Set up your business

You can set up a business in a few minutes: name it, add your services, then fill in your contact details. Every business starts on the Free plan, with one customer and email updates. No card needed.

Create a business

1. Go to Settings > Businesses and click Start a new business.
2. Type the business name the way your customers know it, then click Create business.
3. Answer the short setup questions. Hoptide uses them to set up your services and page.

One account can own or work in several businesses. Use the business name at the top of the sidebar to switch between them.

Add your services

Services are the kinds of work you do, like lawn care or window cleaning. Customers see the service name in their updates.

1. Go to Services.

2. Pick one of the suggested services under More services, or click Your own service for anything else.

3. Fill in:

   • Service name, as your team sees it, for example "Gutter cleaning."
   • Service name customers see on their page (leave blank to use the same name).
   • Sentence customers read when a visit is finished, for example "Your gutters are clear."
   • One line about it for your public page (optional).

4. Choose how this service runs:

   • Appointments: each customer gets a date and an arrival window, then "on the way," "arrived" and "done" updates.
   • Routes: an ordered list of stops for one team member. Customers see where they're in line, like "Stop 7 of 28". A route service can also text the next customer "You're next" when the stop before theirs is done. That's useful when each stop takes a while, so it starts off for snow removal, where a driveway takes minutes. Change it with the box under the service on the Services page.

5. Click Add this service.

To stop offering a service, click the ... next to it and choose Turn off. Its history and customer links stay, and it stays in your list marked Off so you can turn it back on.

Change how a service runs

On Services, use the dropdown next to a service to switch between Runs as routes and Runs as appointments. If the service has booked appointments, or routes planned or in progress, Hoptide shows how many and asks first. Visits already booked keep running the way they were booked; the change applies to new visits.

Fill in your business details

Go to Settings > Businesses and click your business.

• Business name and Time zone. Every time your customers see uses this time zone, so set it before you book visits.
• How customers can reach you: phone, email and website. These show at the bottom of every customer's page. Leave a field blank to hide it.
• About your business, Area you serve and Hours (optional).
• Where the truck starts: your yard or home address. Routes sorted by driving order start from here. Customers never see it.

Click Save when you're done.