Most Jobber accounts we open up were set up in an afternoon by an owner who was busy. Products list half filled in, templates never touched, techs using it as a calendar and nothing else. The software works fine. The setup is what fails.
Order matters. If you turn on online booking before your products list is clean, customers book the wrong thing at the wrong price. If you sync QuickBooks before your products match your chart of accounts, you get a mess your bookkeeper will charge you to fix.
This is the checklist we use on every implementation, in the order we do it, with why each step matters. Do it in a weekend and your account will be better than most companies that have used Jobber for three years.
1. Company settings first
Boring, and everything else depends on it.
- Company name, logo, address, phone, and email exactly as you want customers to see them. These flow onto every quote and invoice.
- Business hours and time zone. Scheduling and reminder timing use these.
- Default payment terms. Due on receipt, net 15, net 30. Set the default now so you do not set it on every invoice.
- Tax rates. Set every jurisdiction you work in and confirm which services are taxable in your state.
- Branding on client-facing documents. Colors and logo on quotes, invoices, and emails.
Why it matters: a quote with an old phone number or a missing tax rate is a quote a customer questions. Fix it once here and it is fixed everywhere.
2. Products and services with correct pricing
This is the most important step and the one most owners skip. Every service you sell should exist as a line item with a name, a description the customer understands, and a price.
- One line item per sellable thing. “Dryer vent cleaning, single family” and “Dryer vent cleaning, per unit multifamily” are two items, not one.
- Write the description for the customer, not for you. “Clean the dryer vent from the dryer to the exterior termination, inspect and reconnect the transition duct, test airflow.” That sells the job.
- Set the price. If pricing varies, set the base and adjust on the quote. Do not leave it at zero.
- Set the cost if you want job profitability reports later.
- Delete or archive anything you do not sell. A clean list is a fast quote.
Why it matters: line items are how you quote in 90 seconds instead of 15 minutes, how you keep pricing consistent across techs, and how you report on what actually makes money. If you sell into property management, pricing multifamily work per door will help you decide how those items are structured.
3. Quote and invoice templates
Now that the line items exist, build the documents customers see.
- Quote template: a short intro paragraph, the line items with descriptions, optional add-ons, terms, and a clear approve action. Add your warranty language and what happens after approval.
- Set up quotes with optional line items so customers can pick the upgrade themselves.
- Invoice template: subject line, message, payment link, and terms. Keep it short.
- Set the default email and text messages that go with each. Rewrite the default text so it sounds like you.
Why it matters: the quote is your salesperson when you are not in the room. A template with a good intro and clear options closes better than a bare list of prices.
4. Request forms and online booking
Once quoting works, open the front door.
- Build the request form with only the fields you need. Name, phone, email, address, service, a photo upload, and a “how did you hear about us” question. Every extra field costs you leads.
- Embed the form on your website and link it from your Google Business Profile.
- Decide whether to turn on online booking. It works well for standard, fixed-price services like a single-family dryer vent cleaning or a gutter cleaning under a certain size. It works badly for anything that needs a site visit to price.
- If you use booking, set the services, durations, and availability carefully. Leave buffer time between jobs.
- Set the auto-reply for new requests so the customer knows you got it and when you will respond.
Why it matters: speed to lead. A request that comes in at 9 p.m. with an instant confirmation and a next-morning call is a request you win.
5. Client hub
Client hub is the customer-facing portal where they approve quotes, pay invoices, see upcoming visits, and request work. Turn it on and configure it.
- Enable quote approval, invoice payment, and work requests.
- Turn on card payments and, if your ticket sizes justify it, ACH.
- Decide whether customers can see visit details and tech names.
- Test it yourself as a customer. Send yourself a quote, approve it on your phone, pay the invoice.
Why it matters: every step a customer can do on their phone without calling you is a step you do not spend office time on.
6. Tags and custom fields
This is where you make the data useful.
- Client tags: lead source, customer type (residential, HOA, property management), service area, VIP, do not service.
- Property custom fields: gate code, number of units, number of dryers, roof type, square footage, access notes. Whatever your techs need on site.
- Job custom fields: PO number for commercial accounts, who approved the work, before and after photo checklist.
Why it matters: tags let you filter, report, and send targeted campaigns. Custom fields put the information the tech needs in the app instead of in your head. For commercial and multifamily accounts, this step is critical, and setting up Jobber for multifamily and commercial goes deep on it.
7. Automated reminders and follow-ups
Now automate the communication you should be doing anyway.
- Appointment reminders: a text and email the day before, and an on-the-way notification when the tech starts driving.
- Quote follow-ups: automatic reminders to the customer when a quote sits unapproved. Set the timing to match your follow-up cadence.
- Invoice reminders: automatic nudges when an invoice is past due.
- Job follow-up: a message after the job closes asking how it went.
Review every default message and rewrite it in your voice. The stock text is polite and forgettable.
Why it matters: these are the touches that get missed when the office is busy. Automating them means they happen every time. Jobber automations that actually save time covers which ones are worth turning on and which are noise.
8. Review requests
Set up the automatic review request that goes out when a job is marked complete. Link it directly to your Google Business Profile review page. Keep the message to two sentences.
Why it matters: reviews drive local search rankings and close rates. Companies that ask automatically get several times more reviews than companies that ask when they remember.
9. QuickBooks sync
Only after products, tax rates, and payment terms are correct.
- Connect QuickBooks Online.
- Map every Jobber product to the right QuickBooks income account. This is the step that takes time and saves your bookkeeper hours.
- Map tax rates.
- Decide whether invoices sync when sent or when paid. Talk to your bookkeeper first.
- Run a test invoice end to end and confirm it lands where you expect.
Why it matters: a bad sync creates duplicate customers, mismatched taxes, and revenue in the wrong accounts. Cleaning that up costs more than doing it right the first time.
10. User permissions
Add your team and give each person only what they need.
- Owner and office: full access.
- Techs: see their schedule, job details, notes, and the ability to complete visits and collect payment. Hide pricing and client lists if you do not want them visible.
- Sales: quotes, clients, and the pipeline. Not payroll or settings.
- Bookkeeper: invoices and reports only.
Why it matters: fewer accidental edits and less risk if someone leaves.
11. Mobile app setup for techs
Last, because everything above has to exist before the app is useful.
- Install the app on every tech’s phone. Log in, enable notifications and location.
- Walk each tech through their day in the app: see the schedule, tap start, read the notes, add photos, complete the visit, collect payment.
- Set a rule: if it is not in the app, it did not happen. Photos, notes, time, materials.
- Ride along for the first week and watch what they actually do.
Why it matters: techs are the biggest source of missing data. If they use the app properly, your invoices go out same day, your photos exist, and your office knows what happened without a phone call.
The order, on one page
- Company settings
- Products and services
- Quote and invoice templates
- Request forms and online booking
- Client hub
- Tags and custom fields
- Automated reminders and follow-ups
- Review requests
- QuickBooks sync
- User permissions
- Mobile app for techs
If you already have Jobber and skipped steps, go back and do them in this order. The most common gap is step two. Fix the products list and half of the other problems get easier. If you want to see what usually breaks, common Jobber mistakes we fix in every implementation is the companion to this checklist.
Where Intrepid fits
Intrepid implements Jobber for field service companies, from a clean products list through automations, QuickBooks sync, and training the techs on the app. We have done it for companies with three trucks and companies with thirty. See the Jobber page for what an implementation looks like, or book a call if you want us to look at your current setup.