Business Settings
Module: Settings | Platform: Web
Business Settings is the central configuration page for your company's identity, financial defaults, payroll rules, billing information, and branding. Changes here affect the entire Appello instance.
Navigation
Sidebar → Settings → Business Settings
Overview
Business Settings is a single scrollable page divided into nine sections. Each section controls a different aspect of your company configuration.
Sections
1. Company Settings — Profile
Set your company's core identity information.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Your company name as it appears throughout Appello and on PDF exports. |
| Company Website | Your company website URL. |
| Phone Number | Primary business phone number. |
| Phone Number 2 | Secondary phone number (optional). |
| Fax Number | Fax number (optional). |
| Primary business email address. | |
| Company Address | Physical address with map pin. Click the address card to edit or remove it. |
2. Fiscal Year
Set the month and day your fiscal year ends. This determines how Appello calculates annual financial periods for reports and summaries.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Month | The month your fiscal year ends (e.g. January). |
| Day | The day of the month (e.g. 1st). |
3. Financial Summary
Controls how financial summaries are calculated across jobs and projects.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Financial Summary Calculations | Choose whether overhead % stays fixed (and $ changes) or overhead $ stays fixed (and % changes). |
| Financial Summary Taxes | Toggle whether taxes are included or excluded from Job and Project Financial Summaries. |
| Unrealized Holdback | Toggle whether Unrealized Holdback is included or excluded from Job Cost report Revenue. |
4. Estimate & Change Order Settings
Default values applied when creating new estimates. These can be overridden on individual estimates.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Next System Estimate Number | Auto-incrementing estimate number. Changing this affects all future estimates. |
| Estimate Name | Default name template for new estimates. |
| Markup / Profit Margin (%) | Default markup percentage applied to estimates. |
| Overhead (%) | Default overhead percentage applied to estimates. |
This section has two tabs: Estimate and Change Orders, each with their own defaults.
5. Holdback or Retention Selection
Choose the terminology for withheld project funds — Holdback or Retention. This label is used consistently throughout invoicing, progress reports, and financial summaries.
6. Payroll
Configure payroll timing to align with your company's pay schedule.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Start of Week | Which day begins the work week (e.g. Sunday, Monday). |
| Payroll Period | Start date that determines which weeks fall into each period. |
| Payroll Frequency | How often payroll runs — Weekly, Bi-weekly, Semi-monthly, or Monthly. |
7. Company Billing Information
Set default invoice and payment details used when generating invoices.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Payment Instructions | Text shown on invoices (e.g. "Please pay via EFT transfer"). |
| Standard Payment Terms | Default payment terms for invoices (e.g. "Net 30 Days"). |
| Holdback Payment Terms | Payment terms for holdback amounts (e.g. "Net 61 Days"). |
| Overdue Policy | Policy text for overdue accounts (e.g. "3% PER MONTH ON OVERDUE ACCOUNTS"). |
| Default Tax Rate | Default tax rate applied to new invoices (select from configured tax rates). |
| Default Currency | Currency for invoicing (e.g. CAD, USD). |
| Invoice PDF Download Naming | Customize the file name for downloaded invoice PDFs using merge tags such as Reference #, Job #, Project Name, P.O. #, and others. |
8. Company Resources
Provide a URL that field workers can access from the Appello mobile app's Resources tab.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Resource URL | Link to an external resource (e.g. company handbook, safety portal). |
| Set Links & Access | Configure additional resource links and access permissions. |
9. Profile Appearance
Customize the visual branding of your Appello instance.
| Setting | Specification |
|---|---|
| Your Logo | PNG format, 525 × 144 px recommended. Darker logo on transparent background. Used in the app header and PDF downloads. |
| Mobile Icon | PNG format, 512 × 512 px recommended. Displayed as the app icon on mobile devices. |
| Splash Screen | PNG format, 1920 × 1440 px or 16:9 aspect ratio. Displayed on the desktop sign-in page. |
| Interface Theme | Select a color theme for the application interface. |
Tips
- Changes to Fiscal Year affect how annual financial reports are grouped — set this before generating any financial data.
- The Invoice PDF Naming Convention supports merge tags — click the tag buttons to add dynamic values like Job #, Project Name, or P.O. # to your file names.
- Upload your logo and splash screen early in setup so all PDF exports and the sign-in page carry your branding from day one.