Getting started with WorkVoicer

Everything you need to go from your first job to a paid invoice, and how to keep your data safe.

1. Create your database file

The first time you open the app, WorkVoicer asks where to keep your data. Everything you enter (clients, work orders, invoices, expenses) is stored in one file.

• Any browser, with Google Drive: choose Continue with Google Drive. Your data is saved to your own Drive automatically and you can use it on any device. See Saving to Google Drive.
• Chrome, Edge, Brave or Opera: choose Create a new database file… and pick a folder. WorkVoicer saves to that file automatically as you work. A good choice is a folder that's backed up or synced, such as Documents, iCloud Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox.
• Firefox or Safari, without Drive: choose Start a new database. These browsers can't save to a file directly, so you'll back up a copy whenever you've made changes. See Backing up.

The badge in the top-right corner of the app always shows where things stand: Saved, Saving…, or Unsaved · Download backup.

2. Add your business details

Go to Settings → Invoice defaults. Add your business name and address, your logo, any taxes you charge (for example HST 13%), your currency, how many days clients have to pay, and the terms printed at the bottom of each invoice. Use Preview invoice to see how it looks before saving.

3. Add clients

In the Clients tab, choose Add client and fill in their contact details and billing address. As you type the street, WorkVoicer suggests matching addresses (when you're online); pick one to fill in the city, postal code and country, then check them. The address is printed on their invoices. You can also add a new client straight from a work order.

4. Create a work order

In the Orders tab, choose New work order:

• Give it a title, pick the client and set a priority.
• Set the date and start time (and an end time if you know it). It appears on the Dashboard schedule.
• Tick Use client's address, or enter a different service address.
• Add line items: hours of labour, parts or materials, each with a quantity and unit price. Tap an item to change it.

When the job is finished, open it and choose Mark complete. Completed work orders can't be edited, but you can reopen one if you need to.

5. Generate an invoice

Open a work order and choose Generate invoice. Check the preview, adjust the invoice and due dates if needed, then choose Save & download PDF.

• Invoices are numbered in order: INV-2026-0001, INV-2026-0002, and so on.
• A saved invoice never changes, even if you later edit the work order or your business details. You can download the same PDF again at any time from the work order.
• To email an invoice, download the PDF and attach it to your message. On phones, Share… sends it straight to your mail or messaging app.

6. Track expenses

In the Expenses tab, add costs like fuel, parts, meals and tools. Attach a photo of the receipt (on a phone you can take the photo directly), and link the expense to a work order if it belongs to one. Settings → Export expenses gives you a spreadsheet and all the receipt images for your bookkeeping.

7. Backing up and restoring

Your browser also keeps its own working copy so the app opens instantly. That copy disappears if you clear your browsing data, which is why your file is the copy that matters. Keep it somewhere that's backed up.

8. Saving to Google Drive

If you have a Google account, WorkVoicer can keep your database in your own Google Drive. It works in every browser, saves automatically, and lets you pick up where you left off on another device.

• To start: choose Continue with Google Drive on the start screen, or Settings → Data & backup → Save to Google Drive to move the data you already have.
• What WorkVoicer can see: only the files it creates, here a file called workvoicer.sqlite in your Drive. Nothing else in your Drive.
• Signing in again: Google asks you to confirm every so often. When that happens the badge shows Reconnect Google Drive. Your changes are kept in the browser until you click it, then they're saved.
• Offline: keep working. The badge shows Offline · will sync, and everything is saved to Drive when you're back online.
• After clearing your browser data, or on a new device: choose Continue with Google Drive and open your file.
• To stop: Settings → Stop syncing with Google Drive. The file stays in your Drive.

9. Using more than one device

The simplest way is Google Drive: open WorkVoicer on each device and choose Continue with Google Drive. Without Drive, your data is one file, so you can move it like any other file: keep it in a synced folder and open it in WorkVoicer on each device. Use one device at a time and let the sync finish before switching, otherwise changes can overwrite each other. If WorkVoicer notices that the file changed somewhere else while this browser also has unsaved changes, it asks you which version to keep.

10. Installing the app and working offline

After your first visit, WorkVoicer works without an internet connection, including making PDFs. You can also install it so it opens in its own window:

• Chrome or Edge on a computer: Settings → Install app in WorkVoicer, or the install icon in the address bar.
• Android: Settings → Install app, or the browser menu → Install app / Add to Home screen.
• iPhone or iPad (Safari): tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.

When a new version of WorkVoicer is available, the app shows a Reload to update message. Your data isn't affected by updates.