Feature availability and setup

Some Essential features only appear after they are enabled for your business, connected in Settings, and allowed by your role. If a page or button is missing, check these three things first:

1. Your business has the feature enabled.
2. The related Settings page is configured.
3. Your role includes the permission for that feature.

Common gated features

Feature	What must be enabled or set up
Invoices, subscriptions, saved payment methods, and payment links	Invoicing must be enabled for the business. Online payments, saved cards, autopay, and Stripe sales tax also need a verified Stripe connection in Settings > Invoicing.
Accounting integrations	Invoicing must be enabled and the user must be allowed to set up integrations. QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop can be connected in Settings > Invoicing.
Inventory and purchase orders	Inventory must be enabled for the business. Inventory locations, suppliers, and the on/off toggle are managed in Settings > Inventory. Receiving a purchase order needs a default inventory location. Emailing a purchase order uses the supplier's email address and the purchase order PDF template, both in Settings > Inventory, and sends from the business's verified sending address.
Job Costing card, dashboard figures, and job costing reports	Job Costing must be turned on for the business, and your role needs the job-costing view permission. Turned on and cost rates are set in Settings > Job Costing; managing settings or cost rates needs the manage permission.
Time cards, the Timecards page, and payroll/timecard reports	Time cards must be turned on for the business, and reviewing a team's time needs the timecard-manage permission. Managed in Settings > Time & Pay.
Work acknowledgments	Work Acknowledgments must be enabled in Settings > Work Acknowledgments. If the mobile button or job tab is missing, ask an admin to confirm the module is on and your role has access.
Customer Portal	Turn the Customer Portal on with the Enable Customer Portal switch in Settings > Customer Portal and select Save (any role that can manage portal settings), then configure it there. Portal access must also be enabled for the customer, and for each contact who should sign in. Enabling a customer grants current contacts portal access by default, and you can still manage access contact by contact.
Intake Form	Settings > Intake Form is open to any role that can manage intake forms. Build the form there and save it to publish a version before the public form can be embedded or used.
Draft Visits	Draft Visits is controlled in Settings > Scheduling > Features. Turning it off releases current drafts to technicians.
Technician GPS	Technician GPS is controlled in Settings > Scheduling > Features. Technicians may need to restart the mobile app and allow location access.
On My Way	Requires Technician GPS and is controlled in Settings > Scheduling > Features.
Arrival Windows	Controlled in Settings > Scheduling > Features.
Automatic customer notifications for en route technicians	Enable Technician GPS and On My Way. The notification also uses a Tech En Route outreach template; if none exists, saving the feature creates a default one. Arrival Windows is independent and is not required. When Essential can calculate a GPS-based ETA, the message includes it; if Maps cannot calculate the route or the required coordinates are missing, the notification still sends without an ETA.
Expected Asset Group Inspections	Controlled in Settings > Scheduling > Features.
Send Report and Publish and Email for inspection reports	Turn on Email inspection reports in Settings > Work Management > Tasks > Task Documents. The user also needs inspection-report write access. This lets them email while publishing or send a generated report PDF from the open report or its Job task; downloading a PDF does not require this setting.
Send Job Summary	Turn on Enable Job Summaries in Settings > Job Summaries. The user also needs inspection-report write access. This is independent of direct inspection-report email.
Provider tax rates	Turned on automatically when you choose an automatic method on Settings > Quotes & Invoices > Sales Tax — no separate feature to enable. Automatic (Stripe) needs a verified Stripe connection; Automatic (Washington DOR) does not, and works for Washington property addresses without connecting Stripe.
Compliance Engine filing	Requires a Compliance Engine connection in Settings and filing permission.

Role permissions

Settings pages and actions are also permission-controlled. A user may see a record but not be able to edit, send, file, charge, or configure it. Admins can review access in Settings > Users and Settings > Roles & Permissions.

If you are missing a page, button, or action that you need for your work, contact your business's administrator to review your role. If the administrator cannot make the role or permission change in Settings, they can contact Essential from the Talk to a human tab.

Essential handles adding asset types, adopting inspection report templates, and setting shared report presentation defaults. Contact Essential for those changes or for assisted data/import setup. Adding or deactivating users and changing roles are self-serve in Settings > Users and Settings > Roles & Permissions if you hold the right permissions.

Related guides

• What you can set up in Settings
• Task Documents: send and attach supporting documents
• Set up Job Summaries
• Enable and customize Work Acknowledgments
• Turn on Job Costing and set cost rates
• Set up Time & Pay for timecards
• Contact Essential for setup changes
• Roles and permissions: how access works
• Turn scheduling and GPS features on or off
• Connect Stripe for payments and Stripe sales tax