A clearer way
to run the day.

Start with your business workspace

Use the workspace sign-in address supplied by your business administrator. Your business name and logo identify the workspace. After signing in, navigation and available actions reflect your role and the services enabled for that business.

If you are exploring Gatherdesk, Book a demo or Request a trial collects your business and contact details for follow-up. Submitting a request does not create a workspace, start billing or reserve a meeting time.

Get your bearings

Open Today or Dashboard to see your daily overview. Use the search control in the top bar to find records you are allowed to access. The sidebar focuses on everyday work; workspace administration lives under Settings.

Your industry changes the language you see. A salon works with bookings and clients; a trades business works with jobs and customers. An unavailable service or a restricted permission may mean that a tile, menu item or action does not appear.

View full size

Set up one complete workflow

1. 1

   Confirm your business identity

   An administrator can open Settings → Company to review the name, logo and accent colour. The business type chosen at creation is permanent.

2. 2

   Review the team

   Open Settings → Management → Team members and Roles & permissions. Give each colleague an individual account with the access needed for their work.

3. 3

   Choose an incoming channel

   Configure a mailbox or website chat if those services are enabled. Route the source to the colleagues who should handle its enquiries.

4. 4

   Handle a first enquiry

   Open the enquiry pool, claim an available request and send a reply. Check the response before marking the request handled.

5. 5

   Create the next piece of work

   When your Work service is enabled, create a booking, job, project or other industry-specific work record. Add the customer, schedule and service items before preparing a proforma where invoicing is available.

If an option is missing

• Ask your administrator whether your role has permission for the action.
• Check Billing & plan for the workspace's enabled services. A configured integration still needs its service enabled.
• If a page shows a loading error, use Retry. An error does not mean your records have been deleted.
• When switching businesses, use the correct workspace address and account rather than assuming access carries over.

A workspace in your business's language

Gatherdesk uses an industry profile for terminology, work structure, role names and relevant services. The business type is selected when the workspace is created and cannot be changed in either the business or platform administration screens.

Three things decide what you can use

1. 1

   Business relevance

   The industry profile limits which services can be offered. Travel inventory and travel documents belong to travel workspaces.

2. 2

   Service activation

   The current plan limits which services can be activated. Free and Starter stay focused on customer conversations in every industry. Broader plans can expose relevant operational services; Website Chat also needs Enquiries.

3. 3

   Your permissions

   Your role and source assignments determine what you can see and do inside those services. Administrator-only setup is separate from everyday staff actions.

Scheduling follows the work

Salon, clinic, dental, fitness, event and trades work supports date and time inputs. Travel uses departure and return dates and consecutive itinerary days. Deals, orders and general projects use calendar dates, with precise times available for staff assignments.

Use the labels and fields supplied by your workspace. When a specialised feature is missing, changing the title of a work record does not add that capability.

What the current workflows cover

The industry profiles support the shared CRM flow: enquiries, customer records, work, service items, assignments and billing where enabled. They are a starting point for operational work, with explicit service boundaries.

• Clinic and dental profiles do not provide a complete clinical records or diagnostic system.
• An online-store order is not a complete stock, shipping or fulfilment integration.
• Property portals, recurring classes, room capacity and jurisdiction-specific tax rules require dedicated functionality beyond these shared records.

One shared place for incoming requests

The enquiry pool groups requests by their ownership and handling state. Its displayed name follows your workspace's vocabulary. Use channel filters and search to focus on the requests you are allowed to handle. Website conversations join the same ownership workflow as other enquiries.

View full size

Understand the ownership states

Respond without duplicating work

1. 1

   Claim an open request

   Claiming reserves the enquiry for you. If someone else claims it first, refresh and choose another request. Clicking Claim repeatedly does not extend the initial five-minute window.

2. 2

   Read the conversation

   Check the original message and previous replies before writing. A visible countdown means you have a temporary claim.

3. 3

   Send and check the result

   A successful reply moves the enquiry into handling. If ownership changes or a claim expires, sending is rejected and your draft is retained. For an uncertain email delivery, check the mailbox before resending.

4. 4

   Finish or hand over

   Mark the enquiry handled when the conversation is complete. Release it to make it available again, or ask an authorised manager to reassign it to an eligible colleague.

View full size

Assignments and manager actions

Managers with the necessary access can assign or take over visible enquiries. The assignee list contains eligible colleagues for that request. Routing, mailbox restrictions and current permissions still apply; seeing a name elsewhere does not make that account eligible.

For website chat, the agent who owns the enquiry also owns the staff conversation. Automatic replies pause while a human owns the request. A visitor leaving the chat does not remove the enquiry from its staff owner.

Why a channel may be greyed out

• Web requires a paid plan with Website Chat, the Enquiries service, an enabled widget and at least one allowed website. Free shows Paid only until the plan changes.
• Email requires the relevant service and a configured mailbox accessible to your account.
• WhatsApp requires a paid plan, an active WhatsApp service and a connected business number. SMS remains unavailable. The Phone filter is hidden.
• Source routing controls who may handle a source. It does not activate an integration.

Before you start

Your workspace needs the Website chat and Enquiries services enabled, and your account needs permission to edit settings. You also need access to add a script to your website. Each business has its own installation ID, allowed websites and conversations.

Configure and install the widget

1. 1

   Open Settings → Website Chat

   Choose your title, subtitle, greeting, accent colour and widget position. Decide whether to ask visitors for their name and email before chatting.

2. 2

   Add your allowed websites

   Enter the exact origins that can use the widget, such as https://example.com and https://www.example.com. Add both if you use both. Origins include the protocol, hostname and any non-default port; do not add page paths or wildcards.

3. 3

   Enable and save

   Activate the widget and save your chat settings. The installation snippet becomes available once the required services, website allowlist and activation are ready.

4. 4

   Copy the installation snippet

   Use Copy snippet and add the generated script before your website's closing </body> tag. Keep the generated installation ID exactly as supplied.

5. 5

   Send a test enquiry

   Open an allowed website, start a conversation and send a test message. In Gatherdesk, open the Web channel in the enquiry pool, claim the request and reply. Confirm the visitor receives your reply.

View full size

Allowed websites are exact

Add AI replies when you are ready

AI replies are optional. Enable the AI service, choose OpenAI or Claude in Settings → AI Providers and configure that provider's own key. Then add accurate business information in Website Chat and enable its AI-assisted replies option.

Human replies and enquiry collection work without automatic AI responses. Review the business information you provide, keep it free of secrets and make sure staff confirm prices, availability and important advice. A human claim pauses automatic replies.

If the widget does not appear

• Check service activation, the widget's enabled setting and the website allowlist.
• Compare the exact browser origin, including http/https, www and port, with the allowed entry.
• Use an actual web server for local testing. Opening an HTML file directly is not an allowed website origin.
• A live HTTPS website needs a publicly reachable HTTPS widget address. A localhost loader only works in a local development environment.
• If your website has a content security policy, its administrator must allow the configured widget host. Do not disable the site's security policy globally.
• Pausing the widget or removing a website blocks further visitor messages. Existing conversations remain in the workspace.

Find your management tools

Open Settings → Management. The Team & access group links to Team members and Roles & permissions. Communication & routing contains Source routing and Connected mailboxes. Only the tools available to your account are shown.

View full size

Use a role for each responsibility

Role names can reflect your industry, but permissions determine which actions are allowed. A business administrator manages its own workspace; a platform operator manages platform-level businesses and subscriptions. These are separate kinds of access.

1. 1

   Create individual accounts

   An authorised administrator can create a user with the appropriate role and account details. Follow the account's verification and sign-in instructions; avoid shared staff logins.

2. 2

   Review the actual permissions

   Use Roles & permissions to check access to customer information, work, finance, settings and administrative actions. A job title alone is not a permission grant.

3. 3

   Set the source assignments

   In Source routing, connect eligible team members to the sources they should handle. Mailbox restrictions can further limit which email enquiries a person sees.

4. 4

   Check the staff experience

   Ask the colleague to sign in with their own account. Confirm they can see the intended queue and perform their daily actions, without unrelated management tools.

Keep sensitive configuration with the right people

• Integration secrets need additional settings permissions. Ordinary agents do not need access to provider keys to handle assigned conversations.
• Only authorised managers can reassign an enquiry owned by someone else.
• The plan, enabled services, role permissions and source assignments all contribute to available actions.
• Deactivate accounts when colleagues leave and review remaining source assignments and role membership.

Resolve an access problem

Check that the colleague is in the correct business workspace and their account is active. Then review the enabled service, role permissions and source assignment for the specific task. Refresh after a change so the interface can load its current configuration.

If a button is visible but the server rejects an action, do not work around it by sharing another user's credentials. Ask an administrator to review the access configuration.

Create the right work record

1. 1

   Select the customer

   Open your work area—Bookings, Jobs, Projects, Itineraries or your industry's equivalent—and create a record with the correct customer.

2. 2

   Set dates and currency

   Use the dates or appointment times supplied by your business profile. Choose the intended currency before adding priced items or billing documents.

3. 3

   Add the service detail

   Build the relevant appointments, stages, visits or days and add service items with descriptions, quantities and unit prices. The application calculates line totals.

4. 4

   Assign staff where available

   When staff scheduling is enabled, choose registered staff and the correct time or date range. Overlapping reservations for the same registered resource are checked; free-text names cannot provide that resource check.

Prepare a proforma

With Invoicing enabled and the required permissions, open Finance → Invoices and create a proforma. Select a work record when the document relates to existing work, or create a standalone proforma when appropriate.

Linking work carries its customer and currency into the document. Review the total, due date and notes before saving. A proforma is a preliminary document; use the document's available issue/finalise action when it is ready to become an invoice.

Review before issuing

• Check the customer, currency, service descriptions, quantity, price and payment terms.
• Issued documents use a snapshot so later work edits do not silently rewrite an existing invoice.
• Once priced items or billing documents exist, changing the work's currency is blocked to avoid relabelling amounts.
• Record customer payments only when they have actually been received. Overpayments are rejected because there is no customer credit-balance ledger.
• Keep different currencies separate. Gatherdesk does not silently convert balances into a single currency total.

Customer finance and your Gatherdesk subscription

Finance contains the money your business bills or receives from its customers, plus supplier workflows when enabled. Settings → Management → Billing & plan contains your business's subscription to Gatherdesk. A payment in one area does not settle the other.

The available finance tools do not by themselves establish jurisdiction-specific tax or accounting compliance. Confirm the required invoice content and accounting process for your own business before issuing documents.

Read the current plan

Open Settings → Management → Billing & plan. The page shows the current plan, status, relevant dates, enabled services and billing history. This is your workspace's subscription to Gatherdesk, separate from your customer invoices.

A business starts on Free unless the platform operator explicitly assigns another plan. Free does not require a payment and does not automatically upgrade. A demo or trial request on the public website is a request for follow-up, not an automatic subscription change.

View full size

Understand what is included

Free includes the shared enquiry pool, customer records and connected email. Paid chat channels stay visible but locked. Starter adds Website Chat and includes three total team seats: an administrator plus two colleagues in any permitted staff roles. WhatsApp is included as a paid-plan service and becomes usable after your workspace connects and activates its own business number. You can use a customer-owned Meta app or guided Meta sign-in when the platform has enabled it. Free and Starter do not include operational work or customer finance services, whatever the industry.

Use the current workspace screen for applicable pricing, interval, dates and services. Active staff and pending invitations count towards the enforced team-seat allowance, including administrators and managers. Customer records do not use staff seats. Existing accounts are retained after a downgrade, but additional staff or reactivations are blocked until space is available. Contact the platform operator to change the plan.

Report a payment when it is due

1. 1

   Check the payment instructions

   Use only the configured payment method and destination displayed in the billing page. If the account details are not configured, contact the platform operator before sending money.

2. 2

   Complete the payment outside Gatherdesk

   For an available bank-transfer method, use the displayed amount and payment reference. The application does not send a bank transfer for you.

3. 3

   Report the transfer

   When your role and subscription permit it, submit the payment details through the page. A report remains pending until the platform operator verifies it.

4. 4

   Review the result

   Check the status and billing history after review. Reporting a payment is not proof of settlement and does not independently renew the subscription.

When a plan ends

Cancelled or expired subscriptions fall back to the Free customer-service workspace. Paid channels and operational tools are unavailable while their data is retained. Overdue accounts display their payment and grace-period state. Check the current billing screen for the dates and actions that apply to your workspace.

There is no automatic card checkout in this flow. Do not assume that a saved payment report, a trial request or a service configuration activates paid access.

Find the right settings section

Each section has its own save action. Moving between tabs preserves staged changes in the current page; it does not save them. Save the section before leaving or refreshing the page.

Make the workspace your own

In Company, update the name, logo and accent colour your team and customers see. Review the upload requirements shown beside the logo field. Your business type and workspace identity are managed separately from visual branding.

The same business branding is used across relevant sign-in and document surfaces. Changes to a logo or display name do not change who may access the workspace.

Connect mailboxes and route the work

Use Settings → Management → Connected mailboxes to manage the accounts used by your business. Configure the mailbox with the credentials and connection details supplied by your email administrator. Use Source routing to assign eligible team members.

Review Email & Privacy to control the supported visibility options. A mailbox connection, source assignment and email service activation are separate setup steps. Verify sending and receiving with a test conversation before relying on the channel for customer enquiries.

Connect WhatsApp Business

Open Settings → WhatsApp. With Your own Meta app, use a verified Cloud API number registered in your business portfolio, your Meta app ID and secret, WhatsApp Business account ID, phone number ID and a production system-user token. Gatherdesk verifies these credentials before saving them. Copy the generated callback URL and verification token into your Meta webhook settings, verify the callback, subscribe to messages, then refresh and activate WhatsApp.

Guided Meta sign-in is a separate option when enabled by Gatherdesk. It opens a Gatherdesk connection window and then Meta’s sign-in flow. Both options keep your workspace’s number, conversations and team assignments separate. Changing the connection method of an already bound account requires a supported migration; disconnecting does not erase its history.

Give team members WhatsApp access through Source routing. Claim the enquiry in the Pool or WhatsApp Inbox before replying. Freeform replies use the customer’s 24-hour service window; outside it, select a supported approved template and confirm the customer’s permission. Meta’s messaging charges and payment method are separate from your Gatherdesk plan. WhatsApp Business app coexistence is not supported in this release.

Configure an AI provider

1. 1

   Choose the provider

   Open AI Providers, select OpenAI or Claude (Anthropic), and save the selection. Your account needs permission to manage these settings and secrets.

2. 2

   Add its API key

   Use the provider's key-console link in the settings page to create a key for the business, then save it in the matching provider section. Saving one provider's key does not delete the other.

3. 3

   Check service access

   A saved key means configured, not activated or verified. The AI service must also be enabled, and the provider account must have valid access and available quota.

4. 4

   Enable the specific workflow

   AI-assisted email drafts and work notes use the selected provider. Automatic website replies also need the Website Chat AI toggle and accurate business context.

Keep a person in the loop

AI can help draft responses, but it may produce incorrect information. Check important advice, prices and availability before sharing. Business context and relevant conversation content are sent to the selected provider when that feature runs, so include only information appropriate for that purpose.

Selecting a provider without its key does not silently switch to another provider. If provider access, quota or application usage limits prevent a reply, human handling remains available. Removing a saved key disables the corresponding provider's readiness.