How-to

Which button to press

Short guides for the things you will do in your first week. Something missing? Tell us and we will write it.

Getting set up

Your first week

Do these once, in this order, and everything after it is quicker.

Sign in for the first time

Go to yourcompany.roosterdispatch.com and sign in with the owner username and one-time password we sent you. Change that password straight away from My Account.

Add your team

Open Accounts → add each person with their name, email and phone. Give each one a permission level: crew members see their own schedule, leads see clients, and the payroll levels see money. You can change a level any time.

Set up your job types and rates

Open Job Types → add the kinds of work you sell, each with the rate you charge. These become the choices when booking a job and the line items on an invoice, so it is worth getting them right once.

Set pay rates for your roles

Open Payroll → set what each role earns, per region if you work in more than one area. Time cards use these, so payroll adds up on its own later.

Everyday jobs

Day to day

How do I add a new client?

ClientsAdd Client. Fill in the name, address, phone and email. The email matters: invoices and receipts go there.

Add extra contacts if the person who books is not the person on site. Each one can have their own phone and email.

How do I book a job?

JobsAdd Job. Pick the client, the date and time, and the job type. Then assign your crew, and the calendar warns you if somebody is already booked or has the day off.

Save it and it appears on everyone's schedule. If you have texting connected, the client gets their reminder automatically before the day.

How does my crew clock in and out?

Crew members sign in on their phone and press Clock In when they arrive, and out when they leave. Breaks are recorded too.

Those hours land on their Time Card, which is what payroll reads, so nobody has to remember or write anything down.

How do I send an invoice?

Open the client, then Create Invoice. The work already recorded against them is pulled in, so you are checking numbers rather than typing them. Adjust anything that needs it and send.

With Stripe connected the client can pay by card and the invoice marks itself paid. Without it, the invoice is still numbered and recorded. You collect payment your usual way and mark it paid yourself.

How do I send a message to a client or the whole crew?

Messages → choose who it goes to and pick a template, or write your own. Templates fill in the name and date for you, so a reminder reads the same no matter who sends it. Needs Twilio connected.

How do I get a document signed?

Open the job → Send for signature. The client gets a link, signs on whatever device they have, and the signed copy stays attached to that job.

Connecting your own accounts

Stripe and Twilio

Both accounts are yours, in your business's name, billed to you directly. Your site works without either, so connect them when you are ready.

Take card payments with Stripe

Money goes from your client straight to your bank account. It never passes through us.

  1. Create a Stripe account at dashboard.stripe.com/register. Have your business details and bank account ready, because Stripe verifies them before paying out.
  2. In the Stripe dashboard, open Developers → API keys and copy your secret key.
  3. Coming soon Paste it into your site's settings. We are finishing this screen. Until it is live, send us a message and we will connect it for you.

Keep your secret key secret. Anyone holding it can move money in your Stripe account. Never email it or paste it into a chat, and nobody from RoosterDispatch will ever ask you to read it out.

Send texts with Twilio

Texts go out from your own business number, under your own registration.

  1. Create a Twilio account at twilio.com/try-twilio and buy a phone number for your business.
  2. Register for A2P 10DLC. US carriers require every business that texts customers to register first. Twilio walks you through it: see Twilio's A2P 10DLC guide. Start this early: approval usually takes several days, and messages sent before it completes may not be delivered.
  3. Create a Messaging Service in the Twilio console and add your number to it.
  4. Coming soon Paste your Account SID, Auth Token and Messaging Service SID into your site's settings. Send us a message in the meantime and we will connect it for you.

Twilio bills you per message, at their rates. Reminder texts are short, so most teams spend very little.

Stuck on either? Email us. We would rather walk you through it than have you guess.

Ready to run your business from one place?

Your own private site, your own database, set up in minutes. No contract, cancel any time.