Help, Q&A & How to Use Every ContractPulse Feature

No for the Free local-first workspace. Contractor Pro adds online services such as online workspace sync and the client portal, so a paid workflow uses account/cloud functionality.

Open Settings first. Enter your business name, contact details, invoice information, currency, default tax/discount settings, time rounding, and preferred theme. Save before creating documents.

Dashboard is the working starting point. It summarizes current work and gives you access to clients, projects, time tracking, invoices, expenses, reports, estimates and settings.

Free covers the complete local workflow — unlimited clients, projects, work logs, invoicing, expenses, P&L, and local print/PDF. Contractor Pro adds online services (client portal, cloud sync, team seats), advanced reports (yearly tax, monthly P&L, client profitability, forecast), estimates & quotes, time blocking, recurring invoices, custom templates, and CSV/backup export.

Use + Add Client from the workspace header or the Clients area. Enter the client information, save it, then create a project under that client.

A client is the person/company. A project is a specific piece of work for that client. Keep separate projects when scope, budget, rate or deliverables differ.

SOW means Scope of Work. Use it to describe what the project includes, then break the work into milestones so progress and deliverables are clear.

Yes. Client Notes are private workspace notes intended for context and follow-up. They are different from messages sent through the client portal.

Choose the client, choose the project, enter what you are working on, then start the timer. Stop it when the work session ends so the duration can be saved as a work log.

Use the idle detection controls when the app detects inactivity. Review the idle period before keeping or discarding it. This prevents inactive time from silently becoming billable time.

Yes. Settings includes time rounding options such as none, 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes. Choose the policy you actually use for billing.

Yes. Time Blocking & Schedule is a Pro feature. Use it to plan work blocks and compare planned time with actual logged time.

Your work logs contain the client, project, task and duration. The invoicing workflow can use that recorded work to calculate billable amounts based on the project's billing setup.

Yes. ContractPulse supports both hourly billing and fixed-fee billing. Use hourly billing when the amount follows tracked time; use fixed-fee billing when the agreed price is tied to the project or deliverable.

An estimate is a proposed price before work is finalized. An invoice requests payment for work or a deliverable. Estimates & Quotes are a Pro feature and an accepted estimate can be converted to an invoice.

Yes. Recurring Invoices is Pro. Recurring invoice templates are saved and generated manually; there is no hidden background billing process.

Yes. Payment Method Tracking records the payment method and, where supported, a payment reference. This helps keep the invoice history understandable later.

Open Expenses, choose Add Expense, enter the date, amount, category and relevant payment details, then save it. Keep receipts in your own records as well.

Yes. Custom Expense Categories let you add categories that match your business instead of forcing every expense into a generic list.

Yes. Settings includes a multi-currency picker with supported currencies. Choose the currency you actually use for your workspace and documents.

The P&L report compares recorded revenue with recorded expenses over a selected period to show the resulting net amount. It is a business planning view, not a tax filing.

Free: Profit & Loss. Contractor Pro: Income by Client, Expenses by Category, Tax Summary, Yearly Tax, Monthly P&L, Client Profitability, and Budget Forecast.

It groups invoice activity by client, including invoice count, paid amount, pending amount and total.

It combines client revenue with assigned expenses and logged hours to show revenue, cost, hours, profit and margin. It is available in Contractor Pro.

No. Treat the tax views as planning summaries. Tax rules differ by country, state, business structure and year. If you are filing taxes, verify the figures and rules with the appropriate tax professional or authority.

It uses recorded financial activity and project budget information to provide run-rate projections and highlight budget risk. It is a planning aid, not a guaranteed prediction.

It is a client-facing page you can share through a generated link. It can show project progress, milestones and invoice information without requiring the client to create a separate ContractPulse account.

Open the client/project sharing controls, generate the portal link, review what will be shared, then copy the link to the client. Portal sharing is a Contractor Pro online feature.

Yes. Client Messaging is part of the Pro online portal workflow. Messages are intended for project communication and are separate from your private Client Notes.

It lets you plan work before it happens. A block can be connected to a client, project and task, with planned start/end time and a direct Start Timer action.

No. Starting a block starts the real timer. The timer remains the source for recorded work time; the block is the planning context.

The current plan gate places Time Blocking & Schedule on Contractor Pro.

Your Free workspace can operate locally in the browser without requiring a cloud account for core work. This keeps the basic workflow available without an online dependency.

Online Workspace Sync is useful when you need your workspace available across devices or need online services such as the client portal. It is a Contractor Pro feature.

Use the backup/restore controls in Settings. Export a backup before major changes or when moving your workspace. Keep the backup file somewhere you control.

No. Treat online workspace sync as synchronization, not as your only backup strategy. Keep an independent backup when the data matters.

Free: unlimited clients, projects and work logs, local-only.
Contractor Pro: unlimited clients, projects and work logs, plus online services and up to 5 team seats.

Contractor Pro adds online services (Client Portal, Cloud Sync, Cloud Backup, Client Messaging), advanced reports (Yearly Tax, Monthly P&L, Client Profitability, Budget Forecast), Estimates & Quotes, Time Blocking, Recurring Invoices, Custom Invoice Templates, Duplicate Invoice, CSV Export, Backup JSON Export, and Multi-user Workspace (up to 5 seats).

The current workspace contains plan switching for UI/UX testing. The upgrade modal explicitly indicates that payment integration is coming soon, so the present plan selector should not be treated as a live payment processor.

Use Global Search. It searches across local workspace records such as clients, projects, invoices, estimates, work logs and expenses. The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl + K.

Yes. ContractPulse includes shortcuts for common navigation and actions. Open the shortcut/help area in the workspace if you forget them.

It collects manual overdue and upcoming invoice follow-up information so you can see what needs attention. It is not an automatic email campaign.

Yes. Settings supports light, dark and system theme preferences.

Do not reset the workspace. First check that you are in the same browser/profile, confirm the selected plan, refresh the page, and check Settings for backup/restore options. If you previously exported a backup, keep it before making further changes.

No. A feature gate normally means the current plan cannot use that action. Check the plan badge and the upgrade dialog. Existing records should remain in the workspace.

Export or otherwise preserve a backup of important workspace data first. This gives you a recovery point before major changes.