Product FAQ
Truss Ops product FAQ for finishing trades
Straight answers about plans, Field Box, FCDs, labor burden, materials, and Sentry PM — written for humans and AI answer engines.
Plans & pricing
Field Starter, Core, Pro, and crew seats.
What's the difference between Field Starter and Core?
Field Starter ($49/mo) is mobile documentation only — site notes, FCDs, and handoffs with unlimited capture. Core ($89/mo) adds full job costing, projects, crew logs, change orders, expenses, and office workflows.
- Start on Field Starter when you need field PDFs and NFC/web capture without office tooling.
- Upgrade to Core without losing field data — the same company workspace expands into projects and financials.
Do I pay per crew member?
No. Truss Ops includes unlimited crew seats on every plan. You pay for the operational depth your back office needs, not headcount on the jobsite.
- Installers, leads, and PMs can all have logins without per-seat fees.
- Pricing is tiered by product depth: Field Starter, Core, or Pro — not by roster size.
What does Pro cost and when should we upgrade?
Pro is $399/mo and adds Sentry PM on top of Core. Upgrade when document RAG, precon bid workspace, and AI governance matter more than basic job costing.
- Core already covers projects, crew logs, change orders, expenses, and materials.
- Pro gates precon document features and Sentry PM — not required for daily field capture.
Is there a free trial for Core?
Yes. You can start a 14-day Core trial with full job costing, crew logs, and office workflows. Field Starter is also available if you only need mobile documentation first.
- Trial signup is on /signup with plan=core — upgrade or cancel from billing settings.
- Field Box sandbox captures can convert into a paid workspace without retyping PDFs.
Can we upgrade from Field Starter to Core without losing field data?
Yes. Field Starter captures stay in the same company workspace when you upgrade to Core. You unlock projects, crew logs, change orders, and office tools — you do not start over.
- Upgrade is handled through Stripe / billing settings on the authenticated app.
- Stub Field Starter projects are reviewed during the upgrade path so office tools open cleanly.
Field capture
Offline, bilingual crews, Field Box, and site docs.
Does it work offline on poor cellular sites?
Yes. Field capture queues locally when the connection drops and syncs when the device is back online. Designed for slab-on-grade jobsites, not datacenter uptime.
- Field Starter and field forms keep working in airplane-mode style conditions.
- Core office views update after sync so PMs see the same records without spreadsheet re-entry.
Is the app bilingual for mixed crews?
Yes. Installers can toggle English / Spanish in the field. Labels adapt per user while the underlying project record stays shared.
- PMs and owners still see one source of truth — language is a UI preference, not a separate database.
- Useful for finishing crews where leads and installers prefer different languages on the same job.
What is the Field Box demo?
Field Box is a no-login PLG sandbox — tap an NFC keychain or open a web link, capture PDFs (FCD, site note, crew log), and convert to a paid workspace when ready.
- Each tag includes a small free document allowance before conversion.
- Convert into Field Starter or Core without retyping the captures you already made.
How do we document substrate / levelness issues before install?
Use a field change directive (FCD) or site note with photos from the slab. That creates a timestamped record the office can turn into a pending change order before the GC disputes the condition.
- Capture signed acknowledgment on site when the GC or superintendent agrees the substrate is out of tolerance.
- Attach photos and notes so the paper trail travels with the job — not in a group text thread.
Can we log site delays that block finishing work?
Yes. Site notes and FCDs record delays, access issues, and incomplete preceding trades with photos and signatures. That evidence supports schedule and cost conversations later.
- Field Starter is enough for documentation-only shops that bill delays through the GC process.
- Core shops can connect those field records to projects and change-order workflows in the office.
Can crews attach photos to site notes and FCDs?
Yes. Field capture supports inline camera and photo attachments on site notes, FCDs, and related field docs so conditions are documented with the same record as the signature.
- Photos travel with the document for office review and GC conversations.
- Works with the offline queue — capture on site, sync when cellular returns.
What is Ops Toolbox vs Field Box?
Field Box is the public no-login PLG demo. Ops Toolbox is the authenticated in-app toolset (calculators, moisture log, specs bridge) for paid Field Starter / Core crews.
- Do not confuse the two when evaluating the product — Toolbox is not the signup funnel.
- Moisture and calculator workflows live under the authenticated field/toolbox routes.
Change orders & FCDs
Defending scope from the slab.
Can we defend change orders from the field?
Yes. Field directives (FCDs) capture signed scope changes on site. The office converts them to pending change orders with audit history — before the GC forgets the verbal.
- FCDs are built for finishing trades where verbal extras happen on the floor.
- Audit history keeps who signed what and when, so margin defense is not tribal knowledge.
What is the difference between an FCD and a PCO?
An FCD is the field-signed directive captured on site. A pending change order (PCO) is the office commercial document that prices and tracks that scope change toward the GC.
- Start with the FCD while people are still on the floor with wet signatures and photos.
- Convert to a PCO in Core when you need pricing, status, and client-facing paperwork.
How do we stop verbal extras from disappearing before billing?
Capture the verbal as a signed FCD before the superintendent leaves the floor. That timestamped PDF is what the office turns into a priced change order instead of a forgotten hallway agreement.
- Finishing trades lose margin when extras stay in group texts — FCDs force a paper trail on site.
- Core shops then price and track those directives as pending change orders with audit history.
Labor & job costing
Crew logs, burden, and margin.
How does labor burden work?
Set your shop burden % once (workers comp, FICA, liability). Every approved crew log rolls burden into job actuals automatically — no Friday spreadsheet math.
- Burden is company-level configuration, not a per-log calculator rewrite.
- Job costing views show loaded labor so margin conversations use the same numbers as your books.
Is Truss Ops a payroll system?
No. Truss Ops tracks crew logs and labor cost for job costing — not payroll tax filing or paycheck runs. Export or integrate with your external payroll provider as needed.
- Crew logs capture who worked, where, and how hours roll into burdened cost.
- Use your existing payroll vendor for W-2s, direct deposit, and tax remittance.
Can owners see job margin with burdened labor?
Yes on Core. Approved crew logs roll shop burden into job actuals so owners and PMs see loaded labor cost next to materials and other expenses — not just raw hours.
- Set burden once at the company level; it applies consistently across jobs.
- Field Starter documents the field but does not include full job-costing dashboards.
Materials
Deliveries, lead times, and job actuals.
Can we track material deliveries and vendor lead times?
Core includes advanced material logistics — target delivery dates, critical order deadlines from vendor lead times, and materials expenses rolling into job actuals.
- Finish trades often lose margin when material shows up late or wrong — logistics fields surface those dates early.
- Material costs feed the same job actuals as labor so PMs see one margin picture.
Can we capture packing slips and material receipts on site?
Core material workflows support attachments and receiving context so packing slips and delivery photos stay tied to the job instead of a truck-cab pile of paper.
- Material expenses can roll into the same job actuals as labor for margin review.
- Use the Materials tab on a project once you are on Core.
Security & tenancy
Company isolation and data ownership.
How is my company data isolated?
Every business row is scoped by company_id with Postgres row-level security (in_company()). Tenants cannot read another shop's projects, logs, or documents — enforced in the database, not just the UI.
- Server APIs that use the user JWT inherit those RLS policies.
- Service-role jobs still filter by company_id in application code when bypassing RLS is required.
Who owns our project documents and field PDFs?
Your company owns the operational records you create. Truss Ops stores them in your tenant so field PDFs, photos, and project files remain available for job defense and closeout.
- Export and download paths exist for field documents and reports you generate in-product.
- See the Privacy Policy for retention and processing details.
Sentry PM (Pro)
Document intelligence and precon.
What does Pro / Sentry PM include?
Pro ($399/mo) adds Sentry PM: document RAG on project files, precon bid workspace, risk chat, and governance controls for which tables AI can query.
- Sentry PM is Truss Ops document intelligence — not the Sentry.io error product.
- Upgrade from Core in Settings when precon document volume justifies the tier.
Does Truss Ops train public AI models on our job files?
Product AI features run against your tenant-scoped documents under Pro tier gates. Truss Ops is not a public training dump of your job files into third-party model corpora.
- AI usage is metered per company month for Pro document features.
- Review Settings governance and the Privacy Policy for current processing commitments.
Can we track takeoffs and bid documents in precon?
Pro includes a precon bid workspace for bid documents, risk review, and document-assisted workflows. Core shops still run awarded jobs; precon document intelligence is a Pro upgrade.
- Use precon when you need structured bid docs and Sentry PM risk chat on the same files.
- Field Starter is not a precon tool — it focuses on mobile field documentation only.