CostBeacon का उपयोग कैसे करें

Alerts turn price changes into actionable pings — not spreadsheet hunting.

When to use this

• You want email or in-app notice when key products rise.
• A supplier sent a new invoice and you need to react quickly.

Step-by-step

1. Set workspace policy under Settings → Pricing rules (plan permitting).
2. Fine-tune from Results or Products alert dialogs.
3. Review fired alerts in Notifications.

Upload is the main ingestion path for supplier bills.

When to use this

• Bulk — a folder of separate PDF invoices.
• Single — one invoice photographed or scanned across pages.
• Email inbox — for forwarded PDFs (see Invoice inbox article).

Step-by-step

1. Pick Bulk or Single at the top.
2. Add files via drag-and-drop or file browse.
3. For each row, select or create a supplier.
4. Use compact view for long queues; expanded for detail.
5. Submit all ready rows — parallel processing starts immediately.

Troubleshooting

• Supplier missing? Create one from the row dropdown before submit.
• Stuck processing? See Notifications → failed; retry when offered.

Clean supplier data keeps spend and price history accurate.

Step-by-step

1. Scan the KPI strip for workspace-wide supplier pressure.
2. Search, sort, or filter high-risk vendors.
3. Create a supplier before upload if they are not on the PDF.
4. Merge duplicates to combine history.
5. Open a row for contacts, margin override, and department assignment.

Troubleshooting

• Duplicate suppliers? Merge from the directory actions — do not re-upload under two names.

Sync accounting context without re-keying invoice totals.

Step-by-step

1. Open Settings → Integrations.
2. Click Connect on QuickBooks Online.
3. Sign in with Intuit and approve access.
4. Confirm status shows connected after redirect.

CostBeacon ranks changes so you fix what hurts margin first.

Impact

A priority score from price increase, quantity, and a time horizon — not a dollar P&L line. Higher impact appears first on lists.

Risk tiers

Critical / High / Moderate / Minor buckets based on dollar cutoffs you set under Settings → Insights.

Unit cost

product.price is what you paid the supplier, not your shelf price.

CBSRP

CostBeacon sticker price — suggested sell from margin rules (previous cost × (1 + margin%)). Used in thin-margin and out-of-margin signals.

Thin margin vs out of margin

• Thin margin — cost is consuming most of your target margin.
• Out of margin — latest cost exceeds the sticker implied from the prior price point.

The Dashboard answers: What changed in this period, and where should I look first?

When to use this

• Morning check-in on price pressure and spend.
• After a batch upload to see if anything spiked.
• Before a supplier call — export mental notes from top risks.

Step-by-step

1. Set the reporting window at the top (preset or custom range).
2. Scan snapshot KPIs — impact, volume, and margin signals.
3. Review volume & mix and spend drivers charts.
4. Open top risks and margin watchlists for follow-up.
5. Use Customize to show only widgets you use daily.

Troubleshooting

• Empty dashboard? Upload invoices or widen the date range.
• Widgets missing? Open Customize and re-enable tiles.

CostBeacon runs at app.costbeacon.com. Your account is personal; workspaces (businesses) are created or joined after you sign in.

When to use this

• You are setting up CostBeacon for the first time.
• You received a team invite — use the same email the invite was sent to.
• You need to sign in on a new device.

Step-by-step

1. Open Sign up and enter your work email and a password (minimum six characters).
2. Complete email verification if prompted.
3. Go to Log in, enter your credentials, and choose Remember me on trusted devices.
4. You will land on onboarding (new workspace) or the workspace picker (existing access).

Troubleshooting

• Invite not showing? Confirm the invite email matches your login email exactly.
• Password reset? Use Forgot password on the login page.

A workspace is the container for invoices, suppliers, products, and settings. Most owners complete onboarding once, then invite teammates.

When to use this

• First sign-in after creating your own account.
• Creating an additional business under the same login (see workspace picker).

Step-by-step

1. Enter your business display name — this appears in the sidebar and reports.
2. Add address and locale so dates and currency format correctly.
3. Upload an optional logo for the team directory.
4. Finish the wizard — you are prompted to upload an invoice or connect QuickBooks.

Troubleshooting

• Stuck on onboarding? Complete required fields; refresh only if the page froze mid-step.

Run more than one business? Each workspace keeps invoices, suppliers, and settings fully separate.

When to use this

• You operate multiple stores or entities under one email.
• You were added to someone else's workspace as a teammate.

Step-by-step

1. Open your profile menu at the bottom of the sidebar.
2. Choose Switch workspace or See all workspaces.
3. Pick the workspace card — dashboard, upload queue, and suppliers update immediately.
4. To add another business, use Create workspace on the picker.

CostBeacon turns supplier PDFs into structured line items and compares prices to prior invoices automatically.

Step-by-step

1. Open Upload from the sidebar or the header button.
2. Choose Bulk (one PDF = one invoice) or Single (multi-page or photos).
3. Drop files in the dropzone and assign a supplier to each invoice.
4. Submit — processing usually finishes in under a minute per file.
5. Open Latest results or Notifications when processing completes.

Troubleshooting

• Processing failed? Check Notifications for details; try a clearer PDF scan.
• No price change yet? You need at least two invoices with the same product line for a comparison.

Results is your investigative workspace across all processed data.

When to use this

• Tracing a price increase to a specific invoice line.
• Reviewing spend concentration by supplier.
• Creating QuickBooks bills from processed invoices.

Four tabs

1. Suppliers — spend and price pressure by vendor
2. Invoices — headers, totals, processing status
3. Invoice products — lines on a selected invoice
4. Product details — full price history for one catalog item

Troubleshooting

• Product not merged? Names may differ across invoices — check spelling in Products.

Open Latest results right after uploading — it highlights what changed recently.

When to use this

• After an upload batch.
• Weekly scan for repeat offenders.
• Quick price-alert follow-up.

Step-by-step

1. Review the Latest overview for movers and repeats.
2. Switch to Invoice products for line-level detail.
3. Open Product details when chasing one SKU.
4. Use header shortcuts for manual invoice entry or alert settings.

Insights explains why numbers moved — not just that they moved.

Step-by-step

1. Set the date range to match the period you are analyzing.
2. Start on Overview for headline trends and department spend.
3. Use Spend for supplier and category drivers.
4. Use Risks for spikes and concentration.
5. Use Margins for thin-margin and out-of-margin lists.
6. Click the gear icon to tune thresholds in Settings → Insights.

Stop downloading attachments — forward them to CostBeacon instead.

Step-by-step

1. Copy the inbound email address from the page header.
2. Forward supplier PDFs from your mail client (attachment required).
3. When cards appear, pick the supplier for each file.
4. Click Process — extraction matches the Upload flow.
5. Read the tips column for subject-line best practices.

Troubleshooting

• File not appearing? Allow a few minutes; confirm PDF attachment.
• Cannot process? Check billing entitlements for upload access.

The catalog is how CostBeacon remembers what you buy repeatedly.

Step-by-step

1. Use the Catalog tab to browse and filter.
2. Search by name; filter by supplier or price activity.
3. Open a row on the Details tab for history and linked invoices.
4. Configure price alerts from the page header.

Use when you have structured data but no PDF scan.

Step-by-step

1. Select supplier first — enables product suggestions.
2. Fill invoice header: number, dates, PO, tax, discount.
3. Add line items with quantity and unit cost.
4. Confirm totals, then save.
5. Verify in Results → Invoices.

Find anything in your workspace without clicking through menus.

Step-by-step

1. Press Ctrl/Cmd+K or click the header search field.
2. Enter a product name, invoice number, or supplier.
3. Narrow scope if results are broad.
4. Open the top hit or browse grouped stacks below.

The bell icon is a preview; the full page has filters and bulk actions.

Notification types

• Price alerts — unit cost crossed your rules
• Processed — invoice finished OK
• Failed — extraction error (retry when available)
• Generic — workspace announcements

Same data, different questions.

When to use this

• Dashboard — daily check-in, KPIs, top risks at a glance.
• Insights — explaining trends, comparing departments, margin chapters.

Settings → Profile is about you as a user.

Step-by-step

1. Upload a square photo for the team directory.
2. Set language for the interface.
3. Update name, phone, and title under contact details.
4. Use Security to send a password reset email.

Settings → Workspace controls the shared business.

Step-by-step

1. Set display name, logo, currency, and fiscal calendar.
2. Invite members by email and assign roles.
3. Configure connectors for email invoice ingestion.

Departments power department spend charts on Insights and overview widgets.

Step-by-step

1. Create a department with label and color.
2. Assign suppliers from this page or the supplier detail sheet.

Define how CostBeacon implies sell price from unit cost.

Step-by-step

1. Set default markup for the workspace.
2. Configure policies — rounding and guardrails.
3. Use preview to sanity-check a sample SKU.
4. Override margin on individual suppliers when needed.

Control when the app surfaces urgency.

Step-by-step

1. Choose team or personal tab (if permitted).
2. Adjust risk tier dollar cutoffs and impact horizon days.
3. Set thin margin and vendor risk inputs.
4. Pick a default date range for dashboard and Insights.
5. Watch the histogram preview update as you slide.

Settings → Billing shows subscription status and what your plan includes.

• Plans — compare and upgrade
• Payment method — card on file
• Entitlements — uploads, seats, Pulse, price alerts

Personalize the dashboard to your workflow.

Step-by-step

1. On the dashboard, click Customize.
2. Toggle widgets: KPIs, charts, spend drivers, watchlists, savings banner.
3. Close the panel — choices save automatically in this browser.

Pulse understands which page you are on and the active date range.

When to use this

• Quick questions: “Which supplier increased the most?”
• Explaining a chart without building a report.

Reduce double entry between CostBeacon and QuickBooks.

Step-by-step

1. Connect QuickBooks under Settings → Integrations.
2. Open the invoice in Results.
3. Choose Create bill or Record payment when shown.

Troubleshooting

• Actions missing? Re-check QBO connection and company match.

Walkthroughs are quick orientation; Support articles are the full reference.

Step-by-step

1. Navigate to the page you want to learn.
2. Click Walkthrough in the sidebar (above theme toggle).
3. Use Next / Previous, or Skip tour.

CostBeacon helps small businesses catch supplier price increases before they erode margin.

You upload supplier PDF invoices (or forward by email). AI extracts line items, builds a catalog, and highlights changes. Review Results, set alerts, and negotiate with facts.

General product questions? See our FAQ.