Basics
Learn the dashboard
Find your way around the main dashboard, sidebar, and daily work areas without needing technical knowledge.
Use this guide when you are signing in for the first time or helping a teammate learn where things are in the dashboard.
The dashboard is the staff area of Car Storage Software. This is where your team manages customers, cars, appointments, payments, parking, messages, settings, and more.
What you will accomplish
You will learn how to use the sidebar, how to open the main work areas, and how to choose the right page for a task.
Before you start
- You should be signed in as a staff user.
- If you are on a phone or small tablet, the sidebar may appear as a menu button instead of a full list.
- Your facility may hide some areas if your role does not need them.
Understand the sidebar menu
The sidebar is the menu on the left side of the screen. It stays visible on most pages so you can move between areas without getting lost.
- Find the sidebar
Look at the left edge of the screen. You should see menu items such as Cars, Contacts, Schedule, and Payments.
On a small screen, tap the menu icon (often three lines) to open the same list.
Expected result: You can open any main area with one click.
- Use the page title to confirm where you are
Each page has a title near the top, such as Cars, Contacts, or Payments.
Why this matters: If you are unsure where you landed, the page title confirms the area before you change anything.
- Use buttons for actions
Most work starts with a clear button. Examples include Create New Customer, Create New Car, Create Invoice, or New Event.
Expected result: Clicking an action button opens a form, page, or dialog where you can complete the task.
- Use tables, cards, and search to find records
Many pages show records in a list, table, or card view. Use search or filters when the list is long.
Why this matters: Searching first helps prevent duplicate customers, duplicate cars, or work on the wrong record.
Choose the right page for common tasks
Cars is for vehicles your facility stores, services, moves, photographs, or tracks.
Contacts is for customers, owners, family members, business contacts, and other people connected to vehicles or billing.
Schedule is for appointments, pickups, drop-offs, service work, and team calendar planning.
Payments is for invoices, quotes, products, services, recurring billing, and vendors.
Parking Spots is for your floor plan, parking locations, and spot assignment.
Inbox is for customer conversations by text, email, and phone.
Marketing & Events is for campaigns, community, reviews, and social events.
AI Assistant is for searching records and getting help with tasks inside the app.
Settings is for facility setup, team access, billing setup, communications, portal settings, and security.
Practice a safe first tour
If you are new, follow this tour before editing live records. You are only looking around, and you do not need to save anything.
- Open Cars
Go to Cars. Notice the vehicle list, search, filters, and Create New Car button.
Do not add or edit anything yet. This first pass is only to understand the page.
The Cars page lists every vehicle your facility tracks. Search before you create a new car. - Open Contacts
Go to Contacts. Notice the customer list and Create New Customer button.
Expected result: You understand where customer records live.
The Contacts page is where you add and find customer records before linking cars or sending invoices. - Open Schedule
Go to Schedule. Notice the calendar view and scheduling controls.
Why this matters: Many teams use Schedule every day to plan arrivals, departures, inspections, and service.
When you are ready to book work, read Schedule overview.
- Open Payments
Go to Payments. Notice the links to invoices, quotes, recurring billing, products, services, and vendors.
Expected result: You know where to go when money or pricing is involved.
- Open Settings last
Go to Settings. Settings affects the whole facility, so move slowly here.
Why this matters: A small settings change can affect emails, customer forms, billing, or teammate access.
Start with Settings overview when a manager asks you to help with setup.
Common mistakes to avoid
Troubleshooting
What to do next
If your team is ready to enter real data, read Prepare your first customer and car.
If you are still setting up the workspace, read Complete the Setup Guide.