Everything you need in the first ten minutes: get signed in, lock the account down, put it on your phone, and learn where things live. If you've just set a password from an emailed access link, you're already past step one.
Who this is for — everyone with a Subgrade account, whatever your role.
Before you start — you need an account. You don't sign up for Subgrade yourself; someone in your company creates the account and emails you an access link. If you haven't received one, ask whoever handles your onboarding — usually your supervisor or the office. See User Onboarding for how that side works.
1. Sign in
Your first sign-in normally happens automatically. The access link emailed to you opens a page where you choose your own password, and once you've set it you're taken straight into your workspace.
A few things worth knowing about that link:
- It's single-use and expires, so use it when you get it rather than saving it for the weekend.
- If it's expired by the time you click it, don't ask for the link again — use Forgot password on the sign-in page instead. That sends a fresh one and works the same way.
- It's a credential. Don't forward it, and don't use a shared site mailbox for your account if you can avoid it — anyone who can read that inbox can take the account.
After the first time, sign in with your email address and password as normal.
You'll get an email whenever your password changes. If one arrives that you didn't cause, contact your administrator straight away — that email is the only warning you get that someone else may be in your account.
2. Turn on 2-factor authentication
If your workspace has it enabled, you'll find 2-Factor Authentication in the menu under your name/avatar in the top-right corner. It adds a code from your phone on top of your password.
It's worth the thirty seconds. Subgrade holds your tax file number, bank details, and pay — a password on its own is thin protection for that. Once enrolled, an access link alone won't get anyone in either: you'll still be asked for your code.
3. Put it on your phone
Subgrade runs in your phone's browser but installs like a real app — full screen, an icon on your home screen, and it keeps working when you lose signal, which matters in a cutting or a basement car park.
- Android / Chrome — a banner offers to install it. Tap Install.
- iPhone / Safari — tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
If you dismissed the banner, it won't nag you again — use the browser menu's Install / Add to Home Screen option instead.
Once installed, look for the Offline pages under My Workspace. You can fill in a prestart, timesheet, or shift report with no signal at all; they're held as Offline Drafts and sync themselves when you're back in range. Don't wait for reception before doing your paperwork.
4. Find your way around
Everything lives in the sidebar on the left, grouped by area of work. You will not see all of these — the sidebar only shows what your role gives you access to, so a short menu is normal and doesn't mean anything is broken. See Roles & Permissions.
| Group | What's in it |
|---|---|
| My Workspace | Your own stuff — dashboard, work log, profile, qualifications, HR file, notifications |
| Site Operations | The daily field jobs — prestarts, timesheets, shift reports, approvals |
| Safety & Compliance | Toolbox talks, SWMS, risk assessments, incidents, policies |
| Fleet & Assets | Plant and vehicles, allocations, servicing |
| Project Management | Projects, tasks, documents, reporting |
| Workforce & HR | People, leave, training, qualifications |
| Costs & Budget | Budgets, cost tracking, project financials |
| Payroll & Billing | Timesheet-to-pay, invoices, subcontractor RCTIs |
The groups lower down start collapsed — click the group name to open it.
Three things that make the sidebar much faster:
- Favourites. Pin the handful of pages you actually use to the top of the sidebar. There's a limit, which is the point — it stays a shortlist.
- The workspace badge at the top of the screen tells you which company you're in. If you belong to more than one, that's also how you switch. Nothing you do in one workspace crosses into another.
- Global search finds records and pages without navigating.
5. Do the first real thing
Head to Your First Week for the handful of tasks that actually matter on day one, in the order most people need them.
Tips & common mistakes
- A short sidebar isn't a fault. Menus differ by role by design. If a page you genuinely need is missing, that's a permissions question for your administrator, not a bug.
- Don't share an account. Prestarts, timesheets, and sign-offs are legal records of who did what. A shared login makes all of them worthless as evidence.
- Do your paperwork offline rather than not at all. The offline pages exist so no-signal is never the reason a prestart didn't get done.
- If you can't reach your workspace after setting a password, your account probably isn't attached to one yet, or your access was removed. Contact your administrator — there's nothing you can fix from your side.