Questions owners ask

Trying it and getting started

Can I try Asphalt OS before buying it?

Yes. The demo is a clickable mock-up of the app with a sample paving company. It runs in your browser, nothing is installed, and your changes stay in your browser. The screenshots on this site are the real app.

Does it work on phones?

Yes, in the phone's web browser. Some pages are made for the phone first: Today, Loads, Expenses, Incidents and the vehicle inspection. See Working on a phone.

How does a new company start?

Empty, with no sample data. The first visit shows Set up your company: your company, your brands and your account, in three short steps. You become the owner with the CEO role. See First sign-in and company setup.

Can I bring my contacts from GoHighLevel?

Yes, with a CSV export. Rehearse first (it changes nothing), then import. Duplicates are skipped, and a lead your team already worked in Asphalt OS is never overwritten. See Bringing your data from GoHighLevel.

Can I bring my customers from a spreadsheet?

Yes. Any CSV from Excel, Google Sheets, QuickBooks or another CRM, up to 5,000 rows, goes in through the Customers page: a practice run shows what every row would do, the import can be undone, and imported people get no message. See Customers.

Does it replace QuickBooks?

No. Asphalt OS keeps each job's income and cost lines and its margin; QuickBooks stays your accounting. Bring the lines in from a QuickBooks export today, or from QuickBooks Online once your company connects it. See QuickBooks import.

People and access

Can my crews see the prices?

No. Foremen and crew members see the address, the scope, the access notes and the contact, never prices or costs. The database answers without the price, so it isn't only hidden on the screen. See Why crews never see prices or costs.

Can I make my own roles?

Yes. Start from the eleven default roles, duplicate one and change it, or give one person one permission more or less with an exception. Nobody can give a permission they don't hold. See Your own roles and exceptions.

What happens when someone leaves?

Remove them from the company: their sessions end and they can no longer sign in. What they did stays on record.

Do I have to use two-factor sign-in?

A new company requires it from day one, and the owner can turn that off on the Team and security page. Each person scans a QR code once with an authenticator app (the first setup also needs a code emailed to them) and gets ten recovery codes. A device can be trusted for 30 days. The database checks the code itself. See Sign-in protections.

Money

Can customers pay online?

Yes, through your company's own Stripe account, entered on the Connections page. Every invoice email has a Pay online link that opens Stripe's checkout, and the money goes straight to you; Stripe's signed notice marks the invoice paid. Without Stripe there is no checkout, and the invoice says how to pay by check or bank transfer. Card numbers are never typed into or stored by Asphalt OS. See Invoices, payment links and reminders.

Does Asphalt OS run payroll?

No. It tracks each pay run as a bill with one total and a date. The pay itself runs in your payroll provider. There is no place for Social Security numbers, bank details or per-employee pay.

Why can't a job be closed?

A job closes only when it is Complete and has at least one income line and one cost line. See Job money and margin.

Where it runs

Where does my data live?

On your own server, if you install it there: the database, the files and the nightly backups stay in your building. If we host it for you (we are setting that up; ask us where it stands), each company gets a database of its own. Either way your keys for outside services are entered in the app, encrypted, and never shared with another company. See Security.

What about backups?

On your own server, the whole database, every uploaded file and the settings file are backed up every night, encrypted to a key only you hold, checked by a test restore before they are kept, and kept for 30 days, with a second copy to another drive or an off-site bucket if you switch it on. A stolen server gives up nothing from its backups. See Backups.

Does anything leave the building?

Not unless you switch it on. Weather forecasts and address lookups send job-site locations to free US government services, so each has a card on the Connections page with a built-in stand-in until you choose the real one. Texting, email, the mailbox, payments, QuickBooks and AI each wait for your company's own connection.