Once you're opening a second location, you don't want to rebuild your entire SalesThumb setup from scratch. HQ tier exists exactly for this — shared catalog, shared brand, shared automations, but per-location pricing and team. Here's the rollout checklist.
Prerequisite: HQ tier
Confirm you're on HQ tier (Settings → Billing). The HQ tier adds the org-level admin views, cross-shop reporting, and template inheritance. If you're not on HQ yet, upgrade before opening location 2.
See: HQ royalty automation and /pricing for plan details.
Step 1 — Create the new shop record
HQ dashboard → Shops → "Add shop." Fill in:
- Shop name (must be unique within your org)
- Address + time zone
- Business hours (can clone from existing shop)
- Phone number (separate from your other locations)
- Primary owner / manager email (will receive invite to admin the shop)
The new shop appears in the shop switcher immediately, but it's empty until you populate.
Step 2 — Clone the service catalog
HQ dashboard → Templates → Service catalog. Pick the source shop, target the new shop, hit "Clone catalog." This copies:
- All services
- Default warranty tiers per service
- Default durations
- Default photo templates
Prices come over by default but you can edit them per-shop after the clone. Different markets, different pricing.
Step 3 — Clone automation templates
HQ dashboard → Templates → Automations. Clone:
- Appointment reminder templates
- Recurring service reminder templates
- Quote follow-up templates
- SMS reply library
These are usually identical across locations unless you have different vibes per market.
Step 4 — Configure local payment processing
Stripe Connect is per-shop. The new location needs its own Stripe account onboarded (or it can route to the existing one — depends on legal/tax structure):
- Separate Stripe accounts if each location is a separate legal entity (LLC per shop)
- One Stripe account if all locations roll up to one entity (one LLC, multiple DBAs)
See Setting up Stripe Connect.
Step 5 — Invite the team
HQ dashboard → Team → Invite to new shop. Each team member needs:
- Role (Owner, Manager, Installer, Service writer)
- Shop access (can they see other shops too, or only this one?)
If a manager from your existing shop is opening the new one, give them cross-shop access. Otherwise, scope team members to their location.
Step 6 — Set local hours, holidays, blackouts
These don't auto-clone — every shop has its own real-world calendar. Configure:
- Business hours
- Federal + custom holidays
- Initial 90-day blackout dates (your training week, the manager's vacation, etc.)
Step 7 — Stand up the local 10DLC
Each new phone number (= each new shop) needs its own 10DLC registration. See 10DLC registration. Plan for 7-21 days from submission to approval. Start this step on day 1 of the rollout — it's the slowest dependency.
Step 8 — Brand customization (if needed)
Most multi-location shops keep brand consistent across locations. If you want per-location variants (different logo, different colors), they live at Settings → Brand per shop. Otherwise inherit from org-level.
Step 9 — Pilot quotes + jobs
Before you go live with customers, run 5-10 internal test quotes + 1-2 test jobs end-to-end at the new location:
- SMS sends from the right number
- Stripe charges land in the right account
- Photos route correctly
- Reports roll up to HQ dashboard
Common bug at new locations: the SMS is going from the wrong number because 10DLC isn't done. Don't go live until it's resolved.
Step 10 — Soft launch + monitor
First 30 days at a new location, monitor daily:
- Quote → close rate compared to your other locations
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Operational errors (failed payments, missed appointments)
A new location usually runs 60-80% of mature-location KPIs for the first 60-90 days. That's normal.