You don't need to move your whole business into Alcove to see how it works. Start with one active project, one room and five real selections. By the end of this guide you'll have a project with products in it and your first estimate or purchase order.
Step 1: Create one project (2 minutes)
Pick a project you're working on right now. In the left sidebar, type the project or client name in the Project or Client Name field and click Create. You can also go to Projects and click Create a Project.
Full steps: Create your First Project.
Step 2: Add five real products (10 to 15 minutes)
Use whichever way matches where your selections live today:
They're on vendor websites: install the Alcove Chrome extension and clip each product. Clip your Products
They're in a spreadsheet: import it and map your columns, or click Map with AI for suggested mapping. Import Products to Alcove
They're in PDFs or tear sheets: upload the files and Alcove extracts the product details. Add Products from Files
They're in another design platform: export from Ivy, Houzz Pro, Design Files, Mydoma Studio or Gather and import the file. Export your data from your platform
You only have a few: add them by hand. Product Name is the only required field. Add a Product to Your Project
Tip: Assign each product to a room as you add it. Clipped products start in Draft status.
Step 3: Send your first estimate or order (10 minutes)
This is where the connected workflow shows up. Choose one:
Estimate for your client: go to Financials then Estimates, click Create, add your products and preview it. You can also multi-select products on the Financial Summary tab and click Create Estimate. Create an Estimate
Purchase order for a vendor: go to Orders, click the plus icon, pick one vendor and click Create. Orders hold one vendor at a time. Create an Order
Step 4: Check where things stand
Open Product Status to see every product, its status and its order in one list. Add tracking numbers from FedEx, UPS or USPS and status updates come in automatically.
Stuck on any step? Send us a message from the chat bubble in the app and tell us which step you're on.