Getting started
Creating your account
Head to workspace.zolvd.app/signup and enter your name, email address, and a password. Once you submit, your account is created immediately and your 14-day free trial begins — no credit card required upfront.
The 14-day free trial
Your trial gives you full Pro access — unlimited projects, all reports, all features. At the end of the trial you choose a plan (Starter, Growth, or Pro). If you do nothing, your account automatically drops to the Starter plan (up to 3 active projects) — you never lose data, you just can't create new projects beyond the limit.
Navigating the dashboard
After logging in you land on the main dashboard, which shows:
- Active projects — all projects currently in progress
- Pipeline value — total value of accepted quotes on active projects
- Awaiting action — projects where something needs your attention
The sidebar gives you access to Projects, Clients, Library, Reports, and Settings.
Adding clients
Zolvd keeps a client list under Clients in the sidebar. You can create a client record before starting a project, or create one on the fly when you create a new opportunity.
What to enter
- Contact name — the person you deal with (required)
- Contact email — where project portal invitations are sent (required)
- Company name, phone, VAT number, billing address — all optional, appear on invoices
Client portal access
Your clients never create a Zolvd account. They access their project via a magic link sent to their email. Each project generates a unique, time-limited link — there's nothing for them to remember or install.
Starting a project
Every project starts as an Opportunity. Go to Projects → New project to begin.
Step by step
Enter a project title and select or create a client.
Choose a pricing model — Deliverable-based or Time + Materials. This affects how you build the quote later. You can set a default in Settings → Profile, but override it per project.
Optionally set a theme colour for the client portal (a hex colour that tints the client's project page with your brand).
Click Create project. Zolvd assigns a unique project reference (e.g. PRJ-2025-00042) automatically.
Send the client their portal invitation — Zolvd emails them a magic link and moves the project to Scoping status.
Pricing models explained
Deliverable-based: Each line item has a flat price — a fixed amount for a defined outcome. Best for projects with a clear, agreed scope.
Time + Materials: Each line item has a quantity (e.g. hours or days), a unit rate, and a calculated line total. Best for ongoing or open-ended engagements.
Client onboarding & scope
When the project invitation email is sent, your client receives a magic link. Clicking it takes them straight into their project portal — no account creation, no password.
What the client sees first
If this is their first time in the portal, they're asked to confirm or fill in their contact details (company name, phone, address). Once done, they reach the main project view.
Scope submission
While the project is in Scoping status, the client sees a scope submission form where they describe what they need — their goals, requirements, any constraints or deadlines. This is free-form text, not a structured questionnaire.
Client fills in and submits the scope.
You receive a scope received email notification.
You review the scope in the project and decide on the deliverables.
Once you've built the deliverables and are ready to quote, you advance the project to Quoting.
Building deliverables
Deliverables are the line items that make up your quote. Go to the project and open the Deliverables tab to build them out.
Adding a deliverable
Click Add deliverable. You can type a new one from scratch or pick from your library.
Enter the name and optionally a description and category.
For Deliverable-based projects: enter the duration (in days) and a flat line price.
For Time + Materialsprojects: enter the quantity, unit label (e.g. "hours", "days"), and unit rate. The line price is calculated automatically.
Click Save. Repeat for each deliverable.
Reordering deliverables
Drag and drop deliverables to reorder them. The order is reflected in the quote the client sees.
Deliverable subtotal
The running subtotal is shown at the bottom of the deliverables list as you build. This becomes the quote total (before tax).
Sending a quote
Once your deliverables are built, go to the project's Quotes tab.
Setting up the quote
The quote total is pre-filled from your deliverables. Review it.
Optionally add a tax rate (e.g. 15% for VAT). Tax is calculated server-side — never entered manually.
Set an upfront percentage if you require a deposit (e.g. 50% upfront). This calculates the upfront amount automatically.
Optionally set a valid until date. After this date the client sees an expired state and is prompted to contact you for a revised quote.
Add any notes visible to the client — payment terms, conditions, etc.
Click Send quote. Zolvd emails the client a formatted quote with all line items, totals, and a CTA to accept.
What the client sees
The client receives an email with the quote summary and a link back to their portal. Inside the portal they can review the full deliverables list and accept or reject the quote.
Revising a quote
If the client requests changes or you need to update pricing, create a revised quote. The previous quote is automatically marked superseded — only one quote can be active at a time. The client receives a notification email with the revised version.
Getting paid
Zolvd does not process payments. Instead, it generates a professional payment instruction page your client uses to pay you directly via bank transfer (EFT).
Set up your banking details first
Before your first project reaches the payment stage, add your banking details under Settings → Banking. You can enter:
- Bank name, account holder, account number, account type, branch code
- PayShap number (optional)
- SnapScan URL (optional)
Banking details are encrypted at rest and never appear in any API response — they are rendered securely server-side only on the payment page.
The payment flow
Client accepts the quote in their portal.
Project moves to Approved status — pending payment confirmation.
Client is shown the payment instruction page: a unique order reference (e.g. ORD-2025-00042), the amount due, and your banking details.
Client pays you via their banking app using the order reference.
You receive a notification that payment is pending confirmation.
Once you see the payment in your account, click Confirm payment received in the project.
Project automatically moves to Active and the client receives a project kickoff email.
Running the project
Once a project is Active, your job is to deliver. Zolvd keeps the client informed without you having to send manual updates.
Updating progress
Use the progress slider on the project page to set a completion percentage (0–100%). When progress increases by 10% or more, or you manually choose to notify, the client receives a progress update email.
Forecast completion date
Set or update the forecast completion date on the project. This is visible to the client in their portal and appears in your portfolio report.
The activity feed
Every project has an activity timeline that logs all key events — quote sent, quote accepted, payment confirmed, progress updated, and more. Both you and the client can see events relevant to them. Your internal notes and system events are not visible to the client.
Client review
When the work is done, mark the project as ready for review. This moves it to Review status and notifies the client.
What the client can do in review
- Accept deliverables — closes the project and triggers the final invoice flow
- Request changes — submits a written change request, moves the project back to Active and notifies you
Change requests
If the client requests changes, you receive a change request notification with their comments. You decide whether the changes are in scope (deliver them, mark ready for review again) or out of scope (issue a revised quote for the additional work before proceeding).
Invoicing
Once the client accepts the deliverables, the project moves to Closed and you can generate a final invoice.
Generating an invoice
Open the closed project and go to the Invoices tab.
Click Generate invoice. Zolvd creates a draft invoice pre-populated from the accepted quote — invoice number (e.g. INV-2025-00021), line items, totals, and tax.
If an upfront payment was collected, it is deducted automatically. The invoice shows the balance due.
Set a due date and add any notes.
Click Send invoice. The client receives an email with the invoice summary and a link to their portal to view it.
Marking as paid
Once you receive the final payment, open the invoice and click Mark as paid. This records the payment date and updates the revenue report. The project can then be archived.
Reports
Find reports under Reports in the sidebar. Three report types are available.
Portfolio overview
A bird's-eye view of all your projects. Shows project status, quote totals, progress, forecast completion, and days since last activity. Use the filters to narrow by date range, status, or client. Useful for pipeline review meetings or quarterly check-ins.
Revenue summary
Your financial picture. Shows accepted quote totals, upfront payments confirmed, invoice status, amount paid, and amount outstanding. Summary cards at the top show total invoiced, total received, total outstanding, and total pipeline. Use this to track cash flow.
Client activity
Shows engagement per client — how many active projects they have, when they last interacted, and whether any actions are outstanding (e.g. quote awaiting acceptance, scope not yet submitted). Filter by clients with outstanding actions to quickly spot who needs a follow-up.
Exporting to CSV
Every report has an Export CSV button. The export respects whichever filters are currently applied — what you see is what you get. Use this to import into a spreadsheet, accounting tool, or share with a bookkeeper.
Settings
Profile
Under Settings → Profile you can update your company name, trading name, contact email, phone, and website. You can also set your default currency (used for new projects and library items) and your default pricing model (Deliverable-based or Time + Materials).
Banking details
Under Settings → Banking, enter the bank account details you want displayed on client payment instruction pages. These are stored encrypted and never shown to anyone other than your clients on the secure payment page. You can also add a PayShap number and SnapScan URL for alternative payment methods.
Subscription
Under Settings → Subscription you can view your current plan, upgrade or downgrade, and access the Paddle billing portal to update your payment method or download receipts. Billing is handled entirely by Paddle — Zolvd never stores your card details.
Your deliverables library
The library is your personal catalogue of services and deliverables. Find it under Library in the sidebar. Instead of typing the same items from scratch for every quote, save them here and pull them into any project in seconds.
Adding library items
Click Add item.
Enter the name, description (optional), and category (optional — useful for organising a large library).
Set the pricing model compatibility — Deliverable-based, Time + Materials, or both.
Enter default values: duration, price, unit label, unit rate. These are pre-filled when you add the item to a project, but you can override them per project.
Click Save.
Archiving vs deleting
You can archive a library item if you no longer want it to appear in the picker — it's hidden but not deleted, so existing projects that reference it are unaffected. Archived items can be restored at any time.
Industry templates
If your library is empty when you first visit, Zolvd offers a set of industry starter templates — pre-built deliverable lists for common service categories like web development, branding, IT support, and consulting. You can import a set to your library with one click and then edit the items to match your actual services.