Stagers Hub User Guide

Welcome. This guide walks through everything you can do in Stagers Hub, in the order you are likely to want to learn it. Skim the headings to find the bit you need, or read top to bottom on your first day.

If anything in here doesn't match what you see on screen, ping support (see the bottom of this doc). Stagers Hub is moving fast right now and the guide may lag a feature by a day or two.

1. What Stagers Hub is for

A home base for your furniture-staging studio.

• One place for every piece of furniture you own: photos, receipts, value, dimensions, where it is right now.
• Project tracking with start and end dates, client details, budget, and read-only share links to send to clients.
• One-click PDFs: client sign-off (with touch signature), insurance schedule, room sheet, handover pack, QR labels.
• QR code on every item; scan with your phone to look it up instantly.
• Multi-currency, multi-room, multi-staff workspace.

It replaces a spreadsheet, a folder of photos, and a half-printed binder of project notes with one searchable workspace your whole team can use.

2. First-time setup

2.1 Sign up

1. Visit the signup page (your studio's link, e.g. https://app.stagershub.com/signup).
2. Type your email and click Email me a magic link (or Continue with Google if you have it set up).
3. Check your inbox. Click the link in the email. It expires in 1 hour and works once.
4. You land on your new dashboard.

There are no passwords to remember. Every time you sign in, request a fresh magic link.

2.2 Name your workspace

When you signed up, your workspace was auto-named after the first part of your email (e.g. "sophie's Studio"). To change that:

1. Go to Settings in the sidebar.
2. In the Workspace section, type your real studio name (e.g. Decoro Staging).
3. Set your base currency (default is GBP).
4. Optionally add an insurance policy reference so it appears on insurance schedule PDFs.
5. Click Save.

The workspace name shows in the sidebar, on PDFs, and on share links to clients.

2.3 Pick your starting setup

You have two options for getting your inventory in:

• By hand, item by item. Best for studios under ~50 items.
• CSV import. Best if you have a Sortly export or any spreadsheet. See section 12.

You can also create your first project right away if you have one on the go. See section 4.

3. Items

Items are the core of Stagers Hub. Every chair, lamp, painting, plant is an item.

3.1 Add an item

1. Click + Item (top right on mobile, or in the Items page).
2. Fill the form:
   • Name (required). E.g. "Olive linen 3-seater sofa".
   • Category. Free text, e.g. "Sofa", "Lighting", "Soft furnishings".
   • Description. Anything: dimensions, fabric, supplier story.
   • Status. In storage, on project, listed for sale, sold, damaged, lost, archived. Defaults sensibly based on where you put it.
   • Condition. New, excellent, good, fair, damaged.
   • Purchase price + currency + purchase date. Optional but useful for accounting and insurance.
   • Current value + currency. What you'd claim if it walked.
   • Insured. Tick if it's covered by your insurance.
   • Dimensions. Width, height, depth in cm; weight in kg.
   • Room. Pick from the default list (Living Room, Kitchen, Hallway, Landing, Bedroom 1-6, Front Garden, Back Garden) or type your own.
   • Location. Where it lives right now (a storage room or a project site).
3. Click Save.

The item gets a unique QR token on save, automatically. You can print that QR onto a label and stick it on the item; section 8 covers scanning.

3.2 Edit an item

1. Open the item (click its name in the Items list, or scan its QR).
2. Click Edit.
3. Change anything. Save.

3.3 Duplicate an item

Right setting for "I have eight identical dining chairs":

1. Open the item.
2. Click Duplicate.
3. The copy is created with " (copy)" appended to the name, fresh QR token, blank location and assignment history. Edit the copy as needed.

The duplicate does not inherit location, room, or project booking. It starts fresh in storage so you can decide where to send it.

3.4 Move an item between locations

1. Open the item.
2. Click Move.
3. Pick the destination (any storage room or project).
4. Set the start date (when the move actually happens) and optional end date (when you'll bring it back, for projects).
5. Add notes if it helps.
6. If the destination is a project and the item is already booked for that window on another project, you'll see a conflict warning. Tick Override conflict if you really mean it.
7. Save.

The item's status updates automatically: project = "on project", storage = "in storage". Calendars and reports stay in sync.

3.5 Item status meanings

Status follows location automatically when you move things. You can override it manually for the lifecycle states (sold, listed, etc.).

3.6 Photos

Each item can have multiple photos. The first photo is automatically the "primary" one and shows in lists, on the share page, on PDFs.

To upload:

1. Open the item.
2. Scroll to Photos, click Add photos.
3. Pick one or more (JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC). Max 8 MB per photo.
4. They upload and appear straight away.

To change the primary photo:

1. Hover (or tap) any non-primary photo.
2. Click Make primary.

To delete a photo:

1. Hover the photo, click Delete, confirm.
2. If you delete the primary, the next-oldest photo is promoted automatically.

3.7 Bulk actions

On the Items page:

1. Tick the checkbox next to each item you want to act on.
2. A bar appears at the bottom with two buttons:
   • Move N items: move all selected items to the same destination in one step. Conflict detection still applies.
   • Soft-delete N items: send them to trash. See section 13.

Bulk moving honours the booking ledger: any open assignments on those items are closed before the new one is created, so you don't end up with double bookings.

4. Locations

Two kinds of locations:

• Storage rooms: where you keep things between projects. You can have as many as you like (Main warehouse, Overflow, Garden lockup, Daughter's spare room, whatever).
• Project sites: a specific staging job at a specific address with a start date, end date, client name, optional budget.

Items always live in exactly one location at a time.

4.1 Add a storage room

1. Locations in the sidebar → + New storage.
2. Name (e.g. "Storage Main").
3. Address (optional).
4. Notes (optional).
5. Default tick: if on, this is the storage room new items default to. Only one room can be the default at a time; ticking this clears the flag on any other.
6. Save.

4.2 Add a project (= "stage")

1. Locations in the sidebar → + New project.
2. Project name (e.g. "Henderson House").
3. Address.
4. Client name + email (used on PDFs and share-link cover).
5. Start date + end date. Critical: items committed to this project between these dates can't be double-booked elsewhere.
6. Status: Planned, Active, Completed, Cancelled.
7. Buffer days: extra days either side of the project window for conflict detection (default 0).
8. Notes.
9. Budget amount + currency (optional).
10. Save.

4.3 Edit a project

Click into the project, click Edit. Change anything. Save. Items already on the project are not affected by edits to the project's dates, but conflict detection on future bookings uses the new dates.

4.4 Floorplans

Each project can have multiple floorplan images attached. Useful for "the lounge floorplan goes in the email to the cleaner" or "client preview".

To upload:

1. Open the project.
2. Find the Floorplans section, click Upload floorplans.
3. Pick one or more images. Max 8 MB each.
4. Optionally add a label (e.g. "Ground floor").
5. Save.

Floorplans appear on the project page and on the public client share link if enabled.

4.5 Sharing a project with the client

Each project has a read-only share link you can give to the client. They see the project, the items by room, photos, floorplans, in a clean read-only page. They cannot edit or download anything.

To enable:

1. Open the project.
2. Share with client section → Enable share link.
3. Copy the URL that appears.
4. Send it to the client.

To rotate (e.g. you sent it to the wrong client and want to invalidate):

1. Share with client section → Rotate link.
2. The old URL stops working immediately. Copy the new URL and send it.

To disable entirely:

1. Share with client section → Disable link.

The share page shows the workspace name as "Staging by [your studio]" in the header. Sophie's clients see "Staging by Decoro Staging".

5. Calendar

The Calendar tab shows every project as a coloured bar across the month. Hover or tap a bar to see the items committed to that project.

Useful for:

• Spotting empty weeks (sales / outreach time).
• Seeing where you're double-booked.
• Estimating when a piece is due back from a project.

Calendar is read-only. Make changes via the project edit page, not the calendar.

6. Scan (QR codes)

Every item has a unique QR code. Print them onto labels (see section 8.5) and stick them on the items. The QR encodes one URL: scanning it, even from your phone's native Camera app, opens the matching item in Stagers Hub.

The in-app Scan page (sidebar or mobile nav) gives you four purpose-built scanning workflows. Camera access is needed for all of them.

6.1 Default scan: action sheet

Open Scan with no extra options. Each scan opens a quick action sheet showing the item's name, location, and status, plus four shortcut buttons: Move, Photo / edit, Damage, View item. Close the sheet to scan the next one. Faster than landing on the full detail page when you only want to do one thing.

6.2 Scan to bulk-move

Open Items and click Scan to bulk-move in the top bar. Scan as many items as you want; each one is added to a list at the bottom of the page. When you're done, pick a destination from the sticky footer dropdown and tap Move all. Every scanned item moves in one go. Conflicts can be overridden with the checkbox.

Use this when you're standing in front of a shelf of furniture deciding what's going to which project. Faster than typing item names into the items grid.

6.3 Install mode (per project)

Open the project, click Install mode. The page lists every item committed to the project and a camera scanner. As each piece of furniture arrives at the property, scan its QR. The item ticks off the list. A counter at the bottom shows "X of Y items installed".

If you scan an item that wasn't booked to the project, you're asked to confirm. Confirming moves the item onto the project on the spot, so the spreadsheet matches the truth on the floor.

6.4 De-stage mode (per project)

Open the project, click De-stage mode. Same shape as install mode, but the action is the opposite: each scan moves the item into your default storage location. Use it as you load the truck to collect everything at the end of a stage. The progress counter shows "X of Y items collected".

6.5 Audit mode (per location)

Open any location (project OR storage), click Audit mode. Walk through, scanning everything you see. When you hit Finish & show report, you get three buckets:

• Found here as expected: matches the database.
• Found here but DB says elsewhere: items the system thinks are somewhere else. One click moves them all into this location so the records catch up.
• Expected here but not found: items that should be here but weren't scanned. Could be missing, could just have been skipped.

No database writes happen during the scan loop, so audits are safe to run mid-day without disturbing anyone else's view.

6.6 Tips

• The QR encodes a URL pointing at your app, so scanning from your phone's native Camera app still works. It just lands on the default action sheet flow instead of a specialised mode.
• Modes work on a laptop with a webcam too, but a phone is faster and more practical in the warehouse.
• Same QR being read repeatedly is filtered for ~1 second after a successful scan, so a steady hand can scan a stack quickly without one item firing twenty times.

7. Assistant

The Assistant is a chat-style helper that can answer questions about your data. Examples:

• "How many sofas do I have?"
• "What's my total inventory value?"
• "Which items are at Henderson House?"
• "What's the average value of items I've bought from Lights & Living?"

Type the question, hit send. The assistant only sees your workspace's data, never anyone else's.

For now the assistant can only read; it can't make changes for you. That's deliberate, so a misunderstood question doesn't move 50 items to the wrong project.

8. Reports & PDFs

Stagers Hub generates four kinds of PDF, all from real workspace data in real time. Open the Reports tab (sidebar) to see all of them.

8.1 Insurance schedule

A formal-looking spreadsheet of every active item with name, category, purchase price, current value, location, condition. Ready to send to your insurer for valuation review.

Click Insurance schedule → PDF opens in a new tab → download or print. Pulled from live data, so it's always current.

8.2 Room sheet (per project)

For your staff: which item goes in which room of a specific project.

Open the project → Room sheet → PDF.

8.3 Handover pack (per project)

A combined document for the end of a project: which items came back, which stayed, condition notes, signatures.

Open the project → Handover pack → PDF.

8.4 Sign-off (per project)

The client-signed acceptance document, with three flavours:

• Install: client signs that everything was delivered and looks right.
• De-stage: client signs that the items have been removed and the property is in the same condition.
• Mid-project change: anything in between (swap, addition, damage).

To generate:

1. Open the project.
2. Sign-off → pick the kind (install / destage / mid-project).
3. Confirm or edit the client name.
4. Sign in the touch-signature box (with mouse, finger, or stylus).
5. Click Generate PDF.

The PDF is timestamped and includes the signed signature. Save it, email it, file it.

8.5 Item labels (QR PDF)

A multi-up sheet of QR codes ready to print onto sticker paper.

1. Reports → Item labels.
2. Pick which items to include (default: all active).
3. Print the PDF onto Avery sticker sheets.
4. Stick the QR onto the item.

9. Damage & loss

When something gets broken or goes missing:

1. Open the item.
2. Click Report damage / loss.
3. Tick Total loss if it's gone or unrecoverable; leave unchecked for damage that's still on the item.
4. Add a description (where, how, blame attribution if relevant).
5. Estimated loss amount + currency.
6. Save.

The item's status updates: total loss → "lost", partial → "damaged". Both flag the item on insurance schedules, and dashboards count them in the "Damaged / Lost" tile so you spot patterns.

10. Multi-currency

Stagers Hub is multi-currency at two levels:

• Workspace base currency: set in Settings. Default GBP. Used for totals, reports, PDFs.
• Item currency: each item's purchase price and current value can be in any currency (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.).

When totals are computed (e.g. "Total inventory value" on the dashboard), values are converted to the workspace base currency at the most recent published exchange rate.

You don't manage rates manually; they're refreshed automatically.

11. CSV import + export

11.1 Export

Items page → Export CSV. You get a file with one row per active item. Open in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers.

The export is in Sortly-compatible column format, so you can move between tools without losing data.

11.2 Import

If you're coming from Sortly or any spreadsheet:

1. Items page → Import CSV.
2. Drop or pick the file.
3. Stagers Hub auto-maps common column names (Name, Description, Quantity, Price, Location, etc.). Column-mapping screen shows what it inferred.
4. Adjust mappings if needed.
5. Import.

A summary tells you how many rows imported successfully and which (if any) were skipped (e.g. missing name).

Imported items appear in the default storage room. Move or assign them as needed.

12. Trash & recovery

Deleted items aren't gone immediately. Stagers Hub uses a 30-day trash:

1. Soft-deleting an item moves it to Items → Trash. It disappears from default lists, dashboards, calendar.
2. The item sits in trash for 30 days. Any time during that window, click Restore to bring it back to "in storage".
3. After 30 days, the item is permanently purged (a scheduled job does this automatically).

You can speed up the purge two ways:

• Empty trash button on the trash page: deletes everything in trash immediately, irreversibly.
• Delete forever button on a single trashed item: deletes that item only.

Both are owner-only actions and irreversible. Once something is hard deleted, only a backup can recover it.

13. Team & permissions

A workspace can have many teammates. Pricing is per-workspace (£19.50/month covers the whole team), so add as many as you need.

13.1 Three roles

The first person to sign up for a workspace is automatically the owner. Everyone they invite gets to pick a role at invite time.

13.2 Invite a teammate

(Owner only.)

1. Settings → Team.
2. In the Invite a teammate section, type their email.
3. Pick a role (Staff is the right default for active staff; Viewer for read-only).
4. Send invite.

The invitee gets a magic-link email titled "You've been invited to [your workspace] in Stagers Hub." Clicking the link signs them in and lands them on the dashboard with the right role and access.

Invites expire in 7 days. If they don't accept in time, revoke and re-send.

13.3 Manage existing members

Settings → Team lists everyone in your workspace with their role. Owners can:

• Remove a member. They lose access immediately.
• (Coming) Change a member's role.

You cannot remove the last owner of a workspace; the system blocks that to prevent orphaning the workspace.

13.4 Pending invites

Invites you've sent but the recipient hasn't accepted appear in Settings → Team under Pending invitations. You can:

• Revoke an invite (the magic link stops working immediately).
• See when each invite expires.

14. Settings

Reachable from Settings in the sidebar.

14.1 Workspace

• Name. The studio name shown everywhere.
• Base currency. The currency used for totals.
• Insurance policy reference. Optional; appears on insurance schedule PDFs.

14.2 Plan

Shows your current plan tier and workspace ID:

• Design Partner (free, 12 months): the first 15 workspaces ever.
• Founder (£19.50/mo, locked for life): workspaces 16-100.
• Standard (£39/mo): 101 onwards.

Stripe checkout activates after launch; until then, plan info is informational.

14.3 Team

See section 13.

14.4 Help & legal

Links to:

• Help & FAQs
• About Stagers Hub
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy

14.5 Sign out

A button. Press it, you're signed out, you're back at the login page. Nothing dramatic; magic-link in to come back.

14.6 Danger zone

The bottom of the Settings page has a section labelled Danger zone. What you see depends on your role.

Workspace owner — Delete workspace

Deletes the entire workspace, including every item, location, project, photo, sign-off, team member, and your branding. To prevent slip-of-the-finger deletions you have to type the workspace name exactly to confirm.

The deletion is staged: the moment you click Delete, every page in the workspace is locked and a "Workspace pending deletion" page takes over. Your data is held during a grace period (currently manual; the founder confirms purge after a week or so) so you can change your mind. To restore during the grace period, email support@stagershub.com.

After the grace period the data is permanently purged. Once that happens it is not recoverable.

Non-owner team members — Leave workspace

If you are staff or viewer in someone else's workspace, you'll see a Leave workspace button instead. This removes you from the workspace but the studio's data stays. You can be re-invited later.

The owner of a workspace cannot leave it. To stop being the owner, either promote another member to owner first (Settings → Team) or delete the whole workspace.

15. Common tasks (quick reference)

16. Tips from the road

• Photo every item the day it arrives. Five seconds with the phone, saves an hour of "what did that one look like?" later.
• Use rooms even in storage. "Living Room" / "Bedroom" tags on items in storage make project planning easier (you instantly know what bedroom-style sofas you have free).
• Set realistic project dates with buffer days. A project that formally ends Friday but de-stages Monday should have buffer = 2 in the project edit, so the items aren't accidentally double-booked for Saturday and Sunday.
• Generate the sign-off PDF on site, on the day, with the client. Touch signature on a phone takes 30 seconds, the PDF is in their inbox before you leave. No chasing emails later.
• Rotate the share link at the end of each project so previous clients can't see your latest staging.
• Keep storage room names short. They appear in many tight columns on PDFs and the dashboard; "Storage Main" beats "Main Studio Storage Warehouse Building 4".

17. Help

If something's wrong:

1. Check this guide first — most questions answered here.
2. Refresh the browser — most "stuck loading" issues clear with F5 / Ctrl+Shift+R.
3. Email support@stagershub.com with:
   • What you were trying to do
   • What you saw instead
   • The URL you were on
   • A screenshot if it's visual

Real human responds within 24 hours, usually faster. During the Design Partner phase you also have a direct line to the team — your onboarding email tells you who.

18. What's coming next

Things on the roadmap, not yet shipped:

• Apple Sign In (waiting on Apple Developer enrolment).
• Sortly-style nested categories (today categories are flat free text).
• eBay listing automation (today the platform is a placeholder).
• Multi-room floorplans with item drag-drop placement on the plan.
• Custom default rooms per workspace (today the list is fixed).
• Bulk photo upload from a project shoot folder.

If any of these are critical for you, tell us. Roadmap reorders for Design Partners.

Last updated: 2026-05-05. Stagers Hub is in active build; minor UI details may differ from the screenshots in your head. Functionality described here is shipped or shipping this week. The build has just been through three independent code audits (security, server-action correctness, accessibility) — every CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW finding closed before customer onboarding starts.