Getting started

Welcome. This walkthrough takes you from sign-up to a working account in about ten minutes.

1. Create your account

You can create your account with your phone number or with your email. The sign-up page offers the phone first, because most people reach for a number.

With your phone number. Enter it and we send a six-digit code by SMS. Type the code back and add your name, and you are in. The code proves the number is yours, so there is nothing else to confirm and no link to wait for.

With your email. Enter your name, email and a password. We send a verification link to that address. You must confirm it before you can sign in: sign-up does not log you straight in. Clicking the link verifies your email and takes you into your account. If it doesn't arrive, use the Resend button on the "check your email" screen, or on the sign-in screen if you try to sign in before verifying.

Signing in offers the same two choices, SMS first with email and password one click away. You are not locked into the one you started with: under Settings → Account, an account created with a phone number can add an email and set a password, and an account created with an email can add a verified phone.

Every new account starts with a free trial of the Professional plan; the current trial length is shown on the pricing page. No credit card up front. When the trial ends, your account drops to the Free plan automatically. Nothing breaks, but caps tighten. See Plans and billing for details.

2. Choose how you work

Right after you verify your email, we ask one quick question: do you manage properties on your own, or with a team? Your answer sets up your approval flows so they fit from day one. Nothing here is permanent.

• Just me: every action happens in a single step. You record a payment, an offer, a maintenance job, and it's done. No approval hand-offs to click through.
• My team and I: work routes between team roles for review (leasing → accounting → management), so the right people sign off before anything is final.

If you pick "team", you can invite your teammates right there (or skip and do it later). Either way you can change this anytime in Settings → Configuration → Workflows. Switching re-applies that style to every workflow, and each workflow's own Reset to defaults follows your choice. See Workflows and approvals.

3. Pick your first workspace

A workspace is where your portfolio lives: properties, contracts, payments, the team. Most users only ever need one. You'll get one default workspace at sign-up, named after your account.

4. Add your first property

From the sidebar, open Properties → Add property. Fill in the basics:

• Name (e.g. "Al-Olaya Tower")
• Address
• Property type (residential, commercial, mixed)

Save. You're now on the property detail page. From here you'll add units, documents, and assign team members.

5. Add a unit

A property is a container; units are the rentable spaces inside it (apartments, offices, retail bays). Open Units → Add unit and enter the unit number, size, and rent. You can add as many units as you want, but the Free plan caps you at 10 units total across your workspace.

6. Record your first contract

This is where the system starts working for you. The contract is what creates the payment schedule and the receivables, and it is what tells you how much was collected and how much is late.

The fast route: upload an Ejar PDF. Open Contracts → Add direct contract, pick the property, then choose "Import from Ejar". We read the file and create the contract, the units, the tenant and the whole payment schedule. You do not need to add units first; they come from the file.

The manual route is for a lease with no Ejar file. It needs at least one unit on the property, and if there are none it will ask you to add one before it continues.

7. Record your first payment

From the contract page, press Record payment on the installment you are settling. Pick the installment, then enter the amount, the method and the date.

The payment lands on the installment you chose and the balance updates at once. Open Receivables afterwards and you have the whole picture: what is overdue, what is due today, and which tenant it belongs to.

If your workspace has a team, the payment waits for approval before it counts. If you chose "Just me" at sign-up, it is approved immediately.

8. Invite a teammate

Open Settings → Users → Add user, or invite someone straight from a property's Members panel if you only want to give them that one property.

Enter their email address or their mobile number, whichever you actually have. Pick a role (Admin, Manager, Accountant, Maintenance, and so on).

You will get a link. Copy it and send it however you already talk to your team, on WhatsApp or anywhere else. That link is the reliable way to reach them: email can bounce or land in a spam folder, and there is no email at all for someone you invited by number. If they already use the system, they simply get a notification and can accept from inside the app without any link.

You do not set a password for them. They choose their own when they accept, or confirm their number with a code. Someone you invite by number is asked for that code on purpose, because a link can be forwarded and the code proves the phone is theirs.

Everything you have sent but nobody has accepted yet is listed under Pending invitations in Settings → Users. From there you can copy the link again, resend it, replace it with a new one, or cancel it. Replacing a link stops the old one working, so only do that if the first one went to the wrong person.

Invitations expire. If one runs out, Resend gives it a fresh window.

Each role comes with sensible default permissions. If you need finer control, you can create custom roles, but most teams never do.

9. Where to go next

• Properties and units: how the property/unit hierarchy works and what locking means.
• Reference numbers: what CON-7 and PRP-3 mean, and why they count inside your own workspace.
• Leases and contracts: from lease offer to signed contract, including Ejar import.
• Money: receivables, payments, expenses, deposits, and how they connect.
• Plans and billing: what the trial gives you, what changes when it ends, and how to upgrade.

Common first questions

Do I need to set up workflows before I can use the system? No. Every workflow ships with a sensible default. You can use the system end-to-end without touching workflow settings. Customize later if your team needs it.

Can I import existing tenants and contracts? Yes, use the Ejar PDF import on the Contracts page, or the "Add direct contract" flow for existing contracts. See Leases and contracts.

What happens when my trial ends? Your account drops to the Free plan. Properties stay; team logins stay; some properties or units may lock if you're over the Free caps. Upgrading lifts the locks instantly. See Plans and billing.

I signed up but can't log in: it says "verify your email." That's expected: you must click the verification link we emailed before your first sign-in. Check your inbox (and spam). No link? Hit Resend on the "verify your email" screen. Clicking the link logs you straight in. On mobile, the link opens in your browser to verify, then return to the app and sign in.

I'm a solo landlord. Is this overkill for me? No. Aqarflow is calibrated for both individual landlords and full property management teams. See Landlord software for a walkthrough specifically aimed at owner-operators.