Question 1

Who is PartyVault built for?

Accepted Answer

Balloon artists, event decorators, rental companies, stylists and planners — anyone selling decor as a service. Every feature is decor-native: inventory reservations, AI quoting from a photo, calculators for helium and garlands, day-of run-of-show. If you currently duct-tape HoneyBook + a spreadsheet + a rental tracker together, this replaces all three.

Question 2

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

Most decorators are quoting their first job within 30 minutes. The Onboarding Checklist inside the app walks you through profile, pricing, a sample contract template, and your first inquiry form. Importing existing clients is one CSV.

Question 3

Do I need a credit card to start?

Accepted Answer

No. The Free plan is genuinely free — 3 clients, 5 inventory items, 1 inquiry form. Upgrade to Pro only when you outgrow it.

Question 4

Can I import my existing clients, events and inventory?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use Settings → Import to bring in clients, leads, events and inventory from CSV. We also support direct import of HoneyBook and Dubsado contact exports.

Question 5

How does the AI Photo → Quote actually work?

Accepted Answer

Upload a reference photo (Pinterest, a past event, an inspo board). The same vision model that powers our pricing engine identifies the decor elements (garland length, backdrops, centerpieces, helium balloons, draping), estimates labor hours, and applies your city's market rates with your chosen positioning tier — Budget, Standard, Premium, or Luxury. You get a real quote in seconds, not a guess.

Question 6

Will the pricing match my market?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Quotes are adjusted for your city's market tier, your years of experience, and your set positioning. Two decorators in different cities will get different prices for the same photo — that's by design.

Question 7

Can I override what the AI generates?

Accepted Answer

Always. Every quote opens in the full Smart Quote editor so you can edit line items, swap packages, change quantities, or change positioning before sending. The AI gets you to a 90% draft; you control the final number.

Question 8

Is the pricing engine the same for Photo → Quote and the regular quote builder?

Accepted Answer

Yes — exactly the same. The Photo → Quote feature feeds the same pricing engine that powers your manual Smart Quote workflow. No separate logic, no separate price book.

Question 9

How do inventory reservations work?

Accepted Answer

When a contract is signed, the items reserve automatically against the event date. The calendar shows conflicts before you book a second event on the same piece. No more two backdrops, one wedding panic.

Question 10

Can my team see only what they need to?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Roles: Owner, Admin, Team, and Vendor. Team members can see today's run-of-show, BEO, and addresses — but not your pricing or revenue. Vendors only see what you choose to share via the marketplace.

Question 11

What's the day-of run-of-show?

Accepted Answer

A mobile-friendly view your crew opens on their phone the day of an event. Load-out checklist, BEO, address with one-tap navigation, contact for the venue, install/teardown timers. Replaces the group text thread you currently use.

Question 12

How does the client portal work?

Accepted Answer

Each booked client gets a private portal at a tokenized URL — no login required. They see messages, contracts to sign, invoices to pay, files to download, and (optionally) a card on file for the final balance. You see read receipts.

Question 13

Are contracts legally binding when signed in PartyVault?

Accepted Answer

Yes. E-signatures are timestamped, IP-logged, and audit-trailed — the same standard as DocuSign or HoneyBook contracts. Stored alongside the event so you can pull them years later.

Question 14

How are payments processed?

Accepted Answer

Stripe-powered. Cards, ACH, Apple/Google Pay, and the walk-in POS module. Standard Stripe fees apply (2.9% + 30¢ for cards). You get paid directly — PartyVault never touches your funds.

Question 15

What's the beta program?

Accepted Answer

The first 5 customers to sign up get 90 days of free Pro plan access automatically. We're working closely with these decorators to shape v1 — they get direct access to the team and outsized influence on the roadmap.

Question 16

What happens after my 90-day beta?

Accepted Answer

You'll get a 7-day reminder before access expires. At that point you can subscribe to any plan (including Free) — your data, clients, inventory, and history stay exactly where they are. No lock-out, no data deletion.

Question 17

Is there a Founder option?

Accepted Answer

Yes — $499 one-time for lifetime Pro access, capped at the first 100 decorators. Includes priority feature requests and a permanent Founder badge in the community.

Question 18

Who owns my data?

Accepted Answer

You do. Export everything to CSV at any time from Settings → Export Data. Cancel and you can still export for 90 days. We never sell, share, or use your client data for training.

Question 19

How is my data secured?

Accepted Answer

All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest. Row-level security at the database means even our internal services can't read another business's data. Multi-factor auth available on every account.

Question 20

Is PartyVault GDPR / CCPA compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can delete any client's data on request, and we provide a one-click data export for any client portal user. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Questions, answered.

Getting started

AI Quoting & Pricing

Inventory & operations

Clients, contracts & payments

Beta & founder access

Security & data

Ready to see it in your own business?