Help
Answers for shop owners.
Can't find what you need? Email hello@aestarai.com, call Ava at (480) 771-6324, or use Ask AI in the corner.
No answer here has those words. Ask AI, or email hello@aestarai.com.
Getting started
How it works →Will callers know they're talking to AI?
Yes. Ava says she's the shop's AI assistant at the start of every call, and that calls may be recorded. Most callers just want to get booked, and Ava makes that quick.
Do I keep my phone number?
Yes. Your number stays yours, and Ava gets her own number, with no charge for it. You choose which calls go to her: every call, or only the ones you can't pick up (on a job, on another call or after hours) instead of voicemail. It's a forwarding setting with your phone carrier, and you can change it any time.
What happens in an emergency?
If a caller mentions a gas or burning smell, smoke, sparks, a carbon-monoxide alarm or anyone hurt, Ava tells them to hang up and call 911 first. Other urgent calls — a leak, no cooling, no power — are marked urgent with the address and a callback number so your team can call right back.
Can Ava transfer a call to me?
Not yet. Today Ava takes a detailed message and marks the urgent ones.
Does it work with my calendar?
Yes. Connect Google Calendar and Ava only offers times that are really open. Without it, she books into your Aestar schedule.
What will Ava say about prices?
Only what's in your price book, as a “starts at” price. She never makes up a price or promises a discount.
Can I tell Ava what I'm working toward?
Yes. Tell her a goal in your own words, like “$45,000 a month”, “weekends off” or “100 Google reviews”. She says it back with where you are and what she'll do, and nothing is set until you say yes. Each goal then sits at the top of Today on your phone and computer, counted from your own invoices, schedule and reviews. A goal she can't count yet, like hiring someone, stays there too, and you mark it done.
How long does setup take?
We estimate about 10 minutes of your time: about 2 minutes to sign up, about 5 to check what Ava filled in from your website (your services, prices, hours and service area) and about 3 to forward your calls to her.
Is there a contract?
No. Setup on Starter is free. Going live starts a 30-day free trial with a card on file, then it's $89 a month, month to month. Cancel any time.
Pricing and billing
Pricing →What counts as an answered minute?
Time Ava spends on calls she answers on your line.
What's the difference between the plans?
Every plan has all of Aestar and every Service Pro. The plans differ in how many answered minutes are included, what an extra minute costs, and how much help you get: on Starter Ava sets you up and you make changes yourself; on Plus we set it up with you and make up to 4 changes a month; on Premium we do the setup and every change for you, with your own support contact.
What if I go over my minutes?
Extra minutes are billed with your plan: $0.25 each on Starter, $0.20 on Plus and $0.15 on Premium. At 2–3 minutes a call, 200 minutes covers roughly 70–100 calls.
What counts as an update?
A change to your shop that we make for you: new prices or services, new hours, what Ava says or asks callers, a new Service Pro. On Starter you can make all of these yourself in the app, or have us do it for $49 a change.
Do you charge per user?
No. Add every Service Pro, plus office help and family, at no extra cost.
Is there a setup fee?
Not on Starter: setup is free, and Ava does most of it for you. Plus and Premium include setup done with or for you by our team: a one-time $99 on Plus and $199 on Premium.
What does “start free” include?
Setting up your shop and trying the app is free, with no card. Going live starts a 30-day free trial: a card on file is required, the $89 fee isn't charged during the trial, and your first 100 answered minutes are free. Unless you cancel, $89 a month starts on day 31.
Can I cancel?
Yes, any time, from your billing portal. Cancel during the 30-day trial and you're never charged. After that it's month to month, and cancelling stops the next charge.
AI receptionist
AI receptionist →What if Ava doesn't know the answer?
She says so, takes a message with the caller's details, and it shows up in your Calls list right away.
Will Ava call people back?
Not yet. Missed calls and hang-ups are listed with the caller's number, so you or your team can call back.
What does it cost?
$89 a month includes 200 answered minutes; extra answered minutes are $0.25. Setup on Starter is free. Going live starts a 30-day free trial with a card on file.
Can I hear Ava before I sign up?
Yes. Call (480) 771-6324 and she answers as an example shop. Ask for a price or book a time.
Does Ava speak Spanish?
Not yet. It's on the way.
Autopilot
Autopilot →Does Ava do things without asking?
She lines things up and asks. Anything that changes a job, a price or a customer's day waits for your Confirm in Needs you. A rule you turn on does its own legwork, and anything it would send a customer waits in a queue until sending is on.
Can I turn a rule off?
Yes. Turn it off and it waits under Your automations until you turn it back on.
What's the difference between Needs you and Ava’s activity?
Needs you is what's waiting for your yes. Ava’s activity is what she already did: the calls she took and the jobs she booked.
When do reminders reach my customers?
Texts go out once texting is approved for your shop. Until then every reminder waits in a queue you can read, and you can send it yourself.
Schedule
Schedule →Can I see the day on my phone?
Yes. The Aestar app works in any phone browser and you can add it to your home screen.
Does Ava book over jobs already on the schedule?
No. She checks your schedule, and your Google Calendar if it's connected, before she offers a time, and only confirms once the booking has saved.
Does the map track my trucks?
Not the trucks. Each Service Pro's phone shares where they are, only while they're clocked in and their Aestar app is open, and they can see when it's on. Only you see it. Clocking out stops it, and positions are deleted at clock-out or after 24 hours.
Does assigning a job tell the Service Pro?
It shows up in their own app the next time they open it. Aestar doesn't text them about it yet, so if it's urgent, tell them the way you do now.
Estimates & price book
Estimates & price book →Where do the starting prices come from?
From you. Setup gives you starter prices for your trade so you're not typing from scratch, and Ava only quotes prices you've kept or changed.
Can customers approve an estimate themselves?
Yes. Each customer has a private page where they can see their jobs and approve or decline estimates.
How does Ava price a photo?
She reads what's in the photos, for example a full 100-amp panel, picks the matching work from your price book and adds the hours at your rates. You see every line and a range, and you can change the hours before you approve it.
Does Aestar send the estimate for me?
Not yet. Mark it sent, copy the customer's link and send it the way you usually do.
Invoices & payments
Invoices & payments →Can customers pay by card?
Yes. Connect Stripe once from Payments (Ava walks you through it) and every invoice gets a pay link. Customers pay by card, the money goes to your bank, and you can still record cash and checks.
Will Aestar take a cut of my payments?
No. You pay Stripe's standard processing rate and nothing extra to Aestar.
Can I invoice from my phone?
Yes. The Aestar app works in any phone browser, so you can write the invoice and record the check before you leave the driveway.
Where do I see who still owes?
In Collections: every unpaid invoice, oldest first, with reminders Ava writes for you to approve.
Money & collections
Money & collections →Does Aestar text my customers about money?
Not yet. Ava writes each reminder and queues it. Texts go out once texting is approved for your shop. Until then you can read every queued reminder and send it yourself.
Will a customer get a reminder for an invoice I haven't sent?
No. A draft isn't owed until you send it, so it's left out of Collections and never gets a reminder.
When do reminders stop?
On their own, the day the invoice is marked paid.
Can customers pay online?
Yes. Connect Stripe once from Payments (Ava walks you through it) and every invoice gets a pay link. Customers pay by card, the money goes to your bank, and you can still record cash and checks.
Growth
Growth →Will Aestar send or mail anything without me?
No. Today Ava plans and drafts, and nothing is mailed or sent. You see the words and the cost first.
Does Aestar post reviews or reply for me?
No. Aestar drafts replies for you to post. Nothing is posted for you.
Do I have to use all of it?
No. Each piece is off until you turn it on.
Shop website
Shop website →Do I need a website already?
No. If you have one, keep it and link to your Aestar request form. If you don't, your Aestar page works on its own.
Does my Aestar website show up on Google?
Not yet. Aestar shop websites aren't listed in search engines today, so share the link: on your truck, your cards and your Google Business Profile.
Can customers book online?
They pick one of your open times and it comes to you as a request, which you confirm. If they call, Ava books them into a real open time.
Team & timesheets
Team & timesheets →Do my Service Pros need their own logins?
Not a login with a password — a link. Open a Service Pro on the Team screen, copy their app link and send it to them: it opens their own day, their jobs with addresses and notes, Ava, and their hours. It never shows the shop’s money, approvals, or anybody else’s work. Every Service Pro is included in the plan at no extra cost.
Does Aestar run payroll?
No. Timesheets are hours, not payroll. Take the hours to your payroll service.
What does it cost to add people?
Nothing. There are no per-seat fees.
Customers
Customers →What does a customer see on their page?
Their upcoming visits, their estimates with Approve and Decline, and their invoices. Never your notes, your margins or anyone else's jobs.
Do customers need an account?
No account, no password, no app. The link is theirs, and it expires.
The Aestar app
The Aestar app →Is there an app in the App Store?
Not yet. The Aestar app runs in your phone's browser and can be added to your home screen like an app.
Is it the same app on my computer?
Yes. It's one app: the same shop and the same Ava on your computer, tablet or phone.
Can my Service Pros use it?
They get their own app link with their jobs and their hours, not the owner's app. Money and approvals stay with you.
Still have a question?
A person reads every note and replies by email, usually the same business day.