This guide walks you through the app end-to-end — from your first signup to managing a busy week of installs. Each section has step-by-step instructions and a screenshot from a real iPhone. Tap any section in the sidebar to jump in.
1. Install & sign up
Download the app
GutterFlow is available on iPhone and Android. Search “GutterFlow” in the App Store or Google Play, or open this page on your phone and follow the install button.
Create your account
- Tap Sign up on the welcome screen.
- Enter your email and choose a password (at least 8 characters).
- Check your inbox for a verification email and tap the link inside. If you don't see it within a minute, check your spam folder.
- Open the app again — you'll be signed in automatically.
Use your work email. If you invite team members later, they'll see your business email on shared estimates.
2. Company onboarding
After signing up, the app asks for your company details. This becomes your tenant — every estimate, material, and client you create lives inside it.
Required fields
- Company name — shows on every PDF estimate and invoice.
- Time zone — used for scheduling and notifications. Defaults to your phone's time zone.
- Primary warehouse — where you usually keep stock (e.g. Shop). You can add more later in Settings → Warehouses.
What gets auto-created
When you tap Create company, GutterFlow seeds your account with:
- A starter catalog of ~28 materials (5"/6" K-style coil, downspouts 2x3 / 3x4 / Round 3"/4", elbows, end caps, hangers, sealant, screws).
- Material packages for the four built-in gutter styles (K5, K6, Flat 5", Flat 6") and four downspout profiles. See section 13.
- A 14-day free trial.
You can rename or hide any seeded material later — nothing here is permanent.
3. Invite your team
Need crew members to access estimates or mark deliveries on their own phones? Invite them by email.
- Open Settings → Team.
- Tap + Invite member.
- Enter the person's email and pick a role:
- Owner — full access including billing.
- Moderator — can edit catalog, packages, and pricing.
- Member — can create estimates, scan deliveries, mark jobs done.
- They receive a link. Once they tap it and sign up, they join your tenant automatically.
Note: An invitee can only belong to one tenant at a time. If they already have an account in another company, the invite tool will tell you.
4. Create an estimate
Most jobs follow the same flow: pick a client → draw the roof → let the AI count feet/downspouts → review materials → send the PDF. The whole sequence takes 3-5 minutes on a job you're standing in front of.
- From the Estimates tab, tap + New estimate (the blue + button at the top right).
- Pick the client — type the first few letters to search, or tap + Add client to create one on the fly.
- Pick the address — auto-completes from prior clients or you can type a new one.
- Pick the gutter style: 5" K-style, 6" K-style, 5" Flat Face, 6" Flat Face, or any custom style you've added in Settings.
- Tap Draw sketch → to measure the roof, or Services only for repair / cleaning jobs that don't need measurements.
What's "Flat Face"? Same coil as K-style, different bottom profile (looks like a flat board from below). GutterFlow auto-adds a $400 style upcharge to Flat Face estimates — editable in the Additional Labor section.
5. Draw the sketch
The sketch is how you tell the AI where the gutter goes. You draw the roof outline on a canvas (or on a photo of the house), mark where the downspouts go, and the AI takes it from there.
Drawing the outline
- Tap once to drop the first corner. Tap again for each subsequent corner — straight lines connect them.
- To close a section, tap the first corner again. Each closed section becomes its own measurement on the right panel.
- Drag any corner to fine-tune.
Marking downspouts
- Tap the D button at the bottom.
- Tap on the gutter line where each downspout drops. A blue dot appears.
- Switch to 2F mode for second-floor downspouts — they automatically count as 20 ft of pipe (vs 10 ft for ground floor).
Marking end caps
Any open end of a gutter line gets an end cap automatically. The AI counts left vs right caps based on where the run terminates.
Pro tip: Take a photo of the house first (+ Photo button), then sketch on top of it. The AI is more accurate when it has a reference image, and you'll have a record of the job site.
6. AI measurements (Processing screen)
When you tap Process →, the app sends your sketch (plus the photo if you took one) to the AI. It returns:
- Total gutter feet (broken down by section and floor).
- Downspout count (1F vs 2F).
- Elbow A / B counts per downspout.
- End caps (left vs right).
- Suggested pricing based on your defaults in Settings → Catalog & Pricing.
Processing takes 5-15 seconds. While you wait, the app shows a clean redrawn diagram which becomes the visual on the customer's PDF estimate.
If something looks off: tap ← Back, edit the sketch, and re-process. You can also override any number directly on the Review screen — the AI is a starting point, not the law.
7. Review & edit the estimate
The Estimate screen is the central hub for everything about this job. Three things matter most:
Gutter style
The two pill buttons under Gutter style let you swap between K-style and Flat Face on the same estimate. The app handles the swap intelligently:
- Switches the end-cap SKUs (
CAP-K5L↔CAP-F5L). - Adds or removes the $400 Flat Face style upcharge in Additional labor.
- Recomputes totals.
Materials
Tap any material row to change quantity, color, or destination warehouse. Tap + Item to add a one-off material that's not in the package (e.g. an oddball part for this specific job).
The materials list is built from your package for the chosen gutter style. To change what shows up by default, see section 13.
Labor & pricing
The Labor section shows install fees broken down by gutter feet (1F vs 2F) and downspout count. Tap Edit prices to override the per-foot or per-downspout rate just for this estimate. Use + Labor to add custom line items like "Remove old gutters" or "Tree-overhang surcharge".
Apply discounts (percent or fixed amount) via the Discount link at the top of Totals. Override the final total manually with Override total.
8. Send the estimate to the client
From the Estimate screen, tap Preview (top right) to see exactly what the customer will receive. You can then:
- 📧 Email PDF — sends a branded PDF with your company logo, the cleaned-up sketch, line items, totals, and warranty terms. Emails come from
noreply@gutterflow.appvia Resend. - 💬 SMS link — texts a short link that opens the PDF in the customer's browser. Good for clients who don't read email.
- 📋 Copy link — for when you want to paste the estimate into Messenger / WhatsApp / etc.
Once sent, the estimate's status flips from Draft to Sent automatically. When the client confirms (in person or by phone), tap Mark as Accepted — this unlocks the Schedule button so you can book the install date.
9. Scan a supplier delivery
When materials arrive from Service Partners, ABC Supply, Beacon, or any other supplier, you don't have to manually log each line. Snap a photo of the invoice and the AI does the rest.
- From the Inventory tab, tap Receive Delivery.
- Tap 📷 Take a photo of the invoice and capture the supplier's printed sheet.
- Wait ~15 seconds — the AI reads every line, including:
- Supplier SKU (left of
:) - Description (right of
:) - Quantity + unit (LB / LF / PC / CN)
- Unit price
- Color, thickness, width, material (for coil)
- Supplier SKU (left of
- The Review screen shows each line with the matched material highlighted. Tap any chip to switch material if the AI guessed wrong.
- When everything looks right, tap Confirm delivery. Stock goes into your chosen warehouse, costs update, and the supplier learns the SKU mapping for next time.
What the AI handles automatically
| Field | What happens |
|---|---|
| Coil sold in pounds | Converted to feet using width × thickness × material density. Cost flips from $/lb to $/ft. |
| Downspout sold in linear feet | Divided by stick length (10 ft default) → pieces. Cost flips from $/ft to $/piece. |
| Unknown color | Looks up the closest match in your color catalog. Falls back to White if no match. |
| Supplier-specific SKU | Saved as an alias to that supplier. Next delivery from the same vendor with the same SKU auto-fills material + color without AI. |
10. Thickness variants
Aluminum coil comes in several thicknesses: 0.024", 0.027", 0.030", 0.032", 0.040". They're often visually indistinguishable but have very different lb-to-ft conversions (a 0.032 lb gives 18% fewer feet than a 0.027 lb).
GutterFlow treats each thickness as its own catalog item to keep inventory honest:
- When a delivery arrives with thickness
0.032"but your catalog only has the genericGUT-K5(assumed 0.027), the app auto-creates a variant SKU likeGUT-K5-0.032named "Gutter coil 11 7/8" × 0.032"". - Inventory for each thickness is tracked separately — so you always know exactly what's on the truck.
- You can pin a "default thickness" on each style's package (see section 13) so estimates pull from the right variant automatically.
You don't have to set up variants in advance. The first delivery with a new thickness creates the SKU. Stock starts at the delivered quantity.
11. Warehouses
Most contractors have at least two stock locations: the shop (where coil is rolled into gutters by the truck-mounted machine) and the truck (what's loaded for today's jobs). GutterFlow lets you split inventory across as many warehouses as you need.
Add or rename warehouses in Settings → Warehouses. Each material delivery and each estimate's deductions are pinned to a specific warehouse, so the Stock Levels report always reflects reality.
12. Restock list & write-offs
Restock list (Inventory → Restock) builds a shopping list of SKUs that fell below your low-stock threshold. Mark items as ordered when you place the call to your supplier; flip to received after you scan the delivery photo (or do it from the delivery confirmation flow — it links automatically).
Write-offs (Inventory → Write-offs) — for when a coil gets bent on the truck, a downspout drops off the ladder, or someone forgot to log a job. Pick the material, enter the quantity removed, add a note. Stock is adjusted; the write-off shows up in your monthly material-loss report.
13. Material packages
Every gutter style and every downspout profile in GutterFlow has a package — a list of materials with rules for how much to add to each estimate. Packages are what makes the AI's "32 ft of gutter, 3 downspouts" result automatically turn into a fully-priced material list.
Where to find them
Open Settings → Catalog & Pricing. Each gutter style row has a 📦 button on the right — tap it to open that style's package.
What a package row looks like
A row says: "For every X units of the job, add Y of this material."
Example for 5" K-style:
- Gutter coil 11 7/8" — per ft of gutter × 1 → 32 ft of coil for 32 ft of gutter
- Hidden hanger 5" — per ft of gutter × 0.5 → 16 hangers (rounded up)
- Gutter sealant tube — fixed × 0.5 → 0.5 tube per estimate
- End cap left — per left end cap (from sketch) × 1 → 1 per detected open end on the left
- End cap right — per right end cap × 1
Editing a package
- Tap 📦 next to any style.
- Tap an existing row to edit, or + Add material to add one.
- Pick the material, the rule type, and the quantity per rule.
- For coil materials, optionally set a thickness override — pins this style to a specific variant (e.g. always 0.032).
- Tap Save.
Rule types
| Rule | Formula | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| per ft of gutter | qty × total feet | coil, hangers |
| per ft of 2F gutter | qty × second-floor feet | uplift materials |
| per downspout | qty × downspout count | straps |
| fixed | qty | sealant tube, paint can |
| pipe pieces (floor-aware) | qty × (1 per 1F-ds + 2 per 2F-ds) | downspout pipe |
| per end cap left/right | qty × sketch end-cap count | caps |
| per elbow A/B | qty × sketch elbow count | elbows |
If a package is empty, GutterFlow falls back to a built-in default behavior. New tenants get sensible defaults seeded automatically — you only need to touch packages when your business does something non-standard (different SKU, extra material, custom thickness).
14. Custom gutter styles
The four built-in styles (K5, K6, Flat 5, Flat 6) cover most US residential work. For 7" K-style, half-round, copper jobs, or anything else specific to your shop:
- Open Settings → Catalog & Pricing.
- Scroll to the gutter styles section and tap + Add custom gutter style.
- Enter a name (e.g. "7" K-style copper"), pick a base SKU, set the install $/ft, tap Save.
- Tap the 📦 next to your new style — its package is pre-filled by copying from 5" K-style so you have a working starting point. Edit rows to match your actual build.
Same for downspouts. Add custom downspout profiles in the same screen — common case is round-3" or round-4" in a non-standard color.
15. Schedule installs
When a client says "let's book it", open the estimate and tap Schedule. Pick the install date — the job appears in the Schedule tab calendar with all the details.
From the calendar:
- Tap any day to see jobs scheduled.
- Drag a job to reschedule.
- Mark Started when the crew arrives, Completed when they're done. Stock auto-deducts on Completed.
- Use Not done if the crew couldn't finish (rain, customer cancelled). The job stays on the calendar with a flag so you can reschedule.
Optional reminders (Settings → Notifications):
- Day-before — push notification to the crew lead at the time you choose.
- Morning-of — push to the whole team at a configured time.
- On assigned — push when someone is assigned to a job.
16. Money & reports
The Money tab gives you the basic bookkeeping you need for a small operation:
- Income — auto-generated from completed jobs (uses the customer's accepted total).
- Expenses — manually add bills, supplier invoices, fuel, etc.
- Profit — by month, by quarter, by year.
- Cost report per job — see actual material cost vs. quoted material cost, plus labor breakdown.
Export anything as CSV for your accountant.
17. Trial & subscription
Every new account gets a 14-day free trial with full access. After the trial:
- Open Settings → Subscription.
- Pick a plan (monthly or yearly — yearly saves ~17%).
- Tap Subscribe — payment is handled by Apple / Google through the App Store (we use RevenueCat under the hood).
- Manage / cancel any time through your phone's Subscriptions settings.
Cancelling stops auto-renewal but you keep access until the end of the paid period. Read-only access (view estimates, no edits) persists indefinitely after cancellation.
18. FAQ & troubleshooting
The sketch screen won't open / freezes
Force-close the app (swipe up + flick away) and reopen. Make sure you're on the latest version — pull-to-refresh on the Estimates tab triggers an over-the-air update check.
The AI read the invoice wrong
On the Review Delivery screen, tap any wrong line, then tap the correct material chip (or + New material if it doesn't exist yet). The fix is one tap. After you Confirm, the supplier-SKU mapping learns the correction — the same line on the next delivery from that vendor will be right.
I switched gutter style but the materials didn't update
For brand-new estimates (no materials yet), the package builds at sketch processing. For existing estimates, switching style swaps coil SKUs + end caps and adjusts the Flat Face upcharge, but doesn't rebuild the full materials list. To force a full rebuild, tap the row → delete → re-add. We're working on a "Rebuild from package" button for the next release.
0.032 coil shows up as 0.027 stock
If the delivery photo predates v4.1 (May 2026), the AI didn't extract thickness yet — everything landed on the generic GUT-K5. Going forward, the AI captures thickness and creates a separate variant SKU automatically. To clean up historical mixed stock, use Inventory → Write-offs to remove the wrong-thickness portion from the generic SKU and let the next delivery seed the proper variant.
How do I add a "Blue" downspout color?
Open Settings → Colors → + Add color. Name it "Blue", pick a hex (e.g. #2563eb), Save. The new color appears in every color picker across the app immediately.
Where do invoice PDFs come from?
GutterFlow generates them on the fly from the estimate data. They're branded with your company logo and address from Settings → Company. PDFs are stored in your account for 12 months — re-download from the estimate's Preview button any time.
I want to bulk-import materials from my old spreadsheet
Email the spreadsheet to support@gutterflow.app and we'll do the import for you — usually within 24 hours.
Still stuck?
Tap the chat bubble in the bottom-right of any settings screen, or email us at support@gutterflow.app. We answer within a few hours on weekdays.