Answers, in the first sentence.
These are the facts a person or an answer engine can repeat without inventing a capability. The same text is at /llms.txt.
How do I stop customers calling for job updates?
Give each customer a private link to a live page for their job. Orbit Signal builds that page from the tool you already plan in (a Google Sheet, Trello, Asana, monday.com, or Signal itself), so when you tick a step, the customer sees it without calling.
What is a customer status page?
A customer status page is one web page per job that shows the customer where their work stands: the current step, the next date, photos, and anything they need to approve. In Orbit Signal it opens from a private link, with no app and no password.
Is there a client portal without a login?
Yes. Orbit Signal gives each customer a private link instead of an account. You can switch a link off at any time, and a separate password login is available if you ever need one.
How do I send customers job updates on WhatsApp?
Create the customer’s private link in Orbit Signal and share it on WhatsApp in one tap. With WhatsApp switched on for your workspace, Signal can also send update messages there automatically.
Can customers follow a job from a Google Sheet, Trello, Asana, or monday.com?
Yes. Orbit Signal reads the job from a Google Sheet, Trello, Asana, monday.com, or a tool with an MCP server, and shows customers only the name, status, date, and the action you ask of them. It never writes back to your tool.
How do I keep prices and internal notes hidden from customers?
Orbit Signal publishes an allowlist, not your board: only step names, statuses, dates, and customer actions reach the page. Columns that look like notes, costs, prices, or margins cannot be chosen at all.
What happens when a date changes?
In Orbit Signal a moved date, a blocked step, or a “delivered” claim waits for you to check before the customer sees it. You can edit the wording first, then send it.
How much does a client portal for a small business cost?
Orbit Signal costs €149 once for a lifetime licence at the founding price for the first 100 customers, then €390 once, or €19 a month. That covers unlimited jobs, customers, and teammates, after a 14-day free trial without a card.
Does Orbit Signal work for garages and car repair shops?
Yes. Each car gets a live page that shows its status and the expected ready day, and the customer can approve extra work, like new brake discs, from their link.
Which languages can customer pages use?
Customer pages come in English, German, and Latvian. Step names stay in the language you write them in.
What is a good Buildertrend or Jobber alternative for customer updates?
If you only need customers to see progress, Orbit Signal is the lighter choice: a private link per job, fed from the tool you already use. If you want estimates, scheduling, and invoicing in one system, a full platform like Buildertrend or Jobber does more.
What does Orbit Signal do?
It gives every customer a private link to their job: where it stands, what’s next, when, photos, and anything you need them to approve. They stop calling to ask. You decide what they see.
Does my customer need an app or a password?
No. They tap the link you send by WhatsApp or email and the page opens. They can add it to their home screen if they like. If you add their email to the link, approvals are confirmed with a one-time code sent to it.
I don’t use any project software. Does it work?
Yes. Type the steps of the job straight into Signal, or paste a Google Sheet. Monday.com, Trello, Asana, and tools with an MCP server connect too.
Can the customer see my internal notes or prices?
No. Customer pages show only what Signal publishes. Columns that look internal (notes, costs, prices, margins, fees) cannot be published at all.
What is the Desk?
An assistant included in every plan. Talk for a minute: it makes your to-do list and drafts every email you mentioned, in your customer’s language. You approve, it sends from your own mailbox (Gmail, Outlook, or any IMAP mailbox). It already knows every customer you gave a page. Voice works in Chrome, Edge, and Safari.
What happens when a date moves?
It waits for you. Until you approve the wording, the customer keeps seeing the last approved date. Approving can also message them, if you tick that box.
Will my customers get spammed?
No. Changes update the page without an email. When you choose to email, it is one message per change, at most five per job a day, and nothing between 20:00 and 08:00 in their time zone. Customers can switch emails off.
How long does setup take?
About five minutes for the first customer link: add the job, type or connect the steps, check the customer preview, and send the link. Branding and inviting your team can wait.
Can I put my own brand on the page?
Yes. Your logo, business name, colours, and the contact customers should write to.
Which languages are supported?
Customer page labels: English, German, and Latvian, chosen per customer. Your own text (step names, updates) appears as you wrote it. The Desk writes emails in more than 30 languages, with your own style rules for each.
Which tools are supported?
Signal’s own simple board, Google Sheets and CSV, Monday.com, Trello, and Asana. Anything with an MCP server connects too, directly or through Zapier, Make, or n8n. See the integrations page for how each one connects.
Does it do invoices or contracts?
No. Signal keeps customers informed and collects approvals. Keep your accounting tool for invoices.
Where is the data stored?
In the EU. The operator is Infinity Consciousness Europe SIA in Latvia. A data processing agreement is part of the terms.
How is it different from Orbit Cue and Orbit Thread?
They are sibling products from the same company. Orbit Cue schedules social posts for several brands. Orbit Thread is a local-first notes workspace. Orbit Signal tells a client what is happening on their project.
What does “€149 once” cover?
A lifetime licence for one workspace: every feature on this page, including future updates. You pay once, there is no subscription. No per-seat fee, no per-client fee, and no project cap. The founding price is only for the first 100 customers. After that the lifetime licence costs €390 once.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. 14 days with every feature, and no card. Share real customer pages and use the Desk. Pay only if you keep it.
What happens when the trial ends and I have not paid?
You cannot add new projects. Customer pages stay readable for 14 more days. Nothing is deleted. Buy from Billing and everything resumes.
Can I pay monthly instead?
Yes, €19 a month for the same workspace. Cancel any time in Paddle and the month you paid for stays open. Monthly does not convert into the one-time licence by itself.
Is there a money-back guarantee?
Yes. Ask within 30 days of the first payment and it is refunded in full, no reason needed. EU consumers also keep their 14-day right of withdrawal.
Who sends the invoice and handles VAT?
Paddle is the merchant of record. Paddle charges the card or PayPal, adds VAT where it applies, and emails a proper invoice. Enter your VAT number at checkout for a reverse-charge invoice.
Do I need another tool or subscription?
No. Signal has its own simple board. If you already use Monday.com, Trello, Asana, or a sheet, Signal reads it, and that tool’s own plan stays yours. Your customers never need an account anywhere.
What does “lifetime” mean if you stop?
If Orbit Signal is ever shut down, we will give at least 90 days’ notice and a full export of every published page and update. That promise is in the terms.
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