Before you start
- About 20 minutes. You can stop at any point and pick up later; progress is saved to your account.
- An email address you can open right away, and a phone number.
- Your business address. Zentive needs it before you can send a quote or invoice.
- One or two services you sell, with a rough price for each. You can change prices later.
What you'll have when you're done
A Zentive account on a free 14-day trial, your business details and services saved, one customer on file, and a first quote saved as a draft that you can send whenever you're ready.
There are two parts. Part 1 is creating and confirming your account (about 5 minutes). Part 2 is the in-app setup guide, which walks you through four essentials and four optional steps. Nothing is sent to a customer until you choose to send it.
Part 1: Create your account
- 1
Open the signup page and describe your business
Go to app.zentive.io/sign-up. Under "What type of work do you do?", pick the closest match. If your trade isn't listed (construction, roofing, painting, electrical-only, handyman, and so on), choose Other Field Service. This choice only shapes the service suggestions you'll see later; you can change it any time. Under "How many people work at your business?", count yourself. Press Continue.
- 2
Enter your details
Fill in your first and last name, business name, work email, and phone number. All five are required. Your business name is what prints on quotes and invoices, and your work email becomes your sign-in email, so use one you check. If you are outside the US, include your country code in the phone number. Press Continue.
- 3
Choose a password and create the account
Check the summary card (use Edit details to fix anything). Choose a password of at least 8 characters with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a special character. "Have a partner referral code?" is optional: only open it if a Zentive partner gave you a code. Tick "I agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge the Privacy Policy", then press Create account. No credit card is asked for, now or at any point in the trial.
- 4
Confirm your email
You'll see "Verify Your Email Address". Open your inbox, find the message from Zentive, and click Confirm email. If it hasn't arrived in a couple of minutes, check your spam or junk folder, then use "Didn't get the email? Click here to resend it" (you can resend once a minute). The link opens Zentive on an "Account created!" screen. Press Proceed to Set up.
- 5
Start your trial
On the "Let's get your first quote ready" screen, press Start my trial. Your 14 days start now. Zentive then opens the setup guide, which is Part 2 below. If you ever close the browser at this point, just sign in again at app.zentive.io and Zentive will bring you back here.
How the setup guide works
The setup guide is a focused screen with a list down the left side. The first four items are the essentials: Your business, Your services, Your first customer, and Your first quote. Below them are four optional steps: Tax settings, Get paid, Your team, and Install Zentive. The counter at the top reads "0 of 4 essentials complete" and fills in as you go.
Every step has a Back button and a Skip for now (essentials) or Do this later (optional) link. Skipping is safe: the item is marked Skipped and you can return to it any time. Go to dashboard, in the top right, leaves the guide; anything you saved stays saved. Progress is stored with your account, not your browser, so you can continue from another computer or your phone.
Part 2: Work through the four essentials
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Welcome: choose how to begin
Press Create your first quote to start the essentials. If you'd rather see what a finished quote and schedule look like first, press Explore an example. The example is read-only: it doesn't add records, affect reports, or send anything. When you're ready, press Start with my business.
- 2
Your business
Confirm your business name and phone, then enter your street address, city, state, and ZIP. The address is required before Zentive will send or print a quote or invoice, so don't skip it. Website is optional. Industry and Team size are pre-filled from signup. Open "Add branding (optional)" if you have a logo handy (PNG, JPG, or WebP under 5 MB) and want to pick a brand color; both can also be done later in Settings → Documents & Branding. Press Save and continue.
- 3
Your services
This builds your price book, the list of things you sell that quotes, jobs, and invoices pull from. Under "Suggested for your industry", tap a suggestion to add it as a row, or press Add custom service to type your own. Each row needs a Service name and a Default customer price; Description is optional. For example, a painter might add "Interior painting, per room" at $350, and a steel contractor might add "Structural steel fabrication, per ton" and "On-site installation, per day". Suggestions are names only; nothing is saved until you press Save services and continue. You can change the price on any individual quote without changing your price book.
- 4
Your first customer
Choose Add one customer, Choose existing, or Import CSV. If you want to try things out first, name the record "Test Customer" and use an email address and phone number you own, so you see exactly what customers receive. Read the note before you save: creating a customer may send them an invitation, so double-check the email and phone. Fill in the name, email, phone, and address, then press Create customer and continue. If you have a customer list in a spreadsheet or another system, you can add one customer now and import the rest later (see Starting fresh or migrating, linked below).
- 5
Your first quote
The quote builder opens with your customer and services ready. Check the customer, the work, and the price, then press Save first quote. Saving a draft sends nothing; the email and text delivery options only apply when you press Send Quote. After saving you'll see "Your first quote is ready". Press Preview saved quote to see what the customer would see, then either Keep as draft and finish, or Send Quote if this is a real customer and you're ready. Tax can wait: you can set rates later in Settings → Tax Management, but check the quote's tax before sending it to a real customer.
- 6
Finish
The "Your setup is saved" screen confirms your draft is stored and tells you how many optional steps are left. Press Go to dashboard to start using Zentive, or open "Review your quote or optional setup" to jump straight to Open saved quote or to any optional step.
Optional steps: do these when you're ready
- 1
Tax settings
Choose I collect tax or I don't collect tax. If you collect tax, enter a tax name (Sales Tax is the default), your state, and the percentage for services, products, and expenses (use 0 for a category you don't tax). Choosing I don't collect tax saves an explicit 0% so quotes don't nag you. If you use QuickBooks, set up the tax agencies and codes there first, then enter matching rates here. Press Save and continue or Set up later.
- 2
Get paid (connect Stripe)
Zentive uses Stripe so customers can pay invoices online by card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Press Continue with Stripe and complete Stripe's own form (it asks for business and bank details, which go to Stripe, not Zentive). You can keep quoting and invoicing without this; customers just won't have a pay-online button until it's connected. Card processing fees are charged by Stripe on each customer payment and are separate from your Zentive subscription.
- 3
Your team
If it's just you, press I work solo. Otherwise enter a team member's first name, last name, email, and phone, and press Add employee and send invitation. This adds them as a Field Tech with pricing hidden and texts (or emails) them a setup link. Include an email address if you want them to sign in to the crew app; a phone-only invitation only lets them complete their profile. Your plan's employee limit applies. You can add more people later under Settings → Team.
- 4
Install Zentive
Zentive is a web app, so there's nothing to download from an app store. This step shows how to add a Zentive icon to your phone or computer (Chrome, Edge, Safari on Mac, Android, and iPhone each have their own three-step instructions). It's optional; the browser works just as well. Press I've installed Zentive when done, or Do this later.
Coming back to the guide later
- 1
From the dashboard
While essentials remain, a card at the top of your dashboard reads "Your next step, made simple" with a Get started or Resume setup button and a "0 of 4 essentials complete" progress bar. View all tasks lists every step with its status. Minimize setup shrinks the card to a small "Resume setup · 2/4 complete" button. Once all four essentials are done or skipped, the card changes to "Your next step" and recommends one task at a time (personalize documents, schedule a job, create an invoice, set up payments). See all next steps shows them all.
- 2
From Settings
Open Settings → Setup Guide (in the Setup group at the bottom of the settings menu) and press Open setup guide. It reopens exactly where you left off.
- 3
If you skipped your address
A banner reading "Add your business address before sending quotes or invoices" appears on every page until the address is complete. Press Add business address to jump straight to that step.
What to do next
- Send your first quote
Preview it as the customer, then send by email or text so they can approve and sign online.
- Import your customer list
Bring customers over from a spreadsheet, Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, or QuickBooks.
- Make documents look like yours
Logo, colors, wording, and terms for quotes and invoices.
- Add more services and products
Grow the price book with internal cost, checklists, and equipment.
- Connect Stripe
Let customers pay invoices online. Fees, verification, and payouts explained.
- Add your team
Employees, crews, permissions, and the crew app.
- Install Zentive on your phone or computer
Step-by-step for Chrome, Edge, Safari, Android, and iPhone.
Common questions
- 1
Do I need a credit card?
No. The 14-day trial has no card step and nothing is charged. Near the end of the trial you'll see a banner with a View plans button; choose a plan then to keep working. Everything you saved stays with your account.
- 2
I never got the confirmation email.
Check spam or junk, and search for "Zentive". On the "Verify Your Email Address" screen, use "Click here to resend it" (there's a 60-second wait between resends). If you typed the address wrong, go back to signup and use the correct one. If it still doesn't arrive, contact support with the email address you used.
- 3
It says "An account already uses this email."
You (or someone at your business) already have a Zentive account with that address. Press Sign in and use the Forgot password link if needed, or use Edit details to sign up with a different email.
- 4
Will adding a customer send them an email or text?
It can. Creating a customer may send an invitation to the email and phone you enter. That's why the guide suggests a "Test Customer" using your own contact details while you're learning. Saving a quote never sends anything; only Send Quote does.
- 5
I picked the wrong industry or misspelled my business name.
Both are easy to change. In the setup guide, open Your business and edit them. Later on, they live in Settings → Company Profile.
- 6
What does Skip for now actually do?
It marks the step Skipped and moves you on. Nothing is lost and you can return any time from the left list, the dashboard card, or Settings → Setup Guide. The one thing you can't skip forever is your business address: Zentive needs it before it will send or print a quote or invoice.
- 7
I have a customer list in another system.
Add one customer now so you can finish the guide, then use Import CSV (in the Your first customer step or under Customers → Import) for the rest. The migration article linked above explains what to bring from Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, or QuickBooks and in what order.
- 8
Can my crew use Zentive on their phones?
Yes. Invite them in the Your team step (or Settings → Team) with an email address so they get crew-app sign-in details. They see their assigned jobs, clock in and out, take photos, and complete checklists from their phone. They can add Zentive to their home screen from the Install Zentive step.
- 9
Is there an app to download?
Zentive runs in the browser and can be installed from there so it opens like an app. Use the Install Zentive step, or Settings → Install App, and pick your device for three-step instructions. There's nothing in the App Store or Play Store to search for.
- 10
I closed the guide by accident.
Nothing you saved is lost. Press Resume setup on the dashboard card, or open Settings → Setup Guide → Open setup guide.
- 11
What happens when the trial ends?
Zentive shows a banner in the last few days ("Your trial ends tomorrow", then "Your trial ends today") with a View plans button. After it ends you'll be asked to choose a plan before continuing. Your customers, quotes, and settings are kept with your account.
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Include your business name, account email, what you were trying to do, what happened instead, and a screenshot if possible. For billing, sync, or login issues, include the exact error message if shown.