusPro customer portal.

Once implemented, you can monitor your Google Ads conversion rates and optimize your campaigns based on performance data.

For more information on Google Ads conversion tracking and integrating it with Google Analytics, please visit the Google Ads Help Center.

Yes, you can easily add a Google Global Site Tag code to your OctopusPro customer portal to enable tracking across all its pages. This integration helps monitor user interactions and measure the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaigns. To add the Google Global Site Tag code to your customer portal, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Navigate to Settings > Customer Portal > General Settings.
3. Scroll down to the Google Ads section.
4. Copy and paste your Google Global Site Tag code into the provided text box.

Once you’ve added the code, your customer portal will automatically integrate the Google Global Site Tag across all its pages, allowing for comprehensive tracking and analytics.

For more information on utilizing the Google Global Site Tag and its benefits, please visit the Google Ads Help Center.

Yes, you can add an event snippet code to your OctopusPro customer portal to track conversions effectively. The event snippet should be placed on the conversion page, such as the booking confirmation page, to measure your conversion rate accurately. OctopusPro automatically adds the code to your customer portal’s booking confirmation page, but if you need to track conversions differently, our support team can assist you.

To add the event snippet code to your customer portal, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Customer Portal > General Settings.
2. Scroll down to the Google Ads section.
3. Copy and paste your event snippet code into the provided text box.

By doing this, you can track various customer interactions on your portal and evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

For more information about adding event snippet codes and conversion tracking, please visit our Google Ads user guide.

To provide customers with a quick overview of your services on the OctopusPro customer portal, you can display a short description under each service listing. This brief text will give customers an idea of what to expect from each service. To enable this feature, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Navigate to Settings > Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.
3. On the customer portal flags and permissions settings page, find the Website Flags section.
4. Enable the flag titled “Display service description brief in the services list in the customer portal.”

Once this flag is enabled, a brief description will be visible under each service listing on the customer portal. To add or edit descriptions for your services, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Services Settings > Services.
2. Locate the service you want to edit and click on its name or the edit icon.
3. On the service edit page, enter or update the brief description in the provided text box.

For additional information on optimizing your customer portal and using other available features, please visit the Display link to “About Us” page in the menu.

Fieldworkers can easily sign up, access their accounts, and manage their profiles using the OctopusPro app or a browser. Follow this step-by-step guide to get started:

1. Download the App: Fieldworkers should search for and download the OctopusPro app. If your company uses a branded app provided by OctopusPro, they should download that app instead.
2. Allow Permissions: After installing the app, fieldworkers must allow it to send notifications and access their location. These permissions are crucial for the app to function smoothly and provide accurate data.
3. Verify Account: If you’ve already created accounts for your fieldworkers or imported their email addresses, they can start by clicking the verification link received via email to confirm their address and create a password. If they need to create an account themselves, they can use the signup form on your website or directly through your branded app.
4. Complete Profile: Once logged in, fieldworkers can complete their profiles by entering personal details, services provided, working hours, and signing a contract. They can also update their profile picture, bio, business name and details, contact details, bank account information, driver’s license, registration details, and employee information.
5. Switch to Fieldworker Mode: Fieldworkers need to sign in as a fieldworker in the app. To do this, they should go to the menu in the top-left corner of the app screen and select the option to sign in as a fieldworker. They’ll need to sign up again and verify their email, then complete their profile as mentioned in step 4.
6. Edit and Update Profile: Fieldworkers can edit and update their profiles by going to the main menu at the top-left corner of the screen, clicking on their name, and selecting “My Account.”

By following these steps, fieldworkers can efficiently create and manage their profiles, ensuring they’re prepared to accept jobs and provide the best possible service to customers.

Yes, you can customize the registration form for your fieldworkers by adding custom fields to their profiles. This allows you to collect additional information specific to your industry or business needs. Examples of custom fields include work experience, education, hobbies, interests, date of birth, gender, height, or other relevant details.

To add custom fields to fieldworker profiles, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Fieldworker Profile in your OctopusPro account.
2. Create custom fields to record any additional information you’d like to collect. You can set these fields to display pre-entered values for fieldworkers to select from.
3. Configure the visibility of each custom field using the visibility flag, ensuring that private information is only accessible by authorized office users or kept private for internal use.

These custom fields will appear in your fieldworkers’ profiles and can be edited by both office users and fieldworkers when logged in to their accounts. If your fieldworker profiles are visible to customers, the custom fields will be displayed by default, unless marked as private using the visibility flag.

By customizing the registration form, you can gather valuable information about your fieldworkers, helping you better understand their skills and background, and ultimately provide more tailored services to your customers.

Yes, you can require your fieldworkers to sign a contract or agreement when they register or log in for the first time. To set this up, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Company Settings > Contracts and Agreements in your OctopusPro account.
2. Upload your contract or agreement. Once uploaded, fieldworkers will be prompted to sign it either through the app or via their desktop or mobile browser when they sign up or log in.
3. The signed contract will be stored and made accessible to both you and the fieldworker for future reference. This enables you to view the history of signed contracts for each fieldworker.
4. When editing the agreement, you will be asked whether you want to notify your fieldworkers about the update. If you choose to do so, they will receive a notification requesting them to sign the updated agreement through the app before continuing to use it.
5. Your admin users will receive a notification whenever the agreement has been signed again by any fieldworker.

By requiring fieldworkers to sign a contract or agreement during registration, you can ensure that they understand and agree to your company’s terms and conditions from the outset, promoting a smoother onboarding process and fostering a professional working relationship.

OctopusPro offers a comprehensive payroll and payment management system for fieldworkers, whether they are employees or independent subcontractors. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the payroll features:

1. Fieldworker Timesheets: For employees, use the Fieldworker Timesheets feature under Fieldworkers Reports to generate and export timesheets based on check-in, check-out, and travel times recorded through the app. This helps ensure that fieldworkers follow procedures, eliminates timesheet fraud, and prevents confusion regarding payments.
2. Fieldworker Booking Summary: For subcontractors, use the fieldworker booking summary report to calculate payment amounts due for completed bookings. Select jobs to be paid, group them into one invoice, mark them as fully or partly paid, and email a payment summary to your fieldworkers. You can also attach their invoice to the processed payment.
3. Manual Payment Processing: OctopusPro does not directly integrate with banks for payment processing, so you need to process payments manually through your bank account. Alternatively, you can export the Payment to Fieldworkers report and import it into accounting software like Xero or Quickbooks to process payments through your accounting system.
4. Payment Reports: View a list of all payments processed to fieldworkers through the Payment to Fieldworkers report under Payment Reports. This provides information such as invoice numbers, job counts, payment dates, reference numbers, payment amounts, cash received, amounts due, payment notes, and user information.
5. Fieldworker Payment Structures: Set custom payment structures for each fieldworker in their profile under the Job Settings tab. Payment options include flat fees, service total percentage, and hourly rates. If no custom payment structure is set, the default payment structure under the Payment Agreement section in the fieldworker profile will apply.
6. Service Payment Structures: Set default payment structures for different services under the Cost & Payrate tab in the service add/edit page in the services settings. This structure applies when there is no payment structure set in the fieldworker profile.
7. Custom Fieldworker Share: Adjust the custom fieldworker share for specific bookings by pressing the Set Fieldworker Share link under the payment button in the View Booking and View Invoice pages. You can also adjust this through the fieldworker booking summary report.

By leveraging these features, you can efficiently manage payroll and payments for your fieldworkers, ensuring a smooth payment process and accurate compensation for their work.

Yes, OctopusPro offers a flexible payment system for fieldworkers, allowing you to set pay rates on a per-job basis. You can choose to pay your fieldworkers using a flat fee, a percentage of the total service amount, or an hourly rate. This customization caters to various business needs and workforce requirements. OctopusPro automatically calculates fieldworker pay based on the established criteria, while also allowing you to adjust payment on a job-by-job basis as needed.

Yes, OctopusPro offers two comprehensive reports to help you review job duration times and manage fieldworker payments for payroll:

1. Fieldworker Timesheets Report: This report displays daily check-in and check-out times for jobs, allowing you to monitor each fieldworker’s hours. It helps ensure accurate payroll calculations and can be exported for further analysis or integration with your accounting software.
2. Fieldworker Bookings Summary Report: This detailed report provides an overview of completed and ongoing bookings, including a breakdown of actual job duration times, fieldworker payments, customer payments, and more. It helps you understand the performance of your fieldworkers, allocate resources effectively, and manage your overall business finances.

By utilizing these reports, you can gain valuable insights into your fieldworkers’ job duration times and manage their payroll more effectively. Additionally, this information can help you make data-driven decisions to improve your business operations and better serve your customers.

While OctopusPro can calculate payments for various types of fieldworkers, such as employees and contractors, based on their completed bookings, it does not directly integrate with banking institutions for payment processing. However, the platform provides several tools to simplify the payment process for all fieldworkers.

To facilitate payments, you can export the Payment to Fieldworkers report, which includes payment details for all fieldworker categories, like employees and contractors. This report can be imported into accounting systems like Xero or QuickBooks, allowing for easy management and tracking of payments.

For batch payment processing, OctopusPro also supports the export of group payment files, such as .ABA files, which can be uploaded to your business banking online account. This streamlines the payment process by enabling you to process multiple payments to all types of fieldworkers simultaneously.

By utilizing these features, OctopusPro can effectively help you manage and process payments for your entire team of fieldworkers, irrespective of their employment status or contractual arrangement, even though it does not directly integrate with banking institutions for payment processing.

You can utilize the withhold payment feature in OctopusPro to temporarily hold payments from your fieldworkers for certain jobs when necessary. This feature can be applied at the job level, allowing you to manage individual cases with precision.

Payments can be automatically withheld when a complaint is attached to a booking. In this case, the payment for the assigned fieldworker will be held back until the complaint is resolved. You can also manually withhold payments for bookings without complaints by clicking on the ‘Withhold Payment’ link found under the payment tab in the job view page.

When a payment is withheld, the ‘Release Payment’ button will replace the ‘Withhold Payment’ link on the booking/invoice page. This button will also be visible in your fieldworker booking summary report when it’s time to pay your fieldworker.

To release the withheld payment, simply click on the ‘Release Payment’ link. Once released, you can proceed with paying the fieldworker the calculated amount for that booking and mark it as paid. The ‘Release Payment’ link will be displayed in your fieldworker booking summary report as well as on the booking and invoice pages.

By using the withhold payment feature, you can effectively manage and resolve issues related to your fieldworkers’ performance, ensuring a high level of service quality and customer satisfaction.

Yes, if your fieldworkers are subcontractors and need to invoice your business to receive payment, they can upload their invoices for individual jobs directly through the OctopusPro app. Here’s how they can do it:

1. Access the Job View page in the app: Fieldworkers should navigate to the specific job they want to invoice within the app.
2. Locate the “Assign Invoice” button: In the payment terms section of the Job View page, fieldworkers will find the “Assign Invoice” button.
3. Ensure fieldworker share visibility: To allow fieldworkers to view their share and submit invoices, you must enable the related flag within your fieldworker permissions in your OctopusPro settings.

By following these steps, subcontractor fieldworkers can easily upload their invoices for jobs through the app, streamlining the invoicing and payment process for both your business and the fieldworkers. This feature helps improve communication, efficiency, and overall financial management for your business.

Yes, fieldworkers can easily collect signatures from customers on-site using the OctopusPro app. This can be done at different stages, such as upon arrival for confirming the quoted amount or work scope, or after completing the job to acknowledge the customer’s approval of the work. To collect a signature, fieldworkers can follow these steps:

1. In the OctopusPro fieldworker app, go to the booking.
2. Select “Signature” and choose the customer’s name for whom the signature is to be taken.

Alternatively:

1. Go to the booking in the fieldworker app.
2. Click on the three dots in the top right corner.
3. Select “Signature” and choose the customer’s name for whom the signature is to be taken.

Once the signature page loads, the fieldworker can hand over their phone or tablet to the customer for signing. The collected signature will be displayed on the customer’s invoice PDF and can be viewed by admin users, fieldworkers, and customers.

By enabling fieldworkers to collect customer signatures on-site, you can streamline the process of confirming work details and ensure that all parties are on the same page regarding the job’s scope, completion, and any related terms or conditions.

Yes, fieldworkers can clock in and out to track their working hours using the OctopusPro app. For mobile bookings, the app displays an “ON THE WAY” button a few hours before the scheduled start time. Once pressed, GPS tracking starts recording their location and route to the job site, continuing until they finish the job and check out.

Fieldworkers check in upon arrival by clicking the “Arrived” button, which records their arrival time. If they don’t manually check in, the app automatically checks them in based on GPS location. Similarly, they must check out upon completion by pressing the “Finish Job” button. If the automatic checkout feature is enabled, fieldworkers will be automatically checked out once they are more than 500 meters away from the job site if they haven’t manually checked out.

Admin users can view fieldworkers’ GPS locations and routes in real time on the map within the booking page’s scheduled visit section. Timesheet reports, accessible for admin users under the fieldworker reports section, provide insight into time spent on-site. Actual work hours are also displayed in the fieldworker booking summary report.

For fixed site or virtual location bookings, the “ON THE WAY” button won’t appear, and GPS tracking isn’t used. Instead, fieldworkers should press the “Start Job” and “Finish Job” buttons to record their working hours. This allows you to monitor and manage your team’s working hours effectively and accurately.

Indeed, every fieldworker is provided with an OctopusPro account to access the mobile app and website. When you create a new fieldworker profile, they will receive an email inviting them to join your team and OctopusPro, allowing them to set their own password for logging in.

As an admin, you can create accounts for fieldworkers by following these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings from the side menu.
2. Go to User Settings.
3. Choose Users.
4. Click on New User (top-left).
5. Fill in the required fields.
6. Click Save.

By providing fieldworkers with their own accounts, you enable them to efficiently manage their tasks, view bookings, and update their availability, all while keeping track of their performance within the platform. This streamlined process allows for seamless communication and collaboration between your team members and improves overall productivity.

There are several methods to add fieldworkers to your OctopusPro account:

1. Send an invitation link: Email your fieldworkers a signup link available in your customer portal settings, allowing them to register themselves.
2. Display the signup link: Make your fieldworker signup link visible on your website and customer portal, enabling them to join directly.
3. Manual addition: From your user settings or fieldworkers page, add fieldworkers manually. They will receive a verification link via email.
4. Import via CSV: Import fieldworkers using a CSV list from your user settings or fieldworkers page. Each fieldworker in the list will receive an email with a verification link.
5. Sync from QuickBooks or Xero: Synchronize your fieldworkers from your QuickBooks or Xero accounts.

Before adding fieldworkers, remind them to download the OctopusPro app, which will facilitate smooth onboarding and ensure they can access their account to manage tasks, view bookings, and update availability.

Yes, OctopusPro allows you to categorize fieldworkers as employees, contractors, or subcontractors. This categorization is set at the individual profile level, enabling you to manage both types simultaneously.

You can also configure each fieldworker’s pay rate to help calculate their earnings based on their scheduled and completed jobs. OctopusPro offers flexible payment structures, such as hourly rates, commission percentages of invoiced amounts, or set rates per service.

To manage fieldworker payments and outstanding balances, use the fieldworker booking summary report. This feature allows you to calculate due payments and track payment statuses effectively, ensuring a smooth payment process for both employees and contractors.

Absolutely! You can add custom fields to your fieldworker profiles to capture any information that isn’t part of the standard profile fields. For example, you can create custom fields to document fieldworkers’ work experience, education, hobbies, interests, date of birth, gender, height, or any other relevant data specific to your industry. You can also configure the fields to display pre-defined values for selection.

These custom fields will appear in your fieldworker’s profile and can be edited by office users as well as fieldworkers when logged into their accounts. If your fieldworker profiles are accessible to customers, these fields will be visible by default. However, you can choose to make specific fields private or available for office use only by adjusting the visibility flag. This ensures that sensitive information remains confidential while still providing a comprehensive profile for each fieldworker.

Yes, indeed! After your fieldworker account has been set up and your email address verified, you can access OctopusPro via the dedicated mobile app or the website. The OctopusPro platform provides a user-friendly interface tailored to fieldworkers, allowing you to efficiently manage your schedule, communicate with customers and the office, and access essential job information. By utilizing OctopusPro as a fieldworker, you can streamline your tasks, enhance productivity, and ensure seamless service delivery to your clients.

Absolutely! OctopusPro allows you to assign two types of labels to fieldworkers: Industry Labels and Custom Labels.

Industry Labels help categorize your employees based on their specific roles or skills. To assign an Industry Label to fieldworkers, follow these steps:

1. Go to Company Settings and click on Business Details.
2. Scroll down to Industry Label.
3. Enter the desired label title.
4. Save your changes.

Custom Labels, on the other hand, are useful for better organization and improved search results within bookings or fieldworker management. Examples of Custom Labels include ‘expertise level,’ ‘team,’ or ‘service area.’

To create and assign a Custom Label to a fieldworker, follow these steps:

1. Go to General Settings and select Labels.
2. Click on New Label.
3. Add the label title.
4. Save your changes.
5. Assign the label to the desired fieldworker by editing their profile and selecting the appropriate label from the list.

By utilizing labels for fieldworkers, you can effectively manage and organize your team, making it easier to find the right fieldworker for specific jobs and ensuring efficient service delivery to your clients.

While fieldworkers typically access and receive notifications about bookings through the OctopusPro app, you can still email booking details to them when needed. Fieldworkers automatically receive emails containing booking information as part of booking reminders and confirmations, provided this feature is enabled in your settings.

To manually email booking information to a fieldworker from the booking page, follow these steps:

1. Open the booking page for the specific booking.
2. Click on the “Email booking to fieldworker” button.

Additionally, you can set up automated fieldworker booking reminders by following these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Automations.
2. Activate the “Fieldworker Booking Reminder” automated procedure from the list.

The Fieldworker Booking Reminder automatically sends reminders to fieldworkers about their assigned bookings at pre-scheduled times. This ensures that your fieldworkers are well-informed about their upcoming bookings, improving overall communication and efficiency within your team.

Yes, you can block access for certain fieldworkers, preventing them from logging into their accounts. To do this, simply enable the “Block” toggle button on the fieldworker’s profile page. Blocking a fieldworker restricts their ability to log in but does not impact assigning bookings or sending booking requests to them. This is managed using the “Active” flag, which activates and deactivates fieldworkers for scheduling purposes. It’s crucial to understand the distinction between the “Block” and “Active” toggles on a fieldworker’s profile.

Keep in mind that while blocking a fieldworker restricts their access to the account, it doesn’t remove their association with existing bookings or other data. It’s essential to review and reassign any bookings or tasks associated with a blocked fieldworker as necessary.

To control the features and permissions your fieldworkers can access through the app, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > General Settings > Booking Settings, and locate the Fieldworker Permissions tab. Here, you can enable or disable various features and permissions for your fieldworkers.
2. To further customize permissions for different buttons, features, and functions, navigate to Settings > Company Settings > Users. Then, go to the User Roles tab and click on the Edit Permissions link.
3. To assign credentials to a role, follow these steps: a. Click Assign Credentials. b. Click each heading to view all permissions in that section or click Open All at the top to see all options in all headings. c. Tick or untick boxes as appropriate to grant or restrict access. d. Once you have assigned credentials, press Save.

By assigning specific credentials to each role, you can control the level of engagement different types of users have with various aspects of the system. For instance, customers may have less access to the system than office workers. This customization allows you to ensure that fieldworkers can only access relevant features and information through the app.

Fieldworkers that are interested in joining your team can directly sign up on your website or through your branded app by following these simple steps:

1. Download the App: Direct your fieldworkers to download the OctopusPro app, or if you have a branded app provided by OctopusPro, they should download that app instead.
2. Allow Permissions: After installing the app, fieldworkers need to allow it to send notifications and access their location for smooth functionality and accurate data.
3. Create Account: If you have already created accounts for your fieldworkers or imported their email addresses, they can verify their accounts by clicking on the verification link received via email. If they need to create an account, they can use the signup form on your website or directly through your branded app.
4. Complete Profile: Once logged in, fieldworkers should complete their profiles by entering personal details, services provided, working hours, and signing a contract. They can also update their profile picture, bio, business name and details, contact details, bank account information, driver’s license, registration details, and employee information.
5. Switch to Fieldworker Mode: Fieldworkers need to sign in as a fieldworker in the app. To do this, they should go to the menu in the top-left corner of the app screen and select the option to sign in as a fieldworker. They’ll need to sign up again, verify their email, and complete their profile as mentioned in step 4.
6. Edit and Update Profile: Fieldworkers can edit and update their profiles by going to the main menu at the top-left corner of the screen, clicking on their name, and selecting “My Account.”

By following these steps, fieldworkers can efficiently create and manage their profiles, ensuring they are ready to accept jobs and provide the best possible service to your customers.

Fieldworkers have the ability to manage their own calendars and availability using the OctopusPro app. They can take the following steps to ensure their schedules are up to date and accurately reflect their availability:

1. Set Working Hours: Fieldworkers can log in to their profiles and establish their preferred working hours when they are available for bookings. This helps the system allocate jobs to them based on their availability.
2. Block Time Slots: If fieldworkers have other appointments or commitments during their working hours, they can mark themselves as unavailable by blocking specific time slots. This prevents bookings from being scheduled during those times.
3. Update Availability: Fieldworkers can regularly update their calendars to reflect any changes in their schedules, ensuring the system always has the most up-to-date information about their availability.
4. Admin Assistance: Office users can also edit fieldworkers’ working hours and blocked/unavailable times when needed. They can perform these actions on behalf of the fieldworker through the admin portal.

By managing their calendars and availability, fieldworkers can effectively coordinate their schedules, making it easier for the system to allocate jobs and ensuring the best possible service for customers.

Fieldworkers can typically access customer contact details, such as mobile numbers, phone numbers, and email addresses, at any time. However, you have the option to control the visibility of this information for your fieldworkers through the following steps:

1. Adjust Fieldworker Permissions: You can enable or disable access to customer contact details for fieldworkers under the Booking Settings in your admin portal. This allows you to decide which information you want to share with your fieldworkers.
2. Hide Contact Details Until Necessary: If you prefer to limit access to customer contact information, you can set up the system to only reveal contact details when the fieldworker selects the “On The Way” button in the app. This ensures that fieldworkers only have access to the information when they are en route to the job.

By customizing your fieldworker permissions and settings, you can control the accessibility of customer contact details, ensuring that your fieldworkers have the information they need while maintaining the desired level of privacy for your customers.

By default, your fieldworkers have the ability to accept or decline booking requests via the app. However, if you prefer to eliminate the option for your fieldworkers to accept or reject assigned bookings, you can easily deactivate this feature. To do so, navigate to the fieldworker permissions tab within your booking settings and disable the corresponding flag for the Accept/Decline functionality. Once this is done, your fieldworkers will continue to receive notifications for new bookings assigned to them, but without the options to accept or decline the bookings. This streamlines the process and ensures that your fieldworkers remain informed about their assigned bookings without the ability to reject them.

Yes, fieldworkers have the capability to capture and upload before and after photos directly within the app for various purposes. These images can be associated with a booking, quote, invoice, customer complaint, or even be part of a discussion. This feature helps you and your fieldworkers maintain a visual record of the work completed, offering a convenient way to monitor progress, showcase results, and provide evidence in case of any disputes.

Yes, you can give your fieldworkers the flexibility to coordinate their own visit schedules with customers by assigning a “To Schedule” status to those specific bookings. This status serves as an indicator that your fieldworkers should reach out to the customer to arrange a suitable date and time for the appointment themselves. To enable this, ensure that your fieldworkers have the necessary permissions to access customer contact information and edit booking details, which can be managed under fieldworker permissions in your general settings.

Once your fieldworkers have scheduled the appointment, they should update the booking status to “To Do” to signify that the booking has been arranged. This will also trigger any automated confirmation and reminder messages for that particular booking.

Yes, your fieldworkers have the ability to upload their licensing and insurance documents, as well as other relevant details, directly to their profiles through the app. Additionally, admin users can view, edit, and upload supplementary documents to fieldworker profiles as needed.

The license and insurance information fields are standard features in fieldworker profiles. However, if your business requires the collection of specialized information from your fieldworkers that is not accommodated by the default profile options, you can create custom fields tailored to your needs by navigating to Settings > General Settings > Fieldworker Profile. This will allow you to capture any specific data essential to your operations.

Fieldworkers can access basic functionalities through the web portal, such as viewing and updating their bookings. However, to fully benefit from OctopusPro’s features, it is highly recommended that fieldworkers use the app. The app offers essential functions like job reminders, alarms, push notifications, GPS tracking, timesheets, and more, which are not available via the web portal. Encourage your fieldworkers to download and utilize the app to ensure they can take advantage of all the features OctopusPro has to offer.

While fieldworkers can be assigned to specific services and custom fields within your settings, they cannot be directly assigned to individual trading names set up for your company. However, you can manage your fieldworkers’ assignments indirectly by associating them with specific services or custom fields related to a particular trading name. This approach allows you to ensure that your fieldworkers are aligned with the appropriate trading names for your business operations.

Fieldworkers may need to make changes to customer details, services, quantities, or costs during the course of a job. To maintain control over these updates, you can choose to require approval from an authorized user within your organization, such as a manager, before the changes are confirmed. This ensures that all adjustments are reviewed and verified before being finalized. To enable or disable this feature, you can adjust the fieldworker permissions under your booking settings. By implementing an approval process, you can maintain a higher level of accuracy and oversight for your business operations.

Although inactive fieldworkers cannot be assigned new bookings or receive new booking requests, they can still log in to the app to access their work history. Access to historical data may be necessary for legal and tax purposes, particularly for independent contractors.

If you wish to prevent specific users from accessing their accounts altogether, you will need to block them. Alternatively, you can delete their accounts if retaining their work history is no longer a requirement.

To view your fieldworkers’ working hours, including their check-in and check-out times, access the timesheet reports available to all admin users. You’ll find these reports in the “Fieldworkers Reports” section. From there, you can generate daily, weekly, or monthly reports by using the date selection filter on the timesheet reports page. Additionally, fieldworkers’ working hours can be viewed in their booking summary reports and on the booking view page for each of their individual bookings. These comprehensive reports provide valuable insights into your team’s performance and allow you to effectively manage their schedules and workload.

Customers will be able to view the assigned fieldworker for their upcoming booking through the customer portal on the booking page once the fieldworker has been assigned, provided they have the necessary permissions. Additionally, customers can find information about their assigned fieldworker in the booking confirmation and reminder emails they receive.

If you prefer to limit the visibility of fieldworker details for your customers, you can adjust the visibility settings in the customer portal settings. This will allow you to remove the fieldworker’s name and other details from the standard email templates, ensuring that the information remains confidential if desired.

By providing the option to display or hide fieldworker details, OctopusPro offers a flexible solution that can be tailored to your business’s specific requirements, ensuring that your customers have access to relevant information without compromising the privacy of your fieldworkers.

With OctopusPro, communication between your office, customers, and fieldworkers is streamlined through the app. When a booking is assigned to a fieldworker, they will receive a push notification on their smartphone or tablet via the OctopusPro app, rather than an email. To receive notifications about assigned bookings, fieldworkers need to log in to the app, where they can also accept or decline requests and confirm their availability.

By utilizing the app and push notifications, OctopusPro helps reduce the volume of emails exchanged between fieldworkers and the office, leading to improved operational efficiency and a higher success rate for bookings. This approach ensures that fieldworkers are promptly informed about their assigned tasks and can respond quickly, resulting in a smoother booking process and better overall communication within your team.

Fieldworkers who are responsible for a particular service can indeed update or modify the booking status, provided they have the appropriate permissions granted in your settings. Using the app, fieldworkers can change the status of their bookings by navigating to the view booking page, tapping the three dots in the top right corner, selecting “Change Status,” and then choosing the desired status update. Additionally, fieldworkers will be prompted to update the job status and confirm other relevant details during their scheduled visits.

You can customize when and how fieldworkers can edit the status of their bookings by adjusting the settings under “Settings > Booking Settings.” By default, fieldworkers have the ability to edit both past bookings that have been closed and future bookings they have not yet attended. If you prefer that fieldworkers request permission before editing certain bookings, you can deactivate the related flag, which will require them to seek approval from your office before making changes.

By granting fieldworkers the ability to update booking statuses, you can enhance communication and efficiency within your team, ensuring that all parties are aware of the progress and status of each job. This functionality allows your team to stay better organized and respond more effectively to any changes or challenges that may arise during the service process.

In the event that a fieldworker is unable to recall their password, they can easily reset it by utilizing the “Forgot Password” link located at the bottom of the login form. By following the prompted steps, they will be able to create a new password and regain access to their account.

Subworkers are supplementary team members who work under the guidance and supervision of your primary fieldworkers. They play a crucial role in various industries, such as manufacturing, delivery, and maintenance, where fieldworkers might manage a team of employees performing similar tasks under their direction.

Role and Definition of Subworkers: Subworkers can be added to a fieldworker’s profile, allowing them to collaborate and manage multiple tasks effectively. These team members are hired directly by the fieldworker and perform services under their supervision. Subworkers do not have live access to bookings, invoices, or complaints and cannot communicate directly with other employees or customers.

Distinguishing Subworkers from Fieldworkers: Fieldworkers are your employees or contractors who provide services to your customers and are hired and paid by your company. In contrast, subworkers are secondary workers added to the fieldworker’s profile and are managed and paid by the fieldworker. Unlike fieldworkers, subworkers work indirectly for your company.

Advantages of Adding Subworkers to Your Team: The subworkers feature in OctopusPro offers numerous benefits for optimizing team management:

1. Enables fieldworkers to add team members and create profiles for them, providing you with a better understanding of your business’s representation.
2. Facilitates fieldworker management and organization of their teams.
3. Keeps subworkers under your supervision and control, allowing you to view all subworkers from the selected fieldworker’s profile.
4. Maintains contact between your office, customers, and subworkers when necessary.
5. Reduces confusion by allowing subworkers to view and manage their work through the app, separately from the main fieldworker account.
6. Enhances fieldworker organization by enabling them to assign subworkers to bookings.
7. Prevents potential delays or missed visits.

As long as the subworkers feature has been activated within your fieldworkers’ settings, your fieldworkers can indeed add their team members, or subworkers, to the OctopusPro platform. This allows them to efficiently manage jobs and collaborate with their employees, ensuring a streamlined work process.

The primary difference between subworkers and fieldworkers lies in their roles, responsibilities, and their relationship with your company. Here’s a detailed comparison between the two:

Role and Responsibilities:

Fieldworkers:

1. Fieldworkers are primary employees or contractors who provide services directly to your customers on behalf of your company.
2. They are responsible for managing their tasks, communicating with clients, and ensuring that the job is completed to the customer’s satisfaction.
3. Fieldworkers are often responsible for generating quotes, managing invoices, handling complaints, and participating in discussions with customers and colleagues.
4. They have access to your company’s booking system, customer database, and other essential resources to carry out their tasks.

Example: A fieldworker might be a plumber who is responsible for fixing pipes, installing new plumbing systems, and providing quotes and invoices to customers on behalf of your plumbing company.

Subworkers:

1. Subworkers are supplementary team members who work under the guidance and supervision of a primary fieldworker.
2. They perform tasks and services similar to the fieldworker, but their responsibilities are limited as they report directly to the fieldworker and not your company.
3. Subworkers do not have the same level of access to company resources, such as the booking system, customer database, or direct communication with clients.
4. They focus primarily on executing tasks assigned to them by the fieldworker and may not be involved in the broader aspects of customer service or company management.

Example: A subworker might be an apprentice plumber who assists the primary plumber (fieldworker) in carrying out tasks such as carrying tools, cutting pipes, and installing fixtures under the fieldworker’s supervision.

Relationship with the Company:

Fieldworkers:

1. Fieldworkers are directly employed or contracted by your company, representing your business in their interactions with customers.
2. They are hired, managed, and paid by your company, and their performance is directly linked to the company’s success and reputation.

Subworkers:

1. Subworkers are not directly employed or contracted by your company; instead, they are hired and paid by the fieldworker.
2. They work indirectly for your company, and their performance is more closely related to the fieldworker’s success and reputation.

In summary, fieldworkers are primary team members who work directly for your company and manage various aspects of customer service and job execution. In contrast, subworkers are secondary team members who work under the guidance of fieldworkers, assisting them in completing tasks but not having the same level of responsibility or access to company resources.

Advantages of Incorporating Subworkers into Your Workforce

1. Enhanced productivity and efficiency: By integrating subworkers into your team, you can improve resource allocation and task delegation, leading to increased productivity and efficiency across your field operations.
2. Greater visibility and control: The inclusion of subworkers provides increased visibility and control over all field activities, ensuring a higher level of accountability and management.
3. Clear representation of your business: By allowing fieldworkers to add their team members and create profiles for them, you can ensure that you know exactly who is representing your business, irrespective of their payment arrangements.
4. Improved communication and coordination: Subworkers promote better communication and coordination among field teams, enabling fieldworkers to manage and organize their teams more effectively.
5. Supervision and control: Keeping subworkers under your supervision and control allows you to view all subworkers associated with a selected fieldworker profile, maintaining a clear overview of your workforce.
6. Seamless office and customer communication: Subworkers can easily stay in contact with your office and customers when necessary, ensuring smooth communication throughout the service process.
7. Streamlined work management: Subworkers can view and manage their work through the app, just like fieldworkers, which prevents potential confusion that may arise if both parties used the same account.
8. Organized assignment of tasks: Fieldworkers can efficiently assign tasks to their subworkers for specific bookings, ensuring a more organized and streamlined work process.
9. Minimized delays and missed visits: By incorporating subworkers into your system, fieldworkers can avoid assigning jobs through alternative means that could result in delays or missed visits, ensuring all bookings are effectively managed within the system.

To manage the ability for fieldworkers to create and manage subworker profiles, follow these steps:

1. Access Settings: From the main menu, select “Settings > General Settings”.
2. Fieldworker Permissions: Navigate to the “Fieldworker Permissions” section to manage the capabilities and access levels of your fieldworkers.
3. Subworker Profiles Toggle: Locate the toggle button labeled “Allow fieldworkers to have sub-profiles.” To enable the feature, make sure the toggle is switched on (usually highlighted or colored). To disable it, switch the toggle off (usually grayed out or uncolored).
4. Save Changes: After enabling or disabling the subworker profiles option, ensure you save your changes to apply the updated settings.

By controlling the subworker profile creation feature, you can decide whether fieldworkers should have the ability to create and manage sub-profiles within your business. This can help maintain the desired level of hierarchy and organization within your workforce, while also providing flexibility when needed.

To add new subworkers to your team, both admin users and fieldworkers can follow these steps:

For Admin Users:

1. From the side menu, click on “Fieldworkers” to navigate to the page containing all your fieldworkers.
2. Locate the fieldworker to whom the subworker will be assigned, and hover over their name, then click on “View Profile.”
3. In the fieldworker’s profile, click on “Personal Details,” and scroll down to the “Subworkers” section.
4. Click on the edit button to access the subworkers page, then click on the “Create New Subworker” button.
5. A “New Subworker” popup will appear, allowing you to fill in the necessary information to add the subworker.

For Fieldworkers:

1. Access “My Account” from the left side menu, then click on “Personal Details.”
2. Scroll down to the “Subworkers” section and click on the edit button.
3. The subworkers page will appear; click on the “Create New Subworker” button.
4. The “New Subworker” popup will be displayed, enabling you to fill in the form to add the required subworker.

By following these simple steps, both admin users and fieldworkers can efficiently add new subworkers to the system, ensuring seamless team management and collaboration.

Subworkers have access to various features and options within their OctopusPro accounts, which facilitate their work and streamline communication. Some of the default actions available on subworker profiles include:

1. Viewing upcoming bookings: Subworkers can check their assigned bookings directly from their accounts, eliminating the need to contact the fieldworker for updates.
2. GPS tracking, check-in, and check-out: These features allow subworkers to track their location, log their arrival and departure times for jobs, and keep fieldworkers informed about their progress.
3. Managing personal details: Subworkers can update their profile information, including their profile photo, contact information, and any relevant qualifications or certifications.
4. Accessing dashboard information: The dashboard provides an overview of key metrics, such as new inquiries, estimates, completed bookings, complaints, upcoming jobs, and SMS messages.
5. Adding signatures: Subworkers can add their digital signatures to their profiles, which can be used for confirming job completion or other documentation.
6. Setting travel radius: Subworkers can specify the maximum distance they are willing to travel for jobs, ensuring they are only assigned to bookings within their preferred range.

By providing subworkers with these features, OctopusPro empowers them to manage their work efficiently, stay organized, and maintain seamless communication with fieldworkers and the company.

To edit a subworker’s profile as an admin user, follow these steps:

1. Access Fieldworkers: From the main menu, select “Fieldworkers” to view a list of all fieldworkers associated with your company.
2. Locate the Parent Fieldworker: Find the fieldworker to whom the desired subworker is assigned. Hover over their name and click on “View Profile” to access their profile page.
3. Navigate to Subworkers: In the fieldworker’s profile, click on the “Personal Details” tab, then scroll down to the “Subworkers” section.
4. Choose the Subworker to Edit: Locate the subworker whose profile you want to modify, and click on the “Edit” button next to their name.
5. Edit Subworker Information: The subworker’s profile page will be displayed. Click on the “Actions” button next to the subworker’s name and select “Edit Info” from the dropdown menu.
6. Update Profile Details: Modify the subworker’s personal and professional information as needed, including their name, contact details, skills, and any other relevant data.
7. Save Changes: After making the necessary changes to the subworker’s profile, click on the “Save” button to apply the updates.

By following these steps, admin users can effectively manage subworker profiles, ensuring that their information is accurate and up-to-date. This helps maintain an organized and efficient workforce, allowing for better resource allocation, communication, and overall productivity within the company.

Fieldworkers have a range of responsibilities and permissions when it comes to managing subworkers under their supervision:

1. Booking Assignments: Fieldworkers can assign bookings to subworkers, but only within the scope of their own bookings.
2. Subworker Profile Editing: Fieldworkers can edit subworker profiles to ensure accurate and up-to-date information.
3. Account Management: Fieldworkers can deactivate or block subworker accounts as needed.
4. Subworker Login: Fieldworkers have the option to log in as subworkers, which allows them to access and manage subworker profiles directly.
5. Password and Account Deletion: Fieldworkers can change subworker passwords and delete their accounts when necessary.
6. Monitoring Subworker Activities: Fieldworkers can track various metrics related to their subworkers’ activities, such as new requests, pending updates, approvals, complaints, payments, invoice statuses, declined bookings, and messages.

These permissions enable fieldworkers to effectively manage subworkers and maintain a streamlined and efficient workflow within the team.

To assign bookings to subworkers through the web platform as an admin user, follow these steps:

1. Access Bookings: From the main menu, click on “Bookings” to view your company’s booking management options.
2. Create New Booking: Select “Create New” to open the “New Booking” page for scheduling a service appointment.
3. Add Services: Scroll down to the “Services” section, click on “Add Services,” and choose the desired services that the customer wishes to book.
4. Appointment Details: After selecting the services, a new section will appear where you need to enter the appointment details, including the date, time, and duration.
5. Choose Fieldworker and Subworker: In the same section, you’ll be able to select the fieldworker responsible for the job. Once the fieldworker is chosen, a dropdown menu will appear allowing you to pick a subworker to assign to the appointment.
6. Save and Confirm: After selecting the subworker, complete the remaining booking details, and click on “Save” or “Confirm” to finalize the booking. This action will assign the subworker to the specified job.

By following these steps, admin users can efficiently allocate bookings to subworkers using the web interface, ensuring smooth scheduling and job management for their business.

Fieldworkers can effectively manage bookings assigned to them by admin and allocate tasks to subworkers while taking into account their availability, working hours, and blocked times. This ensures optimal utilization of resources and provides a smooth experience for customers.

1. View assigned bookings: Fieldworkers can access their assigned bookings through the “My Bookings” section or the calendar view, where they can see bookings delegated to them by admin users.
2. View subworker availability: Fieldworkers can view and manage subworker availability by navigating to the subworker’s profile or using the calendar view. This will display their working hours, blocked times, and any other important scheduling information.
3. Allocate subworkers to bookings: Fieldworkers can assign subworkers to specific bookings by opening the booking details and selecting the appropriate subworker from a dropdown menu or selection tool. This ensures that each job is assigned to a suitable team member based on their skills, availability, and other relevant factors.
4. Manage bookings: Fieldworkers can monitor and update the status of bookings assigned to their subworkers. This includes updating the progress, adding notes, uploading photos, and communicating with customers, if necessary. Subworkers can also manage and update their own appointments through the app.
5. Review and adjust working hours: Fieldworkers can view and adjust subworker working hours by accessing the subworker’s profile and editing their schedule as needed. This ensures that subworkers’ availability aligns with the company’s requirements and customer expectations.

By efficiently managing their assigned bookings and subworkers, fieldworkers can benefit from improved resource allocation, increased productivity, better communication, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Additionally, this allows fieldworkers to focus on their core responsibilities and maintain a seamless workflow throughout the organization.

Subworkers have a range of functionalities available to them to ensure efficient communication and seamless workflows:

1. Booking and Calendar Access: Subworkers can view their assigned bookings and calendar, helping them manage their schedules effectively.
2. Status Updates: Subworkers can update their status throughout the booking process, including ‘on the way,’ ‘arrived,’ ‘started,’ and ‘finished.’ These updates enable accurate timesheet generation based on their check-in and check-out times.
3. Booking Discussions: Subworkers can participate in booking-related discussions by adding comments to the discussion board. This feature facilitates clear communication among team members and allows for easy tracking of updates and comments for each booking.
4. Photo Uploads: Subworkers can upload photos related to their bookings, providing visual documentation and updates for the team and customers.

These features empower subworkers to stay connected, share essential information, and collaborate with their team, ultimately enhancing overall productivity and customer satisfaction.

As an admin user, you have control over the permissions granted to subworkers. To adjust these permissions, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Company Settings > Users > Roles.
2. A page displaying a list of all users in your account will appear.
3. Locate the subworker’s name and click on the “Assign credentials” button next to it.
4. A list of permissions will be displayed, allowing you to review and modify the subworker’s access.
5. Check or uncheck the boxes in the permissions table to enable or disable specific actions for the subworker.

By managing permissions in this way, you can ensure that subworkers have access to the appropriate features and actions within the system while maintaining control over restricted functions.

To monitor the real-time location of subcontracted employees during a job assignment, follow these steps:

1. Go to “Bookings” > “All Bookings” in the main menu.
2. Select the desired booking to view the subcontracted employee’s tracking details.
3. Observe two distinct maps provided for each booking. The first map, located at the top left corner of the page, displays the precise booking location and the current positions of all assigned subcontracted employees for that specific job.
4. Beneath the primary map, you will find a “Scheduled Appointments” tab containing information on each visit associated with the booking.
5. Every visit to a booking includes a dedicated subcontracted employee tracking map, allowing for enhanced tracking capabilities and improved management.

By following these steps, you can effectively monitor and manage subcontracted employees’ progress on their job assignments. This GPS tracking system offers real-time location data, allowing you to make informed decisions and respond promptly to any situation that may arise. Additionally, it enables you to ensure that subcontracted employees adhere to their assigned tasks and maintain proper time management.

To share feedback about the performance of fieldworkers and subcontractors, customers can use the following steps within the customer portal:

1. Sign in to the customer portal using your login credentials.
2. Select “Bookings” from the side menu to access a list of your bookings.
3. Choose the booking for which you would like to provide feedback.
4. The booking details page will appear, offering an option to “Add Feedback.”

This feature enables customers to evaluate the performance of fieldworkers and their employees or subcontractors, promoting transparency and improving overall service quality. The feedback submitted by customers can be invaluable for administrators when assessing employee performance, identifying areas for improvement, and recognizing exceptional work. Moreover, this feedback mechanism allows businesses to continuously refine their services, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

If an admin user decides to delete a fieldworker’s profile, it is essential to understand the impact this action will have on related subworkers. When a fieldworker’s profile is removed, all associated subworkers will also be deleted. A confirmation message outlining this information will appear before the deletion is finalized, allowing the admin user to reconsider the action.

If an admin user wishes to delete a specific subworker instead, they can do so by following these steps:

1. Navigate to the “Fieldworkers” section in the side menu.
2. Locate and hover over the name of the fieldworker to whom the subworker is associated.
3. Click on “View profile” to access the fieldworker’s profile.
4. Click on “Personal details” and scroll down to the “Subworkers” section.
5. Click the edit button next to the subworker’s name to open their profile.
6. Click on the “Actions” button and select “Delete Subworker.”
7. A validation message will appear, prompting you to confirm the deletion or cancel the action.

By understanding the implications of deleting a fieldworker’s profile, admin users can make informed decisions to maintain the integrity of their team structure and avoid unintended data loss.

Payment plans for subcontractors mirror those for fieldworkers, with charges being equivalent for both roles. Here’s a breakdown of how the charges apply:

1. For businesses with a subscription to the standard plan, the cost for each additional subcontractor is the same as that of a fieldworker. For instance, if your company employs three fieldworkers and three subcontracted employees, the total cost would be equivalent to that of six fieldworkers.
2. Subscribers of the unlimited or corporate plans benefit from a per-booking payment structure rather than a per-user one. This means that adding more users (fieldworkers and subcontracted employees) does not incur additional charges.

This payment system ensures fair and consistent pricing for all users, regardless of their role as a fieldworker or subcontracted employee. It allows businesses to better manage their workforce and expenses, scaling up as needed without worrying about unexpected costs. Ultimately, this flexibility contributes to improved operational efficiency and overall success.

The Inquiry Form Widget is a versatile contact form that can be embedded into any page of your website, allowing customers to easily submit inquiries directly to your OctopusPro account. Upon receiving an inquiry, the customer will get an automatic email confirmation, and you’ll be notified in your OctopusPro inquiries list. From there, you can efficiently manage leads, follow up on inquiries, and convert them into quotes or bookings.

To set up the Inquiry Form Widget, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Communication Settings and select the Inquiry Widget section under Inquiries.
2. Customize the form’s colors and text to match your website’s design and branding.
3. Copy the provided code snippet and paste it into the desired location on your website.

Once installed, you and your admin users will receive push notifications for each new inquiry submitted through the form.

You can tailor the inquiry form to your specific needs by displaying or hiding standard fields and setting them as mandatory or optional. Custom fields can also be added to the form through your services settings, and these fields will be visible in the embedded inquiry widget and customer portal.

The Inquiry Form Widget is fully customizable, allowing you to adjust the title, button text, button color, button text color, text color, and form title color to match your website’s theme and business branding. If you need further customization, you can add extra CSS to your website or opt for OctopusPro’s premium support.

Create a list of different inquiry sources (e.g., website, call, text, Facebook, referral) for admin users to categorize inquiries, which can help with marketing efforts. You can enable or disable the inquiry source field in your Inquiry Settings.

Although inquiries are only visible to admin and office users, you can pass customer inquiry details to fieldworkers by converting inquiries into bookings with a TO SCHEDULE or TO VISIT status. This way, fieldworkers can assess the work required and provide quotes, which can then be scheduled and assigned to the appropriate fieldworker. You’ll be notified of all changes made by fieldworkers, allowing you to follow up with customers and ensure seamless communication throughout the quoting and booking process.

Yes, you can embed an inquiry form on your website using the Inquiry Form Widget provided by OctopusPro. This feature allows customers to submit inquiries directly to your OctopusPro account, streamlining lead management and follow-up processes.

To embed an inquiry form on your website, follow these steps:

1. Go to your OctopusPro account and navigate to Communication Settings.
2. Select the Inquiry Widget section under Inquiries.
3. Customize the form’s appearance to match your website’s design and branding.
4. Copy the provided code snippet and paste it into the desired location on your website.

Once the inquiry form is embedded, you and your admin users will receive push notifications for each new inquiry submitted through the form. The form can be further tailored to your needs by displaying or hiding standard fields, setting fields as mandatory or optional, and adding custom fields through your services settings. These custom fields will be visible in the embedded inquiry widget and customer portal.

Yes, you can add extra fields to your inquiry form through the OctopusPro Inquiry Widget. To do so, you will need to create custom fields in your services settings, and then incorporate them into your inquiry form. These custom fields will be displayed not only in the embedded inquiry widget on your website but also in the customer portal.

By adding custom fields, you can gather more information specific to your industry or business, making the inquiry form more relevant and useful for both you and your customers.

Yes, you can easily customize the style of the inquiry form to suit your website theme and business branding. Within the Inquiry Widget settings in OctopusPro, you can edit the inquiry form title, button text, button color, button text color, text color, and form title color to ensure it seamlessly integrates with your website’s design.

For further customization, you can add extra CSS to your website after embedding the inquiry widget to adjust any additional elements of the form. If you’re unfamiliar with CSS, consider contacting your webmaster or opting for premium support with OctopusPro for assistance.

Yes, you can track the sources of inquiries received through your inquiry widget by creating a list of different sources (e.g., website, call, text, Facebook, referral, etc.) within OctopusPro. An inquiry source enables you to categorize inquiries based on their origin, which can help with your marketing efforts. You can enable or disable the inquiries source field from the Source tab in your Inquiry Settings. This allows you to monitor the effectiveness of various channels and better understand where your leads are coming from.

Although customer inquiries are exclusively visible to and assignable by admin or office users, there are a couple of approaches to relay inquiry details to fieldworkers.

Yes, customers can easily upload photos when submitting an inquiry through your website’s inquiry form. To enable this feature, simply activate the corresponding option in your inquiry widget settings. Once activated, a prompt will appear for customers to upload photos after they have submitted their inquiry. This feature allows customers to upload multiple photos simultaneously, providing more context and information for their inquiry.

Additionally, you can customize the text displayed to your customers in the photo upload prompt to better align with your branding and communication style. By allowing customers to attach photos, you can gain a better understanding of their needs, leading to more efficient responses and improved customer satisfaction.

When an inquiry is converted into a quote or a booking, it will no longer appear under the New Inquiries list, as it is no longer considered a new inquiry. However, you can still access the original inquiry by navigating to the All Inquiries link in the left menu.

Upon conversion, the inquiry will be assigned a quote or booking number, which can be used to view the associated quote or booking directly from the inquiry details page. This ensures that the original inquiry information is preserved and easily accessible for future reference, even after it has been converted to a quote or a booking.

To optimize your workflow with OctopusPro, follow these steps:

1. Embed the OctopusPro inquiry widget on your website, allowing inquiries to be directly integrated into your OctopusPro account.
2. Convert an inquiry into a site visit by changing its status to a booking with a TO VISIT status. This will schedule a visit for your fieldworker to assess the work needed.
3. After the site visit, convert the booking to a quote by changing the status to QUOTED or to a booking with a TO DO status, depending on the outcome of the assessment.
4. When the booking is completed, change the status to COMPLETED. This will automatically generate an invoice if the service is paid. If additional visits are required, update the booking status to IN PROGRESS and add the future visits to the booking.
5. If needed, manually generate the invoice before starting the booking by clicking the Generate Invoice link under the Actions button in the booking details page.

This streamlined process will help you efficiently manage your workflow from inquiries to bookings and invoicing using OctopusPro.

Before creating your first booking, ensure that you have:

1. Added your services
2. Added your fieldworkers
3. Enabled the customer portal

Follow these steps to create a new booking in OctopusPro:

For admins and fieldworkers:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. In the left-hand menu, click on the “Bookings” tab.
3. At the top right of the page, click on the green “New Booking” button.
4. Choose an existing customer or create a new one by filling in their name and contact information.
5. Add one or more services to the booking.
6. Schedule your booking, specifying the date and time. If needed, you can schedule multiple visits per service by clicking on “Schedule Next Visit.”
7. To proceed, assign the service to a fieldworker by selecting their name from the “Fieldworker” drop-down menu.
8. Complete any additional fields as necessary, such as payment details or special instructions.
9. Click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page to create the booking.

For customers using the customer portal:

1. Visit the company’s customer portal.
2. Browse the available services and select the one(s) you’d like to book.
3. Sign in or create an account if you don’t have one. Or continue as guest.
4. Choose a date and time for your booking or select a time range, such as morning or afternoon, depending on the company’s settings.
5. Provide any necessary details, such as your address and contact information.
6. Review your booking request and submit it.
7. The company will review your booking request and either approve it or suggest an alternative time.

If you encounter any difficulties or need further assistance, OctopusPro offers a comprehensive support center on their website, providing additional guidance and help.

When a quote is transformed into a booking, it is given a booking number and scheduled date, turning it into a booking. However, the original quote remains accessible. The booking maintains the same quote number, which you can view by clicking on the quote number displayed on the booking page. Additionally, you can review all your original quotes, including those converted into bookings and invoices, by selecting the “All Quotes” link in the left-hand menu.

Definitely, your administrative team has the ability to create quotes, bookings, and invoices directly through their accounts. They can allocate fieldworkers to specific bookings and keep track of the booking’s progress. This includes monitoring the fieldworker’s journey to the booking location, their arrival, the commencement of the booking, its completion, the receipt of payment, and the fieldworker’s departure from the job site. Additionally, your team can manage schedules, coordinate with fieldworkers, and handle any changes or updates as needed.

Yes, your customers can effortlessly book services directly through your website using the OctopusPro customer portal and widgets. By integrating these features, you provide a seamless booking experience for your customers while capturing leads and inquiries.

To enable these features, follow these steps:

1. Locate the customer portal link in your OctopusPro account settings. You’ll also find instructions for integrating the portal with your website there.
2. OctopusPro offers two embeddable widgets for your website: the booking widget and the inquiry widget. These can be integrated simultaneously to create a smooth customer experience.a. The booking widget: Utilize the customer portal as a booking widget, allowing customers to book services directly from your website. Customize the widget’s design and choose the services to offer. Once complete, copy the provided embed code and paste it onto your website where you want the booking widget to appear.b. The inquiry widget: Capture leads and inquiries by embedding the inquiry widget on your website. Customize the widget’s design and fields to suit your business requirements. Once complete, copy the provided embed code and paste it onto your website where you want the inquiry widget to appear.

For an example of a fully integrated customer portal, visit www.zenin.com.au and see how their customer portal (https://booking.zenin.com.au) is integrated. You can enable or disable features and hide pages or features as needed.

By integrating both widgets on your website, you provide a seamless experience for customers to book services and submit inquiries, making it easier for you to manage your bookings and inquiries in one place with OctopusPro.

Yes, you can easily create recurring bookings for customers by specifying the start and end dates and selecting the desired frequency, such as daily, weekly, monthly, every six months, and so on. To set up a recurring booking, follow these steps:

1. Create the initial booking for the customer.
2. Navigate to the original booking’s details page.
3. Click on the Actions button drop-down located in the top-right corner.
4. Select the “Repeat Booking” option.
5. Fill in the required fields, including the start and end dates, as well as the frequency of the recurring bookings.
6. Save your changes.

By following these steps, you will create a series of recurring bookings for the customer, adhering to the specified frequency and date range. This feature enables you to efficiently manage and schedule bookings for customers who require your services on a regular basis.

To establish a recurring booking, first create an initial booking. Then, from the “View Booking” page, click on “Actions” and select “Repeat Booking.” Your customers can also schedule repeat bookings directly through your customer portal when making a booking. You can configure this feature in your customer portal settings.

OctopusPro streamlines invoice creation and management, eliminating the need for manual invoice generation.

To enable automatic emailing of recurring invoices to your customers, activate the corresponding automated procedure under Settings > Communications > Automations. This ensures that your clients receive invoices for each instance of their recurring bookings, simplifying the billing process for both you and your customers.

To locate the original booking that initiated a series of recurring bookings, simply access the view page of any booking within the recurring group. On this page, you’ll find a designated section that displays a list of all the bookings associated with that particular recurring series. The initial booking that was used to create the recurring bookings will be the first one listed in this section. By referring to this list, you can easily identify and track the original booking, as well as any subsequent bookings generated as part of the recurring series.

When a recurring booking is established, fieldworkers are sent a single group notification encompassing all the bookings in the series. Upon clicking the notification, they will be directed to a list of the recurring bookings, where they have the option to accept or decline each booking individually. Alternatively, they can use the “Accept All” or “Decline All” buttons to manage all the recurring booking requests at once. This consolidated approach simplifies the notification process for your fieldworkers while still allowing them control over their schedule.

When a recurring booking group is created, the assignment of fieldworkers depends on your account settings and preferences. If the automatic assignment feature is enabled, fieldworkers receive a notification showing the entire list of bookings in the series. They can then choose to accept all bookings or select specific ones from the list.

If the automatic assignment feature is disabled, admin users have the flexibility to manage fieldworker assignments for the recurring booking group. They can either assign the same fieldworker to all bookings within the series or manually assign different bookings to different fieldworkers, depending on the business requirements and fieldworker availability. This approach allows for customized assignment strategies that cater to the unique needs of each booking series.

Yes, it is entirely possible to add multiple services and assign several fieldworkers to a single booking. This flexibility enables you to efficiently manage bookings that require various services or additional fieldworkers to complete the job.

When creating a booking, follow these steps to include multiple services and fieldworkers:

1. In the booking creation process, you can select multiple services from the available list. You can also adjust the quantity, duration, and any other service-specific details as needed.
2. To assign multiple fieldworkers to a booking, simply choose the desired fieldworkers from the list of available professionals. You can assign one or more fieldworkers to each service, depending on your requirements.

By offering this functionality, OctopusPro allows you to manage complex bookings with ease and ensures that you can effectively cater to your customers’ diverse needs.

Yes, administrators have the ability to manage bookings on behalf of fieldworkers within the OctopusPro platform. This includes accepting or declining bookings when a fieldworker is already assigned to the job. However, for job requests where the fieldworker has not yet been assigned, only the fieldworker can accept or decline those requests.

Fieldworkers can conveniently manage their own bookings using the OctopusPro app. To ensure they receive notifications about new job requests, you can enable SMS notifications in addition to the app’s push notifications. This feature is particularly helpful for fieldworkers who work sporadically for your company or have additional employment with other businesses.

By providing these options, OctopusPro enables a flexible and efficient booking management process that caters to the needs of both administrators and fieldworkers.

Yes, you have the flexibility to set different prices for the same service within a single booking. This can be helpful in accommodating any specific customer requests or adjusting prices according to particular circumstances.

To customize the pricing for a specific service within a booking, follow these steps:

1. When creating or editing a booking, add the desired service to the booking as you normally would.
2. Once the service has been added, click on the “Edit” button next to the service within the booking.
3. In the editing window, you can adjust the price of the service as needed. You can modify the base price, apply discounts, or add any additional fees that may be relevant.
4. Save your changes, and the updated pricing will be reflected in the booking.

By allowing you to modify the pricing of individual services within a booking, OctopusPro provides you with the flexibility to tailor your offerings to meet the unique needs of each customer and situation.

Yes, you can assign multiple fieldworkers to a single job by following these steps:

1. Add an additional appointment: To allocate multiple fieldworkers to the same service, click on the “Add appointment” button when creating a booking, then choose a different fieldworker for each new appointment.
2. Assign fieldworkers to different services: To assign distinct fieldworkers to various services within a booking, click the “Add Service” button and select a unique fieldworker for each service.
3. Fieldworker visibility: When multiple fieldworkers are assigned to a job, they will only see their designated services and appointments. This feature ensures that each fieldworker is aware of their specific responsibilities and deadlines.
4. Payment calculations: OctopusPro automatically calculates the fieldworkers’ payment amounts based on the services they perform. If multiple fieldworkers are assigned to one service, the total service amount is divided equally among them before calculating each worker’s payment based on their individual payment settings. You can also manually adjust each fieldworker’s payment amount from the invoice view page or the fieldworker booking reports when processing payments.

By following these steps, you can easily assign multiple fieldworkers to a single job, ensuring efficient management and distribution of tasks within your organization.

Yes, you can allocate multiple fieldworkers to a single service by following these steps:

1. Add an additional appointment: While creating a booking, click the “Add appointment” button in the service section, then choose a different fieldworker for each new appointment.
2. Fieldworker visibility: When multiple fieldworkers are assigned to the same service, they will only see their designated appointments. This feature ensures that each fieldworker is aware of their specific responsibilities and deadlines.
3. Payment calculations: OctopusPro automatically calculates the fieldworkers’ payment amounts based on the services they perform. If multiple fieldworkers are assigned to one service, the total service amount is divided equally among them before calculating each worker’s payment based on their individual payment settings. You can also manually adjust each fieldworker’s payment amount from the invoice view page or the fieldworker booking reports when processing payments.

By following these steps, you can effectively assign multiple fieldworkers to a single service, allowing for efficient task distribution and smooth operation within your organization.

Yes, you can schedule bookings without specifying an exact time by selecting the No Specified Time checkbox when creating a booking. You can then choose a general time range for the booking, such as Morning, Afternoon, or Evening. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to choose a date for the booking. You can enable an option for customers to select a general time range instead of an exact time when booking through your customer portal by adjusting the related settings.

To allow or disallow customers to select an exact start time for their bookings, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Customer Portal > Flags & Permissions.
2. Find the “Booking Flags” section and toggle the “Allow customers to select an exact start time for their bookings” option accordingly.

When enabled, customers can select an exact start time while scheduling an appointment through the customer portal. If your business cannot guarantee a specific start time and prefers to provide a time range, disable this option. Once disabled, another flag will appear, which you can enable to require customers to choose a part of the day when booking, such as dawn, morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon, evening, or night.

If this flag is disabled, customers can select “Anytime,” and their booking will be scheduled on the chosen date at any available time within office hours. This approach can simplify the booking process for both customers and admins, as customers can choose a preferred date, and admins can schedule bookings based on their availability and other factors.

Customers can view and edit the booking times on their customer portal after logging in. They can adjust the start times by clicking “Edit” on the booking details page and saving the changes.

Booking statuses help manage bookings throughout their life cycle, from initial quotes or onsite evaluations to completion and payment. OctopusPro provides a set of standard booking statuses that cover the most common stages in a booking’s life cycle. Each status can have its own color and descriptive text, which you can view by clicking on the status.

To tailor the booking statuses to your business needs, you can create custom booking statuses and modify existing ones. Both admin users and fieldworkers can update booking statuses; for instance, a fieldworker marking a job as “Completed” in the app will automatically update the status in all calendars.

To add custom booking statuses, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to General Settings > Booking Settings > Booking Statuses.
2. Click the “Add New Booking Status” button.
3. Fill in the required details, such as status name, color, and description.
4. Save your changes.

Your custom booking statuses will appear in the list of available statuses when editing a booking. If you need assistance automating custom booking statuses or implementing specific rules not currently available, please contact the OctopusPro support team for guidance.

To schedule a booking visit for today, follow these steps:

1. Create a new booking and set the current date as the ‘first visit’ date.
2. Once a fieldworker accepts the job, they will see the “I’m on my way” option at the top of the booking page.
3. The fieldworker selects “I’m on my way,” which sends a notification to the customer.
4. Upon arriving at the job site, the fieldworker chooses “I have arrived,” which changes to “Start job.”
5. After selecting “Start job,” the job completion time is displayed, and the fieldworker can add any relevant photos.
6. When the job is finished, the fieldworker clicks “FINISH JOB,” allowing them to update the booking status to “Completed,” “In progress,” or “Failed.”

There are three crucial steps to complete a job:

a. The fieldworker inputs the job completion time and the site contact name, then selects “Next” in the top-right corner.

b. Additional services or products used can be added by selecting “+Add New Service” or “+Add Product.”

c. After completing the job, the fieldworker can upload any relevant photos for office or customer reference.

Yes, the booking address can be different from the customer’s address. If a customer has a separate billing address, it can be stored in their profile and will appear on their invoices. Additionally, the billing address can be set as their default address, which can then be selected when creating a booking.

When creating a booking, you have the flexibility to choose a different address for the service to be provided. This is particularly useful when customers need services at multiple locations or when their billing address does not match the service location. By offering this feature, you can accommodate various customer needs and provide a more convenient booking experience.

In cases where your customer’s billing address differs from their booking address, you can store the billing address in their profile or through the customer info popup in the admin portal. The billing address will be displayed on their invoices alongside their booking address.

If your customers have multiple booking addresses that need to be stored in their profiles, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > General Settings > Customer Properties.
2. Create a Customer Property specifically for storing additional addresses.
3. Store all relevant customer addresses in their profiles, making them available for selection when booking a job.

When booking a job, the booking address will auto-populate based on the customer’s billing address. This ensures that both the billing and booking addresses are accurately recorded and displayed on invoices, streamlining your company’s invoicing process.

Yes, OctopusPro allows for bookings with multiple addresses by enabling you to add up to 26 addresses per booking and assign custom labels to each one, such as “Pickup Address,” “Delivery Address,” or “Key Return Address.” This functionality is available to both admin users and fieldworkers, who can input an address or enter the longitude and latitude coordinates for a booking. However, virtual/online bookings do not require address information.

Customers placing booking requests through the customer portal can input a street address or select their location on a map, which detects and saves the longitude and latitude. If your services necessitate multiple addresses, like pickup, destination, or drop-off points, customers can provide these details during the booking process, as long as this feature is enabled in your customer portal settings. This multi-address functionality is especially useful for businesses such as shuttle services, delivery companies, removalists, and skip bin services.

Yes, both your admin users and fieldworkers have the flexibility to input a booking location using GPS coordinates (longitude and latitude) instead of a traditional street address. To do this, you can enter the coordinates directly or copy the address URL from Google Maps and insert it into the URL field in the address popup within OctopusPro. The only exception is for virtual/online bookings, where no physical addresses are required.

When customers make booking requests through your customer portal, they also have the option to provide a street address or pinpoint their location on an integrated map. The system will then automatically detect and store the corresponding GPS coordinates for that location. This feature offers added convenience for customers and ensures that precise location information is available for service providers.

Yes, OctopusPro allows customers to sign and approve quotes, bookings, and invoices electronically. The default email templates include a signature button/link for customers to use. When clicked, a signature page loads in the customer’s browser, enabling them to sign using their phone, tablet, or computer. If you prefer not to allow customers to sign documents, you can remove the button link from the templates.

If the signature button isn’t in your email template, you can copy it from the default template or use the {customer_signature_button} placeholder. You can also customize the button’s style to match your design requirements by adjusting the style parameters with the {customer_signature_link} placeholder, incorporating your custom HTML and CSS as needed. For example: <a style=”color: white; background-color: limegreen; text-align: center; padding: 5px 14px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 5px;” href=”{customer_signature_link}”>Click here to sign and approve this quote</a>

Fieldworkers can also obtain customer signatures through the app for quotes, bookings, or invoices while onsite. This feature can be used to approve the quoted amount or work scope before starting a job or to confirm the completion and satisfaction with the work done.

Although OctopusPro allows you to import your customer lists, including custom fields and customer properties such as dependents or assets, it does not currently support importing previous bookings and invoices from other software platforms.

However, you can still add your historical bookings and invoices manually within OctopusPro. This process ensures that all your records are up-to-date and accessible in one place. To do this:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Click on the “Bookings” tab in the left-hand menu.
3. Click on the green “New Booking” button located at the top right of the page.
4. Fill in the required details for each historical booking, including customer information, booking date and time, service details, and any applicable invoice information.
5. Save each booking individually.

By manually adding your historical bookings and invoices, you can centralize all your business records within OctopusPro for easier access and management.

Currently, OctopusPro requires a booking reference to register a customer complaint. To add a complaint to an existing booking, follow these steps:

1. Locate the booking in question by navigating to the “Bookings” tab in the left-hand menu.
2. Click on the relevant booking to open its details.
3. In the “Actions” drop-down menu, select “Add Complaint.”
4. Fill in the required fields, providing as much information as possible about the issue.
5. Click “Save” to register the complaint.

Although complaints must be tied to a booking, you can always create a general inquiry or support ticket for issues unrelated to a specific booking. This can be done by navigating to the “Support” section of your OctopusPro account and submitting a new ticket with the relevant information.

To alter the starting number for your bookings, quotes, invoices, and inquiries, navigate to General Settings > Booking Settings > Starting Number. After setting the starting number, the system will automatically increment your booking numbers beginning with the specified value. For example, if you set the starting number to 1000, the subsequent booking numbers will be 1001, 1002, and so on.

While it’s not possible to manually edit the number of a booking or quote once it’s created (to avoid duplication), you can modify the invoice number after its creation. Click the Action button on the invoice page and select the Edit Invoice Number link. If you need to include an external booking number, you can create a custom field using the Forms and Checklists feature under your General Settings.

Please note that the current FAQ does not provide instructions for changing the booking number format (e.g., BOK-1 to a different prefix). This functionality may not be available in OctopusPro. If this is a feature you’d like to see implemented, consider reaching out to their support team for assistance or to suggest it as a future enhancement.

Yes, fieldworkers can update their bookings using the start and finish times derived from their check-in and check-out times. When they check in and out of jobs, these times can be used to calculate the job duration and update the booking accordingly. To enable this functionality, follow these steps:

1. Activate automatic check-in and check-out in your OctopusPro settings. This feature will automatically check fieldworkers in when they arrive on-site and check them out when they leave the job site.
2. Once the automatic check-in and check-out feature is activated, fieldworkers will have their start and finish times recorded in the system.
3. When fieldworkers update their bookings, the system will use the recorded start and finish times to calculate the job duration and automatically populate it in the booking form.

This streamlined process ensures that booking durations are accurately updated, reducing manual input errors and improving overall efficiency.

While admin users are not constrained by fieldworker working hours or availability when scheduling bookings, they are made aware of their fieldworkers’ availability through visual cues on the calendar. The calendar displays available and unavailable time slots in different colors, allowing admin users to easily distinguish between the two. Furthermore, all events, bookings, and blocked times are visible on the calendar, providing a comprehensive view of each fieldworker’s schedule.

Real-time availability restrictions apply only to customers making bookings through the customer portal. However, if you prefer not to limit customers by your team’s real-time availability, you can disable this feature in your customer portal settings.

Admin users can schedule bookings for any fieldworker at any time, even if the fieldworker already has a booking or is unavailable during that period, provided the fieldworker’s profile includes the relevant service and location. If you want your customers to have the same flexibility to book without considering availability, you can disable the real-time availability option in your customer portal settings.

Yes, OctopusPro allows you to establish location-based pricing for your services using zones. You can create different zones for specific areas and set individual pricing and rates for each zone, applied when booking through the admin portal or customer portal.

For instance, if your service costs $30 per hour in New York but $28 in Missouri, you can set up a zone for New York and another for Missouri, and assign the respective prices to each zone when quoting your customer. You can also apply these zones when determining different rates for your fieldworkers.

To implement distance-based pricing, you can create custom fields to display location options (e.g., northern suburbs, eastern suburbs, southern suburbs) and charge additional fees depending on the location.

Follow these steps to set up location-based pricing using zones:

1. Navigate to Settings > Zones.
2. Click on the “Add New Zone” button.
3. Define the zone’s name and specify the geographic area by either uploading a KML file or drawing the area on the provided map.
4. Save the new zone.
5. Go to your Services settings and select the desired service.
6. Under the “Pricing” tab, add the price for each zone you’ve created.
7. Save your changes.

Now, when a booking is made, the system will automatically apply the appropriate pricing based on the job location or distance.

In OctopusPro, booking numbers play a crucial role in organizing and managing quotes, ensuring consistency and streamlined tracking. There are several methods for creating quotes in OctopusPro:

1. Directly create a quote by pressing the “New Quote” button.
2. Convert an inquiry into a quote.
3. Convert a booking into a quote, either because: a. It was booked for an onsite quotation, which initially required creating a booking with a “To Visit” status. After visiting and quoting onsite, the booking status changed to “Quoted.” b. A “To Do” booking failed, and the customer requested a quote for potential future rebooking.

No matter how a quote is created, a booking number is automatically assigned and displayed next to the quote number in OctopusPro. Clicking on the booking number directs you to a booking with a “Quoted” status. This booking is unscheduled, has no set date, and is not factored into booking statistics or reports.

At any time, you can convert a “Quoted” booking into a scheduled booking by changing the status to “To Do,” “To Visit,” “Tentative,” or a custom booking status, and scheduling at least one date for it. This flexibility allows for a seamless transition between quoting and booking phases, enhancing overall efficiency and customer experience.

The Customer Portal is a dedicated online space for your clients to access their account information, book appointments, view and pay invoices, and manage their bookings with your business. The portal helps streamline communication and provides a convenient way for customers to interact with your services.

To set up the Customer Portal, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Navigate to Settings > Customer Portal.
3. Configure the portal settings according to your preferences, such as enabling or disabling specific features, customizing the portal appearance, and setting up branding elements like your logo and color scheme.
4. Configure the booking and payment options available to your customers. This includes specifying the services offered, setting up pricing, and integrating your preferred payment gateway.
5. If you’d like to customize the email notifications sent to your customers, navigate to Settings > Email Notifications and modify the templates as needed.
6. Once you’ve completed the configuration, save your changes.
7. Provide your customers with the unique URL for your Customer Portal, which they can use to access their accounts and interact with your services.

By implementing the Customer Portal, you can enhance your clients’ experience, making it easier for them to engage with your business and manage their bookings.

If you provide regular services for specific clients and prefer to send them a single, consolidated invoice for a certain period (e.g., weekly or monthly), you can combine various invoices from their bookings into one invoice. This makes the billing process more efficient and presents clients with a comprehensive invoice.

To consolidate invoices, follow these steps:

1. Use the advanced invoice search: Filter invoices by customer, then select the ones you want to combine from the list. Alternatively, visit the customer’s profile page, navigate to the Invoices tab, and select the invoices you wish to merge.
2. Merge the invoices: Click the “Merge Invoices” link that appears in the checkbox at the top of the invoice list.
3. Examine the new merged invoice: The consolidated invoice will have a unique number and display the date for each line item based on the scheduled visit date for the service or the date the product was added. The booking number for each listed item will also be visible, linking to the original booking.
4. Revert merged invoices: If you need to revert the merging of a combined invoice, click the “Revert Merging Invoices” button in the Actions section of the view invoice page. This action splits the invoice back into the original, separate invoices.
5. Merge additional invoices: If you need to merge more invoices with an already merged one, follow the same procedure as for regular invoices, keeping in mind the rules and limitations.

Please be aware of the following limitations and restrictions related to invoice merging:

• Merged invoices are only visible to admin users, not fieldworkers.
• You can only merge invoices belonging to the same customer.
• The customer cannot be changed for any booking included in a merged invoice.
• Invoices with added payments or synced to accounting software like Quickbooks or Xero cannot be merged or reverted to individual invoices. Payments and syncs must be removed first.
• Edits to the breakdown of a merged invoice must be made through the individual bookings.

By following these steps and adhering to the limitations, you can effectively consolidate invoices from multiple jobs into a single invoice, optimizing your billing process and improving the client experience.

If you need to undo the merging of a consolidated invoice for any reason, you can revert it back to the original individual invoices using the following steps:

1. Access the merged invoice: Navigate to the view invoice page of the consolidated invoice.
2. Revert the merging: Click the “Revert Merging Invoices” button in the Actions section. This action will delete the merged invoice and restore the original separate invoices.

Please be aware of the following limitations and restrictions related to unmerging a consolidated invoice:

• Invoices with added payments cannot be unmerged. If an invoice has a payment added and you need to revert it, you must first remove the payment. You can add the payment again to one of the original invoices after the invoice has been unmerged.
• Invoices synced to accounting software (e.g., Quickbooks or Xero) cannot be unmerged. To revert merging for synced invoices, you must first unsync the invoices and delete them from your accounting software, then try again.

By adhering to these limitations, you can effectively unmerge a consolidated invoice, restoring the original individual invoices as needed.

In most cases, invoices are automatically generated for your bookings under various circumstances, such as:

• The booking status changes to Completed.
• The booking status changes to Failed, and a call-out fee is added.
• The booking status changes to Cancelled, and a cancellation fee is added.
• Your customer books online through your customer portal and makes an online payment.

Despite this automation, there may be situations where you need to manually generate an invoice for a booking, like a future booking with the status “TO DO” for which you want to charge the customer a deposit or any amount in advance. To manually create an invoice, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the booking view page.
2. Click the “Actions” button.
3. Select “Generate Invoice” from the dropdown menu. This action will generate an invoice for the booking, which can then be emailed to the client and used to process payments.
4. The generated invoice number will be displayed on the booking page and under the “Payment” button.

If you need to create an invoice for a booking that hasn’t been added to the system yet, click the “Create New” button under the “Invoices” tab in the left menu. This option allows you to create an invoice from scratch, independent of any existing booking in the system.

Yes, when a job is marked as complete and an invoice hasn’t been generated yet, an invoice will be automatically created. You or your fieldworkers, if given permission, can promptly send the invoice to the customer via email or SMS from the booking or invoice view pages or through the app.

To further streamline the process, you can activate an automated procedure that sends invoice reminders to clients with outstanding invoices. When activated, customers will receive their open invoice through email or SMS the next time the automated procedure runs. To enable this feature, navigate to Settings > Communications > Automations and activate the invoice reminder automation. This helps ensure timely invoicing and improves the overall customer experience.

Yes, OctopusPro seamlessly integrates with Square, both internally and externally, providing a smooth payment experience. To use a card reader through the OctopusPro app, follow these guidelines:

1. Ensure your account is integrated with Square, and the Square app is installed on your device.
2. Configure your integration with Square within your Financial Settings in OctopusPro.
3. When processing a payment via the OctopusPro app, you have the option to use an in-app form or click on a link that opens the Square app.
4. With the Square app, you can process the payment using your card reader.
5. Once the payment is completed, you will be redirected to the OctopusPro app, where the payment will be recorded and the invoice automatically closed if fully paid.

Please note that the card reader functionality is only available when logged in as a fieldworker. Administrative users can still process payments using the standard credit card form through Square.

This integration allows for convenient and secure payment processing for both your customers and employees. By offering flexible payment options, you can enhance customer satisfaction and streamline your company’s financial management.

While it is not required to have the Square app installed on your device for charging clients, it is an available option. With OctopusPro’s integration, you can process payments in two ways:

1. Internal Integration: You can process payments directly through the OctopusPro app using your integrated Square account, without the need for the Square app.
2. External Integration: You can process payments through the Square app using the integration. In this case, OctopusPro opens the Square app when processing a payment.

It is worth noting that using the external integration with the Square app may result in lower payment processing fees in certain cases, as Square charges varying rates depending on the payment method.

The flexibility to choose between internal and external integrations allows you to select the most convenient and cost-effective payment processing method for your business. This adaptability contributes to improved customer satisfaction and streamlined financial management.

Fieldworkers can process payments directly through the OctopusPro app, which integrates with Square behind the scenes. As such, it is not mandatory for fieldworkers to have the Square app installed on their devices or to be provided with Square login details. The OctopusPro app alone can handle payment processing, offering the following options:

1. Internal Integration: Fieldworkers can charge customers directly using the OctopusPro app, which integrates with Square in the background.
2. External Integration: If fieldworkers prefer to use the Square app for payment processing, they can choose this option within OctopusPro. The app will then open the Square app with the invoice details, ready to process the payment.

The flexibility to choose between internal and external integrations ensures a convenient and efficient payment processing experience for both fieldworkers and customers. This adaptability allows for streamlined financial management and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Yes, OctopusPro currently offers integration with Square card readers, and plans to extend support to additional card readers in the near future. Additionally, OctopusPro seamlessly integrates with a variety of payment gateways, enabling credit card processing through standard credit card forms without the need for a card reader. This flexibility ensures that your business can efficiently process payments in the most convenient manner for your customers.

Yes, you can request a deposit when customers book services through your customer portal. To set up deposit collection, follow these steps:

1. Configure deposit settings: From your payment settings, define the deposit amount for bookings either as a fixed amount or a percentage of the total booking cost.

When a deposit is paid, your customer’s credit card information will be securely stored with your integrated payment gateway. This allows you to charge the remaining balance through the following methods:

1. OctopusPro invoice page: Access the customer’s invoice page in OctopusPro to process the outstanding amount.
2. Payment gateway: Charge the remaining balance directly through your payment gateway.

By collecting deposits upfront, you can secure bookings, minimize cancellations, and improve cash flow for your business. This practice also streamlines the payment process and enhances customer satisfaction by reducing confusion about payment expectations.

Yes, you can collect and securely store your customer’s credit card details at the time of booking for later payment processing. Here’s how to do it:

1. For admin or fieldworker bookings: Navigate to the “Pay Invoice” page, enter the customer’s card details, and select the “Save Card Details” checkbox.
2. For customer portal bookings: To allow customers to enter their credit card details for validation and storage during booking, choose the “No Payment (collect card details)” option under your payment terms.

The customer’s credit card information will be securely stored with your integrated payment gateway. You can then charge your clients the agreed-upon amounts through their invoice page in OctopusPro or directly through your payment gateway.

This feature ensures a seamless payment experience for customers and simplifies payment processing for your business. By collecting credit card details in advance, you can minimize payment delays, improve cash flow, and maintain customer satisfaction.

OctopusPro prioritizes customer data security by integrating with your preferred payment gateway and facilitating payments through its app and web platform. Here’s how OctopusPro handles credit card information securely:

1. Secure storage with payment gateway: OctopusPro does not store customer credit card details directly. Instead, card information is stored securely with your integrated payment gateway.
2. Payment tokens: OctopusPro stores a payment token that grants access to the stored card information. This enables the platform to charge the card when needed without retaining any card details.

By using payment tokens and storing sensitive data with a trusted payment gateway, OctopusPro ensures the safety and security of your customers’ credit card information. This approach not only protects customer data but also helps maintain your business’s reputation for reliable and secure payment processing.

To refund a customer who has made a payment via bank transfer or check/cheque, follow these steps:

1. Process refund through bank account: Since the payment was made directly to your bank account, you’ll need to process the refund through the same account. Contact your bank to initiate the refund process.
2. Update the invoice in OctopusPro: After processing the refund through your bank, manually add the refund details to the associated invoice in your OctopusPro account. This step ensures that the invoice payment amount and payment reports accurately reflect the refund.

For payments processed through OctopusPro using one of your integrated payment gateways, you can refund directly within the platform. To do this, navigate to the booking or invoice page, locate the payment, and click on the refund link or icon to initiate the refund process.

By carefully managing refunds, you can maintain accurate financial records and ensure a smooth experience for your customers.

OctopusPro does not impose any additional transaction fees for customer payments. We facilitate the integration with your chosen payment gateway but do not add any extra fees or commissions. OctopusPro supports integration with leading payment gateways, such as PayPal, Checkout.com, Square, Stripe, WePay, Authorize.net, and Eway.

Please note that the transaction fees charged by your chosen payment gateway will still apply, and these fees may vary depending on the gateway, your region, and the type of transaction. It’s essential to review the fee structure of your selected payment gateway to understand the exact costs associated with processing customer payments.

OctopusPro seamlessly integrates with a variety of leading payment gateways to facilitate secure and efficient transactions. These integrations include:

1. PayPal
2. Checkout.com
3. Square
4. Stripe
5. WePay
6. Authorize.net
7. Eway
8. Tap
9. And other prominent payment gateways

By offering compatibility with multiple payment gateways, OctopusPro enables businesses to provide their customers with a wide range of secure and convenient payment options. This flexibility allows companies to cater to diverse customer preferences and expand their customer base while ensuring a smooth, hassle-free payment experience.

To manage your fieldworkers’ earnings and calculate their portion for each job, you can set up various payment structures based on preset pay rates. You can choose from:

1. Flat set fee.
2. Percentage of the service total amount.
3. Hourly rate.

Setting a default pay rate for each service: In your services settings, establish a default rate per service, which will be applied when no specific pay rate is set in the fieldworker’s profile. For fieldworkers with different pay rates, you can also configure individual rates in their profiles, which will be factored into their earnings calculations.

Setting different default pay rates for various fieldworkers: You can set a default pay rate for a fieldworker in the Payment Agreement box under the Personal Details tab in their profile. This rate will be used when the service pay rate isn’t set at the service, company, or fieldworker levels. You can also assign different rates for each service within a fieldworker’s profile by selecting Services, clicking Service Commission below the desired service, and inputting the commission rate (%) or a flat fee.

Adjusting default payment amounts for individual bookings: You can overwrite the default rate calculated for fieldworkers on a booking-by-booking basis by clicking the Set Fieldworker Share link under the Payment button in your bookings and invoices. Additionally, you can modify these amounts when paying fieldworkers through the Fieldworker Booking Summary Report. Click on the calculated fieldworker payment amount and manually adjust it for each booking listed in the report.

Yes, OctopusPro enables you to securely store customer credit card details using your integrated payment gateway, allowing for easy access when processing future invoices. Credit card details are not stored directly in OctopusPro, ensuring data security. Here’s how you can save your customer’s credit card information:

1. Admin user or fieldworker: Save customer credit card details via their profile page in the admin portal, or on the payment page by checking the “save card details” checkbox.
2. Customer portal: Enable the setting under Settings > Financial Settings > Payment Terms to prompt customers to enter their card details when placing a booking. Customers can also save their card details through their profile page in your customer portal or branded app during profile creation.

By securely storing customer credit card information, you can streamline the payment process for both your business and your customers.

Yes, OctopusPro enables you to apply distinct tax rates to individual services within a single invoice. You can assign a default tax rate for each service in your service settings, and you can also modify the default tax rate for your services when generating quotes and invoices. This flexibility allows you to accurately account for different tax requirements across your range of services, ensuring compliance and accurate financial reporting.

In OctopusPro, only admin users have the ability to configure and manage the company’s tax rates. This includes setting tax rates during the initial account setup process and adding or modifying tax rates later through the settings. Fieldworkers, on the other hand, do not have the permissions to create or manage tax rates for the company. However, they can make adjustments to the applied tax rates on specific invoices or quotes that are assigned to them, as needed.

This clear separation of responsibilities ensures that company-wide tax settings are managed by authorized personnel, while fieldworkers can focus on providing services and making necessary adjustments to individual transactions. This structure promotes efficiency, consistency, and compliance with applicable tax regulations within the organization.

To set up the tax rate while creating your company’s account, follow these steps:

1. Sign up on the web by entering your details and email address.
2. Fill out the required fields on the page asking for your company information, and click “Create Account.”
3. A validation page will appear, prompting you to validate your account.
4. After validation, the “Company Information” page will display, where you can enter further details about your company.
5. The “Payment Integration” page will be displayed, showing information about the currency and payment methods used. Click “Next.”
6. The “Tax & Fees” page will appear, allowing you to set the default tax rate from the available options or create a new tax rate as needed.

By following these steps, you can easily set up the tax rate for your company’s account, ensuring accurate financial records and compliance with local tax regulations.

No, when you establish a new default tax rate or modify the existing one for your company, it will only impact the payments generated from that point forward. Previous invoices and quotes will remain unchanged, maintaining their original tax percentages or the absence of any taxes, if applicable.

This ensures that your historical records stay accurate and consistent, while newly created invoices and quotes will reflect the updated tax rate. If you need to update any past invoices or quotes, you’ll have to manually edit them to apply the new tax rate.

When managing your financial settings in OctopusPro, it’s essential to understand the differences between “Tax Exclusive” and “Tax Inclusive” pricing methods. To access these options, navigate to Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees. At the top of the page, you will find a drop-down menu titled “Amounts are,” which offers the following choices:

1. Tax Exclusive: With this method, taxes are calculated and added separately to the final transaction amount. For instance, if a booking charges your customer $100.00 for a service, and the applicable tax rate is 10%, an additional $10 will be added at the point of purchase. In this case, the total invoice amount payable by the customer will be $110.
2. Tax Inclusive: In this approach, the unit price of a service already includes the applicable taxes. Consequently, no additional tax charges are levied at the point of purchase. For example, if an invoice charges your customer for two booked services at $50 and $100 each, the total amount payable by the customer will be $150. Since the tax is already factored into the individual service prices, there are no extra tax charges.

Based on your business requirements and local tax regulations, you can choose between “Tax Inclusive” or “Tax Exclusive” pricing. If you prefer to have taxes automatically included in your service prices, opt for “Tax Inclusive.” Conversely, if you want taxes to be calculated and added separately to invoices, choose “Tax Exclusive.”

The choice between tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive settings will affect the presentation and calculation of your quotes and invoices. Each option leads to a different format, depending on your preference.

For tax-exclusive settings, the invoice or quote displays the following:

1. Subtotal: Represents the cost of provided services without tax.
2. Total Tax: Displays the tax percentage and the corresponding tax amount calculated from the subtotal.
3. Total: Represents the final amount the customer must pay, which is the sum of the subtotal and the total tax.

For tax-inclusive settings, the invoice or quote presents the following:

1. Subtotal: Represents the cost of provided services with tax already included.
2. Tax Included: Displays the tax percentage and the corresponding tax amount already incorporated into the subtotal.
3. Total: Matches the subtotal value, as taxes are already factored in and no additional charges apply.

To set multiple tax rates for company-wide selection, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees.
2. Click “Add new” to open the “New tax rate” popup.
3. Enter the tax label (e.g., VAT, sales) and the tax percentage.
4. Click “Save” to successfully add the tax.

The newly added taxes will appear in the “Tax rates” list, displaying the tax label and percentage. You can choose the default tax by clicking the toggle button next to the desired tax.

You can easily set up custom tax rates for individual services that will override the default company tax rate. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account and go to Settings > Service Settings > Services.
2. On the “All Services” page, locate the service you want to assign a custom tax rate to, click the actions button next to it, and select “Edit”.
3. In the service details page, click on the “Cost & Payrate” tab and scroll down to the “Tax rate” field.
4. The drop-down menu in the “Tax rate” field contains all the existing tax rates for your company, as well as an option to “+ Add new tax rate”.

To use an existing tax rate for the service, simply select it from the drop-down menu. If you need to create a new tax rate for this service:

5. Click on “+ Add new tax rate”, and a pop-up window will appear.
6. Enter the name of the tax and the percentage value for the tax rate, then click “Save”.

Please note that any new tax rate you add for a specific service will also be added to the general tax rates list, which can be found under Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees. This way, you can easily manage and apply custom tax rates to services as needed, ensuring accurate invoicing and tax calculations.

To set tax rates for products used by fieldworkers during service provision, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > Services Settings > Products.
2. You’ll see the “All Products” page displaying your available products. To create a new product, click “New Product.”
3. To edit an existing product and set its tax rate, click the “Edit” button next to the product.
4. On the product page, locate the “Tax rate” field. Here, you can either select an existing tax rate or create a new one by clicking “+Add new tax rate.”
5. A pop-up will appear, prompting you to enter the tax rate name and value. Save this information to apply the new tax rate to the product.

Keep in mind that any new tax rate added to a product will also appear in the general tax rates list found under Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees. This ensures consistency across your tax settings and enables you to apply these rates as needed for different products and services.

To adjust the tax rate for an individual booking or quote, follow the steps below:

For bookings:

1. Go to Bookings > All Bookings.
2. Locate the booking you wish to edit and click the “Actions” button next to it. Select “Edit booking.”
3. On the “Edit Booking” page, scroll down to the “Service Pricing” section. Here, you’ll find the “Tax Rate%” field displaying the current tax rate for this booking.
4. Click the drop-down arrow to view available tax rates or select “+ Add new tax rate” to create a new one. If adding a new rate, a pop-up will appear, prompting you to enter the tax rate name and value. Save this information to apply the new tax rate to the booking.

For quotes:

1. Go to Quotes > All Quotes.
2. Locate the quote you wish to edit and click the “Actions” button next to it. Select “Edit quote.”
3. On the “Edit Quote” page, scroll down to the “Service Pricing” section. Here, you’ll find the “Tax Rate%” field displaying the current tax rate for this quote.
4. Click the drop-down arrow to view available tax rates or select “+ Add new tax rate” to create a new one. If adding a new rate, a pop-up will appear, prompting you to enter the tax rate name and value. Save this information to apply the new tax rate to the quote.

These changes will only apply to the specific booking or quote being edited and will not affect the default tax rates for your services or products.

The tax rate is displayed within the PDF quote or invoice, making it easy for you and your customers to review the tax information. To find the tax rate on a PDF invoice or quote, follow these steps:

For Invoices:

1. Navigate to Invoices > All Invoices in your OctopusPro account.
2. Locate the invoice you want to view and click on the Actions button next to it.
3. Select “Preview Invoice” from the drop-down menu.
4. A “Preview Invoice” window will appear, displaying the invoice details. The tax rate and its value can be found in the “Description” section of the invoice.

For Quotes:

1. Navigate to Quotes > All Quotes in your OctopusPro account.
2. Locate the quote you want to view and click on the Actions button next to it.
3. Select “Preview PDF” from the drop-down menu.
4. A “Preview Quote” window will appear, displaying the quote details. The tax rate and its value can be found in the “Description” section of the quote.

By following these steps, you can easily find the tax rate information on both invoices and quotes in your OctopusPro account, ensuring transparency and accuracy in your billing processes.

When different services with varying tax rates are combined in a single booking or quote, the invoice will consider the tax rates for each service separately and add them to the total amount.

Scenario 1: Multiple services with different tax rates

For example, if a customer books two services – Service A with a 10% tax rate and a $50 price, and Service B with a 6% tax rate and a $50 price – the sub-total (excluding taxes) will be $100. The taxes will be displayed separately on the invoice: $5 for Service A and $3 for Service B. The total amount, including taxes, will be $108.

If your company’s tax setting is “Inclusive,” the tax details will still appear, but they will be included in the sub-total. In this case, the total amount and sub-total will be the same, as the tax is already factored into the prices.

Scenario 2: Products with taxes and services with different tax rates

When an invoice includes a product with its own tax rate along with a service that has a different tax rate, the service tax will override the product tax. If the service doesn’t have a specific tax rate, the company’s tax rate will be applied.

For instance, if a service has a 10% tax rate and a product has a 13% tax rate, the invoice will use the service’s 10% tax rate instead of the product’s 13% tax rate. You can configure product tax rates by navigating to Settings > Services Settings > Products.

In conclusion, OctopusPro calculates invoices by taking into account the tax rates of each service and product separately, making it easier for you to provide accurate billing information to your customers.

Fieldworkers can easily edit tax rates for assigned quotes, bookings, and invoices via the OctopusPro app. Follow these steps to change the tax rate for each item:

For Quotes:

1. In the fieldworker’s app view, tap on “Quotes” in the side menu.
2. Select the quote you want to edit from the list of assigned quotes.
3. In the “Service” section of the quote’s page, tap on “Edit.”
4. Tap on the down arrow next to “Total Tax” to display the list of available taxes.
5. Choose the desired tax rate and tap “Calculate” to save your changes.

For Bookings:

1. In the fieldworker’s app view, tap on “Bookings,” then “All.”
2. Select the booking you want to edit from the list.
3. In the “Billing” section of the booking’s page, tap on “Edit.”
4. Tap on the down arrow next to “Total Tax” to display the list of available taxes.
5. Choose the desired tax rate and tap “Calculate” to save your changes.

For Invoices:

1. In the fieldworker’s app view, tap on “Invoices,” then “All Invoices.”
2. Select the invoice you want to edit from the list.
3. In the “Service” section of the invoice’s page, tap on “Edit.”
4. Tap on the down arrow next to “Total Tax” to display the list of available taxes.
5. Choose the desired tax rate and tap “Calculate” to save your changes.

Please note that only accepted bookings can be edited in terms of payments and tax rates by fieldworkers. By following these steps, fieldworkers can efficiently adjust tax rates for assigned quotes, bookings, and invoices directly within the OctopusPro app.

VAT/GST registration refers to the process of enrolling fieldworkers with the government as active participants in production and sales, making them responsible for collecting and remitting the applicable tax. To indicate that your fieldworkers are registered for VAT/GST in OctopusPro and ensure accurate fieldworker share calculations, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to “Fieldworkers” or your trading name from the side menu.
2. Locate the fieldworker you wish to update and hover over their name. Select “View Profile.”
3. Click on “Personal Details” and then expand the “Business Information” section.
4. Find the “VAT” and “VAT Date Registered” details for the fieldworker. To edit them, click on the edit button next to “Business Information.”
5. A “Modify Info” pop-up will appear. Toggle the “Registered for VAT” button to “Yes” if the fieldworker is already registered, and “No” if they are not registered.
6. Use the last field to select the date of VAT registration, if applicable.

The fieldworker’s VAT/GST registration status affects their share calculation for jobs. If a fieldworker is registered for VAT/GST, their share will be calculated based on the gross amount (inclusive of VAT/GST) of the service provided. If a fieldworker is not registered for VAT/GST, their share will be calculated based on the net amount (exclusive of VAT/GST) of the service provided. This ensures that the appropriate tax amounts are accounted for in the fieldworker’s income calculations.

By following these steps, you can efficiently manage your fieldworkers’ VAT/GST registration status and ensure that your records are accurate, and fieldworker share calculations are correct.

The VAT/GST registration status of fieldworkers in OctopusPro has a direct impact on their payments. This distinction ensures accurate calculations, accounting for the tax implications associated with their work.

1. Registered Fieldworkers for VAT/GST: Fieldworkers who are registered for VAT/GST are responsible for collecting and remitting the applicable tax on their services. As a result, their payments include the VAT/GST amount. In other words, the fieldworker’s share is calculated based on the gross amount (inclusive of VAT/GST) of the service provided. This enables the fieldworker to cover the tax amount they need to remit to the government.
2. Non-Registered Fieldworkers for VAT/GST: Fieldworkers who are not registered for VAT/GST are not responsible for collecting and remitting the tax on their services. Consequently, their payments do not include the VAT/GST amount. Their share is calculated based on the net amount (exclusive of VAT/GST) of the service provided.

In summary, the VAT/GST registration status of fieldworkers in OctopusPro significantly impacts their payments, as it determines the share calculation method (gross or net amount) and ensures the appropriate tax amounts are accounted for. By managing your fieldworkers’ VAT/GST registration status accurately, you can maintain proper records and ensure the correct payments are made to your team.

Customers can easily access and review tax rates for their bookings within the OctopusPro customer portal. There are two primary ways for customers to view tax information:

1. Booking Preview: Customers can view tax rates and payment breakdowns when previewing a booking from their customer portal. To access this information, click on the top right menu and select “Bookings.” Choose the desired booking from the list of upcoming or past bookings, and the booking details page will display the subtotal, total tax, and total amount under the “Services” section.
2. Service Booking Process: During the service booking process, customers will see the payment breakdown, including taxes, at the final step before confirming the booking. By offering these options, OctopusPro ensures that customers have a transparent and convenient way to view tax rates and payment breakdowns for their bookings.

The tax calculation and its addition to the total price in your OctopusPro account might be incorrect if the tax settings are not properly configured. The tax amount can be set as either inclusive or exclusive in your financial settings, which affects the final price calculation.

To verify and adjust your tax settings, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings > Financial Settings > Tax & Fees.
2. Under the “Tax & Fees” section, you will find the option to set the tax as either inclusive or exclusive. a. Inclusive tax: The tax amount is already included in the service price. The tax amount is calculated by reverse-calculating from the total service price. b. Exclusive tax: The tax amount is added to the service price. The tax amount is calculated by multiplying the service price by the applicable tax rate.
3. Check whether your tax settings are correctly configured based on your preferred tax calculation method. If necessary, make the appropriate changes.
4. Save your updated settings.

Once you have adjusted your tax settings, the total price should calculate correctly, including the tax amount. Ensure that your tax settings align with your business practices and any applicable tax regulations.

You can display the values of custom fields related to your services on quote and invoice PDFs by adjusting your settings in OctopusPro. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Enable the display of service cost breakdown in quotes and invoices shared with clients. Navigate to Settings > Financial Settings > Invoice Settings. Turn on the option to display the service cost breakdown in quotes and invoices.
2. Configure the display settings for each custom field. Go to Settings > Custom Field Settings. Locate the custom field you want to display on the quote and invoice PDFs. Disable the “Hidden from invoice breakdown” flag to show the custom field value on quotes and invoices.

By enabling these settings, the custom field values will be displayed on the quote and invoice PDFs, providing your clients with more detailed information about the services they are receiving. This can enhance transparency and improve client satisfaction by giving them a clearer understanding of the services provided and their associated costs.

Yes, you can control the visibility of each custom field in your invoice breakdown when configuring your custom fields within your services settings. If a custom field is solely for booking purposes and doesn’t need to appear on your invoices, you can hide it by enabling the ‘Hidden from invoice breakdown’ flag for that specific field. However, if the custom field should be displayed in the invoice breakdown, make sure to keep the flag disabled.

To manage the visibility of custom fields in your invoice breakdown:

1. Navigate to Settings > Services Settings > Custom Fields.
2. Find the custom field you want to hide or display on the invoice breakdown.
3. Enable the ‘Hidden from invoice breakdown’ flag if you want to keep the custom field hidden from the invoice breakdown. Disable the flag if you want the custom field to be visible.

By carefully managing the visibility of custom fields in your invoice breakdown, you can provide a clear and concise invoice to your clients, containing only the information relevant to the services they’ve received.

Yes, you can include additional customer details like vehicle information, children’s names, or pet names on the invoice and quote PDFs by adjusting the settings for each customer property:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Go to Settings > Customer Properties.
3. Create a new customer property or edit an existing one.
4. Locate the “Display on Booking and Invoice PDFs?” field.
5. Select “Yes” to include the customer property on the invoice and quote PDFs.
6. Save your changes.

By enabling this option for the desired customer properties, the additional details will be included in the invoice and quote PDFs, providing your customers with a more comprehensive and personalized overview of the services rendered. This can help enhance customer satisfaction and reduce potential confusion or misunderstandings.

Yes, you can easily incorporate extra text or images in the header and footer of your invoice, quote, or booking PDFs, in addition to the standard information and logo already present. To do this, simply add the desired content to the header and footer sections of your invoice settings. This feature allows you to customize your invoices further, ensuring that they reflect your brand identity and provide all necessary information to your clients.

When customers book a paid service, they are typically shown the price to ensure transparency and compliance with legal requirements. However, if you prefer not to display prices during the booking process, you can create a “FREE” service type that does not show a price.

To do this:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Go to Settings > Services.
3. Create a new service and set the service type as “FREE.”

With a FREE service type, customers can book services without seeing a price in the customer portal. If you need to add a price later, you can manually edit the booking and replace the free service with a “PAID” service after providing a quote or completing the booking. This can be done by an admin user or a fieldworker through the app. However, keep in mind that not displaying prices upfront may lead to potential confusion or misunderstandings with customers.

Yes, OctopusPro can be set up to charge an initial booking fee and let customers decide how to pay the remaining balance. OctopusPro supports multiple payments for invoices, including deposit taking and automatic management through enabled automations.

To set up this payment structure, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Go to Settings > Financial Settings > Payment Integration, and enable the payment methods you want to accept for the remaining balance.
3. Enable deposit taking for your services by going to Settings > Services, selecting the service, and enabling the deposit option under the Cost and Payrate tab. Set the deposit amount as the booking fee.
4. Use automation rules to manage deposit taking and reminders for the remaining balance.

With this setup, customers can pay an initial booking fee when booking a service and choose their preferred payment method for the remaining balance from the enabled options in your company settings.

With OctopusPro, you can tailor the appearance of your quote, booking, and invoice PDF templates to align with your business branding. You can easily modify the templates by uploading your company logo, adjusting font styles, and incorporating headers and footers through Settings > Financial Settings > Invoice Template.

If you prefer not to display a service cost breakdown on your invoices and quotes, activate the “Display service cost breakdown in quotes and invoices” option in your invoice template settings.

For businesses operating under multiple trading names, you can assign a distinct logo for each trading name, which will appear on quotes, invoices, and booking confirmations related to that specific trading name. To do this, go to Settings > Company Settings > Trading Names and click on the “assign images” link for each trading name.

Additionally, you can conceal specific custom fields from your pricing breakdown by enabling the “Hidden from invoice” flag for the custom fields you want to exclude from the breakdown, accessible under your custom fields settings.

Invoice template customization options include:

• Display service cost breakdown in quotes and invoices shared with clients?
• Display scheduled appointments in customer invoice PDF?
• Invoice font size (pixels)
• Invoice font family
• Invoice logo alignment
• Invoice font color
• Invoice borders color
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To add a new service to your OctopusPro account, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to “Settings” in the left-hand menu.
2. Select “Service Settings” and click on “Services.”
3. On the Services page, click on “Create New.”
4. Complete the required fields, including Name, Category, Minimum Booking Price, and any additional details like a description and images.
5. Establish your pricing model. OctopusPro offers three options:
   • Time-based: Charge hourly or by another time increment.
   • Fixed: Charge a one-time fee per service.
   • Unit: Charge per unit (e.g., per square meter).
6. Set up custom fields to collect additional information or costs from customers during booking through the Customer Portal, Branded App, or when admin staff create bookings, quotes, or inquiries manually. Custom fields can include extra costs or information to help you prepare for the service.
7. Assign the service to fieldworkers. To do this, link the service to fieldworkers capable of providing it. Fieldworkers can select the services they offer through the OctopusPro fieldworker app or by logging into their OctopusPro account in a browser. Admin staff can also edit fieldworker profiles and add services as needed.

By following these steps, you can successfully add a new service to your OctopusPro account, set pricing, gather additional customer information, and assign the service to qualified fieldworkers.

Custom fields are additional options or questions related to a service that you can ask your customers when making a booking or inquiry. They allow further customization of your services, enabling you to gather specific information or offer various options tailored to your customers’ needs.

Benefits and usage of custom fields:

1. Custom fields provide an efficient way to collect information about specific requirements or preferences for a service.
2. They help generate accurate quotes by including all necessary details, options, and pricing.
3. Custom fields improve workflow efficiency by reducing the need for back-and-forth communication between admins, fieldworkers, and customers.
4. They can be connected to the inquiry form and inquiry widget, which can be embedded on your website.

Difference between custom fields and forms & checklists:

Custom fields and forms & checklists both serve as ways to collect information from customers or fieldworkers, but they differ in their purpose, application, and the stage at which they are used during the booking or job process.

Custom fields focus on gathering specific information related to a service during the booking or inquiry stage, influencing pricing and fieldworker availability. In contrast, forms & checklists are used during or after the job is completed for additional data collection and assessments, without affecting pricing or fieldworker availability. While both tools enhance the customer experience and streamline communication, they serve different purposes and have distinct effects on the booking and job processes.

To add a new custom field, go to Settings > Service Settings > Custom Fields, and select “Create New” custom field. You can create multiple custom fields with different types and link them to a single service, allowing customers to provide more detailed information when booking.

Custom fields can be connected to services, the inquiry form, and the inquiry widget. They can be configured with various field types, labels, and display settings, giving you complete control over the information you collect and how it appears to different users (admin, fieldworkers, and customers).

In summary, custom fields offer a flexible and efficient way to enhance your services, streamline the booking process, and ensure accurate quotes are provided to customers. They are an essential tool for businesses looking to improve their operations and customer satisfaction.

1. Purpose and Effect on Fieldworker Availability: a. Custom Fields: Custom fields collect specific information related to a service during the booking or inquiry stage. They can be connected to fieldworkers, allowing you to specify which fieldworkers can provide the custom field options available and which ones cannot. This directly affects fieldworker availability based on the custom field options selected for the booking. b. Forms & Checklists: Forms and checklists collect additional information or conduct assessments during or after the completion of a job. They do not affect fieldworker availability.
2. Effect on Pricing: a. Custom Fields: Custom fields can affect pricing depending on the options selected by the customer. b. Forms & Checklists: Forms and checklists do not affect pricing.
3. Connection to Services and Bookings: a. Custom Fields: Custom fields are related to the linked service only. If a service is added multiple times in a booking, custom fields will appear for each instance of the service. b. Forms & Checklists: Forms and checklists are connected to the entire booking or quote, meaning they are about the booking itself and not about a specific service in the booking. Although they can be connected to services in their settings, the forms and checklists will appear once, even if the service is added multiple times in the booking.

In summary, custom fields focus on gathering specific information related to a service during the booking or inquiry stage, influencing pricing and fieldworker availability. In contrast, forms & checklists are used during or after the job is completed for additional data collection and assessments, without affecting pricing or fieldworker availability. While both tools enhance the customer experience and streamline communication, they serve different purposes and have distinct effects on the booking and job processes.

Custom fields improve work efficiency in several ways:

1. Streamlined Information Collection: Custom fields gather specific information related to a service during the booking or inquiry stage, ensuring that all necessary details are collected upfront. This reduces the need for back-and-forth communication between customers, admin staff, and fieldworkers.
2. Enhanced Fieldworker Availability Management: Custom fields can be connected to fieldworkers, allowing you to specify which fieldworkers can provide certain custom field options. This directly affects fieldworker availability based on the custom field options selected for the booking, ensuring that the right fieldworker is assigned to the job.
3. Accurate Pricing: Custom fields can affect pricing based on the options selected by the customer. This provides clear and accurate quotes to customers, reducing the risk of price disputes or adjustments later on.
4. Better Customer Experience: By offering customized service options through custom fields, customers can tailor the service to their specific needs and preferences. This leads to increased customer satisfaction and repeat business.
5. Increased Automation: Custom fields can be used to automate various aspects of the booking process, such as adjusting pricing and fieldworker availability based on the options selected. This reduces manual intervention and frees up time for admin staff to focus on other tasks.
6. Detailed Reporting and Data Analysis: Custom fields provide granular data about customer preferences and service variations. This data can be analyzed to identify trends, optimize services, and make data-driven business decisions.

By streamlining information collection, enhancing fieldworker availability management, providing accurate pricing, improving the customer experience, increasing automation, and enabling detailed reporting and data analysis, custom fields contribute significantly to work efficiency.

1. Detailed Service Options: Custom fields allow customers to choose from various options and add-ons related to a service. Each option can have its own pricing, which gets factored into the final quote.
2. Dynamic Pricing: Custom fields can affect pricing based on the selections made by the customer. This ensures that the quote reflects the exact cost of the service tailored to the customer’s requirements.
3. Clear Communication: Custom fields ensure that all the necessary information is collected upfront, minimizing the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunication between the customer, admin staff, and fieldworkers. This leads to a smoother quoting process and fewer adjustments later on.
4. Consistent Pricing Structure: Custom fields provide a structured approach to pricing, ensuring that quotes are consistent across similar bookings. This consistency makes it easier for customers to compare and understand the costs associated with their service choices.
5. Data-driven Decision Making: Custom fields offer valuable data about customer preferences and service variations. This data can be used to optimize pricing strategies, identify popular options or services, and make informed decisions to improve the overall quoting process.

By providing detailed service options, enabling dynamic pricing, ensuring clear communication, promoting a consistent pricing structure, and supporting data-driven decision-making, custom fields play a crucial role in generating accurate quotes.

Yes, you can offer discounts to customers for booking more than one service at a time. There are several ways to achieve this:

1. Use the Rates feature: Under your service settings, you can set discounted unit pricing depending on the quantity of services booked. This way, customers booking larger jobs can receive a discount on the unit price.
2. Create bundled services: Offer packages that combine multiple services at a discounted rate. For instance, you can create a package that includes both photography and videography services at a lower price than if booked separately.
3. Add services as custom fields: You can include related services as custom fields and offer them as extras when booking any service. For example, when a customer books a photography service, you can add a custom field asking if they would also like a video. If they add the video service, the discounted price would be applied to the quote. This approach is not only user-friendly but also serves as an effective marketing tool by offering customers relevant add-ons to their primary service.

By implementing these strategies, you can incentivize customers to book more services per job and potentially increase your revenue while providing a rewarding experience for your clients.

Yes, OctopusPro offers a wide range of API integrations to enhance your business operations. These integrations include:

1. Accounting software: Xero, Quickbooks, and more.
2. Digital phone systems: Twilio.
3. Marketing platforms: Mailchimp, Google GSuite.
4. Calendars: Google Calendar.
5. Reviews and maps: Google Reviews, Google Maps.
6. Payment gateways: Square, Checkout.com, Stripe, Authorize.net, PayPal, Afterpay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, WePay, 2checkout, Bitpay, Telr, Eway, Payfast, Paytm, Tap, and others.

However, please note that OctopusPro currently does not offer an open API for custom integrations. To set up payment gateway integrations, navigate to Settings > Financial Settings > Payment Integrations. For other integrations, go to Settings > Company Settings > Integrations (API). If you require a specific integration that is not currently available, please contact the OctopusPro support team for assistance.

Yes, OctopusPro integrates with QuickBooks Online, allowing you to seamlessly synchronize your financial data between the two platforms. This integration streamlines your accounting processes and ensures that your financial records in both systems are consistent and up-to-date. Please note that OctopusPro does not currently integrate with QuickBooks Desktop. For the best experience, we recommend using QuickBooks Online with OctopusPro.

Absolutely, OctopusPro offers seamless integration with Xero. By linking your Xero account, you can easily import your data, including customers, fieldworkers, services, and products, into your OctopusPro account during the setup process. Furthermore, you can synchronize your accounts by pushing customers, products, services, invoices, and payments created in OctopusPro to your Xero account. This integration ensures that your business data is consistently up-to-date across both platforms, streamlining your operations and improving efficiency.

As of now, OctopusPro does not offer integration with Zapier. However, this feature is under development and will be available in the near future. In the meantime, you’ll find that many of the automations you might want to create using Zapier are already built into OctopusPro. Simply access your settings to enable the desired automations.

If you need any specific automations that are not currently available in OctopusPro, feel free to reach out to our support team for assistance. They will be more than happy to help you find a solution that fits your needs.

Yes, OctopusPro integrates with Square to facilitate seamless payment processing for your business. By connecting your Square account to OctopusPro, you can accept payments from customers and manage transactions directly through the OctopusPro platform. This integration streamlines your payment processes, making it easier to manage your business finances and customer payments in one place.

Yes, OctopusPro offers complete integration with Stripe payments, ensuring a smooth payment experience for all your users, including admins, fieldworkers, and customers, across both web and app platforms. To set up the Stripe integration, navigate to Settings > Financial Settings > Payment Integration, and follow the step-by-step instructions provided. This integration streamlines your payment processing, making it easier for your customers to pay for your services and improving your overall business efficiency.

Yes, OctopusPro supports PayPal integration, allowing you to accept customer payments directly into your PayPal account. To enable PayPal integration, you’ll need to create a free Braintree account, as PayPal is available through Braintree for OctopusPro users.

Once you have set up your Braintree account, you can easily connect it with your OctopusPro account to manage customer payments, refunds, and transactions seamlessly through the platform. This integration simplifies payment processing for your business, ensuring a smooth experience for both you and your customers.

Absolutely! OctopusPro can be integrated with Authorize.net, allowing you to manage customer payments seamlessly through the platform. To connect your OctopusPro account with Authorize.net, you’ll need to provide your API Login ID, API Transaction Key, and API Client Key in the Payment Integration section of your settings.

Authorize.net acts as a payment gateway, enabling your business to securely accept and process various payment methods such as credit cards, e-checks, and digital wallets. By integrating with OctopusPro, you can benefit from the following features:

1. Enhanced security: Authorize.net uses advanced fraud detection and data security measures to protect your customers’ sensitive information and minimize risks.
2. Simplified payment processing: The integration allows you to manage customer payments, refunds, and transactions all within the OctopusPro platform, streamlining your operations.
3. Recurring billing: Authorize.net supports recurring billing, making it easy to manage subscription-based services and automate recurring payments.
4. Customizable checkout experience: Tailor the checkout process to match your brand and provide a seamless user experience for your customers.
5. Comprehensive reporting: Access detailed transaction reports, enabling you to analyze and optimize your payment processing for better performance and growth.

By integrating OctopusPro with Authorize.net, you can streamline your payment processing, improve security, and enhance the overall customer experience, all while managing your business more efficiently.

Yes, OctopusPro integrates with Payfast to provide a seamless payment processing experience for all users, including fieldworkers, admin staff, and customers. This integration allows various user types to access and use the payment processing features conveniently through the app or the web, depending on their preferences.

Fieldworkers can use the OctopusPro app to accept payments on the go, while admin staff can manage transactions through the app or web interface. Customers also have the flexibility to make payments via the web or a branded app, if available.

Yes, OctopusPro integrates with Paytm to provide a seamless payment processing experience for all users, including fieldworkers, admin staff, and customers. This integration allows various user types to access and use the payment processing features conveniently through the app or the web, depending on their preferences.

Fieldworkers can use the OctopusPro app to accept payments on the go, while admin staff can manage transactions through the app or web interface. Customers also have the flexibility to make payments via the web or a branded app, if available.

Currently, OctopusPro does not directly integrate with Outlook. However, integration with Outlook is in the pipeline and will be available in the future. In the meantime, OctopusPro does offer integration with Google Calendar, which can help you manage your schedule and appointments effectively. Stay tuned for future updates to take advantage of the upcoming Outlook integration.

Yes, OctopusPro seamlessly integrates with MailChimp, enabling you to effortlessly synchronize your mailing lists between the two platforms. This integration allows you to keep your customer information up-to-date and manage your email marketing campaigns more effectively. By connecting your OctopusPro account with MailChimp, you can ensure that your mailing lists are always current and make the most of your marketing efforts.

Yes, OctopusPro offers seamless integration with Google Workspace, allowing you to connect your Gmail and Google Calendar with your OctopusPro account. By synchronizing these services, you can efficiently manage your emails and appointments within the platform. To set up this integration, follow the steps outlined in our user guide: https://help.octopuspro.com/google-gmail-and-calendar-api-integration

With this integration, you can streamline your business processes, improve communication with your customers, and ensure that your appointments are always up-to-date and synchronized across your team.

OctopusPro comes with a robust built-in forms feature, eliminating the need for integration with external form builders like Gravity Forms. The Forms and Checklists feature in your OctopusPro account provides all the functionality you would expect from Gravity Forms without requiring any third-party integrations.

With OctopusPro, you can create checklists for gathering information from customers, fieldworkers, or office staff. The platform allows you to customize when and to whom these forms are displayed and offers various field types, including date picker, time picker, text box, text field, (+/-) button, toggle, dropdown, radio button, button group, list, and checkbox. Additionally, you can assign unique forms to specific services and booking statuses.

Design forms to gather essential information from customers during the booking process or create job completion checklists for your fieldworkers, ensuring all required tasks are completed, and your business processes are followed. This helps maintain compliance with regulations and ensures nothing is overlooked. Completed forms and checklists can be easily sent to customers or other parties following a site visit or job completion, and fieldworkers can send them directly from the app if given permission.

Create distinct forms to display for your fieldworkers during various stages of their jobs, such as when checking in, starting a job, during a job, or when checking out or finishing a job. By setting up forms for each booking status, you can effectively follow up with your fieldworkers as they change the status of a booking, presenting them with different custom forms accordingly.

Although ServiceM8 does not provide a direct data synchronization with OctopusPro, you can still import your data by first exporting it from ServiceM8 and then importing it into your OctopusPro account. To achieve this, follow these steps:

1. Export your data from ServiceM8, including customers, fieldworkers, services, products, and any other relevant information. Typically, this will be in a CSV or Excel format.
2. Log in to your OctopusPro account and navigate to the appropriate sections (e.g., Customers, Fieldworkers, Services, etc.) to import the corresponding data.
3. Use the import functionality within OctopusPro to upload the exported data files from ServiceM8.
4. Map the columns from your exported files to the appropriate fields in OctopusPro to ensure accurate data import.

If you encounter any issues or need further assistance with this process, please don’t hesitate to contact the OctopusPro support team for guidance.

You can easily import a list of products into your OctopusPro account by following these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account and navigate to the ‘Company Settings’ menu.
2. Click on the ‘Import Data’ section.
3. Find and click on the ‘Import Products’ button.
4. Download the ‘Products Import Template’ provided by OctopusPro.
5. Open the downloaded template using a spreadsheet application (e.g., Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets) and paste your product information into the appropriate columns, following the format of the template.
6. Save the file as a CSV (comma-separated values) format to ensure compatibility with OctopusPro.
7. Return to the ‘Import Data’ page in your OctopusPro account and upload the saved CSV file.

Your list of products will now be imported into your account. If you encounter any issues or need further assistance, please contact the OctopusPro support team for help.

Yes, you can import your existing users, such as fieldworkers, into your OctopusPro account using a CSV file. Imported fieldworkers will receive a verification email to confirm their email address before they can log in to their account. Follow these steps to import your users:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account and navigate to the ‘Company Settings’ menu.
2. Click on the ‘Import Data’ section.
3. Find and click on the ‘Import Fieldworkers’ button.
4. Download the ‘Fieldworkers Import Template’ provided by OctopusPro.
5. Open the downloaded template using a spreadsheet application (e.g., Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets) and enter your fieldworkers’ information into the appropriate columns, following the format of the template.
6. Save the file as a CSV (comma-separated values) format to ensure compatibility with OctopusPro.
7. Return to the ‘Import Data’ page in your OctopusPro account and upload the saved CSV file.

Your list of fieldworkers will now be imported into your account, and they will receive verification emails. If you encounter any issues or need further assistance, please contact the OctopusPro support team for help.

OctopusPro offers two-way synchronization with QuickBooks for customers, users, services, and payments, ensuring that changes made in either system are updated accordingly in the other. However, invoice synchronization is a one-way process, with invoices created in OctopusPro syncing to QuickBooks, but not vice versa.

OctopusPro provides you with the flexibility to select which items you’d like to sync with QuickBooks, and synchronization is initiated manually to ensure you maintain control over your business information across both platforms.

To summarize, OctopusPro supports two-way syncing for customers, users, services, and payments, but invoice synchronization is one-way from OctopusPro to QuickBooks. This setup allows you to manage your business data efficiently and effectively across both systems.

OctopusPro supports bidirectional synchronization with Xero for customers, users, services, and payments, ensuring that updates made in either system are accurately reflected in the other. However, invoice synchronization is a one-way process, with invoices generated in OctopusPro syncing to Xero, but not the other way around.

OctopusPro gives you the flexibility to choose which items you’d like to sync with Xero, and synchronization is initiated manually to guarantee full control over your business data in both platforms.

In summary, OctopusPro provides two-way syncing for customers, users, services, and payments, while invoice synchronization is a one-way process from OctopusPro to Xero. This setup enables you to efficiently manage your business information across both systems.

Integrating a Twilio number with your OctopusPro account empowers your business with an array of communication features, accessible via the web portal for office users and the app for both admin users and fieldworkers. You can enable or disable these features according to your business requirements through your account settings:

1. Admin users can send manual SMS messages, such as booking confirmations, reminders, invoice reminders, and custom messages, to customers and fieldworkers using a desktop browser or the OctopusPro app.
2. Enable various automated SMS notifications for customers and fieldworkers, including contact attempts, booking reminders, quote reminders, invoice reminders, fieldworker status updates, and more.
3. Admin users can call customers and fieldworkers through their OctopusPro accounts using any browser or the OctopusPro app.
4. Automatically notify customers via SMS regarding fieldworker updates, such as their arrival, being on the way, or running late.
5. Fieldworkers can call and text customers using your business phone number instead of their private mobile numbers, directing future callbacks to your office number.
6. Access a log of all SMS and call communications between fieldworkers and customers for tracking and reference purposes.
7. Record all calls made through your account, allowing you to review calls made by admin users and fieldworkers in the future.

Numerous automated SMS notifications can be enabled or disabled as needed, including:

• Failed contact attempts for leads and inquiries
• Quote reminders for follow-up dates
• Booking reminders for customers and fieldworkers
• Next service due reminders for past bookings
• Outstanding invoice reminders for unpaid invoices
• On-the-way notifications with estimated time of arrival (ETA)
• Running late notifications from fieldworkers
• Fieldworker arrival notifications
• Job acceptance and confirmation messages when a fieldworker accepts a job assigned via the automatic job assignment feature

Activate automated notifications in your settings by navigating to Settings > Communications > Automations.

Twilio integration for calls and SMS is available in a majority of countries. However, the availability of local numbers and specific features may vary depending on your location. To verify which features are accessible in your country and the associated costs, visit Twilio’s website at https://www.twilio.com.

If Twilio does not support local numbers in your country, you can still utilize their services with an international phone number. By doing so, you can continue to send SMS messages and make calls through your OctopusPro account. However, recipients will receive your communications from a number with an international prefix instead of your local one. If this poses a challenge for your business, you can mask your number using an alphanumeric tag.

For further information on Twilio integration in your country or help with setup, please contact OctopusPro’s support team.

To set up a Twilio number, follow these steps:

1. Visit Twilio’s website at https://www.twilio.com and create an account.
2. After creating an account, follow the prompts to obtain a Twilio number.

Once you have registered your Twilio number, you can connect it to your OctopusPro account:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Navigate to the Settings menu.
3. Choose the Digital Phone System settings page.
4. Click on the “Connect my Twilio number to OctopusPro” button.

By following these steps, your Twilio number will be connected to your OctopusPro account, enabling you to utilize Twilio’s call and SMS features within the platform. If you need assistance or have any questions, feel free to reach out to the OctopusPro support team.

To integrate your Twilio number with your OctopusPro account, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your OctopusPro account.
2. Navigate to the Settings menu.
3. Select the Digital Phone System settings page.
4. Click on the “Connect my Twilio number to OctopusPro” button.

When connecting your Twilio number, you will need to provide the following information:

• Twilio Account SID: This is a unique identifier for your Twilio account.
• Auth Token: A secret token used for authentication with Twilio’s API.
• Twilio Phone Number: The phone number you registered with Twilio.
• Phone Number SID: A unique identifier for your Twilio phone number.

This process allows OctopusPro to integrate with your Twilio number while maintaining it under your Twilio account. Once connected, you can use Twilio’s call and SMS features within the OctopusPro platform. If you need assistance or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the OctopusPro support team.

Yes, when you connect your Twilio phone number to your OctopusPro account using the connection process, the number remains under your ownership and stays within your Twilio account. The integration simply allows OctopusPro to utilize your Twilio number for communication purposes, while you continue to retain full control over the number and its associated settings in your Twilio account.

You can set up various automated SMS notifications to streamline communication and keep customers and fieldworkers informed. The following types of notifications can be enabled or disabled based on your business requirements:

1. Failed Contact Attempt: Notify leads and inquiries with a failed contact attempt.
2. Quote Reminders: Send reminders for quotes with a follow-up date that has passed.
3. Booking Reminders: Remind both customers and fieldworkers about upcoming bookings.
4. Next Service Due Reminders: Notify customers of upcoming service due dates based on past bookings.
5. Outstanding Invoice Reminders: Alert customers about unpaid invoices.
6. On-the-Way Notifications: Inform customers of fieldworkers’ estimated time of arrival (ETA).
7. Running Late Notifications: Notify customers if fieldworkers are detected to be running late for a job.
8. Fieldworker Arrival Notifications: Alert customers when fieldworkers arrive on-site.
9. Job Acceptance and Confirmation: Send confirmation messages to customers when fieldworkers accept a job through the automatic job assignment feature.

You can manage these automated notifications by navigating to Settings > Communications > Automations in your account settings.

In addition, OctopusPro allows you to customize all templates and canned responses used for communication between your office, fieldworkers, and customers. Edit the text and other content in your templates from the Templates and Canned Responses settings page.

When someone calls your Twilio number that is integrated with OctopusPro, the call will be routed based on the settings you have configured in your account. Depending on your preferences, the call can be directed to your OctopusPro app or forwarded to an external phone number.

If the call is directed to the OctopusPro app, admin users who are logged in and have granted the app permission to ring will be notified of the incoming call. The app will ring, and a notification will also appear on their phone screen. Admin users can answer the call directly through the app.

In case the call is forwarded to an external phone number, the designated phone will ring, and the person assigned to that number can answer the call as usual. If you have set up voicemail, missed and unanswered calls will be directed to the voicemail system, and you will receive notifications for any voicemail messages received.

Yes, you can receive incoming calls in your OctopusPro account, provided that you haven’t set up call forwarding to divert calls to your private business number handled by other carriers. To receive calls within OctopusPro, you’ll need to download the OctopusPro app on your device and log in as an admin user. Multiple admin users can be logged in simultaneously and receive calls using the app.

It’s important to note that incoming calls cannot be received directly through a web browser at this time. However, you can make outgoing calls through the web browser in your OctopusPro account by clicking on the phone icon next to the contact’s phone number in the customer or fieldworker profile.

By utilizing the OctopusPro app for incoming calls and the web browser for outgoing calls, you can efficiently manage your business communication needs in a streamlined manner. Be sure to download the app on your device and log in as an admin user to access the incoming call functionality and take advantage of the outgoing call feature available in your web browser.

When a call is received through a Twilio number that is integrated with OctopusPro, your admin users who are logged into the OctopusPro app will experience the app ringing, provided they have granted the app permission to do so when prompted initially. Alongside the ringing, a notification will be displayed on their phone screen to alert them about the incoming call. This feature is particularly useful in cases where the phone is set to silent mode, ensuring that important calls are not missed.

Yes, you can still receive incoming calls on your phone through the OctopusPro app even if your device is locked. When a call comes in via a Twilio number that is managed through OctopusPro, all admin users who are logged into the app will receive calls on their devices, regardless of whether the app is open or closed, or if their devices are locked.

Upon receiving a call, the app will trigger the incoming call screen to load on the admin users’ phones, and a notification sound will play to alert them of the incoming call. This ensures that you won’t miss any important calls from your customers, even if your device is locked or the app is closed, allowing you to stay connected and efficiently manage your business communication needs.

Yes, your admin users can call one another within your account through the OctopusPro app, provided you have granted them permission to make calls using your Twilio number. When a call is received, the display name of the calling admin will appear on the recipient’s screen, letting them know who is making the call. This feature facilitates seamless communication among your admin users and fosters efficient collaboration within your team.

Yes, your administrative users can communicate with fieldworkers through the OctopusPro platform, either using a desktop browser or the OctopusPro app when logged in with admin credentials. The call history for all communications will be recorded and displayed in the relevant item’s history log, as well as in the comprehensive call log accessible from the reports section of your account. This enables easy tracking and management of communications between admin users and fieldworkers.

OctopusPro is designed to restrict fieldworkers from accessing each other’s profiles, which means they cannot directly call one another through the app. This is because fieldworkers are not expected to know each other through the system unless they are collaborating on a job. In cases where fieldworkers are working together on a project, they can communicate using the chat and SMS features, as well as the discussion board available within the booking or quote section of the app. This ensures that communication between fieldworkers remains focused on job-related tasks and activities.

Yes, if you have a digital phone number set up with Twilio, your fieldworkers can call your customers directly from the app using your Twilio number. You have the option to enable or disable this feature through the fieldworker permissions page in your settings.

To activate this feature, go to Settings > Communications > Digital Phone System, and enable the option that allows your fieldworkers to contact your customers through your Twilio number. This ensures that all communication with customers remains consistent and professional.

Your admin users can also make calls to both your customers and fieldworkers through the app using your Twilio number, ensuring a seamless communication experience across your organization.

Yes, you can manage the Twilio calling feature for your administrative users within OctopusPro. By default, when admin users initiate a call through the platform, they are presented with the choice of making a regular call or a VoIP call using the connected Twilio number. If they opt for a regular call, the call will be made through the phone number associated with the device being used. If you wish to disable the Twilio calling option for admin users, you can adjust the settings within your account to do so.

Yes, you can manage the Twilio calling feature for your administrative users within OctopusPro. By default, when admin users initiate a call through the platform, they are presented with the choice of making a regular call or a VoIP call using the connected Twilio number. If they opt for a regular call, the call will be made through the phone number associated with the device being used. If you wish to disable the Twilio calling option for admin users, you can adjust the settings within your account to do so.

Yes, you can disable the Twilio calling feature for your fieldworkers if you prefer not to have them call customers through your Twilio number. You can manage this setting in the fieldworker permissions section of your account settings. When this feature is disabled, fieldworkers will use their personal phone numbers from their devices to contact customers, provided they have permission to view customer contact details. You can also customize these permissions within the fieldworker permissions settings to ensure the desired level of access for each fieldworker.

You can easily set up a voicemail message for missed and unanswered calls through your communications settings. This can be done whether you have your Twilio number calls managed by OctopusPro or have them diverted to your private business phone number using another carrier.

Upon setting up your voicemail, you’ll receive notifications whenever a new voicemail message is left by a caller. You can access and listen to all received voicemail messages from the voicemail log page, located under your reports section. This allows you to keep track of any important messages and ensure timely follow-ups with your customers.

Yes, you can record a custom voicemail message by creating an mp3 file and uploading it to your communications settings. This will provide a more personal touch to your voicemail message.

Alternatively, if you prefer not to create an audio recording, you can set a written voicemail message that will be played using Twilio’s text-to-speech converter. However, this may sound less natural and somewhat robotic, so it’s generally recommended to use a pre-recorded message with a human voice for a more personal and professional touch.

Yes, you can access a detailed log of all calls made or received, along with their timestamps and durations, through the call log page found in your reports section. If you have enabled call recording, you can listen to the recorded calls by clicking the play button corresponding to each call. Keep in mind that call recording is an additional feature charged by Twilio; for pricing information, please visit https://www.twilio.com/call-recording.

Yes, you can download recorded calls from your OctopusPro account. The recorded media can be obtained in MP3 or WAV formats through various sections of the platform. You can access the recordings from the call log page or within the call logs of bookings, inquiries, quotes, invoices, complaints, as well as customer or fieldworker profiles. Additionally, you can find them in the log history section. This allows you to conveniently access and download your recorded calls as needed.

While OctopusPro itself doesn’t charge for call recording, it is facilitated through your Twilio account, and you’ll pay Twilio directly for this service. Twilio bills call recording on a per-minute basis, and storage costs for these recordings are also charged per minute, calculated monthly. Storage costs are determined by rounding up the duration of each recording to the nearest minute. For instance, three five-second recordings would be counted as three minutes in total, not 15 seconds.

To minimize storage costs, it’s advisable to delete old recordings. OctopusPro provides an automated procedure that deletes stored recordings, helping you save on unnecessary expenses. You can activate this feature by navigating to Settings > Communications > Automations within your OctopusPro account.

Yes, you can record both incoming and outgoing calls made through your Twilio number for training and quality assurance purposes. Keep in mind that call recording is an additional feature charged by Twilio; for pricing information, please visit https://www.twilio.com.

Recorded calls can be accessed from the call log page under the reports section or within the context of specific items, such as bookings or customer profiles. For instance, if you call a customer from a booking page, you can view the list of calls related to that booking in the call log tab on the booking page. Additionally, all recorded calls for a customer can be found on their customer profile page.

When recording calls, it is crucial to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those requiring consent for recording (e.g., California’s Invasion of Privacy Act). For more information on the legal aspects of call recording, visit this page. We recommend consulting your legal counsel to ensure compliance with all relevant laws when recording and storing communications using Twilio.

If you choose to discontinue your OctopusPro account, you can easily disconnect your Twilio phone number by clicking the “Disconnect Twilio” button. This action will reset your Twilio settings and terminate the integration setup with OctopusPro. Keep in mind that your Twilio number will remain accessible in your Twilio account, and you can still use it directly through Twilio or integrate it with another system.

If your Twilio number was transferred to OctopusPro’s Twilio sub-account before connecting, you’ll need to request that it be returned to your Twilio account in the same manner it was moved to your OctopusPro sub-account. You can do this by emailing our support team. If you don’t request that your Twilio number be moved back to your account, the number will be released to Twilio and may become available for others to register through Twilio. To prevent losing your Twilio number, it’s crucial to request its transfer as soon as you cancel your OctopusPro subscription.

Absolutely! You can enhance customer profiles by adding custom fields tailored to your industry’s specific needs. These custom fields can capture various details, such as date of birth, gender, hobbies, interests, height, or any other relevant information. You can also set up pre-entered values for these fields to facilitate easy selection.

These additional custom fields will be displayed in the customer profile and can be edited by your team members and customers when they log in to their accounts. For sensitive data, you can use the visibility flag to keep the information private and secure. Furthermore, you can generate customized customer reports using this data to assist your sales and marketing teams in their efforts.

By incorporating custom fields into customer profiles, you can gather more detailed information about your clients, helping your team deliver personalized services and enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Yes, it is possible to export or download your customer list from your OctopusPro account. To do this, follow these simple steps:

1. Navigate to the Customers Listing page.
2. Click on the ‘Export Customers’ link or access the export option from your Company Settings.
3. If your customer list exceeds 10,000 records, the data will be split into multiple files, each containing 10,000 customer records.

The exported files will include all your customer records, along with any custom fields you have created in the customer profile. This export functionality allows you to easily access and manage your customer data for reporting, analysis, or integration with other tools and systems. By having the ability to export your customer list, you can ensure that your business maintains accurate records and can effectively utilize customer information for marketing and other purposes.

Yes, when exporting your customer list from OctopusPro, the resulting files will not only contain your standard customer records but also include all the custom fields you have added to your customer profiles. This ensures that you have a comprehensive overview of your customer data, including any industry-specific or unique information you have chosen to capture.

To export your customer list with custom fields, follow these simple steps:

1. Navigate to the Customers Listing page or access the export option from your Company Settings.
2. Click on the ‘Export Customers’ link.
3. If your customer list exceeds 10,000 records, the data will be split into multiple files, each containing 10,000 customer records.

By including custom fields in your customer profile exports, you can easily analyze, report on, and utilize the data for marketing purposes, customer relationship management, and business insights. This feature allows you to maintain accurate records and make informed decisions for your business based on the comprehensive customer information available.

Yes, you can effortlessly create and assign multiple labels to any customer, either from the customer list or within individual customer profiles. Labels enable you to efficiently filter, categorize, and manage your customers, which is particularly helpful for sales and marketing purposes.

In addition to labels, you can incorporate custom fields into customer profiles to capture information that goes beyond the standard profile details. This can include details like date of birth, gender, hobbies, interests, height, or any other data relevant to your industry. These custom fields can be configured to display pre-set values for easy selection.

These custom fields will be visible in both the customer list and individual customer profiles, and can be edited by your team members and customers when they access their accounts. To maintain privacy, you can use the visibility flag to conceal sensitive information. Furthermore, you can generate custom reports using this data to support your sales and marketing teams’ efforts.

By applying labels and custom fields to customer profiles, you can streamline customer management, enhance communication, and improve overall customer satisfaction.

The versatile Customer Properties feature in OctopusPro enables you to create comprehensive profiles for dependents or items owned by your customers, such as vehicles, children, or pets. This feature allows you to collect and manage essential information and service history for each profile under a customer’s account, streamlining your business operations and enhancing customer satisfaction.

For example, in a childcare business, you can create a customer property named “Children” with fields for name, gender, date of birth, allergies, and emergency contact details. Customers can maintain multiple children profiles, view their profiles and histories separately, and make bookings for them.

Similarly, for a mobile mechanic business, a customer property named “Vehicles” can be created with fields like registration number, make, model, color, and year. Customers can manage multiple vehicle profiles, view their service histories, and book services accordingly.

Upon creating a customer property, a field listing all pre-entered properties related to the customer will appear when adding a new booking. Customer properties can be found in customer profiles, booking forms, and the customer portal, allowing customers to add new properties and make bookings for them.

The Customer Properties feature benefits businesses across various industries, including childcare services, home healthcare agencies, vehicle maintenance, pet care, property management, fitness services, and more. It allows you to:

1. Create a comprehensive database of client properties for better understanding and meeting their needs.
2. Streamline the booking process by avoiding repetitive questions.
3. Improve communication among admins, fieldworkers, and customers.
4. Maintain detailed service history logs for each dependent or item.
5. Generate insightful reports and statistics for data-driven decision-making.
6. Develop targeted marketing campaigns based on detailed customer information.
7. Optimize scheduling and resource allocation for better service delivery.
8. Enhance the customer experience with a dedicated portal for managing their properties and dependents.