Questions about Boetbook
Pricing questions are answered on the pricing page. Everything else is here. If yours isn't, email [email protected].
Getting started
- Is there an app to install?
- Boetbook runs in the browser on your phone, tablet, or computer at boetbook.com/app. There is nothing to install and nothing to update. On a phone you can add it to your home screen from the browser menu and it opens like an app.
- How long does set-up take?
- A few minutes. Sign up, name your business, add a client, book a job. Company details for invoices, such as your address, logo, and invoice number prefix, live in Settings and take about two more minutes.
- How do I join my team's business?
- Someone in the business has to invite you; you can't join on your own. After signing in, tap Join an existing business. It shows the email address you signed up with, with buttons to copy it or send it to the owner by WhatsApp or email. The owner adds it under Members, Invite member. Nothing is emailed to you: tap Check for invites, and when the invite appears, tap Accept to go straight into the business. If the invite doesn't show up, check that the owner used the same email address you signed up with.
- What is the Get started checklist, and the tour?
- A new business sees a short Get started card on the Dashboard: add your business details, add a client, book a job, finish a job (Mark as Completed), and create an invoice. Each step ticks itself off when you do it, and the card disappears when they are all done. You can collapse or dismiss it at any time. The Show me around tour points out the main parts of the app in about 30 seconds; replay it from the account menu on a computer, or from More on a phone. Help and guides links are in the same menu.
- Can I import my existing clients from a spreadsheet?
- Yes. Export your spreadsheet as a CSV file (in Excel: File, Save As, CSV), then tap Import CSV at the top of Clients. You can also paste rows straight from a sheet. Boetbook guesses which column is the name, email, phone and so on, and you can correct any of them from a dropdown. Before anything is saved you see how many rows will be imported and why any are skipped: a missing name, an email that is not an email, or a client you already have with the same email or phone. Payments, stock items and services import the same way from their own pages, and each import screen has a template CSV to download. Imports respect your plan: on Free, rows beyond your client limit are skipped.
- How do I import payments from a spreadsheet?
- Open Payments and tap Import CSV. Map the date, amount, client, invoice number and method columns. Boetbook matches the client by name or email and the invoice by its number, so the payment shows up on the right invoice. A payment whose client or invoice cannot be found is still imported, without the link, and the name or number is kept in its note. Amounts written as 1500,00 or 1,200.50 (with or without the Rand sign) and dates like 05/03/2026 or 5 Mar 2026 are understood. Rows that match an existing payment exactly are skipped, so importing the same file twice does not double up.
- Which kinds of business is Boetbook for?
- Three, on one app: trades such as plumbers and electricians, solo practitioners such as coaches and consultants, and small agencies. The same plain labels (clients, jobs, quotes, invoices) work for all three, so a coaching session or an agency project is simply a job.
Using Boetbook day to day
- Does it work offline?
- You can read everything you have already opened while offline, because Boetbook keeps a local copy. On a job you have opened you can also change its status, add a comment and attach photos with no signal: they show straight away, a "Waiting to sync" badge counts them, and they are sent in order when your connection comes back (even if you closed the app in between). Everything else, like creating clients, jobs or invoices, needs a connection; if you try while offline, Boetbook tells you straight away instead of silently queuing it.
- Can Boetbook plan my week to cut driving?
- On Max, yes. The Week planner takes the week's jobs, each person's working hours, start point and breaks, and how long each job takes, then suggests who does what, on which day and in which order so there is less driving and more jobs fit. Nothing moves by itself: you tap Apply on each change you like. A job whose time you have confirmed with the client never moves; if moving it would save a lot of driving, the planner suggests asking the client, with a WhatsApp message ready to send. It also points out customers due a regular service near where someone is already working that day. Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, so client addresses never leave Boetbook; each day has a Directions button that opens the route in Google Maps for the real navigation.
- How do I send an invoice?
- Open the invoice and tap Share. On a phone that opens the normal share sheet with a PDF attached, so you can send it by WhatsApp, email, or any other app. On a desktop it downloads the PDF.
- Can Boetbook send my client a thank-you when a job is done?
- It writes it for you. When you move a job to Completed, Boetbook offers a ready-made thank-you with the client's first name, the job and your business name, plus your Google review link if you have saved one in Settings. Tap WhatsApp or Email and the message opens in your own WhatsApp or mail app, ready to send. Boetbook never sends anything itself, so nothing leaves until you press send. You can edit the text first, or tap Not now. The message is a thank-you and a review request only, with no promotions.
- Can I put my bank details and a payment link on invoices?
- Yes. In Settings, under Get paid, add your bank name, account holder, account number and branch code, your PayShap number if you have one, and optionally a Pay online link from Yoco, PayFast, SnapScan or Paystack. They appear as a How to pay block on the invoice, the PDF, and the WhatsApp and email invoice messages, with the invoice number as the payment reference. If your VAT number is set, the document is titled Tax Invoice.
- Can my clients pay by PayShap or card?
- Yes, straight into your own accounts. For PayShap, add the cellphone number, ShapID or Shap Name your bank set up for you under Settings, Get paid. Your client pays it instantly from their banking app, using the invoice number as the reference. PayShap limits depend on the client's bank, so your normal bank details stay on the invoice too. For card, Capitec Pay or instant EFT, paste a payment link from your own Yoco, PayFast, SnapScan, Paystack or Peach account as the Pay online link. Boetbook never handles the money: it goes straight from your client to you, and you record the payment on the invoice when it arrives.
- How does Boetbook handle VAT?
- Only if you are VAT-registered. Add your VAT number in Settings and invoices become tax invoices: they show your VAT number, the VAT amount and the total including VAT, and the client's address and VAT number when you have saved them. Each invoice has a Prices include VAT switch for when you quoted VAT-inclusive prices. Without a VAT number Boetbook shows no VAT at all, because a business that is not registered may not charge it. Once an invoice is sent it keeps the VAT treatment it was issued with, even if you register or deregister later.
- Can I change how my invoices look?
- Yes. Every plan puts your logo (PNG or JPEG), business and bank details on the Classic design. On Professional, Settings > Invoice design also offers Modern and Trade docket (a compact job card with a box for the client to sign), your colour, a footer for your terms, and your own wording for invoice and thank-you messages. Max adds a signature, quote titles (Quotation, Estimate or Proposal) and a separate quote design. Tap Preview PDF to see a sample. On a smaller plan your settings are kept, and documents use the Classic design until you upgrade.
- How do I change or cancel an invoice I have already sent?
- If you are VAT-registered, a sent tax invoice is locked: SARS allows one tax invoice per sale, so you cannot edit its amounts or delete it. Open it and tap Issue credit note instead. Choose the lines (or part of them) to credit and give a reason. The credit note has its own number and PDF, and the invoice shows the reduced balance, or the amount owing back to the client if they had already paid. Pay the refund from your bank, then tap Record refund. If you are not VAT-registered you can still edit sent invoices.
- Can I attach photos to a job?
- Yes. Open the job, tap Add photo, and take one or pick it from your gallery. Photos stay with the job as proof of work.
- Is there a board view for jobs?
- Yes. On the Jobs page, switch from List to Board to see one column per status. Drag a card to another column on a computer, or on a phone tap the green Done button or the status menu on the card. The list is still the default, and Boetbook remembers which view you picked on each device.
- What is a service?
- A service is a template for work you do repeatedly, such as a geyser service or a monthly coaching session. It carries the usual price, line items, and stock used, and can recur on a schedule so Boetbook reminds you when it is due.
- Can I get my invoices into Sage or Xero?
- Yes, as files your accountant can use. On Invoices, tap Export, choose Sage Accounting (South Africa), Xero, or a plain spreadsheet, and pick the dates. You get one file each for invoices, the customers they are for, and payments received. Xero imports the invoice and customer files directly. Sage's South African edition imports customers but not invoices, so its invoice file is a list to capture from. Quotes and drafts are left out. Every plan includes this.
- Does Boetbook do accounting or send marketing emails?
- No, on purpose. Boetbook tracks jobs, clients, quotes, invoices, payments, and stock. For accounting, email marketing, and calendars we link out to the tools that already do those well rather than building weaker versions.
Dashboard and suggestions
- What does "What's coming" on the dashboard show?
- Four numbers worked out from your own records: money owed to you (and how much of it is overdue), what the next 30 days look like from booked jobs plus regular services not yet booked, quotes sent more than a week ago with no invoice yet, and clients who have gone quiet compared with how often they usually book. Tap any of them to open the matching list.
- What are Suggested actions?
- On Professional and Max, the dashboard lists up to five things worth doing today: invoices to chase, quotes to follow up, regular services that are due with nothing booked, finished jobs that still need an invoice (VAT vendors see how many of the 21 days are left), unpaid invoices for a job booked this week, recent customers to thank and ask for a Google review, first-time customers to check in with, and regulars who have gone quiet. Each has one button to call, WhatsApp, open a ready-written email, book the job or start the invoice, and a "Why this?" line. Boetbook never contacts anyone for you. Someone who owes you money only gets the payment reminder, not a sales nudge. Dismiss a suggestion with the cross and it stays away for 30 days, or snooze it for a week. The list refreshes every Monday morning, or whenever you tap Refresh.
- What is Smart suggestions (beta)?
- An optional extra the business owner can turn on in Settings → Suggested actions. It asks TypeSafe's Jev model, hosted in the USA, who a nudge is most likely to move and whether to call, email or book, and shows "beta" next to those suggestions. It only receives short descriptions such as "one to four weeks overdue" or "paid all 3 earlier invoices", with no names, contact details, amounts or dates. If the owner also turns on "Also read job notes", it reads recent job notes (with the customer's name, phone numbers, emails and amounts removed) to spot things like a customer asking about more work or being unhappy. It is off by default; without it, suggestions use our standard rules.
- How do the Google listing tips work?
- Paste the link to your Google Maps listing in Settings → Suggested actions. Until you do, and once you have finished a few jobs, the dashboard suggests creating a free Google Business Profile; once you have a listing but no review link, it reminds you to add one so thank-you messages ask for a review. Where Google listing checks are switched on for your account, we also read your own listing once a week and suggest fixes: ask for more reviews, reply to reviews, add missing hours, website or photos, or fix a listing marked closed.
Your team
- How do I add someone?
- Open Members, tap Invite member, and enter their email and a role. They get a link. Until they accept, the invite shows under Sent invites.
- What can each role do?
- Owner can do everything including billing. Manager can change anything except billing. Member can create and edit jobs, clients, and documents. Viewer can see everything and change nothing. The Max plan adds custom roles with per-module permissions.
- Can one person be in two businesses?
- Yes. One login can belong to several organisations, and you switch between them from the organisation picker. Each organisation has its own plan and its own data.
Your data and privacy
- Who can see my data?
- Only members of your organisation, according to their role. Boetbook staff do not browse customer data. The full list of the providers that run the service is on the sub-processors page.
- Is Boetbook POPIA compliant?
- Boetbook is a South African company and the service is built around the Protection of Personal Information Act. The privacy policy is the section 18 notification, the operator agreement covers the data you store about your own clients, and the PAIA manual is published as required.
- Do you use tracking or analytics scripts?
- No. The website and the app run no analytics trackers and no advertising scripts, which is also why there is no cookie banner. The sign-in and sign-up forms use Cloudflare Turnstile, a security check that keeps bots out; it is strictly necessary, does not profile you, and is listed on the sub-processors page.
- How do I delete my account?
- Open the account menu (More on a phone) and choose Close account, or email us from the account owner address. Closing cancels your subscription straight away and signs you out. Your data is permanently deleted 30 days later and gone from backups within 60; until then, email us if you change your mind and we can restore it. Export anything you want to keep first, because deletion is permanent. The steps are also on boetbook.com/delete-account.
- Where is my data stored and can I export it?
- Data is stored with the hosting providers listed on the sub-processors page. Invoices and quotes export as PDF, and invoices, customers, and payments export as spreadsheet (CSV) files from the Invoices page. A full data export on request is part of the service.
Signing in
- I signed up but can't sign in
- You probably haven't confirmed your email yet. Sign in with your email and password as usual. Boetbook says your email isn't verified yet, emails you a code, and shows a box for it. Type the code and you're in. The link in the same email works too. No email, or the code has expired? Check spam, then tap Resend code.
- I'm locked out of signing in with a code
- After 10 wrong codes since your last sign-in, Boetbook stops accepting emailed codes for your account, so nobody can keep guessing. Your password still works: sign in with it and codes work again straight away. No password, or forgotten it? Tap Forgot password? on the sign-in screen, follow the link we email you and set one, and you are back in. Signing in with Google also lifts the lock. If none of that works, email [email protected] from the account address and we will unlock it.
Help and support
- How do I get help?
- Email [email protected]. Free plan questions are answered from the community inbox as time allows. Paid plans include email support, with priority support on Max and dedicated support on Corporate.
- Where do I report a bug or ask for a feature?
- Same address. Include what you were doing and, if you can, a screenshot. Feature requests shape what gets built next, so they are genuinely read.
Still wondering? Try it.
The Free plan doesn't expire. Most questions answer themselves in the first ten minutes.