Help

Everything from “I just bought it” to “my client just signed.” Five minutes, start to finish. Stuck on anything? Email hello@getpaperwork.app.

1. Open it after you buy

Your Gumroad receipt email (subject starts “You bought Paperwork”) has two things: a Download button and your license key, which looks like XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX. Can’t find the email? Search your inbox and spam for “Paperwork”.

There are two ways to use Paperwork. Most people use the first.

1. On your phone, or any device: unlock the web app. Open getpaperwork.app/app, tap I have a license key at the top, paste the key, tap Unlock. That device is unlocked for good — you never do it again.
2. On a computer: open the file. Download Paperwork.html from your receipt and double-click it (or drag it into Chrome or Safari). It’s already unlocked, needs no key, and works with no internet. Bookmark it.

2. First-time setup

The first time it opens, Paperwork asks for your details — the ones that go on every document: your name or studio, email, phone, address, how clients pay you (bank transfer, PayPal, Zelle, or a payment link like Stripe or PayPal.me), your usual deposit, and a brand color or logo.

You can skip any of it and fill it in later under Settings → Your business. The payment link is worth adding: it puts a “Pay now” button and a QR code on every invoice.

3. Make a document

Tap New project. There is one form, and it makes all seven documents.

• Client — company, contact person, email, address. Tap Save client once and you’ll never type them again.
• Project — title, document number, date, start and due dates, a one-line summary, and deliverables (one per line).
• Line items — description, quantity, rate. Hourly work? Tap Start timer while you work, then Add hours to invoice.
• Money — currency, tax, deposit, payment terms (due on receipt, net 7/14/30), revisions included, late fee, governing law.

Short cut: pick a template — Web developer, Writer, Video editor, Photographer, Graphic designer, Consultant — and the deliverables, line items and terms fill themselves in. Edit anything.

The tabs above the preview are the documents: Proposal · Contract · Invoice · SOW · NDA · Receipt · Change order. Same information, different document. Change the price on one and it changes on all of them. Receipt adds “paid on / paid via”; Change order adds what’s changing, added deliverables and extra days, and recalculates the total.

4. Get it signed

Your side:

1. Open the document you want signed (proposal, contract, SOW, NDA or change order) and tap Send for signature.
2. Paperwork makes a link. Copy link, Email it, or Share… to text it. The project’s status flips to Sent.

Your client’s side (no account, no app, works on a phone):

1. They open the link and read the document.
2. They tap Review & sign, draw their signature with a finger, type their name, tick “I agree”, and tap Accept and sign.
3. They can download the signed PDF, and they tap Send confirmation (or copy the confirmation link) to send it back to you.

When you open that confirmation link in your Paperwork, their signature, name and date land on your copy and the status flips to Signed.

5. PDF, email and reminders

• PDF — tap the print button. On a Mac or PC, choose “Save as PDF”. On iPhone, tap Share → Print, pinch out on the preview, then share the PDF.
• Email — Copy email to client writes the cover email for whichever document is open. It also has three payment reminders: friendly, firm, and final notice.
• Copy — copies the document as plain text if you’d rather paste it somewhere.

6. Projects, clients and status

Save to projects keeps a document. Home lists them all with what’s outstanding and what’s paid, flags overdue invoices, and has search. Each project has a status — Draft → Sent → Signed → Paid — that updates itself as you send and as clients sign; set Paid yourself when the money lands. Clients keeps everyone you’ve saved; tap one to start a new document for them.

7. Your data, backups and new devices

Everything you type stays on the device you typed it on — Paperwork never uploads your clients or documents anywhere. That means two things:

• Back up now and then. Settings → Download backup saves one small file with your business details, clients and projects. Keep it wherever you keep important files.
• New phone or computer? Open getpaperwork.app/app on it, unlock with the same key, then Settings → Restore backup.

Clearing your browser’s site data also clears Paperwork, so a backup before a big clean-up is a good idea.

8. Install it as an app

• iPhone / iPad — in Safari, tap Share → Add to Home Screen. It opens full-screen with its own icon.
• Android — in Chrome, tap the menu → Add to Home screen (or “Install app”).
• Mac / Windows — in Chrome or Edge, click the install icon at the right end of the address bar. In Safari on macOS, File → Add to Dock.

9. Troubleshooting