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FoundingOSUser guide

Last updated 1 October 2026

User guide

This guide takes you from a brand new account to a working business in FoundingOS. Follow the steps in order the first time. Each part is short, and you can come back to any of them later.

1. Getting in

FoundingOS is in private preview, so the website asks you to sign in before you see it.

  1. Go to www.foundingos.com.
  2. On the Sign in to FoundingOS page, enter your email address and the invitation code we sent you. If you already have a FoundingOS account, use your own password instead.
  3. Press Open FoundingOS.

Tip: If a teammate invited you, you do not need a code. Open the link they sent you and follow Joining a team you were invited to.

2. Creating your account

  1. Go to www.foundingos.com/signup.
  2. Fill in Your name, Business name and Work email.
  3. Choose a password of at least 12 characters. A short sentence you will remember works well.
  4. Pick a plan:
    • Lite is free for one person, so you can try things out.
    • Core is £19 a month for each workspace and includes 3 users.
    • Complete is £89 a month and includes 15 users.
    • Enterprise is for larger groups. Contact us and we will set it up with you.
  5. Tick the workspaces you need, such as Retail & Logistics, Talent, HR or Health, and any bolt ons such as Commerce Pro or Core.Intelligence. Extra team members are £5 a month each.
  6. Finish the form. On a paid plan you go to a secure Stripe page to pay by card. On Lite you see Your account is ready straight away.

Tip: You can start on Lite and move to a paid plan later. Nothing you add is lost when you upgrade.

3. Signing in

  1. Go to www.foundingos.com/app, or open the FoundingOS app on your computer or phone.
  2. Enter the email and password you chose when you created your account.
  3. You arrive on your workspace home. Your data is the same on the web, desktop and mobile apps.

To leave, press Sign out. Always sign out on shared computers.

4. Finding your way around

  • Workspaces are the big areas of your business: Retail, Logistics, Finance, Marketing, Talent, HR, Health and Intelligence. You only see the ones on your plan.
  • Modules are the lists inside each workspace, such as customers, orders, products or candidates. Pick one from the side menu.
  • Search at the top jumps to any workspace, module or record. Start typing a name.
  • Administration holds Team & access, Integrations, Security & Access and Settings.

Tip: Want to look around before adding real data? Press Load demo data. Press Back to my data when you are done.

5. Adding your business details

  1. Open Settings in the Administration part of the menu.
  2. Check your business name and pick your operating region. This sets your currency and date format.
  3. Save your changes.

6. Importing your data

You can bring in customers, products, orders, suppliers, staff and more from a spreadsheet, so you do not have to type them again. Each import goes into the list you have open, and you can import up to 500 rows at a time.

Step A: Get a CSV file from your old system

FoundingOS reads CSV files, which every spreadsheet and accounting tool can make.

  • Excel: File, Save As, then choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited).
  • Google Sheets: File, Download, then Comma separated values (.csv).
  • Numbers: File, Export To, then CSV.
  • Xero, QuickBooks, Shopify and most other tools: look for Export on the contacts, customers or products list and choose CSV.

Make sure the first row of the file holds the column names, such as Name, Email, Phone and Status.

Step B: Import it

  1. Open the workspace and the list you want to fill, for example Retail then Customers.
  2. Press Import in the toolbar, next to Export CSV.
  3. Press Choose CSV file and pick your file. Not sure how to lay it out? Press Download a blank template, fill it in and use that.
  4. Check the columns. FoundingOS guesses which column in your file matches each field. Change any that are wrong, or choose Not in my file for fields you do not have. Only the name is required.
  5. Look at the preview of the first rows to make sure they look right.
  6. Leave the duplicate-skip box ticked to avoid matching records already in FoundingOS or repeated within the same CSV file.
  7. Press the Import button at the bottom. Keep the window open until the bar finishes.
  8. You will see how many rows went in. If any could not be saved, press Download the ones that did not import, fix them in your spreadsheet and import that file.

Tip: Names split into First name and Last name columns are joined for you. Dates written the UK way, like 31/12/2026, are understood.

Tip: Have more than 500 rows? Split the file into smaller files and import them one after another.

Imports map the basic name, detail, value, stage, owner, email, phone and date fields. Specialist forms, CV files and provider history are not automatically migrated from arbitrary columns. Check the preview and completed counts. A failed refresh is shown explicitly; reload before retrying so you do not import saved records twice.

Bulk actions and printing

Select records using the list or board checkboxes, then move the selection to its next stage. Changes are processed with bounded concurrency; any failed records remain selected with an error message. Review partial results before retrying.

Print register / PDF opens a clean document containing the currently filtered records and saved specialist details, without app navigation. When records are selected, it prints only that selection. Allow pop-ups, then choose a printer or Save as PDF. Recruitment reports also has a print-summary button. Individual sales and supplier invoices have their own Print / PDF action with document line items and totals.

Finance uses accounting labels: Sales invoices, Accounts payable (supplier invoices), Bank accounts and Bank reconciliation. Existing routes and stored records are unchanged.

7. Adding records by hand

  1. Open the list you want, for example Customers.
  2. Press + New. The button names the record, such as + New customer.
  3. Fill in the details and save. The record appears in the list.
  4. Open any record to edit it, add notes, attach files or move it to the next stage.

8. Inviting your team

  1. Open Team & access in the Administration part of the menu.
  2. Press + Invite team member.
  3. Enter your teammate's email address.
  4. Choose their role:
    • Viewer can look but not change anything.
    • Operator can work in their workspaces but cannot approve.
    • Manager can work in their workspaces and approve.
    • Owner can do everything, including team and settings.
  5. Tick the workspaces they should see.
  6. Press Create invitation. A box shows their personal invite link.
  7. Press Copy link, Send on WhatsApp or Send by email to share it. The link works once and lasts 72 hours.

Tip: Link expired or lost? Press New link next to their name in Pending invitations and share the new one. Press Revoke to cancel an invite. You can change a role or press Suspend at any time.

9. Joining a team you were invited to

  1. Open the invite link your teammate sent you.
  2. Check the business name, your email and your role.
  3. Choose a password of at least 12 characters and type it again to confirm.
  4. Press Accept invitation, then Continue to sign in.
  5. Sign in with your email and new password.

10. Connecting WhatsApp, payments and email

Open Integrations in the Administration part of the menu. For each one, press Configure, paste the details and press Save and check. FoundingOS tells you straight away whether it worked.

  • WhatsApp Business: from your Meta Business account you need the access token, phone number ID, verify token and app secret. The FoundingOS mobile app shows the webhook address to paste back into Meta.
  • Stripe payments: your Stripe secret key and webhook secret, from the Developers section of Stripe.
  • Email (Resend): your Resend API key and the address emails should come from.
  • Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn: follow the steps shown on screen to link your pages.

Tip: Your keys are stored encrypted. Never share them in chat or by email.

11. Using FoundAI

FoundAI is the assistant built into FoundingOS. Ask it questions in plain words, by typing or speaking, such as “Which customers have not ordered this month?” or “How are prices moving for my products?” On SuperDash and the higher plans it also follows market trends, national prices and competitors for you.

FoundAI answers are written by artificial intelligence. They can be wrong, out of date or incomplete, including market prices, trends and competitor information. They are not financial, legal or tax advice. Check anything important before you rely on it.

12. Getting your data out

  1. Open any list and press Export CSV to download everything in it.
  2. To download only some records, tick them and press Export selected.
  3. Owners can download a full record of account activity with Export governance data.

Your data belongs to you. You can take it with you at any time.

13. Installing the apps

  • Web: nothing to install. Use any modern browser at www.foundingos.com/app.
  • Mac and Windows: ask us for the FoundingOS desktop installer. On a Mac, open it and drag FoundingOS into Applications. On Windows, run it and follow the steps.
  • iPhone and Android: we will send you a link to install the FoundingOS app while it is in preview.

Sign in with the same email and password everywhere. Updates arrive on their own.

14. Getting help