Help & support

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Answers to the questions we hear most. If yours isn't here, email [SUPPORT EMAIL] and a real person will get back to you.

Getting started

How long does setup take? Most businesses are sending their first proposal the same day. You pick a plan, confirm your email, and a short guided setup walks through your business details, your parts and your markups. You can skip any step and come back to it.

Can I bring my existing customer list? Yes. Download the import template from the pricing page, paste your list into it, and import it. Customers are also created automatically the first time you type a new name onto a proposal or service call.

Do I need to install anything? No. BluCollar runs in a browser on a computer, tablet or phone. On a phone you can add it to your home screen and it opens like an app.

Does it work without signal? Edits your techs make in a dead zone are held on their phone and sent as soon as they're back in coverage.

Your team

How do I add an employee? Add them on the Employees page, then use Create login to email them a link. They fill in their own address, tax withholding, direct deposit and emergency contact, and choose their own password — you never have to type any of it.

What can employees see? Exactly the areas you tick on their profile, and nothing else. A new employee starts with nothing ticked, so set their access before their first day. Pay, Social Security numbers and bank details are never visible to coworkers.

Does it handle new-hire paperwork? Yes. You can send the I-9 and W-4 (plus any form of your own) to a new hire before their first day. They fill them in on their phone and photograph their I-9 documents. You still have to see the original documents in person.

Money

How does billing work? There are no seat licenses and no flat monthly fee. You're billed per proposal or invoice: when a final proposal is first printed, downloaded or emailed to a customer, and for an invoice that has no billed proposal behind it (a job without a proposal, or a service call). A job's first invoice is included when its proposal was billed. Slow month, smaller bill.

Can my customers pay online? Yes, once you've connected your bank through Stripe. Invoices carry a pay link, customers can pay by card or bank transfer, and the payment is recorded against the job automatically.

Does BluCollar hold my money? No. Customer payments go to your own Stripe account and into your bank. BluCollar only charges you for your own subscription.

Does it do my bookkeeping? It keeps a real set of books as you work: invoicing a job, paying a vendor bill and running payroll all post to the ledger. You can view a trial balance, profit and loss and balance sheet, and export the general ledger for your accountant.

Payroll

Does BluCollar run my payroll? It calculates it. Hours come from the time clock, and it works out federal and state withholding (in the states it supports), Social Security, Medicare and unemployment, the benefit deductions and company contributions you set up for each employee, and garnishments within their legal limits. It produces pay stubs and the direct deposit file you upload to your bank, and fills in W-2s, the W-3 and the SSA's electronic W-2 file at year end. Payroll is in Tier 4.

Does it file or pay my payroll taxes? No. BluCollar doesn't move money for payroll and doesn't file returns. You remain responsible for deposits and filings, and we'd tell any business to have an accountant check the setup before the first run.

What about state income tax? Wisconsin is calculated using the Department of Revenue's own approved method. States with no income tax withhold nothing. For any other state, the employee's profile says so plainly and you enter the amount yourself.

Your data

Can I get my data out? Any time. Settings > Archive downloads any one year, or everything (customers, jobs, invoices, payments, payroll and your books, with your uploaded files), in one zip file. Each January, To Do reminds you to keep a copy of the year that just ended. You don't have to ask us, and you don't have to be cancelling.

Is my data separated from other businesses? Yes, and it's enforced on the server, not just hidden in the app. Sensitive details like Social Security and bank account numbers are encrypted before they're stored.

What happens if I cancel? Your plan runs to the end of the period you've paid for. Export your data before you go; see the Terms and Privacy Policy for how long we keep it afterward.

Still stuck?

Email [SUPPORT EMAIL] with your business name and what you were doing when it went wrong — a screenshot helps. There's also a searchable help section inside BluCollar itself, under Help, with step-by-step articles for every part of the app.