Installer app: set it up for your crew
Shape the worker app for your crew: two behaviour switches (location tracking, clock-in-for-timers) and the canned messages that are the only texts a worker can send a customer.
Settings & integrations10 in this section
Settings → Installer app controls how the worker app behaves for your crew — the mobile-first surface your installers, detailers and technicians live in at My Work. It has two parts: two behaviour switches, and the canned messages that are the only texts a worker is allowed to send a customer. Only owners and managers can change anything here; a tech opening the page sees it read-only. To rename the role itself — Installer, Detailer, Technician or Worker — head to the Team page; this page just says the current label in its subtitle.
The two behaviour switches
Save each part on its own
The switches live under Behaviour with their own Save behaviour button — nothing is stored until you click it. Canned messages save separately, per message. So changing a switch and editing a message are two independent saves.
Canned messages are the pre-approved texts a worker can send from a job. On the worker app there is no free-typing a customer — a tech taps a message from this list and it sends. That's deliberate: it keeps every customer-facing text on-brand and lets you control the tone, while still letting the crew say the useful things ("on my way", "running late") without pulling you in.
Build your message library
- 1
Start from the defaults
A brand-new shop has none, so the empty state shows an Add starter messages button. One click seeds a sensible set — On my way, Running late, Job started, Job complete — that you then edit to taste.
- 2
Add your own
Use the Add a message card: a Label (what the worker sees on the button, e.g. "On my way"), a Type, and the Message text that actually sends. Both label and text are required.
- 3
Pick a Type
The type is a category — On my way, Running late, Job started, Job complete, or Custom. Use Custom for anything that doesn't fit the four common moments; the type mainly helps you (and the app) group messages.
- 4
Edit or hide later
Each saved message is its own row: change the label, text or type and hit Save. Untick Active to hide a message from the worker app without deleting it — a Hidden badge marks it. Delete archives it for good.
Keep the wording short and plain
These go out as SMS, so a worker reads and taps them one-handed on a job. "Hi! I'm on my way to your vehicle now." beats a paragraph. There are no merge variables here — what you type is what sends — so avoid anything that assumes a name or a time.
How this fits the rest of the crew tooling: the switches and messages here shape the My Work surface and feed the Dispatch board (location tracking is what puts pins on its live map). The app itself is the installable PWA — same login as the dashboard — so there's nothing to install from a store for the web app. If you're also rolling out the native companion and push alerts, that's a separate page: see Set up the mobile app. For what a tech actually sees and does on their first shift, point them at An installer's first day.
Troubleshooting
The behaviour switches are greyed out, or a message edit won't stick.
Why: Your login doesn't have the manager permission. The switches show as read-only (with an "only owners and managers can change these" note), and any canned-message change a tech submits is rejected.
Fix: Ask an owner or manager to make the change, or to upgrade your role on the Team page.
Location tracking is on but the dispatcher's live map shows nothing.
Why: The worker hasn't granted location permission on their phone, or they aren't clocked in — pings are only collected during an open shift.
Fix: Have the worker allow location for the app and clock in. Pings only flow while on the clock and only when this switch is on.
A tech can't text the customer from a job at all.
Why: This shop has no active canned messages — the worker app has nothing to offer, and free text isn't allowed.
Fix: Add at least one message (or click Add starter messages) and make sure it's marked Active.
A message you added never shows up for the crew.
Why: It's saved but not Active, so it's hidden from the worker app.
Fix: Open the row, tick Active, and Save — the Hidden badge disappears.
Common questions
Can a worker text a customer anything they want?
No. The worker app only lets them send from the canned messages you approve on this page — free text to a customer is off-limits on the worker surface. If you want them to be able to say something, add it as a canned message first.
What's the difference between hiding a message and deleting it?
Unticking Active hides a message from the worker app but keeps it on this page so you can bring it back later (it shows a Hidden badge). Delete archives it — treat that as permanent.
How do I change what my crew is called — Installer vs Detailer?
That label lives on the Team page, not here. This page only reflects the current label in its subtitle; set it once on Team and it updates across the worker app, dispatcher and this page.
Do I have to turn on location tracking to use the crew app?
No — it's off by default and the app works fully without it. Turn it on only if you want the dispatcher's live map to show where clocked-in workers are, and know the worker still has to grant device permission for it to do anything.