Frequently asked questions
The short answers, each with a link to the article that goes deeper. If something is not working, start with the other articles in this section.
Does the app work without a signal?
Mostly, yes. Your jobs, customers and the catalog live on the phone. You can open jobs, take photos, add a service, create a job or quote, clock in and mark work done with no signal, and it all syncs when the connection comes back. Taking a card payment is the exception — that needs a connection, or you can send the customer a link to pay on their own phone. See What works offline, and what needs a connection.
Do I have to keep the app open for it to sync?
It syncs while it’s in front of you — when you open it, come back to it, get a signal back, pull down on Work, and every five minutes in between. Put it away and within a minute it locks and waits. Before you hand the phone over or head home, open it once with a signal and let the bar reach Up to date. See The sync bar: what each state means.
Does the office see where I am?
No. The app never tracks you — not while driving, not between jobs, not after hours — and never shows a map. It reads your location once, when you tap Current under Route start or Use my location on a new customer, and sends that one reading. See Permissions the app asks for.
Which phones does it run on?
iPhone and iPad on iOS 15.5 or later, and Android 7.0 or later, from the App Store and Google Play. The app is free; your business pays for Wax Stak. See Install the app.
Can I switch the app to Spanish, or to English?
It follows the phone’s language: Spanish if the phone is set to Spanish, English otherwise. There’s no switch inside the app — change the phone’s language and reopen it.
How do I change my password?
Not from the phone. Open the back office in a browser and use Forgot Password? on its sign-in page; the phone takes the new password next time you sign in. See I can’t sign in, or my company is paused.
Why does the app keep asking for my face or fingerprint?
It locks itself after a minute in the background and every time it starts cold, because the phone holds your customers’ details. Unlocking is one glance or one touch, and nothing was signed out. If your phone has no screen lock, the app doesn’t lock. See Lock screen: passcode and biometrics.
Can I see other technicians’ jobs?
Only the ones you’re on. Your day shows the jobs you lead or help on; a job with nobody on it sits under Needs a technician. Find lists a teammate’s job when you search for the customer, but it doesn’t open. See A job is missing from my day.
How far ahead does the phone hold jobs?
About two weeks ahead and three months back. A day beyond that says Not loaded until it comes within range. See See another day on Work.
Can I add a note to a job?
No — Notes are what the office wrote for the job, and the phone shows them read-only, with a button to translate them if they’re not in your language. Each service’s checklist is yours to work: check a step off, or skip it with a reason. Something the office should know goes in a call or a text. See Job notes and the service checklist.
Where do my photos go?
To the job, at the office. The app only opens the camera — it never reads your photo library and never saves to it — shrinks the picture and strips the location and camera details before sending. A photo taken offline waits on the phone and goes up on the next sync. See Take and attach photos.
Where do I see my hours and time off?
You → My Schedule shows your working hours as the office has them and lets you request a day off; the office’s answer comes back on a later sync. Your clocked time is on each job’s Time on job card, with today’s total. See My Schedule: your hours and time off.
I’m getting a new phone. What do I do?
On the old phone, get a signal and let the bar reach Up to date with the pending count at zero — that’s everything sent. Sign in on the new phone; your work downloads. Then remove the old phone under You → Your Devices. See Reinstalling or switching phones without losing work.
What is under Needs review?
The office kept its version of something you changed — a job that was reassigned, a step that was removed, a payment it couldn’t record. Tap it and read the reason for each; nothing else on the phone is affected. See When the office changed the same thing.
Where do I get help?
More (the … at the end of the tab bar) opens the article about the screen you’re on; All help is the whole help center with a search box. For a person, email support@waxstak.com from the address you sign in with, and say which screen, what you did and what happened. See Contact support from the app.