Help Center

How TheGuys.app works

TheGuys.app is a crew management platform for contractors. Two roles use the app — Bosses, who win the work and dispatch the team, and Guys, the crew members who do it. The Boss creates a job (often with AI assist that turns a plain description into a structured work order), dispatches it to one or more Guys, tracks every step from arrival to closeout, and pays out automatically through Stripe Connect — 90%+ to the Guy, there is a platform and Stripe cost.

Your clients don't use the app. They're the people who hired you to do the work, and they benefit indirectly: a contractor running on TheGuys.app builds a more consistent, organized crew because every job carries the same structure — required tasks, photo evidence, lifecycle timestamps, signed closeouts. What your client sees is professional work delivered the same way every time.

Prime Dispatcher

Prime Dispatcher lives in /settings→ Preferences. It's a master toggle that controls your full dispatch playbook in one tap — the lifecycle tasks that auto-attach to every new job, the alert that fires before a job starts, and the discipline guardrails that keep your crew on task. New accounts arrive with the playbook fully ON. Flip the master OFF to clear it, or tune the individual sub-toggles below the master for a custom mix.

Lifecycle tasks.Each toggle decides whether one platform task auto-attaches when you build a job with AI: Pre-Check (start-of-job readiness ping), Check In (timestamp on arrival), Check Out (timestamp on departure), Closeout Notes (Guy's short summary at the end), Closeout Photo (final wide-shot of the work), Client Signature (on-site sign-off, client jobs only), and Materials Log (Guy's materials and equipment used, flowing into the invoice).

Pre-Check Alerts. Who gets the one-hour-before reminder when a Pre-Check task is on a job. Four options — Off / Guy / Boss / Both. Defaults to Both: you and your Guy both get the reminder independently.

Discipline guardrails.Hard Submit Block (Guys can't submit a closeout until every required task is done), Require Live Photo Capture (no camera-roll uploads — photos must be taken in-app at the moment of capture), Show Penalty field, Show Bonus field, plus visibility toggles for Tools / PPE / Support / Escalation and Urgency / Site Access on the job form. Together they shape how strict the platform is with your crew and how much detail your job form collects up front.

Every sub-toggle has its own ? help icon for the full per-setting explanation.

How to use task controls

Every task you add to a job has a row of controls beneath it. Each control marks the task with a different kind of expectation — what finishes the job, what needs proof, what you'll pay extra for. Start with Required.

Required

Required

Marks the task as essential to finish the contracted work. If a required task is skipped, the job isn't done and you can legitimately withhold payment. Toggle it off to mark the task as optional — a nice-to-have like final cleanup. The job still counts as complete without an optional task, but you can attach a Bonus to incentivize one.

Platform tasks (Pre-Check, Check In, Check Out, Closeout Notes / Photos / Signature) auto-attach to every new job and stay locked Required there. You control which ones attach via Settings → Preferences → Prime Dispatcher — turn one off and it won't appear on future jobs.

Camera — photo evidence

Toggle on to require a photo before the Guy can mark this task complete. Off means a photo is optional. Use it for tasks where visual proof matters — before-and-after shots, receipts for materials bought on-site, debris loaded for haul-off, the new fixture installed and working.

Notes

Free-text instructions the Guy sees on this task only — separate from the job's overall description. Use it for the small specifics: “spare key under the planter”, “shut off the main water before starting”, “tenant has a dog, don't let her out the front door”.

Penalty

A dollar amount the Guy forfeits if the task is skipped or done wrong, plus a short reason that explains what triggers it. Pairs naturally with required tasks where the cost of getting it wrong is concrete — drywall not finished to spec, closeout photos missing, deadline blown.

Can be hidden via Settings → Preferences → Show Penalty fieldif you don't use it.

Bonus

A dollar amount the Guy earns on top of his rate when a condition you set is met — early completion, an extra-clean handoff, a client signature without rework. Use it to incentivize the optional tasks or bake a quality bar into a required one.

Can be hidden via Settings → Preferences → Show Bonus fieldif you don't use it.

Materials catalog

The Materials tab in /line-items tracks items you buy in bulk and resell to clients. Enter the bulk quantity and total cost; the platform calculates your unit price automatically.

When you build an invoice, AI looks up each material in your catalog and applies your margin. Set a default margin once at the top of the tab and override it per item when something doesn't fit the default.

Search and sort at the top of the catalog get you to a specific item without scrolling.

Setting up Stripe Connect

Stripe Connect handles every payment between Bosses, Guys, and clients — money never moves through TheGuys.app itself. To connect, go to /settings→ Stripe Connect card and tap “Connect with Stripe”. Stripe walks you through onboarding (identity, bank account, tax info) and returns you to TheGuys.app when it's done.

Once your account is active, Stripe handles the split automatically: 90%+ to the Guy who did the work, 5% to TheGuys.app platform, finally Stripes processing fee. The split is invisible to you — it happens the moment a Boss approves a completed job and pays.

Availability & dispatch

The Availability card on /settingsholds three settings that tell your Contractors when you're open to work. Only one of them actually blocks a job from reaching you.

Available todayis a sticky on/off switch you control. Flip it off when you're not open to work today; jobs scheduled for tomorrow or later are unaffected. The platform never changes it for you — it stays off until you flip it back on, at which point you're available right away.

Work Hoursare the days and times you normally work — your default weekly schedule. They apply to every job, no matter when it's scheduled.

For a job scheduled today, you appear grayed out on your Contractor's crew screen if Available today is OFF, or if the job's start time falls outside your Work Hours. For a job scheduled for any other day, only Work Hours matter — the toggle is ignored. Grayed out is a signal, not a block — the Contractor can still send you a job posting, and you can accept or decline as usual.

Time Offworks differently. Enter specific dates you've fully blocked out — vacations, holidays, anything you don't want disturbed. During a Time Off date you're completely removed from every Contractor's dispatch radar: no grayed-out badge, no presence on their screen, and no notifications get sent. It's the only setting that hard-blocks dispatch.

Where to get help

Email support@theguys.app for direct help. Check this Help Center first for common questions.

Submit a feedback request via the “?” icon on Availability cards or other in-app help icons.