FAQ
Questions, answered directly
Direct answers about what Handbook does, who it is for, and what it costs. If something here is not clear enough, that is worth telling us about.
The basics
- What is The Handbook Company?
- Operations software for small businesses. Handbook keeps a team's training, SOPs, checklists, recipes and standards in one place, and it can run inventory too, from the count to the shopping list.
- Who is The Handbook Company for?
- Owners and managers of small businesses that train new people often and repeat the same work every day, such as coffee shops and restaurants. Handbook works for one location or several.
- Can we explore the product before signing up?
- Yes. The demo handbooks are open to anyone without an account, so you can look through a working handbook's training, checklists, recipes and inventory. They are read only. You can also book a live demo with us before starting a trial. Open the demo handbooks
Training and onboarding
- Can The Handbook Company be used for employee training?
- It can. Handbook gives each new hire a training path: steps in order, with the documents and videos they need attached, and progress that they and their manager can both see.
- Can The Handbook Company help with onboarding?
- In Handbook a new hire signs in to one place for their training path, the courses assigned to them, the guides for their shifts and the checklists they will run, so nobody has to remember which binder holds what.
- Does The Handbook Company include courses?
- Courses in Handbook are built from sections and modules, with questions the learner answers in their own words. A manager reviews the answers and can ask for another try on any of them.
Standards, SOPs, and documents
- Can The Handbook Company manage SOPs?
- SOPs, policies and other documents live in Handbook's shared library, with their version history. Attach one to a training step or a guide, and when a new version is uploaded, every place it is attached shows the new one.
- Can The Handbook Company manage checklists?
- Checklists in Handbook can ask for a tick, a reading with its limits, a note or a photo, and each submission records who completed it and when. A checklist can send a reminder at a set time, and several people can work on one together.
- Can The Handbook Company centralize recipes and standards?
- Recipes in Handbook are built from the items you stock, with the method beside them, so each one shows what it costs to make. Prep standards and SOPs sit in the same handbook, in the library.
- Can The Handbook Company centralize a document library?
- Handbook's library holds documents, photos, logos and videos, sorted into categories and searchable by name or type. Each file keeps its version history and shows where it is attached.
- Does The Handbook Company support shift guides and reference material?
- Handbook has guides written for each shift, such as opening or closing, and each one can name the checklists to finish along the way. The library holds the reference material behind them.
Inventory and suppliers
- Does The Handbook Company support inventory workflows?
- Inventory is an optional part of Handbook. Turned on, it counts stock by location and storage area, forecasts when each item will run out, builds a shopping list grouped by supplier, and moves stock between locations.
- What inventory tools does The Handbook Company include?
- Handbook's inventory covers checks, the Forecast Center, a shopping list, transfers between locations, items with their suppliers and prices, invoice capture, a bulk editor, and the cost of each menu item.
- Can The Handbook Company manage supplier and source information?
- Each item in Handbook can have several suppliers, each with its price, unit, minimum order and lead time, and one marked primary. Price changes are kept as history, and the local marketplace helps you find suppliers nearby.
The Handbook Assistant AI
- What is the Handbook Assistant AI?
- An AI assistant inside Handbook that answers questions about your handbook and drafts changes to it, such as a new guide or a cleaned-up item list. Nothing it drafts is saved until a person approves it.
- Can the Handbook Assistant AI change data automatically?
- No. The assistant can draft a change, but each one waits for a person to approve it before anything is saved.
Fit for your business
- Is The Handbook Company useful for coffee shops?
- Very much so. Handbook was first built for a coffee business, so it knows that work: recipes costed by the cup, opening and closing checklists, training for new baristas, and milk and beans that need ordering before they run out.
- Is The Handbook Company useful for restaurants?
- Restaurants use Handbook for prep and service checklists, recipes with their costs, training for new staff, and inventory counted by storage area on a phone. The counts build a shopping list grouped by supplier, and unit economics shows what each month earned from the sales report.
Pricing and trials
- How does pricing work?
- Each handbook is its own subscription: $30 a month, plus $5 a month for each member, the owner included. A handbook with only you on it is $35 a month, and someone you invite counts once they accept. If you own more than one handbook, each is billed on its own.
- Is there a free trial?
- Yes. Every new handbook starts with a 15-day free trial. No payment method is required to start, but you will need to add one before the trial ends to keep access.
Still deciding?
The trial is the fastest way to find out. Or book a demo and ask in person.