Getting started and what to do if you get stuck

This guide takes you from a new install to your first jobs and your first backup, then lists the common fixes and how to reach support. Each section links to the article that has every step, so you can follow one thread from start to finish.

Before you start #

• Your licence key or trial key. It starts with PSDP and arrives by email.
• The owner's email address and an authenticator app on a phone.
• For the office server: one computer that stays on during business hours. See "Hardware compatibility guide".

1. Install #

Choose where your server runs.

1. Mac. Open the disk image, drag the app to Applications, open it and choose how this Mac is used. See "Installing Pop Dispatch on a Mac".
2. Windows. Run the installer and choose how this computer is used. See "Installing on Windows".
3. Cloud. Pop Street runs the server for you at https://<your account name>.dispatch.thepopstreet.com. Open that address in a browser, or enter it in the Mac or Windows app. See "The hosted plan".

On a Mac or Windows PC the first screen asks whether this computer holds your business data (the office server), joins an office server that already runs, or signs in to the hosted service. Choose the first on exactly one computer.

2. The first-run wizard #

The wizard opens in your browser and moves through these steps. Each page has its own article.

1. Language and start: "Welcome and choosing how to start".
2. Licence key or trial: "Adding your licence key".
3. Owner account and recovery key: "Owner account, recovery key and authenticator app". Write the recovery key down and keep it away from the server computer. It appears once.
4. Business details: "Your business details".
5. Modules: "Choosing your modules". Pick towing and roadside, repair and collision, or taxi and livery.
6. Import: "Importing your data during setup". You can skip it and return later.
7. Trucks, drivers and customers: "Importing trucks, drivers and customers".
8. Connect devices: "Connecting phones and computers".
9. Backups: "Backups".
10. Done: "Finishing setup".

Anything you skip waits in "The Get running checklist".

3. Add your staff #

1. Open Settings and add each person with one of six roles: owner, manager, advisor, dispatcher, technician or driver. See "Roles and what each can do".
2. Every owner and manager signs in with a second step. See "Two-step sign-in for owners and managers".
3. Each person signs in with their email and a one-time password, then picks their own password. See "Signing in, tokens and lockout".

4. Connect driver phones #

1. In the wizard step Connect devices, or later, choose Make a phone code.
2. Open the driver app in the phone's browser and scan the QR code. Each code works once and lapses after 24 hours. See "Connecting phones and computers".
3. Make a new code for every phone. See "The driver app, shifts, photos and signatures".

5. Your first jobs #

Do one of each so the screens become familiar.

• A tow. Open Tow calls, choose New call, fill in the form, assign a driver and move the call along. Send the customer their tracking link. See "Take a tow call and follow it in the console" and "The customer tracking link".
• A repair. Open the Repair orders list, open an order and move it through its stages. See "The repair order page" and "Repair orders and estimates".
• A taxi trip. Open Taxi, book a trip and hand it to a driver. See "The taxi desk".
• Invoice it. Turn a completed call into an invoice. See "Invoice a completed tow call".

6. Backups #

Pop Dispatch makes a backup each night and checks that it restores. Take one now as well: open Settings, then Backup, and choose to back up now. Copy backup files to a second disk or folder, and keep the recovery key somewhere else. See "Backups and restore" and "Backup files, schedule and the monthly test".

Something is wrong #

Start here. Each line names the article with the steps.

Contact support #

1. Open https://thepopstreet.com/support and fill in the support ticket form. Pop Street replies to the email address you give.
2. Say which computer or phone you used, what you were doing, what the screen said (a photo of the screen helps) and the time it happened.
3. Add the version number from the Mac or Windows app, and the server health page's answer when the server is involved.

Never send your password, a one-time password or your recovery key. Support never asks for them.

If something goes wrong #

• A step above names a screen you cannot find: your role may lack access. See "Roles and what each can do".
• A step fails with an error code: search the code in the help, or send it with your support message.