PayPolka

Getting started

This guide takes you from signing up to a working account that can send estimates, invoice clients, and collect payments. It should take about 15 minutes.

1. Sign up

  1. Go to app.paypolka.com/signup.
  2. Enter your business name, email, and a password.
  3. During the beta, PayPolka is $5/month. After the beta it will be $9/month.
  4. A payment card is required to start. There is no free trial, but new accounts have a 14-day refund window if PayPolka isn’t a fit.

2. Verify your email

After signing up, check your inbox for a verification email and click the link inside. Verifying confirms it’s really you and makes sure important emails (like payment notices) can reach you.

3. Complete Stripe Checkout for your subscription

To activate your account, you’ll complete a quick, secure Stripe Checkout for the monthly subscription. Enter your card details and confirm. This is the PayPolka subscription itself; connecting your own Stripe account to collect payments from your clients comes later in setup.

4. First login and your account URL

Once your subscription is active, log in at app.paypolka.com.

Every account gets its own URL slug based on your business name, so your workspace lives at a friendly address like app.paypolka.com/your-business. You’ll use this address to sign in and find your dashboard.

First things to set up

Work through this checklist to get the most out of PayPolka. You can do these in any order.

  • Business profile and logo — add your business name, address, and sender information, and upload your logo. These appear on estimates, invoices, emails, and the pages your clients see. See Account settings.
  • Invoice and estimate prefixes — choose the prefixes for your numbering (for example INV- and EST-) so documents are labeled the way you like. See Account settings.
  • Connect Stripe and choose payment methods — link your own Stripe account, then pick which methods clients can use: card, ACH bank transfer, Cash App Pay, and cash/check. See Payments & Stripe.
  • Add your first client — create a client record and add their contacts. See Clients & contacts.
  • Set up labor rates and your catalog — save reusable hourly rates and packaged products, materials, fees, and services so building estimates is fast. See Labor rates & catalog.

You can also set your default terms / engagement letter, payment reminders, and default estimate validity in settings.

Finding your way around

PayPolka has six areas in the top navigation:

  • Dashboard — your key numbers and what needs attention. See Dashboard.
  • Clients — your customers and their contacts.
  • Estimates — quotes you’ve drafted, sent, or had accepted or declined.
  • Invoices — bills you’ve created and sent, and their payment status.
  • Accounting — receivables, sales summaries, and client statements.
  • Settings — your business profile, prefixes, payment methods, team, and more.

Teams: admin vs. operator

A PayPolka account supports up to 3 users, each with one of two roles:

  • Admin — full access, including account settings, payment methods, Stripe connection, the subscription, and managing team members.
  • Operator — works with day-to-day clients, estimates, invoices, and payments, but cannot change account-level settings.

Settings are account-level and admin-only, so plan to have at least one admin who owns the configuration. Add and manage team members from the Team section of settings.

Next, get familiar with your numbers in the Dashboard guide.