Job Pilot Setup Guide: From Zero to First Invoice
A step-by-step walkthrough for setting up your Job Pilot account, adding your first client, scheduling your first job, and sending your first invoice — all in under an hour.
Most software takes weeks to set up. Job Pilot is built for field service businesses that need to be operational today, not next month. This guide walks you through every step from creating your account to sending your first invoice. Follow it in order and you’ll have a fully functional system in under an hour.
Step 1: Create Your Account
Navigate to the Job Pilot signup page and enter your name, business email, and a password. You’ll receive a verification email — click the confirmation link to activate your account.
Once logged in, you’ll land on the main dashboard. It will look sparse at first. That’s expected. The next steps will fill it out quickly.
Pro tip: Use a business email address (yourname@yourcompany.com), not a personal Gmail or Yahoo. Your email address appears on quotes and invoices. Clients notice.
Step 2: Configure Your Company Settings
Before you do anything else, set up your company profile. This information populates every document you send to clients, so getting it right first prevents you from having to chase down incorrectly branded invoices later.
Navigate to Settings > Company Profile and fill in:
- Business name — exactly as it should appear on invoices and quotes
- Logo — upload a PNG or JPG, ideally square, minimum 400x400px. If you don’t have a logo yet, use a placeholder with your business initials; you can update it later.
- Business address — your service address or mailing address
- Phone number — the number clients should call
- Website URL — even if it’s basic, add it
- License number — if your trade requires a license number on invoices (electricians, plumbers, contractors in many states), add it here
Next, go to Settings > Invoice & Quote Defaults and set:
- Payment terms — “Due upon receipt” and “Net 15” are the most common for home service
- Default tax rate — add your local sales tax rate if applicable to your services
- Invoice notes — a short thank-you message or payment instructions that appear on every invoice
Pro tip: Add a brief line in your invoice notes about accepted payment methods and any late fee policy. Clients read invoice notes more than you’d expect, and it eliminates common payment questions.
Step 3: Add Your First Client
Go to Clients > New Client and enter the client’s information:
- Full name (and company name if commercial work)
- Service address — the location where work is performed
- Billing address if different from service address
- Phone number(s) — mobile and home if you have both
- Email address — required for sending quotes, job confirmations, and invoices
- Any notes about the property or client preferences
Save the client record. You’ll see it now appears in your client list.
Pro tip: When you’re starting out, import any existing clients you have via the CSV import tool under Clients > Import. Even if the data is in a spreadsheet or just a list of names and numbers in your phone, getting everyone into Job Pilot now means your client history builds from day one.
Step 4: Build Your Service Catalog
Your service catalog is your price book. It defines the services you offer and what you charge, so you don’t have to type it out fresh on every quote.
Go to Settings > Services & Products and click Add Service for each service you offer. For each entry, add:
- Service name — clear, client-facing language (e.g., “Standard AC Tune-Up” not “HVAC-TU-S”)
- Description — a brief sentence describing what’s included. Clients see this on quotes.
- Default price — your standard rate for this service
- Unit — flat rate, per hour, per square foot, etc.
- Category — group similar services together (e.g., Maintenance, Repairs, Installations)
You don’t need to build your entire catalog in one sitting. Add your five most common services now and expand from there.
Pro tip: Write service descriptions the way a client reads them, not the way a technician thinks about them. “Full system inspection including filter check, coil cleaning, refrigerant level assessment, and thermostat calibration” is more compelling than “AC tune-up.” Good descriptions increase perceived value and reduce price objections.
Step 5: Schedule Your First Job
Go to Schedule > New Job and fill in:
- Client — search for the client you just added
- Service address — defaults to the client’s address on file
- Service(s) — select from your catalog. You can add multiple services and adjust quantities.
- Date and time — pick the scheduled date and arrival window
- Assigned technician — yourself for now, or a team member if you’ve added them
- Job notes — any access instructions, parking notes, or special client requests
Save the job. It now appears on your schedule calendar and is visible to any assigned technicians on the mobile app.
Pro tip: Add internal notes to the job for anything a technician needs to know that the client shouldn’t see on their paperwork — gate codes, dog in yard, client prefers text communication, prior issues with the system.
Step 6: Send a Quote
Before converting the job to active work, many jobs start with a quote. From the job record, click Create Quote. The quote will auto-populate with the client details, service address, and line items you added to the job.
Review the quote and confirm:
- Line items and pricing are correct
- The description is clear and professional
- Your terms, license number, and contact info appear in the footer
Click Send Quote. The client receives a branded email with a link to view and approve their quote online. They can approve it with a single click — no printing, signing, or faxing required.
Pro tip: The faster you send a quote after a site visit, the higher your close rate. Clients who receive a same-day quote are significantly more likely to accept it than those who receive one three days later. Use the Job Pilot mobile app to send quotes from your phone before you leave the driveway.
Step 7: Convert the Quote to an Active Job
When the client approves the quote, you’ll receive a notification. Open the quote in Job Pilot and click Convert to Job. The approved line items carry over automatically. The job status updates from “Quote Sent” to “Scheduled.”
If the client calls or texts to approve rather than clicking the online link, you can manually mark the quote as approved from the quote record.
Step 8: Complete the Job and Create an Invoice
Once the work is done, open the job record and change the status to Completed. Add any completion notes, upload job photos (strongly recommended — before and after), and note any follow-up items.
Click Create Invoice. The invoice pulls all approved line items from the job automatically. Review it one final time, then click Send Invoice.
The client receives a branded invoice email with an itemized breakdown and a payment link. They can pay by credit card or ACH directly from the invoice — no checks, no phone calls, no chasing.
Pro tip: Send the invoice the same day the job is completed, ideally within an hour of finishing. Same-day invoicing consistently produces the fastest payment times. When the work is fresh in a client’s mind, payment feels natural. Waiting days creates distance and friction.
Step 9: Set Up Online Payments
If you haven’t already connected a payment processor, go to Settings > Payments and connect your account. Job Pilot integrates with Stripe and other major processors. The setup takes about five minutes and requires basic business information and your bank account details for deposit routing.
Once connected, every invoice you send will include a “Pay Now” button. Clients can pay by credit card or bank transfer in under 60 seconds.
Pro tip: Processing fees (typically 2.9% + $0.30 for cards) are a cost of doing business, not a reason to avoid taking cards. Businesses that offer online payment collect invoices significantly faster than those that only accept checks. The days saved collecting payment far outweigh the processing cost on most jobs.
Step 10: Invite Team Members
If you have employees or subcontractors who need access to the schedule or job details, go to Settings > Team and click Invite Team Member.
Enter their name, email address, and assign a role:
- Technician — can view their schedule, update job status, add notes and photos, and create invoices. Cannot access billing settings or client financials.
- Office Admin — full access to scheduling, clients, and invoicing. Cannot access account settings or payment configuration.
- Owner/Admin — full access to everything.
The team member receives an email invitation with instructions to create their account and download the mobile app.
Pro tip: Before your first team member’s first day, walk through Job Pilot with them using a test job. A 15-minute orientation prevents confusion in the field. Show them specifically how to update job status, add photos, and add notes from the mobile app — these three habits improve your operation dramatically.
You’re Operational
If you’ve followed this guide in order, you now have:
- A fully branded company profile
- Your first client on record
- A service catalog ready to quote from
- A job scheduled, quoted, approved, completed, and invoiced
- Online payments connected and ready to receive funds
- Your team invited and ready to work
The first run-through of this workflow always takes the longest. By your tenth job, it will take minutes. By your hundredth, it’s completely automatic.
The businesses that get the most out of Job Pilot are the ones who commit to running every job through the system from the start — quotes, scheduling, job notes, photos, and invoicing. That consistency is what builds the data, the history, and the operational discipline that separates growing businesses from ones that stay stuck.
Next steps to explore: Recurring job scheduling, automated client follow-up messages, reporting dashboards, and maintenance plan billing. Each of these is documented in the Job Pilot Help Center.