Finding Your Way Around

Every signed-in page in UpChannels sits inside the same frame: a dark menu (the sidebar) on the left, a reminder strip across the top when one applies, and the page itself. This page explains that frame and the controls that work the same way everywhere, so you can find anything quickly and know what a lock, a tag or a pop-up means.

Overview

Part of the screen	What it is
Sidebar (left)	Your menu. From top to bottom: your logo, your store name, the trial and setup rows (when they apply), the Search box with the All switch, the menu groups, and a footer with your name, Sign Out, Settings, Support and Ask AI
Setup strip (top of the page)	A blue one-line reminder of your next setup step. Owners only, until the store's first order
Page header	The page title, a one-line description, and the page's own buttons (for example Demo)
The page	Tabs, filters, tables and forms for that feature

When you sign in, or open the app's home address, you land on Shortcuts, a page of one-click cards for every feature.

A few things the app does not have, so you don't go looking for them: there is no store or location switcher (the store-name box is a label, and each page that needs a location has its own location picker), no account drop-down menu (your profile is in Settings → Primary User, which only the people Settings opens for can reach), and no dark mode (the app always shows in light mode).

The sidebar, top to bottom

Element	What it does	Who sees it
Logo card with the panel icon	The panel icon hides the sidebar. Press Ctrl+B (Windows) or ⌘+B (Mac) to hide or show it from anywhere	Everyone
Store-name box	Shows your store's short name (or full name). A label, not a button	Everyone with a store
Trial ends … (red) or … plan starts … (amber)	Your free-trial end date, or the date the plan you already chose starts billing. Click it to open Plan & Billing	During a free trial
Setup N of 3 row (rocket icon)	Names your next setup step. Click it to go straight there	Owners, until the first order
Search box and All switch	Type to filter the menu; press Enter to search your products. All opens every group	Everyone
Menu groups	Get Started, Sales, Catalog, Inventory, Growth, Team, Finance and Reports (the first group and its first item share the name Get Started). Click a group name to open or fold it. A green ? beside a group opens that group's Guide & Tips page	Everyone (items vary; see below)
Footer	Your name (a crown icon means you are the owner), Sign Out, a notification bell where enabled, then Settings (only for the people Settings opens for), Support and Ask AI	Everyone

On a phone or narrow window (under 768 pixels wide) the sidebar becomes a slide-out panel. Tap the panel icon in the top-left corner of the page to open it, and tap outside it to close it.

Find a page, a product or a setting

Find a page in the menu

1. Click the Search box at the top of the sidebar and start typing, for example "expense".
2. The menu narrows as you type to the items whose name (or hover description) contains your words, and every group with a match opens.
3. Click the item you want. Click the X at the right of the box to clear the search and get the full menu back.

Find a product

1. Type a product name, SKU, barcode, model number or a word from its description in the same Search box.
2. Press Enter. The Search results page lists up to 24 matching products (archived products are left out), each with its name and SKU.
3. Click a result. The Products Catalog page opens with that product's details already on screen.

The search box does not search customers or orders. To find those, use the search on Customers or on Order Management.

Open or fold menu groups

• Click any group name (or its arrow) to open or fold it. Your choice sticks while you move around the app.
• The All switch beside the search box is on each time you open the app, so every group starts expanded. Turn it on to open every group again; turn it off to fold every group except the one holding the page you are on.
• Folding a group by hand turns All off, because not every group is open any more. Nothing is remembered after a reload.

Why a menu item is missing, tagged or blocked

What you see	Why	What to do
Routes is missing from Sales	The owner turned off the switch on Settings → Delivery & Routes (it is on by default)	The owner turns it back on. See Routes Board
The Team group (Workforce, My Hours) is missing	Your plan is below Premium and the switch on Settings → Workforce is off (it is on by default). On Premium or during a free trial they always show	Upgrade to Premium. Below Premium, Settings → Workforce only offers Upgrade plan (and Turn off Workforce), so the switch cannot be turned back on there
Customer Portal is missing from Sales	The item points at a Settings page, so it shows to whoever may open Settings: the marked owner, anyone with the owner role, and a one-person store's only active member. On Basic it also shows only while the portal switch is on (on by default)	Staff: nothing to fix. Owners on Basic: move to Pro or Premium; on Basic, Settings → Customer Portal can turn the portal off but not on
One teammate is missing items the owner can see	The owner hid those items for that person under Settings → Team. Their pages, and the pages under or belonging to them, show "403 - Forbidden" to that person, whether opened from a link, a bookmark or a typed address	The owner changes that person's menu visibility. See Team & Menu Visibility
No Settings tile in the footer	Settings does not open for you: no Owner switch, no owner role, and other active people in the store. The tile shows to everyone Settings lets in — the Owner switch, the owner role, or the store's only active member. Anyone else who opens a Settings address sees "Redirecting..." and lands on Shortcuts (Plan & Billing stays open to everyone, read-only unless you are an owner)	Ask the owner
A small Pro or Premium tag beside an item	Your plan does not include that page. The item still opens and the page explains the upgrade. No tags show during a free trial	See Plan & Billing
Items vanish while you type	The menu search is filtering them	Clear the Search box

Get help without leaving the app

• Guide & Tips (the green ? beside Sales, Catalog, Inventory, Growth, Team, Finance and Reports): a short, expandable overview of every page in that group, with the usual workflow, key features and tips, and an Open … link to each page. These help pages go into more depth.
• Ask AI (sparkles icon, sidebar footer): opens the AI assistant's chat panel. Click again to close it. If a browser extension blocks it you see "The AI assistant could not be reached."; use Support instead.
• Support (life-buoy icon, sidebar footer): opens a live chat with the UpChannels team. Click again to close it. The tile only lights up once the chat is really open. If the chat cannot be reached you see "Support chat could not be reached." instead. The Support card on Shortcuts opens the same chat and gives the same message.
• Demo (in most page headers): opens the page filled with sample data, with a guided tour you can replay. Nothing you do there touches your real data. See Demo Mode & Guided Tours.

Setup and trial reminders

Until your store's first order, the owner sees the next setup step in two places: the setup strip at the top of every page and the pinned Setup N of 3 row in the sidebar. N is how many steps are already done. Nothing is locked while setup is unfinished; the reminders only point the way, and they stop for good once the store has any order.

Step	Reminder text	Main button	Done when
1	"Finish your store profile"	Finish store profile	The store has an active location and an active tax rate
2	"Add your first product or service"	Add a product (or the link or add a service)	The store has at least one product in stock records or one service
3	"Create your first order"	Create an order	The store has any order

The X on the strip (Hide for now) hides it for the current step in this browser tab only. It comes back the next time you open the app, and as soon as the next step becomes current.

During a free trial the sidebar shows Trial ends and the date, in red. If you chose a paid plan during the trial, the row turns amber and reads, for example, Pro plan starts Oct 1, 2026: that plan applies straight away, and your card is first charged on that date. If your subscription lapses, every page sends you to Plan & Billing until it is sorted out. See Plan & Billing.

Locked pages and upgrade prompts

• "Unlock Pro & Premium Features" card: on a Basic plan (with no free trial running), eight pages show greyed out behind this card and cannot be clicked: Communications Hub, SMS Campaigns, Expenses, Assets & Liabilities, Transactions, Expenses Report, Profit & Loss and the Assets & Liabilities report. Check Details, the card's only button, opens Plan & Billing.
• "Unlock Premium Features" pop-up: on Basic or Pro, clicking Export / Export CSV on Order Management, Products, Expenses, Profit & Loss or the Assets & Liabilities report, or Download PDF on the last two, opens this pop-up instead of downloading. Click outside it to close it. The same card sits over sample orders in Order Management's Groupable and Pivot views.
• A free trial unlocks everything. If the app cannot work out your plan, it leaves the page unlocked rather than lock you out.

Patterns you will see on every page

Pattern	How it works
Tab bars	A row of coloured tabs under the page header. The selected tab is a white pill. A greyed tab cannot be opened yet (the page says why). Many pages open straight onto a tab from a Shortcuts card or a setup button
Date ranges	Each report or list has its own preset list (for example Today, Last 7 days, This month, Custom range). Day boundaries follow your store's Business Timezone (Settings → Organization); if none is set, each person's own computer time zone is used
Export / Export CSV	Downloads the rows you are looking at as a spreadsheet file. On some pages this needs Premium (see above)
Paging	Long lists have Previous / Next buttons and a "Page 1 of 5" or "Showing 1 to 25 of 240" line. Each list sets its own page size
Search boxes	A search box on a page searches only that page's list
Row actions	Most tables have small icon buttons on each row (pencil to edit, bin to delete, eye to view). A few lists use a ⋯ menu instead
Pop-up messages	Green or red notes in the top-right corner confirm a save or explain an error, then fade away. Some pages show theirs at the bottom right instead
Confirmations	Before anything hard to undo, you see either an in-app box with Cancel and the action button, or your browser's own OK / Cancel box

Menu labels and their help pages

Some menu labels differ from the help page titles. This table shows the standard menu, with the help page for each item.

Menu group	Menu item	Help page
Get Started	Get Started	Prepare to Sell (the checklist on a page of its own; the tabbed Get Started page is in Get Started Overview)
Get Started	Quick Facts	Quick Facts (the same panel sits at the top of Shortcuts)
Get Started	Profile Setup	Onboarding
Get Started	Dashboard	Dashboard
Sales	New	New (Create Order)
Sales	Schedule	Schedule
Sales	List	List (Order Management)
Sales	Routes	Routes Board (and Delivery & Routes Overview)
Sales	Walk-ins	Walk-ins
Sales	Customer Portal	Customer Portal
Catalog	Products	Products
Catalog	Services	Services
Inventory	Snapshot	Snapshot
Inventory	Management	Management
Inventory	Procurement	Procurement
Inventory	Vendors	Vendors
Inventory	Labels	Labels
Inventory	Marketplace	Marketplace
Growth	Customers Nurturing	Customers
Growth	Complaints	Complaints
Growth	Communications Hub	Messages
Growth	SMS Campaigns	SMS Campaigns and SMS Campaigns Setup
Growth	Reviews Booster	Reviews
Growth	Ads Insights	Ads & Sales
Growth	Competitors Monitor	Competitors
Growth	Local Vibes	Local Vibes
Growth	Partners Network	Partners
Growth	Loyalty Program	Loyalty Program
Growth	Pro Marketing	Pro Marketing
Team	Workforce	Workforce
Team	My Hours	My Hours
Finance	Expenses	Expenses
Finance	Assets & Liabilities	Assets & Liabilities
Finance	Bank Reconciliation	Bank Reconciliation
Finance	Transactions	Transactions
Finance	Income Tax Prep	Income Tax Prep
Reports	Daily Journal	Daily Journal
Reports	Services Report	Services Report
Reports	Inventory Report	Inventory Report
Reports	Expenses Report	Expenses Report
Reports	Profit & Loss	Profit & Loss
Reports	Assets & Liabilities	Assets & Liabilities report
Reports	Sales Report	Sales Report
Reports	Lost sales	Lost Sales Report
Footer	Settings	Settings Overview (the Team tab: Team & Menu Visibility; Accept Payments: Accept Payments (Card))
Top of sidebar	Trial row	Plan & Billing
Home page	Shortcuts	Shortcuts

Tips & best practices

• Type, don't scroll. Two or three letters in the sidebar Search box usually narrow the menu to the one item you want.
• Use Enter to look up a product. Scanning a barcode into the sidebar search box and pressing Enter is the quickest way to check that a product exists in your catalog.
• Turn All off on a small screen. With All off, every group folds except the one you are working in, which keeps the menu short. Open the one or two others you need and they stay open — and if you jump to a page inside a folded group, that group opens itself so you can still see where you are.
• Owners: set a Business Timezone. Set it once in Settings → Organization so "Today" and "This month" mean the same thing for everyone on your team.
• Owners: tidy each person's menu. Hide the pages a teammate doesn't need in Settings → Team. Their menu gets shorter, any Shortcuts cards for those pages go with it (several items have no card there, so only the sidebar row goes), and the pages (with the pages under them) show "403 - Forbidden" to them, even from a bookmark.
• Stuck? Ask AI first, then Support. Ask AI answers how-to questions straight away. Support reaches a person.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
The sidebar has disappeared	It was hidden with the panel icon or Ctrl+B / ⌘+B	Click the small panel icon in the top-left corner of the page, or press Ctrl+B / ⌘+B
A menu item I expect isn't there	Search text in the box, a switch or plan rule, or the owner hid it for you	Clear the search, then see Why a menu item is missing
"403 - Forbidden" on a page	The owner hid that page for you in Settings → Team	Ask the owner to show it again
A page is greyed out behind "Unlock Pro & Premium Features"	Your store is on Basic and that page needs Pro	Click Check Details to see plans
Export opens "Unlock Premium Features"	Exports on that page need Premium	Upgrade on Plan & Billing
Pressing Enter in the search box shows "No products found for …"	That search only looks at products	Try a SKU or barcode; for customers or orders use those pages' own search
A search result opens the Products Catalog but no product details	The Products Catalog is hidden from your menu, or the product was archived or removed between the search and the click	Ask your store owner to show Products in Settings → Team, or search again
"The AI assistant could not be reached."	A browser extension (often an ad or script blocker) stopped it loading	Allow the app in the extension and reload, or use Support
Every page sends me to Plan & Billing	The trial ended or the subscription lapsed	Choose or update a plan on Plan & Billing
I was signed out on my own	18 hours with no activity in any UpChannels tab in this browser. The sign-in page says so, and your other devices stay signed in	Sign in again. See Sign In, Sign Up & Password Reset
No Settings tile	Settings does not open for you: no Owner switch, no owner role, and other active people in the store	Ask the owner
The setup strip keeps coming back	Hide for now lasts only for this browser tab	Finish the step it names; it goes away for good after the first order

What's next

• Shortcuts: the home page, with one-click cards for every feature
• Demo Mode & Guided Tours: try any page with sample data
• Onboarding: finish your store profile (setup step 1)
• Team & Menu Visibility: control what each teammate sees
• Plan & Billing: plans, trials and upgrades
• Sign In, Sign Up & Password Reset: getting in and out of the app

Detailed reference

Every button, icon, field and message on this page, for when you need the exact detail. Each panel starts closed — open the one you need.

Page header and toolbar

Two header styles are in use across the app.

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Page title	Page header band (grey, top of most pages)	Names the page in large bold text	Most feature pages
Description line	Under the title	One sentence on what the page is for	Optional per page
Page buttons (for example Demo, Play icon)	Header, right	Page-specific actions. Demo opens the page's sample-data twin	See Demo Mode & Guided Tours
Panel icon (screen-reader label "Toggle Sidebar")	Left end of the breadcrumb header	Hides or shows the sidebar	Breadcrumb-style pages only: the Guide & Tips pages, the Search results page and a few older pages
Breadcrumb trail ("Section › Page")	Breadcrumb header, after a short divider	Shows where you are, for example "Sales › Guide & Tips" or "Search › fridge"	On a phone only the last crumb shows. The earlier crumbs are plain text, not links
Items on the right of a breadcrumb header	Breadcrumb header, right	Page-specific extras, for example a green "Live Data" pill on Products Catalog	Varies by page
Floating panel icon	Fixed at the top-left corner of the page	Reopens the sidebar	Desktop: only while the sidebar is hidden. Phone or narrow window: whenever the slide-out menu is closed

Section: Sidebar top (logo, store name, trial and setup rows)

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Logo (alt text "Company logo")	White card, top of sidebar	Shows your store's logo from Settings, or the UpChannels logo if none is set	Updates straight away when the logo is changed in Settings
Panel icon (screen-reader label "Toggle Sidebar"; no visible tooltip)	White card, right	Hides or shows the sidebar	Everyone
Ctrl+B / ⌘+B	Keyboard	Hides or shows the sidebar	Works anywhere in the app, including while typing in a box
Store-name box	Under the logo card	Shows the store's short name, or its full name if no short name is set	A label, not a control: no arrow, no hover highlight, nothing to click. A long name is shortened with "…"; hover it to read the whole name
Store-name box: "Loading..."	Same	Shown while the store name loads	Brief
Store-name box: "Error loading organization" (red)	Same	The store record could not be read	Reload the page; contact Support if it persists
Store-name box: "No store name set"	Same	The store has no name saved, or the app could not tell which store you are signed in to	A label, like the name. Owner: add a name in Settings → Organization; otherwise sign out and back in
Dashed box "Pending Setup"	Same	You have no store yet	Finish onboarding
Trial ends … + arrow (red text)	Row under the store name	Opens Plan & Billing	During a free trial. Date shown like "Sep 30, 2026", in your store's time zone
Basic plan starts … / Pro plan starts … / Premium plan starts … + arrow (amber text)	Same row	Opens Plan & Billing	During a free trial after a paid plan was chosen at checkout. That plan already applies; the card is charged on that date
Trial row missing	—	The app shows no date rather than a possibly out-of-date one while it re-checks your subscription	Re-checked every 5 minutes, and when you return to the tab
Setup N of 3 row (rocket icon, next step on a second line, arrow)	Pinned under the trial row	Goes to the page for the next setup step (the same place as the setup strip's main button)	Owners of a store with no orders yet. N = steps already finished
"Complete your setup" card: "Create your organization to unlock the full dashboard."	Top of sidebar	—	Only when you have no store yet
Go to Onboarding	Inside that card	Opens the onboarding wizard	Same condition
Automatic folding during onboarding	—	The sidebar folds itself away while a person with no store yet is setting up, and opens again once onboarding is done	Desktop only. You can reopen it by hand
Collapsed state after a reload	—	A full page load opens the sidebar the way you last left it in this browser, hidden or shown	Remembered in this browser for a week after you last hid or showed it. Another browser or device starts with it shown
Slide-out menu on a phone	Screen narrower than 768 pixels	The whole sidebar slides in from the left over the page. Open it with the floating panel icon at the top-left; close it with the panel icon in the logo card or by tapping outside it	It has no X button of its own. Ctrl+B / ⌘+B opens and closes it too

Section: Menu search and the All switch

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Search box (magnifier icon, placeholder "Search")	Under the sidebar's top rows	As you type, the menu shows only items whose name or hover description contains your text, and every group with a match opens	A group whose own name matches stays in the list even if none of its items match
Enter in the Search box	Keyboard	Opens the Search results page for your text (products only)	An empty search goes to the home page (Shortcuts)
X (clear; no tooltip)	Right end of the Search box	Empties the box and brings back the full menu	—
All switch	Right of the Search box	Turning it on opens every group. Turning it off folds every group except the one holding the current page	On when the app loads, because every group starts open. It follows the groups rather than overriding them, so folding one group by hand turns it off, and opening the last folded group turns it back on. Not remembered after a reload
Opening a page in a folded group	Menu, Shortcuts, a link or a search result	The group holding the page you land on opens itself	So the menu never hides the page you are on. Your other folds are left as they are

Section: Menu groups and items

How a group row and its items behave:

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Group name (with icon)	Each group row	Opens or folds the group. Hover shows the group's description (table below)	Your choice sticks as you move around the app, and while the menu finishes loading. One exception: opening a page inside a folded group unfolds that group. Folding a group turns the All switch off
Arrow (screen-reader label "Toggle")	Right end of each group row	Opens or folds the group; it turns to point down when open	Same
Green ? (hover title "Open Guide & Tips"; screen-reader label "Open … Guide & Tips")	Group row, right, left of the arrow	Opens that group's Guide & Tips page	Sales, Catalog, Inventory, Growth, Team, Finance and Reports. Get Started has none — it is the guide. It is a link: Tab reaches it and Enter opens it, and using it does not fold the group
Menu item (icon + name)	Under its group	Opens the page. Hover shows a short description	—
Pro or Premium tag (screen-reader label "Pro plan" / "Premium plan")	Right end of an item	Marks a page your plan does not include	Shown only when your plan is known, is below the item's plan, and no free trial is running. It does not lock the item: the page itself explains the upgrade
Current page	Menu	The item's name turns white (the others stay grey), and the menu scrolls it into view	Only the closest match lights up (on My Hours, only My Hours, not Workforce)
Empty group	Menu	A group with no visible items is hidden completely	For example Team on Basic with Workforce switched off
Duplicate group names	Menu	Two groups with the same name show once	—

Group hover descriptions:

Group	Hover text
Get Started	"Get started with your business setup and onboarding process."
Sales	"Manage your sales operations and transactions."
Catalog	"Manage your product and service catalog."
Inventory	"Track and manage your inventory effectively."
Growth	"Grow your business with marketing and customer engagement tools."
Team	"Track staff hours, approve timesheets, publish the roster and run pay."
Finance	"Manage financial operations and reports."
Reports	"View and analyze various reports."

The standard menu, item by item. Every item has hover text; an item a store adds without one shows no hover bubble at all. Two sections carry an item with the same name — List appears in Sales and in some stores' own Inventory menus, Assets & Liabilities in both Finance and Reports — and each one has its own hover text, so the search never brings back the wrong page:

Group	Item	Opens	Hover text	Tag	Shown when
Get Started	Get Started	/getstarted	"Follow a guided workflow to set up your business management system."	—	Always
Get Started	Quick Facts	/quick-facts	"How this week is going, and what needs doing today."	—	Always. The tiles and to-dos inside follow your plan, role and store switches
Get Started	Profile Setup	/onboarding	"Set up your store profile: your details, first location and tax rate."	—	Always
Get Started	Dashboard	/dashboard	"View your business performance at a glance."	—	Always
Sales	New	/sales/create	"Create a new sales order or transaction."	—	Always
Sales	Schedule	/schedule	"Manage scheduled orders and appointments."	—	Always
Sales	List	/orders	"Browse, filter and open your sales orders."	—	Always
Sales	Routes	/routes	"Plan the delivery day: stops, trucks and drivers."	—	The Settings → Delivery & Routes switch is on (on by default)
Sales	Walk-ins	/walk-ins	"Log everyone who walked in or called, including those who did not buy."	—	Always
Sales	Customer Portal	/settings/portal	"Set up the page where your customers see their purchase and pay online."	Pro	Only for people who may open Settings — the marked owner, the owner role, or a one-person store's only active member — and then only while the portal switch is on or the plan is Pro, Premium or a free trial
Catalog	Products	/inventory/catalog	"View and manage all products in your catalog."	—	Always
Catalog	Services	/service-profiles	"Manage and offer various services."	—	Always
Inventory	Snapshot	/inventory/	"View a snapshot of your current inventory status."	—	Always
Inventory	Management	/inventory/management	"Manage your inventory items and stock levels."	—	Always
Inventory	Procurement	/inventory/procurement-orders	"Handle procurement and supply chain activities."	—	Always
Inventory	Vendors	/inventory/vendors	"Manage vendor information and relationships."	—	Always
Inventory	Labels	/inventory/barcodes	"Manage barcodes and labels for inventory."	—	Always
Inventory	Marketplace	/inventory/marketplace	"Access inventory marketplace and suppliers."	—	Always
Growth	Customers Nurturing	/customers	"Engage and nurture your customer relationships."	—	Always
Growth	Complaints	/complaints	"Track what went wrong, who owns it and whether it is late."	—	Always
Growth	Communications Hub	/messages	"Read and reply to your customer conversations in one place."	Pro	Always
Growth	SMS Campaigns	/sms-campaigns	"Create and manage SMS marketing campaigns."	Pro	Always
Growth	Reviews Booster	/reviews	"Boost and manage customer reviews."	—	Always
Growth	Ads Insights	/ads-insights	"View insights and analytics for your advertising campaigns."	Pro	Always
Growth	Competitors Monitor	/competitors	"Monitor and analyze your competitors."	—	Always
Growth	Local Vibes	/local-vibes	"Engage with local community and customers."	—	Always
Growth	Partners Network	/partners-network	"Manage your business partners and network."	—	Always
Growth	Loyalty Program	/loyalty	"Manage customer loyalty programs and rewards."	—	Always
Growth	Pro Marketing	/pro-marketing	"Access advanced marketing tools and strategies."	—	Always
Team	Workforce	/workforce	"Run the time clock, approve timesheets, publish the schedule and pay your staff."	Premium	The Workforce switch is on, or the plan is Premium or a free trial
Team	My Hours	/workforce/me	"See your own shifts and hours, and request time off."	Premium	Same as Workforce
Finance	Expenses	/finance/expenses	"Track and manage business expenses."	Pro	Always
Finance	Assets & Liabilities	/finance/assets-liabilities	"Record and adjust what your store owns and owes."	Pro	Always
Finance	Bank Reconciliation	/finance/reconciliation	"Match your bank statement line by line against what the store recorded."	—	Always (an add-on; the page explains its own access)
Finance	Transactions	/finance/transactions	"Every payment taken and refunded, with the daily money in and out."	Pro	Always
Finance	Income Tax Prep	/finance/income-tax-prep	"Prepare for income tax submissions."	—	Always
Reports	Daily Journal	/journal	"Track daily business activities and insights."	—	Always
Reports	Services Report	/reports/services	"Analyze service performance and metrics."	—	Always
Reports	Inventory Report	/reports/inventory	"View inventory reports and analysis."	—	Always
Reports	Expenses Report	/finance/expenses-report	"View detailed expenses report."	Pro	Always
Reports	Profit & Loss	/finance/profit-loss	"Review profit and loss statements."	Pro	Always
Reports	Assets & Liabilities	/finance/report-assets-liabilities	"The balance-sheet report of what your store owns and owes."	Pro	Always
Reports	Sales Report	/reports/sales	"View detailed sales reports and analytics."	—	Always
Reports	Lost sales	/reports/lost-sales	"Walk-in conversion, why people did not buy, and what they asked for."	—	Always

Not in the menu: Settings (the footer tile), Shortcuts (the home page), the Search results page, Accept Payments (Settings → Accept Payments), AI (Settings → AI, the store's AI switch and the daily summary; its old address /settings/ai opens it too), the Unified Communications Hub coming-soon page, which is reached only by its address, the old Business Insights address, which opens Ads Insights (for a person who receives the daily brief, it opens their briefs instead), and Your AI features (/ai/me), where each person turns AI features off or on for themselves. Any item can also be hidden for one person by the owner (Settings → Team).

Section: Sidebar footer

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Your name with a crown icon (amber)	Footer, left	Shows you are the store owner	Name falls back to your username, then your email, then "User"
Your name with a person icon (blue)	Footer, left	Shows you are not the owner	Same
"Loading..."	Footer, left	Your details are loading	Brief
"Not signed in" + Sign In	Footer, left	Sign In opens the sign-in page	Only if your session has ended
Sign Out (red pill)	Footer, beside your name	Opens the Sign Out confirmation	Reads "Signing…" and is disabled while signing out
Bell icon	Footer, right of Sign Out	Opens your own notifications feed	Appears only when notifications are enabled for the app, and only once the app knows who is signed in; otherwise there is no bell. Each person has their own feed
Inbox icon, with a red count	Footer, right of the bell	Opens your last seven daily briefs	Only for people who receive the daily brief, while it is on for your store and for them; otherwise the footer is exactly as above. The count is the briefs you have neither opened nor dismissed
Settings (gear icon)	Footer action row	Opens Settings	Shows to everyone Settings opens for: the Owner switch, the owner role, or the store's only active member. Highlighted while you are in Settings
Support (life-buoy icon)	Footer action row	Opens or closes the live support chat window	Everyone. Highlighted only while the chat is actually open, never on the click alone. A click before the chat has loaded is remembered, and the chat opens when ready. If the chat never loads, the click answers with "Support chat could not be reached." — and hovering the tile shows the same sentence until the chat turns up. The chat has no floating bubble of its own, so this tile (or the Support card on Shortcuts) is the way in
Ask AI (sparkles icon)	Footer action row	Opens or closes the AI assistant chat panel	Everyone. Highlighted while open. A click before it has loaded is held and carried out once it loads. The open panel also has its own close control
Ask AI: "The AI assistant could not be reached."	Red pop-up message, with "It may be blocked by a browser extension. Support chat is still available."	Tells you the assistant did not load	Appears when you click Ask AI after the assistant has failed to load for 30 seconds, for example because a browser extension blocked it. A click in those first 30 seconds is held until it loads
Support: "Support chat could not be reached."	Red pop-up message, with "It may be blocked by a browser extension. Try Ask AI, or email team@upchannels.com."	Tells you the support chat did not load	Appears when you click Support and no chat is available — blocked by a browser extension, or live chat is not switched on for this site. A click while it is still loading is held until it opens. A chat that is only slow is not written off: once it finally loads, the next click opens it and the message stops appearing

Section: Setup strip and setup reminders

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Checklist icon + "Setup N of 3 · (step label). (detail sentence)"	Blue strip across the top of the page	Names the next setup step	Owners only, until the first order. The detail sentence is hidden on small screens
Main button with arrow	Strip, right	Opens the page for that step	Labels below
"or add a service" link	Strip, right (step 2 only)	Opens Services on the add-service tab	Hidden on small screens
X (hover title "Hide for now"; screen-reader label "Hide setup reminder for now")	Strip, far right	Hides the strip for the current step in this browser tab	Comes back on your next visit and when the next step becomes current

Step	Label	Detail sentence	Main button → opens
1	"Finish your store profile"	"Add a store location and a tax rate so orders can be priced and invoiced."	Finish store profile → Get Started → Step 2. Profile Setting
2	"Add your first product or service"	"Orders are built from your inventory and services, so add at least one to sell."	Add a product → Procurement, Import tab (second link: or add a service → Services, add-service tab)
3	"Create your first order"	"You are ready to sell. Ring up a sale or a quote to see the whole flow."	Create an order → New (Create Order)

Rules:

• Step 1 counts as done when the store has an active location and an active tax profile with an active rate (or the onboarding wizard was completed). Step 2 counts as done when there is a switched-on stock record or an available serialized unit at an active location, or any service. It is the very count the Prepare to Sell checklist reads for Inventory Setup, so the two never disagree: a switched-off record, or stock at a closed location, counts for neither. Steps are offered in order, so a store with products but no tax rate is still sent to step 1.
• The reminders stop for good as soon as the store has its first sale, quote, return or scrap order, even if an earlier step was skipped. An inventory import or a purchase order is not one of those, so a store that has only bought stock still sees the reminder — the same orders the checklist's Create Your First Sale counts.
• The strip is not shown on the Get Started and onboarding pages (they already show your progress), and never to staff. If the check fails, no strip is shown.
• The strip and the sidebar row move on straight away when onboarding finishes, a stock import finishes, a service is added or an order is created. They also check again after you move to another page, and when you come back to the browser tab (then a reading from the last 15 seconds will do).
• On New (Create Order), an amber box repeats steps 1 and 2 above the order form: "Finish your store profile before creating an order" (button Finish store profile) or "Add a product or service before creating an order" (buttons Add a product and Add a service). See New (Create Order).

Section: Plan locks and upgrade prompts

Page-wide lock card ("Unlock Pro & Premium Features")

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Grey tint over the page	Whole page area	You can see the page but cannot click or select anything on it	Basic plan with no free trial, on Communications Hub, SMS Campaigns, Expenses, Assets & Liabilities, Transactions, Expenses Report, Profit & Loss and the Assets & Liabilities report. Not shown while the plan is loading, during a trial, or when the plan cannot be determined
Card header: lock icon, "Unlock Pro & Premium Features", "SMS, insights, finance tools & more"	Centre of the screen	—	Stays centred as you scroll
Check Details (green)	Card header	Opens Plan & Billing	The card header's only button
Pro column	Card body	Lists "500 SMS/month + a dedicated phone #", "SMS campaigns & review invites", "Ads-vs-store insights", "Finance: expenses, assets, reports", "Customer Portal: tracking, payments, scheduling"	—
Premium column	Card body	Lists "Everything in Pro", "2,000 SMS/month", "Advanced reporting (grouped/pivot)", "CSV / PDF data export", "Workforce: time clock, timesheets, pay runs"	—

Premium pop-up ("Unlock Premium Features")

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Pop-up: lock icon, "Unlock Premium Features", "Advanced reporting & data export"	Centre of the screen	Opens instead of the download	When a Basic or Pro store (no free trial) clicks Export / Export (N) / Export CSV on Order Management, Products, Expenses records, Profit & Loss or the Assets & Liabilities report, or Download PDF on Profit & Loss or the Assets & Liabilities report
Check Details	Pop-up header	Closes the pop-up and opens Plan & Billing	Beside the ✕ that closes it
List	Pop-up body	"Premium", "Everything in Pro", "2,000 SMS/month", "Advanced reporting (grouped/pivot)", "CSV / PDF data export"	—
Click outside the card, the ✕ or Escape	Anywhere outside, or the pop-up header	Closes the pop-up	—
Sample data in Groupable and Pivot views	Order Management	Stores below Premium see sample orders in these views, marked with an amber "Demo Data" label, with the same Premium card over them	Click outside the card to hide it; the sample orders stay and cannot be clicked. See List (Order Management)

Other plan prompts you may meet

Where	Text	Button
Settings → Workforce	"Workforce is included with Premium" / "Your current plan does not include Workforce." / "Upgrade to Premium to turn Workforce on and set it up here."	Upgrade plan (owner). Turn off Workforce appears while the switch is still on; there is no way to turn it on below Premium
Settings → Customer Portal	"The customer portal is included in Pro and Premium" / "Your current plan does not include the Customer Portal." / "Upgrade to Pro or Premium to turn the portal on here."	Upgrade plan (owner). Turn off the portal appears while the portal is still on; there is no way to turn it on on Basic
Settings → SMS	"Your plan doesn’t include SMS. Upgrade to Pro or Premium to send messages."	Upgrade plan (or Manage plan when SMS is included), and Buy … credits where extra credits are sold. They show only to people who may change billing: the Owner switch, or the owner role. Someone Settings lets in without either — usually the store's only active person — reads "Only the store owner can make this change. Contact UpChannels support if this store has no owner." in their place. Managers and staff in a store with other active people don't get this far: every Settings page except Plan & Billing sends them back to Shortcuts
Workforce page	"Workforce is included with Premium" / "Your current plan does not include Workforce."	Upgrade plan (owner only)
Order details → Customer portal link dialog	An explanation that your plan does not include the portal	Upgrade to Pro
Ads Insights	Its own lock for Basic plans with no free trial	—
Adding a location or a user over your licence	Dialog "License Limit Reached": "You've reached your location license limit." or "You've reached your user license limit.", with "Locations Used" or "Users Used" (for example 2 / 2) and a "How licenses work" box: each plan covers 1 location with 2 users, and each user pack adds 5 users	Cancel, Go to Billing

All upgrade buttons open Plan & Billing.

Section: Shared patterns

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Tab bar	Under the page header	Switches between the page's tabs. Each tab has an optional icon above its label; the selected tab is a white pill with a coloured outline that slides across	Used on most feature pages (Create Order, Schedule, Customers, Walk-ins, Workforce, Catalog, Services, the Inventory pages, Daily Journal, many Finance and Reports pages and more)
Greyed tab	Tab bar	Cannot be opened yet	The page explains why, for example Procurement before your first import
Links that open a tab	Shortcuts cards, setup buttons	Open a page straight onto one tab	For example "Add a service" opens Services on its add-service tab
Settings side list	Settings	Settings uses a list on the left instead of a tab bar: Business Type, Organization, Primary User, Locations, Tax Profiles, Plan & Billing, Accept Payments, SMS, Customer Portal, Delivery & Routes, Workforce, Lost sales, Team	Opens on Business Type. See Settings Overview
Date-range presets	Reports and lists	Pick a period. Common choices: Today, Yesterday, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, This week, This month, Last month, Last 90 days, Year to date, All time, Custom / Custom range	Each page has its own list and wording
Business Timezone	Settings → Organization	Decides where "today" starts and ends in every date filter and report	Every store holds one: Eastern, Central, Mountain, Arizona (no DST), Pacific, Alaska, Hawaii or UTC. Once set it can be changed but not cleared. A store that has none yet shows "Choose a time zone"; until one is picked, each person's computer time zone is used on screen, so "this month" can differ between teammates, and the server uses UTC
Time-zone reminder (clock icon): "Date ranges currently use each viewer's browser timezone (…). Set your business timezone in Organization settings so date filters and reports match across your team."	Order Management, above the list	The Organization settings link opens Settings (on the Business Type tab; the field is on the Organization tab)	Only while the store has no Business Timezone yet — a store that has one can't go back to none. Settings opens for the store's owner, the owner role and the store's only active member; for anyone else the link lands back on Shortcuts
X (label "Dismiss")	Right of the time-zone reminder	Hides the reminder in this browser for good	—
Export CSV / Export / Export (N)	Page toolbar	Downloads the current rows as a spreadsheet file	Label varies by page. Premium-only on Order Management, Products, Expenses records, Profit & Loss and the Assets & Liabilities report. On the eight Pro pages behind the lock card, Basic stores cannot reach it at all
Paging controls	Under long lists	Previous / Prev, Next, "Page N of N", "Showing N to N of N …"	Each list sets its own page size and choices
Page search box	Page toolbar	Searches only that page's list	The sidebar search is separate: it filters the menu, and Enter searches products
Row icon buttons (pencil, bin, eye and similar)	Each table row	Edit, delete or view that row	Defined page by page
⋯ menu (screen-reader label "Visit actions" on Walk-ins, "More actions" in order details)	Walk-ins visit list; order details	Opens a short list of actions	Only these two places use it
Pop-up messages, top right	Top-right corner	Green for success, red for errors; they fade after a few seconds	Used by most pages
Pop-up messages, bottom right	Bottom right on a computer, top of the screen on a phone	One at a time (a new one replaces the old). Hover to show an X to close it. Errors are red	Used by some pages
In-app confirmation box	Centre of the screen	A card with Cancel and the action button (for example the Sign Out box)	—
Browser confirmation box	Top of the browser	Your browser's own OK / Cancel box	Its look depends on your browser. If you ticked the browser's option to stop this page showing more dialogs, these boxes stop appearing and the action does not happen; reloading the page brings them back
Demo (Play icon)	Page header, right	Opens the page's sample-data version	Most feature pages. See Demo Mode & Guided Tours
Demo banner (amber, eye icon) "Demo mode — … populated with sample data. All actions are disabled."	Top of a demo page	Tells you nothing here changes your data	Wording varies per page. The page title ends in "— Demo"
Take a Tour (question-mark icon)	Demo banner	Starts the guided tour	—
Exit Demo Mode (left arrow)	Demo page header	Returns to the real page	—
Tour pop-over: progress dots, title, description, "N of N"	Next to the highlighted area	Walks through the page one area at a time, switching tabs by itself where needed	—
Back / Skip / Next (Got it! on the last step)	Tour pop-over	Previous step / close the tour / next step (finish)	Back from step 2 on. Keys: → or Enter = next, ← = back, Esc = close. Clicking the dimmed background closes the tour

Dialog: Sign Out

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Logout icon in a red circle; title "Sign Out"; text "You'll need to sign in again on this device to continue. Your other devices stay signed in."	Dialog	—	Opens from the Sign Out pill in the sidebar footer
Also sign out on my other devices (tick box)	Under the dialog text	Ticked, the sign-out also ends this login's sessions on every other computer, tablet and phone	Starts unticked every time. It takes effect immediately — those devices can no longer reach the store's data at all, not just its screens
Cancel	Dialog footer	Closes the dialog; you stay signed in	Pressing Esc does the same. Clicking outside the box does not close it
Sign Out (red)	Dialog footer	Signs this browser out (or every device, if the box is ticked), clears this browser's saved logo and onboarding flags, and opens the sign-in page	While it works the box stays open: Sign Out shows a spinner, Cancel and the tick box are greyed out and Esc does nothing, and the footer pill reads "Signing…"
Browser alert "Sign out completed with warnings. You will be redirected to the login page."	Browser	Something went wrong during sign-out; the app clears your sign-in from this browser anyway and opens the sign-in page	Press OK

Dialog: Contact Sales form (shared)

The same form appears on several pages to request SMS, a consultation, a waitlist place or a trial extension. It is sent to the UpChannels sales team with your username attached.

It comes in two lengths. The Marketplace waitlist asks four boxes — Company Name, Your Name, Phone Number and Email — because seven is a lot to ask for a place in a queue. Everywhere else asks all seven. A box that is not shown is not required, so the three questions about an existing business cannot refuse a waitlist request.

Fields (each one shown is required, marked with a red *):

Field	Required	Default	Rules and error text
Company Name (placeholder "Your company name")	Yes	Your store's name	Cannot be blank
Business Location (helper "City, State or full address"; placeholder "e.g., San Francisco, CA")	Yes, on the long form	Empty	Cannot be blank. Not shown or asked for on the Marketplace waitlist
Your Name (placeholder "Your full name")	Yes	Your name	Cannot be blank
Phone Number (placeholder "+1 (555) 123-4567")	Yes	Your phone, when it is one this form can send; a stored number with an extension in it is left out and the box starts empty	"Please provide a valid phone number. Digits and + ( ) - . only, and no extension.", shown under the box before anything is sent
Email (placeholder "you@company.com")	Yes	Your email	"Please provide a valid email address."
Business Challenges & Goals (placeholder "Tell us about your business challenges and what you're hoping to achieve...")	Yes, on the long form	Empty	Cannot be blank. Not shown or asked for on the Marketplace waitlist
Previous Vendor (placeholder "What software/vendor are you currently using?")	Yes, on the long form	Empty	Cannot be blank. Not shown or asked for on the Marketplace waitlist

Buttons and states:

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Submit button	Form bottom	Sends the request	Label depends on the page (table below). Reads "Submitting..." with a spinner while sending, and every field is locked
Close Form	Above the form	Closes the form without sending	Only where the page lets you close it
"Thank you!" / "We've received your message and will get back to you shortly."	Replaces the form	Confirms the request was sent	Close appears where the page lets you close it
Red error box	Form bottom	Shows why the request failed	"Failed to submit form. Please try again later.", "Something went wrong. Please try again.", or "Please fill in …" naming a field that holds only spaces

Where it appears:

Page	Opened by	Title / subtitle	Submit label
Communications Hub (SMS not set up)	Contact Sales	"Contact Sales" / "Interested in SMS messaging? Fill out the form and we'll get back to you."	Submit
SMS Campaigns (SMS not set up)	Contact Sales	"Contact Sales" / "Interested in SMS campaigns? Fill out the form and we'll get back to you."	Submit
SMS Campaigns, integration card	Contact Sales	"Contact Sales" / "Interested in Twilio SMS integration? Fill out the form and we'll get back to you."	Submit
Pro Marketing ("Get Your Custom Marketing Plan")	Always visible	"Request a Consultation" / "Tell us about your marketing needs and we'll get back to you within 24 hours."	Get Started
Inventory → Marketplace	Always visible	"Join the Waitlist" / "Be the first to know when our marketplace launches. Fill out the form below."	Join Waitlist
Plan & Billing trial card	Request to Extend (changes to Close)	"Request Trial Extension" / "Need more time to evaluate our platform? Fill out the form and our sales team will get back to you."	Request Extension

Sub-page: Search results

Reached only by pressing Enter in the sidebar Search box.

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Breadcrumb "Search › (your text)"	Page header	Shows what you searched for	The browser tab reads "(your text) - Search results"
Result cards (product name, "SKU: …")	Grid, three across on a computer	Clicking a card opens the Products Catalog (breadcrumb "Inventory › Products › Products Catalog", with a green "Live Data" tag) with that product's details open on top	The list behind it is the same one as Catalog → Products. If Menu Visibility hides Products from you, the page is blocked as usual and nothing opens
What is searched	—	Product name, SKU, barcode, description and model, as a partial match that ignores upper and lower case	Products only. No customers, orders or services. Archived products are left out. Up to 24 results
"Searching…"	Page body	The results are being read	Briefly, while the page loads them
"No products found for “…”" / "Search currently covers your product catalog. Try a different name, SKU, or barcode."	Page body	Nothing matched	Try a shorter word, the SKU or the barcode
"The search could not be run." / "Try again in a moment."	Page body	The search itself failed	Not the same as nothing matching: an empty catalogue is never shown for a search that could not be run
Empty search	—	Goes to the home page (Shortcuts)	—
Page not found	—	You are signed in but have no store yet	Finish onboarding first

Sub-page: Guide & Tips pages

Short, scannable overviews, one per menu group; the full detail is in these help docs. Open one with the green ? beside a group name in the sidebar. Shortcuts does not list them.

Control	Where	What it does	Notes
Breadcrumb "(Group) › Guide & Tips"	Page header	Shows where you are	The group crumb is a label only
Title, subtitle, and badges ("Updated" plus the group's tags)	Top of page	—	—
Module card (icon, name, optional "New" or "Coming soon" badge, one-line summary, the page's tabs as small chips)	Stacked cards	Click a card to expand or fold it (an arrow turns)	All cards start folded
Workflow	Inside an expanded card	The usual steps, joined by arrows	—
Key features	Inside an expanded card	Feature chips	—
Tips (sparkles icon)	Inside an expanded card	Short tips, each with a title	—

Guide	Title / subtitle	Cards (badge) and their chips
Sales	"Sales Guide & Tips" / "A quick tour of the Sales workspace — create orders, dispatch field work, and analyze order history. Expand any module for its workflow, key features, and tips."	New (Sell, Returns, Others) · Schedule (Calendar, Job List, Route Map) · List (Standard, Groupable, Pivot) · Routes (Plan, Board, Driver link) · Walk-ins (Visits, Waiting list, End of day) · Customer Portal (Settings, Order page, Notifications)
Catalog	"Catalog Guide & Tips" / "Everything for your products and services — add items, price them, and keep the catalog clean. Expand a module for its tabs, workflow, key features, and tips."	Products (Catalog, Add product, Bulk import, Pricing) · Services (Catalog, Add service, Service types)
Inventory	"Inventory Guide & Tips" / "Track, move, and replenish stock across your stores. Day-to-day work now lives in Management, and ordering lives in Procurement Orders. Expand any module for details."	Snapshot (Combined, Bulk Items, Trackable Items) · Management (Search, Transfer, Count) · Procurement (Orders, New Order, Import, Receive) · Vendors, badge "New" (Overview, Vendor List) · Labels (Select, Format, Print) · Marketplace, badge "Coming soon" (Waitlist)
Growth	"Growth Guide & Tips" / "Tools to win and keep customers — messaging, campaigns, reviews, ad intelligence, and partnerships. Expand any module for its workflow, key features, and tips."	Customers (Customers, Marketing Groups) · Complaints (Open, Waiting, Resolved, Overdue) · Messages (Threads, Conversation, Customer panel) · SMS Campaigns (Draft, Scheduled, Sent) · Reviews (Reviews, Profiles, Reply) · Ads Insights (Weekly Reports, Performance Comparison) · Competitors (Discover, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Search Trends) · Local Vibes (News, Events) · Partners (Plan, Search, Reach Out, Follow Up) · Loyalty Program (Programs, Create) · Pro Marketing (Packages)
Team	"Team Guide & Tips" / "Hours, timesheets, rosters and pay — and the one screen each person needs for their own shifts. Expand a module for its workflow, key features, and tips."	Workforce (Timesheets, Roster, Time off, Pay run, Job cost) · My Hours (This week, My timesheet, Time off)
Finance	"Finance Guide & Tips" / "Track spending and manage the balance sheet. Expand any module for its workflow, key features, and the accounting rules behind the numbers."	Expenses (Expenses Records, Create Expense, Bulk Import) · Assets & Liabilities (Live Accounts, Add Assets, Liabilities & Equity) · Income Tax Prep, badge "Coming soon" (Pre-tax income, Deductible expenses) · Bank Reconciliation (Suggested, Matched, Unmatched — bank, Unmatched — book, Needs attention) · Transactions (Filters, Daily in and out, Transaction history)
Reports	"Reports Guide & Tips" / "Read the numbers across the business — journal, inventory, services, expenses, P&L, balance sheet, and sales. Expand any report for its workflow, key features, and tips."	Daily Journal (Entries, Create) · Inventory Report (Overview, Movements) · Services Report (Service Report, Agent Performance) · Expenses Report (KPIs, Charts) · Profit & Loss (KPIs, Statement) · Assets & Liabilities (KPIs, Balance Sheet) · Sales Report (KPIs, Charts) · Lost sales (Walk-ins, Reasons, Wanted items, Complaints)

Every menu item has a card in its group's guide, and each card ends with an Open … link straight to the page. The Team group has its own guide; on a store without Workforce the whole group — guide included — stays out of the menu, though the page still opens by address and says Workforce needs Premium. Every card, Income Tax Prep included, has a menu item of its own.

Messages you may see

Message	When it appears	What to do
"Loading..." (full screen with a spinner, or plain text in the page area)	While the app checks your sign-in, plan and store (full screen), or whether you may open this page (page area)	Wait a moment
"Redirecting to sign in..."	You are not signed in	Sign in. See Sign In, Sign Up & Password Reset
Sign-in page with "You were signed out after 18 hours without activity. Sign in again to continue."	Nobody used any UpChannels tab in this browser — mouse, keyboard, scroll or touch — for 18 hours	Sign in again. Your other devices stay signed in
"Redirecting..." (full screen), then Plan & Billing	Your subscription is cancelled, past due, unpaid, inactive or incomplete, or your trial has passed its end date	Choose or update a plan. Plan & Billing itself is always reachable, and an amber notice at the top of it says which of the two sent you
"Your free trial has ended, so the rest of UpChannels is locked until you choose a plan." / "This store’s subscription is not currently paying, so the rest of UpChannels is locked until billing is sorted out."	Amber notice at the top of Plan & Billing after being sent there	Choose a plan, or fix the payment. If you may not change billing, the same notice asks you to tell the owner instead. It clears once you leave the page
"Redirecting to onboarding..."	You are signed in but have no store yet	Finish onboarding
"Loading..." then "Redirecting...", then Shortcuts	You opened a Settings page and Settings does not let you in: no Owner switch, no owner role, and other active people in the store	Ask the owner. Plan & Billing is open to everyone, read-only unless you are an owner
"403 - Forbidden" / "You do not have permission to view this page. Contact your organization owner."	The owner hid this page for you in Settings → Team	Ask the owner to show it again
"Something went wrong" / "An error occurred while loading this page. Our team has been notified."	A page failed to load	Try again tries to load the page again; Go home opens Shortcuts. Contact Support if it keeps happening
"Oops, something went wrong" + Try again	The whole app failed to start	Click Try again, or reload the browser tab
"The AI assistant could not be reached." / "It may be blocked by a browser extension. Support chat is still available."	You clicked Ask AI but the assistant did not load	Allow the app in your blocker and reload, or use Support
"Support chat could not be reached." / "It may be blocked by a browser extension. Try Ask AI, or email team@upchannels.com."	You clicked Support but the chat did not load	Allow the app in your blocker and reload, use Ask AI, or email the address in the message
"Sign out completed with warnings. You will be redirected to the login page."	Sign-out hit a problem	Press OK; you are signed out anyway
"Error loading organization"	Store-name box could not load your store	Reload; contact Support if it persists
"Pending Setup" / "Complete your setup" / "Create your organization to unlock the full dashboard."	You have no store yet	Click Go to Onboarding
"Setup N of 3 · …"	Owner, store has no orders yet	Click the button to do the next step, or X to hide it for this tab
"Trial ends …" / "… plan starts …"	During a free trial	Click to open Plan & Billing
"No products found for “…”"	Sidebar search found no products	Try a SKU or barcode. The search covers products only
"Date ranges currently use each viewer's browser timezone (…)…"	Order Management, while the store has no Business Timezone yet	Owner: pick one in Business Timezone (Settings → Organization; it opens on "Choose a time zone"), or click X to dismiss
"Unlock Pro & Premium Features"	A Pro page on a Basic plan	Check Details to see plans
"Unlock Premium Features"	Export, Download PDF or Order Management's Groupable / Pivot view, below Premium	Check Details to see plans, or click outside to close
"License Limit Reached"	Adding a location or user beyond your licence	Go to Billing to add licences or a user pack
"Exported … visits." / "Export failed: …" / "Export failed."	Lost Sales Report export finished or failed	Nothing on success (the file is in your downloads); on failure, try again
"Export Successful" ("Exported … expenses to …") / "Export Failed" ("Failed to export expenses. Please try again.")	Expenses export finished or failed	Nothing on success; on failure, try again
"Thank you!" / "We've received your message and will get back to you shortly."	Contact Sales form sent	Wait for the sales team to reply
"Failed to submit form. Please try again later."	Contact Sales form could not be sent	Try again later, or use Support

Who can use what

Who	What they get	Notes
Everyone signed in	The sidebar, menu search and product search, Support, Ask AI, Guide & Tips, Demo, Sign Out, Plan & Billing (read-only unless you are an owner)	—
Store owner (crown icon)	Everything above plus the Settings tile and every Settings page, the Customer Portal menu item, the setup strip and the Setup N of 3 row, and control over each teammate's menu (Settings → Team)	The crown icon and the Customer Portal item follow the Owner switch. The Settings tile and the Settings pages follow a wider rule: the owner role and the store's only active member get the tile too
Staff (person icon)	The menu the owner allows. No Settings tile, and in a store with other active people, opening a Settings address sends them to Shortcuts (except Plan & Billing). No Customer Portal item. No setup reminders	A page whose item is hidden for them, and every page under it or belonging to it, shows "403 - Forbidden", from the menu, a Shortcuts card, a bookmark or a typed address. They can't change their own menu visibility
A store with one active member (anyone else is switched off or removed in Team)	Never blocked by menu visibility, and let into Settings	Without the Owner switch they still don't see the owner-only controls there, and they can't change billing or the store profile
Basic plan	Most Pro-tagged pages open behind the "Unlock Pro & Premium Features" card (Ads Insights has its own lock; Customer Portal settings show an upgrade card); Premium exports show the Premium pop-up; Workforce and My Hours appear only while the Workforce switch is on; Customer Portal only while the portal switch is on	Both switches are on by default. Below the plan that includes them they can be turned off but not back on
Pro plan	Pro pages work. Premium exports show the Premium pop-up; Order Management's Groupable and Pivot views show sample data; Workforce and My Hours carry a Premium tag if switched on	—
Premium plan	Everything. No tags	—
Free trial	Works like Premium: no tags, no lock cards, no Premium pop-ups	Choosing a paid plan during the trial switches to that plan's limits at once
Plan not yet known	Nothing is locked and no tags show	The app never locks a paying store out because of a failed check
Feature switches (owner, in Settings)	Delivery & Routes shows or hides Routes; Workforce shows Workforce and My Hours below Premium; Customer Portal shows the portal item on Basic	Routes, Workforce and Customer Portal switches are on by default. Workforce can be turned on only on Premium (or a free trial), and Customer Portal only on Pro or Premium (or a free trial)

Menu visibility blocks the pages behind hidden menu items: the item's own page, every page under it, and pages that belong to it without a menu item of their own (Count Inventory, Transfer Inventory and Search belong to Management; the purchase-order import, receiving and replenish pages, plus the old purchase-orders list and the old import address, to Procurement; the older procurement marketplace pages to Marketplace; the older product pages — the products list a product link opens and Add Product — to Products). A few pages always open: Shortcuts, search results, the Settings front page, Plan & Billing, the tabbed Get Started page and every demo. A page that belongs to no menu item at all stays open too — the Unified Communications Hub coming-soon page, the old Business Insights address (it sends you on to Ads Insights, whose own menu item still decides, or, for a person who receives the daily brief, opens their briefs), the developer webhooks page, Your AI features (/ai/me), each person's own AI switch, and the old AI settings address /settings/ai, which opens Settings → AI for whoever Settings lets in. Income Tax Prep has a Finance menu item, so hiding it closes the page as well as the row. Quick Facts has a Get Started menu item: hiding it closes the page and also takes its card and its panel off Shortcuts. Owners (the Owner switch, or the owner role) and a store's only active member (people switched off or removed in Team don't count) are never restricted. It restricts menus and pages, not data: what a teammate can reach through other pages doesn't change.

Common questions

Why can't I see Workforce and My Hours in my menu? They sit in their own Team group, just above Finance. The group is hidden when your plan is below Premium and the Workforce switch in Settings → Workforce is off, or when the owner hid both items for you in Settings → Team. On Premium or during a free trial they always show, whatever the switch says. Below Premium the switch can be turned off but not back on, so the way back is an upgrade to Premium (or the owner un-hiding the items for you in Settings → Team).

What does the small Pro or Premium tag next to a menu item mean? Can I still open it? It means your current plan does not include that page. You can still click it: most Pro pages show an "Unlock Pro & Premium Features" card over the page, while Ads Insights, Customer Portal and Workforce explain the upgrade in their own way. Tags never show during a free trial.

I typed a customer's name in the sidebar search and pressed Enter, but got "No products found". Why? Pressing Enter searches products only (name, SKU, barcode, description and model). To find a customer, use the search on Customers; to find an order, use the search on Order Management. Typing without pressing Enter only filters the menu.

Does clicking a search result open that product? Yes. The Products Catalog opens with that product's details on screen, over the full list. If the details don't open, either your store owner has hidden Products from your menu, or the product was archived or removed since you searched.

Where is Settings? I only see Support and Ask AI. The Settings tile shows to everyone Settings opens for: people whose Owner switch is on, the owner role, and the store's only active member. If you are none of those, Settings does not open for you either — ask the owner for the change you need. Plan & Billing is open to everyone through the trial row or its address, but changing billing there needs the Owner switch or the owner role.

How do I switch to another store or location? There is no store switcher: the store-name box is a label, with nothing to click. Pages that work per location (for example Inventory) have their own location picker.

Why did the setup reminder come back after I hid it? Hide for now hides it for that step in the current browser tab only. It returns on your next visit and when the next step becomes current. It stops for good once your store has its first sale, quote, return or scrap order.

Ask AI says "The AI assistant could not be reached." What now? A browser extension, such as an ad or script blocker, probably stopped the assistant loading. Allow the app in that extension and reload, or click Support to chat with the UpChannels team.