Help Center

Everything you need to know about using BCA. Click any topic to expand.

📊

Dashboard

Reading your metrics, navigation, and daily overview

5 articles

Automations

How each automation works, triggers, and timing

7 articles
📈

Marketing

Campaigns, SMS, email analytics, and referrals

5 articles
🚗

Routes

Map, optimizer, stop management, and crew tools

4 articles
💰

Billing

Payment follow-ups, card alerts, prepaid renewals

4 articles

Settings & Setup

Email provider, plans, templates, and configuration

4 articles

📊 Dashboard

What do the dashboard metrics mean?

The top row of your dashboard shows four key numbers:

  • Revenue This Month — total collected through your payment processor this month
  • Active Customers — customers with an active service plan (not canceled or paused)
  • Today's Stops — how many customers are on today's route(s)
  • Attention Items — failed payments, expiring cards, and other things that need your eye
These numbers update in real time. Every time you open the dashboard, you're seeing live data.
How does the weather widget work?

The weather widget shows current conditions and a 5-day forecast for your service area. It uses a simple color system:

  • Green (above 35°F) — good to clean. Rain is fine.
  • Yellow (28-35°F) — borderline. Watch for ice on driveways and cans.
  • Red (below 28°F) — too cold to clean. Water freezes in the equipment.

Rain, wind, and clouds do NOT affect cleaning. Only temperature matters. The "Send Delay Alert" button lets you notify all of today's customers with one click if you need to cancel for weather.

You can toggle the weather widget on/off with the checkbox in the top right corner. Your preference is saved.
What does "Needs Attention" show me?

The Needs Attention panel flags things that require your awareness:

  • Failed payments — cards that declined. The system is already sending follow-up emails automatically.
  • Expiring cards — cards expiring this month. Customers have been notified.
  • Prepaid running out — prepaid customers with 3 or fewer cleanings left. Renewal notices are queued.
  • Unreplied reviews — Google reviews that haven't gotten a response yet.

Most of these are already being handled by automations. This panel just keeps you informed so nothing slips through.

What is the Activity Feed?

The Activity Feed shows a real-time log of everything BCA did — emails sent, SMS delivered, payments processed, review requests fired. Think of it as proof that the system is working. Each entry shows the customer name, what happened, and when.

How do I restart the guided tour?

Click the "Tour" button in the top bar of the dashboard. The guided tour walks you through every section with tooltips and explanations. It auto-plays on your first visit and can be restarted anytime.

⚡ Automations

How does the welcome email work?

When a new customer signs up (through your website or CRM), BCA detects it and sends a branded welcome email within minutes. The email includes:

  • Their name and service address
  • What to expect on cleaning day
  • Your company contact info
  • Any special instructions (leave cans out, etc.)

Starter gets one welcome template. Pro gets two versions — one for one-time customers and one for recurring subscribers, each with different content.

Every email is sent from YOUR domain (info@yourcompany.com), not ours. Your customers never see BCA's name.
How do service reminders work?

Starter: Sends a day-before email reminder to each customer before their scheduled cleaning.

Pro: Full 3-step reminder sequence:

  • 7 days before — email: "Your cleaning is coming up next week"
  • Day before — email + SMS: "We're coming tomorrow"
  • Day of — SMS: "We're on our way, please have your cans out"

All timing is configurable. If you clean day-after (the day after garbage pickup), the system adjusts automatically.

How does payment follow-up work?

Starter: When a payment fails, the system sends one friendly reminder email with a link to update their card.

Pro: Full 4-step escalation ladder:

  • Day 3 — "A Gentle Reminder" (friendly, things happen)
  • Day 7 — "Just Checking In" (offer help, include phone number)
  • Day 14 — "Payment Past Due" (firm, from the owner's name)
  • Day 21 — "Final Notice" (service pause warning)

Each step escalates in tone. You stay the good guy — the system does the uncomfortable follow-up for you.

Most failed payments are recovered by Day 7. The 4-step sequence catches the rest without you making a single phone call.
How do Google review requests work?

Starter: You can trigger review requests manually from the dashboard for any customer.

Pro: Review requests go out automatically after every cleaning with a 30-day cooldown (won't ask the same customer more than once a month). The email includes a direct link to your Google review page — one tap and they're leaving a review.

Most bin cleaners go from 0-2 reviews per month to 8-15 per month with automatic requests. Reviews are the #1 driver of local search ranking.
How does the referral program work?

Starter: Each customer gets a unique referral code. When they share it and someone signs up using it, the referral is tracked. You handle rewards manually.

Pro: Full automation — when a referred customer signs up, BOTH the referrer and the new customer get their reward automatically (account credit, free cleaning, or custom reward). The full pipeline is tracked: invited → signed up → first clean → rewarded.

What is the OT conversion drip? (Pro only)

When someone books a one-time cleaning, they get a 3-email sequence designed to convert them to a recurring plan:

  • Day 3 — "Your cans are clean — let's keep them that way" (plan options)
  • Day 21 — "How do your cans smell?" (humor + urgency)
  • Day 86 — "It's been about 3 months" (discount offer to rebook)

This is one of the highest-ROI automations. Converting even 10% of one-time customers to monthly plans adds significant recurring revenue.

How do card expiration alerts work?

The system monitors card expiration dates for all customers. 30 days before a card expires, the customer gets an email with a link to update their payment method. This prevents failed payments before they happen.

You can see all expiring and expired cards in the Billing section of your dashboard.

📈 Marketing

How do I send an email campaign?

Go to Campaigns in the sidebar. You can create a new campaign by selecting a template (or writing your own), choosing your audience (all customers, specific plans, specific routes, etc.), and scheduling the send. You'll preview the email before it goes out.

All campaigns track opens, clicks, and conversions so you can see exactly what works.

How does SMS pricing work?

SMS is usage-based at $0.03 per text. No monthly minimums. No credit packs. No phone number fees. You only pay for what you send.

For context: GorillaDESK charges ~$0.05/text plus a $5/month phone fee. We're 40% cheaper with no hidden fees.

A typical 300-customer operation sends about 500-700 texts per month (reminders + follow-ups), which works out to $15-21/month in SMS costs.

Email is included in your monthly subscription at no extra cost. Only SMS has a per-message charge.
How do I read the marketing analytics?

The Marketing Hub shows you:

  • Open Rate — what % of recipients opened the email. Industry average is ~20%. BCA clients typically see 35-45%.
  • Click Rate — what % clicked a link in the email. Healthy is 5-10%.
  • Revenue Generated — how much money each campaign drove (tracked via signups and payments).
  • Signup Sources — where your customers came from (website, Google, referral, flyer, etc.).

This tells you exactly which marketing is working and which is wasting your time.

What is signup source tracking?

Every customer is tagged with where they came from — website, Google search, Facebook, referral, door hanger, flyer, etc. This data shows up in your Marketing Hub as a pie chart and in each customer's profile.

This answers the question every business owner asks: "Which marketing is actually working?"

What does "sends from YOUR domain" mean?

Every email BCA sends on your behalf comes from your own email address (like info@yourcompany.com), not from a generic @bca or @brevo address. We set up SPF and DKIM authentication on your domain during onboarding, which means:

  • Emails land in the inbox, not spam
  • Customers see YOUR name, not ours
  • Replies go to YOUR inbox
  • It builds trust — looks like you sent it personally

🚗 Routes

How does the route map work?

The Routes page shows every stop pinned on a map with numbered markers. Select any route from the table and the map updates to show that route's stops connected by a path line. Each pin shows the customer name and address on hover.

The stop list on the right side shows the order, customer name, address, and plan type. You can drag stops to reorder them manually.

How does Auto-Optimize work?

Click the "Auto-Optimize" button and the system reorders your stops by shortest driving distance using a nearest-neighbor algorithm. It calculates the optimal path that minimizes total miles driven.

What this saves you:

  • 30-60 minutes per route in drive time
  • ~8 miles/day per route in unnecessary driving
  • ~$1,500/year per truck in fuel costs
  • With 3 trucks: $4,500+ per year back in your pocket

After optimizing, you can still drag individual stops to fine-tune the order if needed.

What are the route progress cards?

On active service days, progress cards appear at the top showing each truck's status — how many stops are done, skipped, and remaining. The progress bar fills in real time as crew completes stops.

This lets you see your entire operation at a glance without calling your crew.

How do I handle a weather day?

If the weather widget shows red (below 28°F) or you decide to cancel for any reason, click the "Send Delay Alert" button on the dashboard. This sends a notification to every customer on today's route telling them their cleaning has been delayed.

You can also send weather delay notifications from the Campaigns section as a broadcast to specific routes or days.

💰 Billing

What does the Billing page show me?

The Billing page gives you a complete picture of your money:

  • Failed Payments — who owes you, how much, and how long it's been overdue
  • Expiring Cards — cards expiring soon or already expired
  • Prepaid Renewals — prepaid customers running low on cleanings

Each section shows the automated follow-up status — whether the system has already emailed them and what step they're on.

How do prepaid renewal notices work?

Pro only. The system monitors how many cleanings each prepaid customer has left. Notices go out automatically at 5, 3, and 1 cleanings remaining with a link to renew. No gaps in service, no manual tracking.

How will QuickBooks sync work?

Pro only. Coming soon. Once connected, every invoice, payment, and customer record syncs to QuickBooks automatically. Zero manual data entry. Your bookkeeper will love you.

What are scheduled reports?

Pro only. Set any report to auto-run and email to you on a schedule — every Monday morning, first of the month, whatever you choose. Wake up to your numbers in your inbox without logging in.

⚙ Settings & Setup

What email provider does BCA use?

We recommend Brevo (free tier covers 300 emails/day — more than enough for most operations). But you can use any email provider:

  • Brevo (recommended — free tier available)
  • Your own SMTP server
  • SendGrid
  • Gmail / Google Workspace
  • Outlook / Microsoft 365

We configure the connection during onboarding. You never touch the technical side.

Day-of vs. day-after cleaning — what's the difference?

BCA supports both models:

  • Day-of — you clean on the same day as garbage pickup. Reminders say "have your cans out by..."
  • Day-after — you clean the day AFTER garbage pickup. Reminders say "we'll be there tomorrow."

This is set during onboarding and affects all reminder timing and language automatically. You can even support both models if some customers are day-of and others are day-after.

Can I customize the email templates?

Yes. Every template can be customized — wording, timing, and who receives it. During onboarding we set up templates with your branding and preferred language. After that, just tell us what to change and we update it within 24 hours.

Pro users also get a custom template builder where you can create your own email and SMS templates with merge variables like {first_name}, {next_date}, and {plan}.

My CRM doesn't have an API. Can I still use BCA?

Yes. We have two workarounds for closed-box CRMs:

  • Website webhook — we add a small script to your signup page that captures every new customer and sends their info to BCA automatically
  • CSV import — export your customer list from your CRM (almost every CRM lets you do this), we import it once, and going forward the webhook catches all new signups

Same automations, same results. Your CRM never knows we exist.

See the How It Works page for a full breakdown of open vs. closed system connections.

Still Have Questions?

We respond within 24 hours. No chatbots. Real people who understand bin cleaning.

Email Us: info@plusautomation.ai