Help Center

Getting Started

Welcome to ClientBaseHQ

ClientBaseHQ gives your field service business a professional client portal, admin dashboard, automated emails, quoting, job tracking, and invoicing — all under your own brand.

What Happens After Signup

1. Your account is created with a 14-day free trial. All features are unlocked from day one.
2. You get a branded subdomain — for example, yourcompany.clientbasehq.com. This is your client portal URL.
3. Set up your branding — upload your logo, choose your accent color, and add your company info. These flow into every email and portal page automatically.
4. Add your clients — enter them one at a time or prepare a batch. Each client gets their own login to the portal.
5. Start working — create quotes, manage jobs, send invoices, and let the automation engine handle follow-ups.

Your 14-Day Trial

During the trial you have full access to every feature. No credit card required. At the end of 14 days, you choose a plan to continue. Your data stays right where it is.

Admin Dashboard vs. Client Portal

You work from the Admin Dashboard. Your clients see the Client Portal. These are completely separate interfaces. Clients never see your internal notes, expenses, or other clients' information.

Adding Clients

Adding a Client Manually

From your Admin Dashboard, click Add Client. Fill in the client's details:

• Name and email — the email is their login for the client portal.
• Phone and address — used for scheduling and communications.
• Plan — the service plan they're subscribed to (e.g., Basic, Premium, Elite). Plan names are fully customizable in your settings.
• Rate — their monthly or per-visit rate. Rates are tied to the plan and lot size combination you configure.
• Service day — the day of the week you service this property.
• Lot size — Small, Medium, Large, or whatever categories you define.
• Status — Active, Inactive, or Lead.

Household Linking

Some clients have multiple properties or household members who need portal access. Use the Household feature to link accounts together. Linked accounts share visit history and property notes, so everyone in the household stays informed.

Client Statuses

• Active — currently receiving service. Shows on your schedule and receives automated emails.
• Inactive — paused or cancelled. The system can automatically send reactivation emails at 30, 60, and 90 days.
• Lead — someone who hasn't signed up yet. Leads get a separate follow-up email sequence.

Importing Clients

If you have an existing client list, prepare a spreadsheet with columns for name, email, phone, address, plan, rate, service day, and lot size. You can then add them through the dashboard. Make sure each email is unique — it's the client's login credential.

Creating Quotes

How Quotes Work

Quotes let you price out work for a client before starting. Each quote has line items with descriptions and amounts. When the client approves the quote, it can automatically become a job.

Building a Quote

1. Go to the Quotes section and click New Quote.
2. Select the client the quote is for.
3. Add line items — each one has a description and a dollar amount. Use presets to quickly add common services you offer.
4. The total calculates automatically from your line items.
5. Add any notes for the client (scope of work, timeline, terms).
6. Click Send to Client — the client gets an email with a link to view and approve the quote in their portal.

Quote Presets

If you quote the same services often (e.g., "Mulch Install — 10 yards" or "Spring Cleanup"), save them as presets. When building a quote, you can add presets with one click instead of retyping descriptions and amounts.

The Approval Flow

• Pending — the quote has been sent and is waiting for a response.
• Approved — the client accepted. A job is created automatically.
• Declined — the client passed. You can follow up or create a revised quote.
• Expired — if the client doesn't respond after 7 days, the quote is marked expired. The system sends a nudge at day 4 before expiration.

Automatic Follow-ups

The system handles quote follow-ups for you:

• Day 3 — you get an admin reminder to follow up on open quotes.
• Day 4 — the client gets a friendly nudge email.
• Day 7+ — quotes without a response expire automatically.

Managing Jobs

How Jobs Are Created

Jobs are created automatically when a client approves a quote. You can also create a job manually from the Jobs section if the work doesn't need a formal quote.

Job Statuses

• Scheduled — the job is planned and shows on your calendar.
• In Progress — work is underway.
• Completed — work is finished. Completing a job can trigger an invoice and a review request email.
• Cancelled — the job was cancelled before completion.

Threaded Notes

Every job has a note thread. Use it to track progress, log crew communications, or share updates with the client. Notes support replies, so conversations stay organized under the original message.

Photos

Attach before-and-after photos directly to a job. Photos are uploaded to your private storage and can be shared with the client through the portal. This is great for showing completed work and building trust.

Marking a Job Complete

When you mark a job as completed:

• The client is notified via email.
• The job shows as completed in the client's portal.
• If auto-invoicing is enabled, an invoice is generated from the job's quote line items.
• A review request email is queued (sent 1 day later, with a 90-day cooldown per client).

Invoicing

Creating an Invoice

You can create an invoice from scratch or directly from a completed job. When creating from a job, the line items carry over automatically from the original quote.

1. Go to the Invoices section and click New Invoice.
2. Select the client, add line items, and set the due date.
3. Click Send — the client receives an email with a link to view the invoice in their portal.

Auto-Invoice from Completed Jobs

When you mark a job as complete, an invoice can be generated automatically. The line items and total pull directly from the approved quote. This saves you from duplicating data entry.

Invoice Statuses

• Draft — created but not yet sent to the client.
• Sent — the client has received the invoice email.
• Viewed — the client opened the invoice in their portal.
• Paid — payment has been received. Mark it manually or let Stripe process it.
• Overdue — the due date has passed without payment.

Payment Reminders

The system sends automatic payment reminders on the 1st of each month for any outstanding invoices. You don't need to chase payments manually — the emails go out with your branding and a direct link to pay.

Marking an Invoice as Paid

When a client pays (by check, cash, transfer, or Stripe), mark the invoice as paid. This updates the client's portal and stops any further payment reminders for that invoice.

Client Portal

What Your Clients See

The client portal is a branded website where your clients can:

• View their service history and upcoming visits
• See and approve or decline quotes
• View and pay invoices
• Submit service requests
• Read property notes and job updates
• Update their profile and contact information

The portal works on both desktop and mobile. On mobile, it functions as a PWA (Progressive Web App) — clients can add it to their home screen for an app-like experience.

Sharing the Portal Link

Your portal lives at yourcompany.clientbasehq.com/portal. Share this link with your clients via email, text, or your website. Each client logs in with their email address and password.

Branding Customization

Everything in the portal carries your brand:

• Logo — displayed in the nav bar and emails.
• Accent color — buttons, links, and highlights throughout the portal.
• Company name, phone, email, address — shown in the footer and contact sections.
• Plan names and services — whatever you name your plans is what clients see.

Your clients never see "ClientBaseHQ" anywhere. The portal looks and feels like your own custom-built software.

Email Automation

The 36-Touchpoint Engine

ClientBaseHQ sends professionally branded emails on your behalf at key moments in the client lifecycle. Every email uses your logo, colors, company name, and reply-to address. Here's what's automated:

Client Lifecycle Emails

• Welcome email — sent when a new client is added with portal login details.
• Visit completed — sent after you log a service visit.
• Property notes — sent when you add a note to a client's property.
• Profile updates — confirmation when a client updates their info.
• Password reset — secure reset link when requested.

Quoting Emails

• Quote ready — notifies the client a new quote is available.
• Quote nudge (day 4) — friendly reminder to review an open quote.
• Quote expired — lets the client know the quote window has closed.
• Quote response — confirms approval or decline to both you and the client.

Job Emails

• New job created — notifies the client when a job is scheduled.
• Job notes — shares updates and replies from the job thread.
• Job completion — lets the client know the work is done.

Service & Retention Emails

• Service reminders — sent the day before a scheduled visit.
• Review requests — sent 1 day after a visit (90-day cooldown per client).
• Payment reminders — monthly reminders for unpaid invoices.
• Anniversary — celebrates the client's service anniversary.
• 90-day milestone — recognizes new clients who've been with you 3 months.

Lead & Reactivation Emails

• Lead confirmation — instant reply when someone submits a lead form.
• Lead follow-up sequence — automated touches at day 2, 5, and 10.
• Reactivation drip — reaches out to inactive clients at 30, 60, and 90 days.

Seasonal Campaigns

If enabled, the system can send seasonal campaign emails (spring prep, fall cleanup, etc.) at the right time of year. Enable this in your tenant settings under features.

Scheduling & Calendar

The Week View

The calendar shows a week-at-a-glance view of your scheduled work. Each day column displays the jobs and visits planned for that date, so you can see your workload at a glance.

What Shows on the Calendar

• Scheduled jobs — jobs with assigned dates appear on the calendar automatically.
• Recurring service days — clients are grouped by their assigned service day (Monday, Tuesday, etc.).
• Job status indicators — quickly see which jobs are scheduled, in progress, or completed for the week.

Navigating Weeks

Use the forward and back arrows to move between weeks. Click "Today" to jump back to the current week. The calendar always shows Monday through Sunday (or your configured service days).

Reports

What's Tracked

The reporting dashboard gives you a snapshot of your business performance:

• Revenue — total invoiced and total collected, broken down by period.
• Jobs — jobs completed, jobs scheduled, and completion rate.
• Invoices — invoices sent, paid, and outstanding balances.
• Quotes — quotes sent, approval rate, average quote value, and revenue from approved quotes.
• Client count — active clients, new clients added, and churn.

Date Range Filtering

All reports support date range filtering. Select a start and end date to see metrics for any period — this week, this month, this quarter, year-to-date, or any custom range. Use this to compare seasons, track month-over-month growth, or prepare for tax time.