FAQ and help

Common questions

Do my customers need an account or an app?

No. They get an email with a link. They read the estimate and accept it on that page, on a phone or a computer.

Does Northfork Trades text my customers?

Yes, if you turn on Also text customers who agreed to texts under Settings, and only to customers who agreed: when the job is booked or moved, the evening before, and when your crew is on the way. Snow customers also get storm-route texts they can answer SKIP, and anyone with a job at risk from the forecast gets a short weather warning. Every text starts with your company’s name, and replying STOP ends them. The same messages also go by email.

Does the customer have to draw a signature?

No. Their typed name and the ticked agreement box are what is required. A drawn signature is optional.

The customer cannot find the email. What do I do?

Ask them to check their spam folder. Then send it again: on Projects, open the job’s row menu and choose Send for signature. See Follow up and expiry.

Can I change an estimate after I send it?

Yes. Open it from Projects, make your changes, press Save changes, and send it again. See Change an estimate.

An estimate expired. Is it gone?

No. It is under Graveyard — Dead estimates at the bottom of Projects. Open its row menu and choose Resurrect estimate to send the customer a new link.

A customer signed. Where is the job?

Under Booking on Projects, and under Accepted — unscheduled in your Action Queue until you give it a date. Schedule it from either place. See Scheduling and crew.

Why can I not find Assign crew in the menu?

It appears once the customer has accepted the estimate. Before that there is nothing to staff. See Assign crew to a job.

The times on my schedule look an hour or two off.

Schedule screens show times in your company’s time zone, not your computer’s. Check the time zone in your settings. See Deposit and estimate defaults.

Why can I not change my settings?

Only admins can change settings. Ask an admin in your company to make you one under Settings, Team. See Team.

We do more than one kind of work. Can one account do them all?

Yes. Turn on each kind of work you do, such as yard care and snow removal, and you get the screens of each and a catalog for each. Each estimate is for one kind of work.

A service I sell is not in my catalog.

Add it. On Service Catalog, Features, press Add item. See Add your own service.

Why can I not delete a service?

It is on at least one estimate, or it is a starter service that came with your catalog. Press Mark inactive instead: estimates you have keep it, new ones do not offer it. See Edit, stop offering or delete a service.

Can I quote small-engine repairs?

Yes. Add Engine repair as a kind of work, then add your services to its catalog. See Engine repair.

Why does a service show as $0 on my estimate?

It has no price in your catalog yet. On Service Catalog, Features, it is marked No price yet. Set its price under Pricing & Labor, then build the estimate again. If you send an estimate with a $0 line, Northfork Trades asks first, and you can press Send anyway.

Can Northfork Trades send me new customers?

Yes, if you turn on Send me requests from people nearby in your settings. When someone near you asks for your kind of work on the Northfork request page, it lands on your board as a new lead. See Requests from people nearby.

Does it work where there is no signal?

Partly. On a phone that stays signed in, the jobs you last opened are kept on the phone, so you can still read them without signal. See Signed-in devices.

How do I connect my website’s request form?

Create a website key in your settings and give it to your web developer. See Website leads.

What is the Finish setting up list?

A short list on Pipeline of what is left to set up, such as your time zone, logo and prices. See Finish setting up.

Does Northfork Trades take payments from my customers?

Yes, through your own Stripe account: deposits and final invoices, by card or bank transfer. Connect Stripe under Settings. You can also record a payment that came in some other way. See Online payments.

Why do I see the name Structra?

Northfork Trades is made by Structra Technologies. The Structra name appears in the portal header and on some emails. Until you send from your own domain, customer email goes out as “Your Company via Structra”.

How do I add someone from my office?

An admin opens Settings, Team and presses Add person. Make them an Admin if they should change settings and billing, or a Team member for jobs, the schedule and customers. They get an email and sign in with a code. See Team.

Words used in Northfork Trades

Kind of work

Tree care, cleaning, engine repair, snow removal, junk removal, yard care or handyman work. Each kind has its own catalog, and some have their own screens. See Add or remove a kind of work.

Service item

One service in your catalog, such as tree removal or a carburetor rebuild. You can add your own. See Add your own service.

Option

A type of a service that has its own price, such as the kind of tree or the kind of machine.

Difficulty tier

A level of difficulty, such as Easy, Medium or Hard, that raises a service’s price and labor by a multiplier. Cleaning calls it condition. See Difficulty tiers.

Multiplier

The number a tier multiplies the base price or labor hours by. 1.5 is half as much again.

Inactive

A service, option or tier you no longer offer. Estimates that already have it keep it.

Project Total

The single price on an engine repair estimate.

What is not here yet

Said plainly, so you do not promise a customer something Northfork Trades cannot do today.

• Customers building and booking their own service on your website, with live prices. Not available. A website request form that sends leads to Northfork Trades is. See Leads and requests.

If one of these is holding you back, tell us. It helps us decide what to build next.

How to get help

Email [email protected]. To help us answer the first time, include:

• Your company name.
• What you were trying to do.
• What happened instead, with a screenshot if you can.
• The job number, if it is about one job.

In the portal, Help at the top of the screen opens this guide.