Frequently asked questions

Yes — completely. Each business’s data is isolated at the database level (row-level security). No other SwardOps business can ever see your customers, sites, jobs or financials. Even the SwardOps platform owner is blocked from seeing your customer and financial data — it’s enforced in the database, not just the app.

Only their own jobs for the day. Crew get a focused mobile day-view — they cannot see your other customers, your pricing, your financials, or the office console. Roles control this: only Admin/Office accounts get the back-office.

Connect your Stripe account (Settings/Billing) and customers can pay invoices by card directly from the invoice page. The money goes straight to your Stripe account — SwardOps never holds your funds.

Yes. Crew use the mobile day-view on their phones. The office console works best on a laptop/desktop but is usable on mobile too.

Yes — Clients → Customers has a CSV import so you can bring your existing customer list across rather than typing it all in.

You can see your plan and trial status under Business → Billing. Founding beta members are on a free-for-life arrangement using a promo code at checkout — you won’t be charged.

No — set up a recurring contract and SwardOps raises the instalment invoices as drafts automatically when they’re due. You just review and send.

Add expiry/due dates under Team → Compliance and Equipment → Machines. SwardOps notifies your office before anything expires (LOLER/PUWER/MOT, spraying certs, licences) and flags anything overdue.

Yes — for approved leave, your office is reminded 4 weeks, 2 weeks and 1 week before it starts, so you can arrange cover.

No. It’s opt-in per company, only captured while a crew member is on shift, and the history is deleted after 90 days. It’s there for lone-worker safety and dispatch.

Yes — Xero and QuickBooks both sync invoices and import your products & services into the price book, and GoCardless collects by Direct Debit. Each connects with your own account in a couple of clicks under Settings.

Yes — Team → Subcontractors. Invite a subbie by email (they get a free account locked to working with you — they never see your customers or prices) or link a firm that already uses SwardOps with their subbie code. Offer them jobs, ask for prices, and settle their invoices in-app.

Set each subbie’s CIS rate (0/20/30%) and every invoice they send shows gross − deduction = what you pay, on both sides. If your subcontract work sits outside the Construction Industry Scheme — common for pure grounds work — untick the company CIS switch and invoices simply show the gross.

Yes — the work board on Team → Subcontractors. Set how far from your yard you’ll travel and you’re notified when another SwardOps firm posts work within that radius. Register interest and they get your subbie code to link you in one step.

Yes. Untick “VAT registered” in Settings → Quotes & branding. New quotes and invoices default to 0% and customers see no VAT line anywhere — pages, PDFs or emails. Tick it again any time you register.

Yes — switch on the public request form (and optionally full online booking) under Settings. Booking only offers days you actually have room, from your weekday and capacity settings, and you can keep an approve-first step. There’s an embed snippet for your website too.

Yes — enable the customer portal per customer and they sign in with a secure email link to see visits, photos, quotes, invoices and messages (only their own). Use Portal preview to see exactly what they’d see before switching it on.

Yes — Clients → Campaigns. Pick a segment (all / active contracts / lapsed 60+ days), add photos or a video, and send branded. Opt-outs and unsubscribe links are handled automatically, which keeps you on the right side of the marketing rules.

Yes — Settings → Quotes & branding has editable covering-email text for quotes and invoices, with placeholders like {name}, {number} and {total}. You can also add a one-off personal message per quote, and link a quote to the site it refers to.

The gritting pack is a switch in Settings. Crews run GPS-traced grit runs so every visit has a coverage map — your slip-and-fall evidence — and completed runs invoice per visit or roll into contracts, with salt stock tracked automatically.

SMS and WhatsApp share a monthly text allowance included with your plan (see the SMS pack in Settings). A dedicated business text number is about £1/month, and missed-call text-back uses the same allowance.

Email support@swardops.com. As a founding beta member your feedback shapes the product, so do tell us what’s confusing, broken or missing.