Product scope

What Daybook does — and what it deliberately does not

Honest boundaries for NZ sole traders and tiny crews: the seam between the job and the money, not a parallel general ledger or field-service suite.

How to read this page. Shipped is in the current module build. Target is committed direction that may be partial or not wired end-to-end. Later stays out unless strategy changes. Commercial shelves are Daybook Free, Daybook Standard, and Daybook Premium — see packaging. Tier 1 below means core product surfaces, not pricing.

Status

Shipped Target Daybook Free Daybook Standard Daybook Premium Tier 1 surface Supporting Competitive gap Parity in progress

Packaging

Daybook Free, Standard, Premium

Always say Daybook in front of the shelf — Logistics already has Standard. Daybook Free is quote → invoice → get paid on $0/month. Daybook Standard is when the bank talks. Daybook Premium moves GST into their GST account. Free still earns when clients pay via Pay now — Yardstick clips 0.5% on card (plus Stripe) or 1% on bank pay. Clips stay on every shelf.

Daybook Free

$0Yardstick account · no monthly fee

  • Core workflow: quotes, invoices, jobs, customers, catalogues
  • Cloud sync, overview, GST on documents, PDF + public share links
  • Quote accept and convert to invoice; record a payment yourself
  • Payment terms catalogues; credit notes on the invoice editor
  • Pay now on public invoice — Stripe card + Akahu bank pay (0.5% card / 1% bank on success)
  • Yours vs GST glance after pay; mailto overdue shortcuts
  • No expenses hub, accountant seat, or GST sweep
  • No chase emails, recurring, or reports hub

How Free makes money: 0.5% on card (plus Stripe) or 1% on bank when your client pays from the invoice link — you keep the subscription at $0.

Daybook Standard

$39/mo NZD inc. GST · not billed yet

  • Everything in Daybook Free
  • Expenses hub — created from the bank or tapped in by hand
  • Payments mark invoices paid as soon as the bank tells us
  • Spend becomes a draft expense
  • Accountant seat — one included; CSV; logo / colour on PDF + links
  • Not chase. Not recurring. Not GST sweep.

Pay now still 0.5% card / 1% bank — subscription pays for the bank talking and the accountant seat, not for taking payments.

Daybook Premium

$59/mo NZD inc. GST · not billed yet

  • Everything in Daybook Standard
  • Tax sweep to their GST account after pay — sweep does not pay IRD
  • Lodge GST + pay IRD from that account (lab — not live IRD)
  • Designed for partials, refunds, credits, inclusive/exclusive, unregistered
  • Yours vs GST becomes money in the right pocket

Still clips on Pay now. Sweep is the $59 job — not a Free teaser, not stuffed into Standard.

Part 1

Scope map

Tier 1 is the quote-to-payment loop and job thread (product surfaces — not pricing). Supporting areas feed documents, exports, money rails, and accountant access. See Daybook Free / Standard / Premium for what each commercial shelf includes.

Tier 1 Core in-app surfaces

Overview

/app

Engine room: recents, counts, new invoice/quote, links into the rest of the app.

  • Recents
  • New doc
  • Sync status

See breakdown ↓

Invoices

/app/invoice/:id · /app/invoices

Author, issue, PDF, share link, GST, payments, Pay now. Recurring and chase are not Free launch.

  • Issue / PDF
  • Record payment
  • Pay now
  • Share link

See breakdown ↓

Quotes

/app/quote/:id · /app/quotes

Same authoring model as invoices; convert accepted work to an invoice with lineage.

  • Convert
  • Accept
  • Share

See breakdown ↓

Expenses

/app/expenses

Real module: manual capture, receipts, categories, status and audit baseline.

  • Receipts
  • Categories
  • Audit

See breakdown ↓

Jobs

/app/jobs

Living job thread: linked quotes, invoices, and expenses. Share documents, not a job portal.

  • Thread
  • Stage
  • Linked docs

See breakdown ↓

Public views

/view/invoice/:token · /view/quote/:token

Read-only invoice and quote views for clients — no login wall. Pay now on invoices when rails are connected.

  • Print
  • Share
  • Contact

See breakdown ↓

Supporting Enables Tier 1

Clients

/app/customers

Address book for documents — not a standalone CRM.

  • CRUD
  • Picker

See breakdown ↓

Library

/app/catalogue

Reusable line items with defaults; insert into quote and invoice editors.

  • Line items
  • Defaults

See breakdown ↓

Reports

not shipped — CSV after T0

No reports hub at launch. Lightweight CSV export is after T0 if accountants ask for a file.

  • CSV
  • Bundle

See breakdown ↓

Settings

/app/company · /app/payments

Org identity, module toggles — accountant invite on Daybook Standard only.

  • Org
  • Toggles

See breakdown ↓

Banking

Setup + overview queue

Payments mark invoices paid and spend becomes an expense — Daybook Standard. GST sweep is Daybook Premium.

  • Akahu
  • Match queue

See breakdown ↓

Payment collection

Public invoice + rails

Pay now on public invoice — Stripe + Akahu on Free (0.5% card / 1% bank); bank link is Paid.

  • Pay now
  • Events

See breakdown ↓

Accountant

Same app · invite

Read-only seat — Paid subscription; same app URL as operators.

  • Invite
  • Exports

See breakdown ↓

Email & reminders

Org email config

Send, BCC, and scheduled overdue reminders — depends on org email and orchestration.

  • Reminders
  • Share sheet

Tools

Reserved

No in-app calculators in current MVP trim; daybook:tools:use reserved for future utilities.

  • Later

Part 2

Does and does not

Today’s honest bar per surface. Substance matches offers and internal PRODUCT.md — trimmed for readability.

Tier 1 Shipped baseline

Overview

Cross-cutting engine room at /app — primary actions, recents, and links until dedicated hubs and bank signals deepen.

✓Does
  • Entry counts and recent invoices and quotes
  • New invoice and new quote entry points (sidebar + overview for thumb reach)
  • Links to jobs, expenses, clients, and library
  • Sync warnings and status baseline (local, syncing, synced, failed, conflicted)
  • Document-derived money signals (e.g. unpaid totals) until bank feeds exist
✕Does not (yet)
  • Full documents list with search, filter, and bulk actions until product adds dedicated hubs
  • Live bank match queue on overview until nightly reconciliation ships
  • Standalone tax dashboard or “yours vs government” pocket balances until banking + set-aside sweeps exist
  • Job milestone attention strip until jobs notifications ship
Tier 1 Shipped baseline

Invoices

Editor at /app/invoice/:id; light hub at /app/invoices for status buckets and recents.

✓Does
  • Author, preview, PDF, and shareable read-only link
  • Client picker and insert lines from library
  • GST on document; NZ date and NZD presentation
  • Manual partial and full payment recording with event-sourced balance integrity
  • Credit notes — dedicated financial events; net off invoice; hub list + CSV export (editor flow shipped)
  • Payment terms catalogues — Net 7 / 14 / 30, cash on delivery; due date derived on create
  • Recurring profiles — settings + hub on Free; automated scheduler on Paid
  • Void instead of hard delete for issued invoices (baseline direction)
  • Pay now on public invoice — Stripe + Akahu on Free (0.5% card / 1% bank per payment)
  • Overdue detection; mailto digest on Free; server email cadence on Paid
✕Does not (yet)
  • Pay now onboarding polish for every org — see gaps
  • Credit note public link + dedicated PDF parity with Xero/MYOB
  • Purchase orders, supplier bills, or AP ledger
Tier 1 Shipped baseline

Quotes

Same authoring model as invoices; hub at /app/quotes for draft / sent / accepted narrative.

✓Does
  • Create, edit, preview, PDF, and public quote view
  • Accept quote and convert to invoice with lineage preserved
  • Client and library integration matching invoice editor
  • GST on document consistent with invoice rules
✕Does not (yet)
  • Pay quote as a payment rail — same bar as invoice: not until payment collection ships
  • Variation quotes with client approve on portal (jobs — see PRODUCT.md)
Tier 1 Shipped baseline

Expenses

Real module at /app/expenses — not a placeholder; automation deepens with bank match pipeline.

✓Does
  • Manual create/edit; categories; business vs personal
  • Receipt photo capture and file upload metadata on records
  • Status transitions and audit trail baseline
  • Linkage integrity where expenses touch money events
✕Does not (yet)
  • Nightly expense suggestions from bank lines — Paid only (Akahu match pipeline)
  • Rich policy engine or automated triage beyond MVP cutline
  • Accountant write access — read-only seat on Paid only
Tier 1 Baseline Depth target

Jobs

Own the seam between job and money — see product.md. Share invoice and quote links; there is no client job portal.

✓Does
  • Job thread with stage; linked quotes and invoices
  • Workspace financial summary derived from documents
  • Share public invoice and quote links from the job
  • Default/core job pattern when a document has no job yet
✕Does not (yet)
  • Variation quotes with client approve on portal (placeholder until variation flow ships)
  • Full chronological job log split internal vs client-visible
  • Milestones, date-shift notifications, and overview milestone attention
  • Scheduling, dispatch board, or crew roster
  • A separate client-facing job portal (removed)
Tier 1 Shipped baseline

Public views

Client-facing read-only surfaces — /view/invoice/:token and /view/quote/:token. No job portal.

✓Does
  • Read-only invoice and quote presentation
  • Print, copy link, share, and contact sender
  • Pay now CTA on invoice public view — Free + Paid (Stripe card, Akahu bank pay; 0.5% card / 1% bank)
  • Default Yardstick / Daybook presentation on links on Free
✕Does not (yet)
  • Client login or account creation on public views
  • Custom org branding on PDF and public links — Paid target
Supporting Shipped

Clients

Daybook-local customer records at /app/customers — address book for quotes and invoices.

✓Does
  • CRUD address book used by quote and invoice flows
  • Safe reuse in document editors with snapshot rules on issue
  • Cloud sync for signed-in Free and Paid orgs
✕Does not (yet)
  • Standalone CRM pipeline, deals board, or marketing automation
  • Cross-product unified customers UI at separate hostname (later strategy)
Supporting Shipped

Library

Reusable line items at /app/catalogue (nav label: Catalogue).

✓Does
  • CRUD reusable lines with defaults (unit, description, pricing hints)
  • Insert into quote and invoice editors
  • Historical snapshot on issued documents when library data changes
✕Does not (yet)
  • Full inventory, stock on hand, or warehouse management
  • Purchase orders, supplier bills, or AP workflow
Supporting Later — not launch

Reports

No reports hub at Free launch. Lightweight CSV export is after T0 if an accountant asks for a file — not a Daybook + Xero pitch.

✓Target (after T0)
  • Lightweight CSV so dual-wield accountants are not re-keying volume
  • GST stays on documents; overview shows yours vs GST on paid cash
  • Data export / backup baseline for org-scoped Daybook data
✕Does not (yet)
  • Full general-ledger reporting or management accounts suite
  • Live myIR filing — Premium lab lodge is not sent to IRD
  • GST period election-driven nudges until NZ signals target ships
Supporting Shipped baseline

Settings

Org configuration and module visibility on all tiers. Self-serve accountant billing on Paid; owners can manually assign read-only accountant seats on Free.

✓Does
  • Log out and session safety in authenticated shell
  • Minimum onboarding for numbering and business identity
  • Permission gating by module and action (baseline)
  • Module toggles hide nav routes (invoices, quotes, jobs, expenses, customers, catalogues)
  • Recurring invoice profiles are not Free launch — Paid / day-after
✕Does not on Free
  • Assign accountant role in Settings — manual on Free; self-serve billing gate on Paid
  • Company / trading name / logo / BCC until admin.yardstick.nz hub ships
  • Scheduled email orchestration for reminders — Paid (org email config)
Supporting Daybook Standard

Banking

Daybook Standard: payments mark invoices paid; spend becomes an expense. Daybook Premium adds a GST sweep between your accounts, then lodge + pay IRD from that pocket (lab). Not on Free.

✓Does (target)
  • Setup wizard: link accounts; choose GST / income tax / ACC target accounts
  • Nightly pull of incomings and outgoings; suggest matches to invoices and expenses
  • Overview match queue (e.g. up to four) for fast triage when recon exists
  • Tax set-aside sweep of maximum prudent amounts — manual retry on insufficient funds
  • NZ bank account checksum validation on relevant fields (target)
✕Does not (yet)
  • Bank link, reconciliation, or tax sweeps on Free — upgrade to Paid
  • Pay IRD from your GST account is Premium lab — not live myIR. Sweep still only moves funds between your accounts
  • Escrow or held-balance payment models
Supporting Free + Paid

Payment collection

Pay now on public invoice — Stripe card and Akahu bank pay on Free and Paid. Yardstick clips 0.5% on card (plus Stripe) or 1% on bank; subscription is separate.

✓Does (partial)
  • Public Pay now UI on /view/invoice/:token when providers configured
  • Stripe (card) and Akahu (bank pay) checkout hooks
  • Platform clip on successful client payments — 0.5% card / 1% bank on Free and Paid
  • Webhook path → payment financial event + document update
  • Manual record payment remains fallback
✕Does not (yet)
  • Frictionless Pay now for every org without provider onboarding
  • Client-held wallets or platform escrow
  • Payment on quote public view
Supporting Daybook Standard

Accountant

Paid subscription: assign from Settings; same app URL and read permission — not a separate accountant hostname.

✓Does (Paid)
  • Assign accountant role from Settings by email (owner; platform API)
  • daybook:accountant:read — read-only in operator app; banner explains restrictions
  • Same job-threaded records and GST-ready views the operator sees (bank visibility stays with operator accounts)
  • PDF, CSV, and accountant bundle downloads in views the accountant can access
✕Does not (yet)
  • Separate accountant product, subdomain, or general ledger UX
  • Accountant seat on Free — upgrade to Paid
  • Full write access to operator financial actions by default
  • Year-end-only PDF dump as the primary collaboration model

Honest competitive read

Where we're short vs Xero / MYOB

Table-stakes and pitch-critical gaps for NZ sole traders — even when we have a partial or scaffold in the build. Close these before claiming parity on sales pages.

Credit notes

Parity in progress

Every competitor has this — table stakes when a client disputes or you overclaim.

We ship the real model (dedicated financial events, net off invoice — no ad hoc negative-line hacks) plus invoices hub list and CSV export. Phase 1 policy: no public credit note link — corrections stay operator-facing; PDF + public view are fast follow.

Policy (Phase 1) Editor + hub + CSV on all tiers; public /view/cn/:token not shipped — see GO-LIVE K5.

Automated payment reminders

Competitive gap

Xero reminders are genuinely good; MYOB pushes “Smart Invoice Reminders” hard.

Overdue detection and mailto shortcuts on Free. Paid adds server-scheduled, deduped, branded email cadence — still building.

Close the gap Daily scheduler on Paid + org from-address + dedupe + templates tied to public invoice link.

Recurring invoices

Shipped

Xero and MYOB both do retainers and regular maintenance billing.

Recurring profiles in settings on all tiers; automated scheduler on Paid. Hub callout and onboarding checklist surface it in-app.

Remaining Marketing/compare pages should match in-app discovery so sales does not under-sell what we built.

Pay now on public links

Free · clip model

“Clients pay by card from the invoice link” is a standard competitor line.

Free and Paid both get Pay now on the public invoice (Stripe card + Akahu bank pay). Yardstick clips 0.5% on card (plus Stripe) or 1% on bank — so Free operators still monetise without a subscription. Gap is onboarding polish and webhook reliability for every org out of the box.

Close the gap One-click provider setup, webhook → payment event, clear failure UX; clip rates (0.5% card / 1% bank) are on pricing.

Configurable payment terms

Shipped

MYOB shows “Cash on delivery”, Net 7 / 14 / 30 on invoice create — small UI, high frequency.

Per-invoice catalogues (Net 7, Net 14, Net 30, cash on delivery) derive due date on create and export on CSV/PDF baseline.

Remaining Org-default terms picker and richer copy on public view if competitors lead with it on sales pages.

Purchase orders & supplier bills (AP)

Deliberate line

Builders ask “can I track what I owe suppliers?” — Xero wins that conversation today.

We deliberately excluded bills/AP, POs, and supplier CRM from MVP. Buy-side story is expenses + bank match, not accounts payable. The moment a builder needs supplier ageing or PO workflow, they leave for Xero — know that line and do not pretend otherwise.

Our line Expense capture + nightly bank suggestions + export to accountant. Full AP is Later unless strategy shifts; say so on compare pages.

Guardrails

Hard out-of-scope

Deliberate boundaries from MVP cutline — do not pull into the next slice unless strategy changes.

No full general ledger UX Daybook aims at job-threaded money clarity, not replacing Xero-style GL for operators.
No payroll No payslips, PAYE, or employee scheduling as a product surface.
No scheduling / dispatch board Field tools own crew scheduling; Daybook owns quote → invoice → payment on the job thread.
No purchase orders or supplier bills (AP) Deliberate MVP cut — buy side is expenses + bank match, not “what I owe suppliers”. Builders who need AP ageing stay on Xero until strategy changes. See where we're short.
No inventory / warehouse Library line items only — not stock on hand or sale returns.
No live myIR Premium lab can lodge and pay IRD from your GST account. Live lodging stays later.
No escrow payments Money moves via documented events and user-owned bank accounts — not platform-held balances.
Not a standalone CRM Clients are an address book for documents, not a sales pipeline product.
No legacy YAK commitment Existing redirects only; new work does not target legacy storage paths.