Role: A dedicated person within your organization (often an office manager, project manager, or owner) who will lead the implementation.
Purpose: Drives adoption, answers team questions, and ensures consistent use.
Start Small, Then Expand
Initial Focus Areas:
Contract/change order management
Billing
Gradual Expansion:
Scheduling
Field timekeeping
Dispatch
Purchasing
Strategy: Introduce features step-by-step to avoid overwhelming staff and ensure each module is properly adopted.
Timeline
Typical Duration: 1 to 2 months for full implementation.
Not Recommended: Expecting a full setup in 1 day or 1 week is unrealistic.
Why: Each feature needs time to “set” within your organization, similar to how concrete cures.
Training & Support
Customer Success Manager: Assigned to each new customer for personalized onboarding.
Training: Tailored to your business needs, including live sessions and documentation.
Support: Ongoing help is available via email, phone, and the help center.
Best Practices
Do’s:
Be open to changing old processes.
Invest time in learning the platform.
Ask for help when needed.
Customisation
Custom Workflows: Knowify allows users to create custom Kanban boards with up to 10 workflow stages per board, tailored to match the unique steps of a company’s project lifecycle from initial contact to completion.
Custom Branded Documents: Users can work with Knowify’s team to design custom proposals, change orders, and invoices that reflect their brand identity, at no extra cost.
Custom Permissions: Advanced user permissions let businesses control access to sensitive data, restrict visibility to specific jobs, and hide costs while showing quantities.
Report Builder: The Advanced Reporting feature includes a customizable report builder, allowing businesses to generate insights specific to their operations.
Calculated Cost Templates: Businesses can build reusable templates for estimating labor, materials, and equipment costs, which are automatically calculated based on input units.
Client Portal Customization: Knowify provides a branded client portal that can be tailored to show project status, documents, and financials relevant to each client.
Additional Costs
Base Subscription Plans:
Core Plan: Starts at $99/month for 1 user
Advanced Plan: Starts at $249/month for 1 user
Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for unlimited users and advanced features
Add-On Modules:
Service Pro: $99/month — includes dispatching, inventory, appointment reminders, and equipment history
Prevailing Wage Tracking: $79/month — for Davis Bacon compliance and labor tracking
Setup & Onboarding:
Onboarding Sessions:
Core: 2 sessions included
Advanced: 4 sessions included
Enterprise: Unlimited sessions
Additional sessions may be available upon request
Support Charges:
Support is included in all plans:
Core & Advanced: Standard support
Enterprise: Priority support
Support channels include phone, email, chat, and screenshare
Other Potential Costs:
Overtime Tracking: May require an extra fee depending on the plan
Custom Integrations: Advanced integrations (e.g., with AI tools or third-party platforms) may incur development or setup costs
Mobile App Usage: Included in all plans, but some advanced mobile features may be limited to higher tiers
Knowify does not charge for maintenance separately—updates and cloud hosting are included in the subscription.
Training
Training Options:
Dedicated Customer Success Manager: Every new customer is assigned a specialist to guide them through onboarding and training.
Personalized Training Sessions:
Core Plan: 1 session
Advanced Plan: 2 sessions
Enterprise Plan: 4 sessions
Additional sessions are available upon request.
Live Biweekly Webinars: Hosted by Knowify’s Head of Customer Experience, these cover topics like:
Project management
Scheduling and task management
Cost-plus and fixed-price contracts
AIA invoicing
QuickBooks integration
Mobile app usage
Spreadsheet imports and RFIs
Self-Help Resources:
Knowledge Base: Articles on setup, features, and troubleshooting
YouTube Tutorials: Organized playlists for visual learners
Support Channels:
Phone, Email, Chat, and Screen Share
U.S.-based Support Team
Fast Response Times with real human assistance
Onboarding Best Practices:
Setting up user roles and permissions
Configuring job rates and billing settings
Mobile app walkthroughs
QuickBooks sync setup
Contract style configuration
Security Measures
Core Security Principles (CIA Triad):
Confidentiality: Data access is restricted to authorized users through authentication and role-based permissions.
Integrity: Data changes are tracked and limited to authorized personnel, with audit trails and accountability.
Availability: Cloud hosting ensures uptime and disaster recovery capabilities.
Security Measures:
Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit (SSL/TLS) and likely at rest using AES standards.
Authentication: Secure login protocols, possibly including multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Admins can define user roles and restrict access to sensitive data.
QuickBooks Sync Security: Data exchanged between Knowify and QuickBooks is encrypted and follows Intuit’s API security standards.
Regular Updates: Cloud-based architecture allows for frequent security patches and feature updates.
Although Knowify doesn’t publish a full security whitepaper, its practices align with best-in-class SaaS standards for protecting sensitive business and financial data.
Updates
Update Frequency: Monthly to quarterly (e.g., updates in May, June, August, November, and February across different years)
Types of Updates:
User Interface Enhancements: New layouts, dashboards, and navigation improvements
Feature Additions: Auto-reminders for invoices, advanced filters, catalog search improvements
Bug Fixes: Sync issues with QuickBooks, document handling, and mobile app stability
User Control: Users can opt into new experiences (e.g., new layout) and revert to classic views
Communication: Updates are announced via Knowify’s website and email, and feedback is encouraged
Data Ownership and Portability
Data Ownership:
User-Owned Data: Businesses retain ownership of their data, including job records, financials, client details, and documents.
Access Control: Admins can manage user permissions to restrict access to sensitive data.
Data Retention: Data remains accessible as long as the subscription is active. Upon cancellation, users may request data exports.
Data Portability:
Export Options: Users can export reports, job data, invoices, and time entries in formats like CSV or PDF.
QuickBooks Sync: Two-way sync allows financial data to be ported between Knowify and QuickBooks.
Third-Party Integrations: Zapier and Whippy AI enable data movement across platforms, enhancing portability.
Security & Compliance:
Knowify adheres to GDPR-like principles for data control, consent, and portability, especially for users in regulated industries.
If you need help drafting a data portability request or evaluating Knowify’s compliance for your business, I can assist with that too.
Scaling Up / Down
Add Users Anytime: You can add more users to your account as your team grows. Each additional user incurs a monthly fee depending on your plan.
Upgrade Plans: Businesses can move from the Core to Advanced or Enterprise plans to unlock more features like advanced reporting, service dispatching, and unlimited training sessions.
Add-On Modules: Optional features like Service Pro or Prevailing Wage Tracking can be added to any plan to meet growing compliance or operational needs.
Scaling Down:
Remove Users: You can reduce the number of active users to lower costs.
Downgrade Plans: If fewer features are needed, you can switch to a lower-tier plan.
Pause or Cancel Add-Ons: Optional modules can be removed to reduce monthly expenses.
The terms & conditions for contract renewal and cancellation
Contract Renewal:
Auto-Renewal: Subscriptions typically auto-renew unless canceled before the renewal date.
Annual Discounts: Businesses can opt for annual billing at a discounted rate, which also auto-renews unless specified otherwise.
Cancellation:
User-Initiated Cancellation: You can cancel your subscription at any time via the Admin panel or by contacting support.
No Refunds for Partial Periods: If you cancel mid-month or mid-year, you may not receive a refund for the unused portion.
Data Access Post-Cancellation: You retain ownership of your data and may request exports before the account is closed.
Custom Contract Terms:
Knowify allows businesses to set default contract terms and exclusions for client agreements, which can be customized per project.
Compliance
License & Insurance Tracking: Automatically tracks expiration dates for subcontractor documents and alerts users when compliance is at risk.
Subcontractor Reporting: Generates detailed reports on subcontractor performance and compliance status.
Document Management: Centralized storage for contracts, certificates, and compliance documents.
