Business settings

Where Settings is, its screens on a phone and a computer, what owners and helpers see there, your business name, your trade, how customers pay you, your review link, invoice details, the paid jobs spreadsheet, importing and downloading customers, and the two business settings.

Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings.

• On a phone, Settings is a short menu. Tap a row to open that screen. Tap ‹ Settings at the top to come back.
• On a computer, Settings opens on Business with the menu down the left side. Click any screen in the menu.

#What the owner sees

What each one does:

The How customers pay you, Review link, Invoice details, and Work for another business cards each have a ? in the corner. Tap it for a longer explanation with examples.

The Save button under a box shows once you change what's in it.

#What a helper sees

Helpers see Leave this business. Business settings and People are for the owner. See Leave a business.

#Your business name

Your business starts out named after the first part of the email you signed up with. Change it to your real business name before you text customers or add helpers.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Business.
2. Type your business name in Business name. Up to 60 letters.
3. Tap Save. You'll see Business name saved.

Customer texts and the email that tells a helper you added them both sign with this name. Only the owner can change it.

#Trade

The first time you open Jobs, the owner sees What is your trade? Tap the one that fits: Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and air, Handyman, Lawn and landscaping, Pool, Cleaning, Pest control, Painting, Junk hauling, or Other. The card goes away once you pick.

What your pick does:

• Parts. Plumbing, electrical, heating and air, handyman, and Other turn the Parts tab on. The other trades turn it off. You can flip it any time. See This business buys parts.
• Checklist. Heating and air, lawn, pool, cleaning, pest control, and painting jobs get an Add suggested steps button on an empty checklist. One tap fills in the usual steps for that work, like Mow, Edge, Trim for lawn. Change or remove any of them. See Checklist.

To change it later:

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Business.
2. Pick a new one under Trade. It saves right away. You'll see Saved.

Changing it here doesn't touch Parts. Only the owner can change it.

To go back to how the app started, tap Start over on the Trade card. That clears your pick and turns Parts back on. The next time you open Jobs, it asks What is your trade? again.

#How customers pay you

Tell customers how to pay you, right in the Price text.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Business.
2. In How customers pay you, type what you take. For example Venmo @mikesplumbing, Zelle 512-555-0100, your Square or PayPal link, or cash or check. Up to 200 letters.
3. Tap Save. You'll see Saved.

On a job that has a price and isn't paid in full, the Price and Payment reminder texts end with Pay here: and what you typed. Leave the box blank and the texts go out without it. A Price text with a deposit reads like this:

Hi Dana, the price for Fence repair is $800. Thanks, Mike's Lawn Care

Paid so far: $300. Left to pay: $500.

Pay here: Venmo @mikes-lawn

Not sure what to type? Tap the ? on the How customers pay you card. It shows which texts get the line, more examples to copy, and what the customer sees.

Barton Forge doesn't take the payment. The money goes straight to you the way you already get paid. When it comes in, tap Mark as paid on the job. See Price, Unpaid, and Paid. Only the owner can change this box.

#Review link

Make it one tap for happy customers to review you.

1. Find your review link. On Google, open your Business Profile, tap Ask for reviews (or Get more reviews), and copy the link. Yelp and Facebook pages work too.
2. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Business.
3. Paste it in Review link. It has to start with https://. Up to 300 letters.
4. Tap Save. You'll see Saved.

The Ask for a review text on every job then ends with You can leave one here: and your link. Leave the box blank and the text goes out without it. With a Google link it reads like this:

Thanks again for choosing Mike's Lawn Care! If you have a minute, a review would help us a lot.

You can leave one here: https://g.page/r/CabC123xyz/review

Know someone who could use us? Pass along this number.

Tap the ? on the Review link card for step-by-step help finding your Google link, what Yelp and Facebook links look like, and the text the customer gets. See Call, text, and directions. Only the owner can change this box.

#Invoice details

Put your contact details on every invoice, so the customer or their office knows how to reach you.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Business.
2. In Invoice details, type one thing per line. For example:
   • 512-555-0142
   • mike@mikeslawn.com
   • PO Box 88, Jonestown, TX 78645
   • TX Lic. M-40123
3. Tap Save. You'll see Saved.

Up to 6 lines and 300 letters. Blank lines are dropped when you save. Leave the box blank and invoices show only your business name.

Every invoice prints this under your business name. To make one, open a job and tap Invoice. See Send an invoice. Tap the ? on the card to see what else is on the invoice and an example. Only the owner can change this box.

#Paid jobs spreadsheet

Get a list of the money you got, for your books, your accountant, or taxes.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Spreadsheets.
2. Under Paid jobs spreadsheet, pick a Time: This month, Last month, This year, or Last year.
3. Tap Download. You'll see Downloaded and how many payments.

The file is a spreadsheet (CSV) with one row per payment: the day it came in, the job number, the customer, the job title, and the amount. A deposit and the rest of the price are two rows. It opens in Google Sheets, Excel, or Numbers. You can email it to your accountant or import it into QuickBooks.

A payment you took back with Undo last payment shows as a minus amount on the day you took it back, so the total stays right. No payments in that time? You'll see No payments in that time. See Price, Unpaid, and Paid. Only the owner sees this.

#Receipts spreadsheet

The other side of your books: what you spent on parts and supplies, from the receipts you scanned.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Spreadsheets.
2. Under Receipts spreadsheet, pick a Time.
3. Tap Download receipts. You'll see Downloaded and how many receipts.

The file has one row per receipt: the date on the receipt, the vendor, the receipt number, subtotal, tax, and total. A receipt with no date read off it uses the day you scanned it. Receipts marked Not saved yet count too, since the money is spent. A scan that failed isn't in it.

Hand it to your accountant with the Paid jobs spreadsheet and they have money in and money out. Only the owner sees this, and only when Parts is on. See Snap a receipt.

#Import customers

Moving over from another app, or keeping customers in your phone or a spreadsheet? Bring them all in at once.

1. In your old app, export or download your customers as a spreadsheet (CSV). Most apps have this under Customers or Clients. Phone contacts can export a CSV too.
2. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Spreadsheets.
3. Under Import customers, tap Upload spreadsheet and pick the file.
4. You'll see how many customers are ready, and how many rows will be left out and why.
5. Tap the add button, like Add 25 customers, to bring them in. You'll see Added and how many.

No file yet, or not sure how to set one up? Tap Download template under Import customers. You get a spreadsheet with the column names already in the first row and one sample customer, Jane Sample. Open it in Google Sheets, Excel, or Numbers, type your customers under the header (or paste the header row into your own file), save it as a CSV, and upload it. If you leave Jane Sample in, she is skipped.

Barton Forge looks for columns named like Name (or First Name and Last Name), Phone or Mobile, Email, and Notes. An address (Address, City, State, Zip) goes in the customer's notes, since addresses live on jobs.

• Every customer needs a name and a phone number. Rows without one are left out.
• A phone number that's already on one of your customers is left alone, so nothing gets doubled. Importing the same file twice is safe.
• Up to 1,000 customers at a time. Split a bigger file and import each part.
• On the free plan, an import has to fit in your free customers. See Plans and prices.

Only the owner sees this. Imported customers show up on Customers right away.

#Customers spreadsheet

Your customer list is yours. Download it any time to keep a copy or take it to another app.

1. Tap your photo in the top corner, then Settings, then Spreadsheets.
2. Under Customers spreadsheet, tap Download customers. You'll see Downloaded and how many customers.

The file is a spreadsheet (CSV) with one row per customer: name, phone, email, the address from their last job, Text language, notes, and the day of their last job. Customers you removed are left out. The column names stay in English so other apps (and Import customers) can read the file. Only the owner sees this.

#The two business settings

Both are switches under Settings, then Inventory. They're for the whole business, so a change affects everyone on it. Only the owner can flip them. Each switch saves the moment you flip it.

#Settings that are just for you

Your screen (light or dark) and your language live in your account menu, not in Settings. They only change your own phone or computer. See Light, dark, and language.