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This guide takes you from a brand-new account to your first estimate out the door. ShineCRM has a web dashboard and a mobile app backed by the same data. You create your account on the web, then sign in on either one.

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Create your account

Go to app.shinecx.com/signup in a desktop browser. You’ll enter:
  • Your name, email, and a password (at least 12 characters)
  • Your business name
  • Your workspace URL, the permanent web address for your customer portal (yourbusiness.shinecx.com). It’s suggested from your business name and cannot be changed later, so pick it deliberately.
Accounts are created on the web. The mobile app is sign-in only: install it, then log in with the account you just made. Your data is identical on both.

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Choose a plan

Right after signing up, you’ll pick a plan. Selecting one sends you to Stripe Checkout to enter payment, then back to ShineCRM. You can change your plan later. Managing your subscription always lives on the web (an App Store rule), never in the mobile app.

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Set up the essentials

Open Settings then Organization and fill in the basics that show up on everything you send:
1

Business details

Add your contact email, phone, address, website, and tax number. These appear on quotes, invoices, and your customer portal, and fill in your message templates automatically.
2

Logo and time zone

Upload your logo (a transparent PNG on a white background works best) and confirm your time zone. Your time zone controls when every automated message and reminder sends, so set it before you schedule anything.
3

A phone line (optional but recommended)

Under Settings then Calls, claim a business phone number so texts and calls run through ShineCRM and land in your inbox. Numbers are Canadian at launch.
4

Payments (optional)

Under Settings then Payments, connect Stripe to take online payments and Square to take in-person payments. Payouts go to your own bank.

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Add your first contact

A contact is a customer.
Open Contacts in the sidebar and click New contact. Enter their name, phone, email, and service address.

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Send your first estimate

From a contact, create an estimate, add your services, and send it.
On the contact’s page, click New and choose Estimate. Add line items from your services, set frequencies if the work repeats, then click Send to deliver it by email, text, or both.
Your customer opens a link to their portal page, where they can review the estimate, pick options, and accept it. When they accept, you can turn the estimate into a scheduled job, and later into an invoice.

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What’s next

You now have the loop: contact, estimate, job, invoice, payment. The rest of the guides go deeper on each piece. A good order from here:
  • Build out your services so estimates come together in seconds
  • Set up jobs and your calendar to schedule the work
  • Connect payments and learn the invoice flow to get paid
  • Invite your team and set their roles
Use the navigation on the left to jump to any of these.