Install it. Set it up. Put it to work.

Local field-office tools

These local controls are included in version 1.2.0. Use the official Google Play listing to install or update TradeBrace.

Add photos where the work happens

• Job walks and notes: open the saved walk, walk note, or job note and use Take photo or Attach photo. Check the job and record before adding the image.
• Daily reports: open Reports → Daily reports → New report. Choose the job, enter the date and work performed, then use Save + take photo or Save + attach photo. Saved report cards also show Take photo and Attach photo.
• Invoices, materials, tasks, and punch items: use the photo controls on the saved record so the image stays attached to that item.
• As-builts: open the job’s Files / Closeout area to add as-built photos, drawings, or PDFs.

Edit your own daily report

1. Open Reports and find the saved daily report for the correct job and date.
2. Choose Edit report, update the details, and tap Save changes.
3. The report keeps its original job and attached photos. Editing requires current report-edit permission and ownership of the report; the Owner can also edit older or other users’ reports.

Run the job from lead to closeout

• Set lead and client priorities, stages, follow-up dates, and next actions.
• Record pre-construction walks and takeoffs for bids. Prepare estimates and proposals with the correct job.
• Turn takeoff items into material-order drafts and review supplier emails before sending them in your email app.
• Review the job budget, categorized costs, spent, and remaining totals within your financial permissions.
• Open Punch List from the job to track outstanding work, photos, inspections, and closeout.
• Use file search and category or contractor filters to find documents linked to a job and its records.

Ask Madeline by voice or text

Use supported commands to find records, open workspaces, prepare notes and reports, open saved reports for editing, add photos or files, and prepare supplier-order emails. Confirm the job and review the result. Madeline follows the same access rules as the active user.

Live weather and local records

TradeBrace includes National Weather Service conditions and forecasts for an entered U.S. city and state or ZIP code. City and ZIP lookup works on your device, with no GPS access. It also includes local workspace permissions. Business records remain on your device; these controls do not provide shared accounts, cross-device synchronization, or cloud backup. Subscriptions are forthcoming.

Quick start

1. Install TradeBrace from its official Google Play listing.
2. Open the app and enter your owner and company details.
3. Allow microphone access only if you want to speak to Madeline or dictate notes.
4. Add the company, team, customers, and active jobs you need.
5. Open a job and use its actions to record notes, review work, or prepare communication.

Install TradeBrace

Public Google Play installation

1. Open the official TradeBrace Google Play listing.
2. Confirm the listing is TradeBrace and review its purchase details.
3. Complete the Google Play purchase if needed, then install the app.
4. When installation finishes, tap Open.

Do not download TradeBrace from copied links, file-sharing sites, or unofficial app stores. Updates are distributed through Google Play.

Platform notice: TradeBrace is currently available for Android only. There is no iPhone or iPad edition available.

First-time setup

1. Enter your owner and company information. Review spelling before saving.
2. Add work contacts, clients, and jobs. These records are stored locally on your device.
3. Review microphone permission. Allow it if you want Madeline or dictation; typed controls are also available.
4. Try Madeline. For version 1.1.3, tap Ask Madeline. For version 1.2, use Device tools → Device commands. Ask, “Madeline, what can you do?”

Local field-office tools do not require a cloud account or invitation. Version 1.2 is available on Google Play with optional cloud accounts and private in-app mail. Start account setup with Create account with Google Play. Cloud features need an internet connection.

Keep copies of important records. This edition has no cloud backup, restore, or device transfer. Keep original photos and documents outside the app and retain copies of important reports. Update through Google Play without uninstalling. Do not clear app storage to troubleshoot a problem.

Home and weather

Use Home to reach your jobs, appointments, and business records.

In Home, enter a U.S. city and state, or ZIP code, then tap Refresh weather. Coverage is the 50 U.S. states and Washington, DC, where NWS data is available. Check the location, observation time, and forecast labels. A downloaded time is not the time conditions were measured. A saved label means you are seeing a previous result. Weather needs an internet connection; local job records remain available offline. Use official weather alerts for emergency decisions.

Jobs and job notes

Create or open a job

Create or open a job on your device. Confirm the customer, site, status, and contact information before saving. The current edition is for one owner and does not share jobs with other users.

Type a job note

1. Open the correct job.
2. Tap NOTES.
3. Type the note, review it, and tap Save.

Dictate a job note

1. Open the correct job and tap NOTES.
2. Tap the microphone and speak clearly.
3. Review and correct the text before saving it to the job.

Calls, texts, email, and calendar

TradeBrace prepares the selected action in the appropriate Android app. Review the recipient and content there, then place the call or send/save it yourself. TradeBrace does not silently send communication.

Estimates and reports

Estimates

• Working contains estimates still being prepared or reviewed.
• Closed contains estimates that have been completed or closed.
• Review customer, job, line items, totals, and status before finalizing any record.
• Review company pricing, costs, margins, and totals before final approval.

Proposals

1. Open Estimates, then choose Proposals.
2. Select the correct job and review the estimate scope and pricing.
3. Save the proposal as a permanent snapshot tied to that job.

Invoices

1. Open Reports, then choose Invoices.
2. Select the job and prepare the invoice email.
3. Review the invoice before opening it in your Android email app to send. TradeBrace does not send it automatically.

Job budgets

1. Open the correct job and its Budget.
2. Set the job target and add categorized costs as work progresses.
3. Review spent and remaining totals and the full cost history. Budget information is stored locally in the owner’s app.

Daily reports

1. Open Reports and select the correct job and date.
2. Enter work performed, crew, conditions, delays, material, and follow-up items.
3. Type or dictate the report, review it, and save it.

Team and company directory

Use the local team directory to keep work contact information on your device. Directory entries do not create accounts or give other people access to your records.

Local directory entries and workspace permissions do not create cloud accounts or synchronize devices. Version 1.2 cloud accounts provide private mail; shared job synchronization and cloud backup are not included.

Use device commands

In version 1.1.3, use Ask Madeline. In version 1.2, open Device tools, then choose Device commands or Type a device command. Version 1.2 uses the primary Ask Madeline button for live cloud voice.

Madeline helps with supported app commands through voice or typed input. Use the device command control for your installed version, as described above. She uses Android speech recognition and spoken replies; these device commands are separate from the optional Live Madeline cloud conversation described below. She does not use an always-listening wake word or listen in the background.

Start and stop

1. Open the device command control for your installed version, as described above.
2. Wait for the listening indicator, then speak normally.
3. Review any draft before it changes a record or opens another app.
4. Say “stop,” “cancel,” “never mind,” or “that’s all” to end the session.

Useful requests

• “Open Jobs.”
• “Add a note to this job.”
• “Open Proposals.”
• “Prepare an invoice for this job.”
• “Show me the budget for this job.”
• “Open the Team directory.”
• “How do I create a daily report?”

Madeline may misunderstand a name or jobsite in noisy conditions. Read the displayed text before saving or sending anything.

Optional cloud setup — version 1.2

Version 1.2 is available on Google Play with optional cloud accounts and private in-app mail. Start account setup with Create account with Google Play. Cloud features need an internet connection. If the cloud controls are absent, check your installed version and contact support.

1. Install or update TradeBrace through its official Google Play listing using the Google account that owns the app.
2. Tap Ask Madeline to open TradeBrace cloud, then choose Create account with Google Play.
3. Enter your username, password, display name, and company name. Use 3–32 letters, numbers, dots, or hyphens for the username; start with a letter and end with a letter or number. Avoid consecutive dots. Use a password of at least 14 characters.
4. Tap Create account. TradeBrace asks Google Play for the app license and verifies it before creating your cloud account.
5. If you already have an account, choose Sign in. Crew members or reviewers with a private code use I have an invitation. Do not share your owner password.

For Google Play activated accounts, use Verify Google Play access in the Account tab when renewal is requested. The preview APK cannot create a purchased account; use the Google Play installed app for purchase activation.

Sessions expire after one hour. Sign in again when asked. Signing out preserves local jobs. An authorized owner may use Invite crew member; share the one-use code privately with the intended person before it expires. A mailbox does not give that person your local jobs or enable live voice automatically.

Account recovery is not self-service. If you cannot sign in, contact support without sending your password or invitation code.

Live Madeline — version 1.2

Live voice needs an internet connection, a cloud account, and enabled voice access. Live Madeline requires an internet connection, an activated account with eligible access, and microphone permission. Review the audio notice before starting. If the screen says Live voice is not enabled for this account yet, device commands still work separately.

1. In version 1.2, tap Ask Madeline to open TradeBrace cloud, then use the Live Madeline tab.
2. Read the audio disclosure and select I understand and want to use live voice. Microphone audio and the conversation are sent through TradeBrace to OpenAI for spoken replies.
3. Allow microphone permission if requested, then tap Talk. Speak after the listening state appears.
4. Choose Keep listening after replies only when you want another turn. The microphone pauses while Madeline thinks and speaks.
5. Use Stop or Mute to end capture. Leaving the app, signing out, or reaching the session limit also ends the session. Sessions last up to five minutes.

Use your phone's volume controls during a spoken reply. Madeline can converse and suggest an editable private-mail draft. She cannot send it herself and does not read or change your local jobs, invoices, notes, or saved memories through live voice. Use the existing device commands for those workflows.

If audio is silent, check the selected Bluetooth/speaker output and adjust volume while a reply is playing. If connection fails, check internet access and sign-in, then try a new session. Do not clear app storage to troubleshoot.

TradeBrace mail — version 1.2

Your @tradebrace.app address works only between activated TradeBrace accounts inside the app. It is not an external email account. Gmail, Outlook, other internet addresses, and attachments are not supported by this mailbox. Existing invoice and supplier-email actions can still open your separate Android email app.

1. In version 1.2, tap Ask Madeline, then choose the Mail tab in TradeBrace cloud. Use Inbox, Sent, and Refresh to review messages.
2. Tap New email. Enter the recipient's full TradeBrace address, a subject, and the message. Separate multiple addresses with commas.
3. Tap Review email. Check the exact From, To, subject, and message.
4. Tap Send email only when the message is correct. Delivery is to the recipient's TradeBrace inbox.

Madeline's proposed draft opens for your review and editing. Unfinished messages are saved encrypted on your device and may reopen as Resume email.

If sending is interrupted

If delivery is unconfirmed, choose Check Sent first. Retry same send checks the same send without creating another copy. Do not compose a second copy just because the connection stopped. Use I checked Sent · clear retry only after checking Sent; clearing a retry does not confirm delivery.

Sign out or delete an account

Open Ask Madeline → Account in version 1.2 to Sign out. To permanently remove your cloud account, choose Delete cloud account and confirm with the current password. This removes your cloud mailbox copies and drafts, not local job records or copies already delivered to other people. Read the deletion guide first.

Troubleshooting

Madeline does not hear me

• Confirm microphone permission is allowed for TradeBrace.
• Make sure another app is not actively using the microphone.
• Move away from loud equipment and try one short request.
• Use the typed control when voice recognition is unavailable.

Live weather

Check your connection, enter a U.S. city with its state or a five-digit ZIP code, and tap Refresh weather. If the location is ambiguous, use its ZIP code. NWS may have missing or delayed observations; review the observation time and any saved-data notice. You can enter observed conditions manually in a daily report.

An update will not install

• Open Google Play and update from the official listing.
• Do not uninstall or clear storage before contacting support.
• Include the device model, Android version, TradeBrace version, and the exact error message in your support email.