Performing Installation
Download the installation file from www.inatsolutions.com and run INAT-HIVE-Setup.exe. The installation wizard will guide you through all steps. After completion, you will find the application in the Start menu and on the desktop.
Creating a User
On first launch, the registration dialog appears. Choose a username and create a secure password with at least 8 characters. After registration, you will be taken directly to the application.
Initial Setup with the Wizard
The setup wizard opens automatically and guides you through the most important basic settings:
Company Data - Name, address, phone, email, website and VAT number
Region and Currency - Country (CH, DE, AT, LI) and currency (CHF or EUR). VAT rates are automatically suggested based on the selected country.
Bank Details - IBAN and QR-IBAN for Swiss QR invoices. This data is essential for correct payment slips.
Company Logo - Upload your logo (PNG, JPG or SVG). It will appear on all invoices and quotations.
Right at the beginning, the welcome area offers two main cards:
- Simple - the first main card for the focused entry. HIVE initially hides optional modules and concentrates on customers, quotations, invoices and payments.
- Advanced - the second main card for the full shell without the simplified focus mode. HIVE shows the full navigation immediately and does not display a First steps card.
Under Simple, you can optionally enable time tracking directly. The calm entry remains, but time tracking becomes visible immediately.
In the simple entry, a persistent First steps card appears on the dashboard after the wizard. It guides you through customer, first invoice, payment, and backup. Regardless of the start profile you choose, HIVE additionally offers a guided tour after setup that shows the most important stops: customers, quotations, invoices, accounting, the search (Ctrl+K) and the data backup.
If you choose Advanced, HIVE starts directly with the full navigation. The guided first path with First steps is not part of that entry; the guided tour, however, is offered here as well.
You can reopen the setup wizard later at any time via Settings > Help & Onboarding to reapply or change the start profile.
HIVE Web App in the Browser
In addition to the desktop application, HIVE is fully available in your browser — no installation required:
- Open app.inatsolutions.com
- Sign in with the workspace, email address and password of your HIVE account
- If you have enabled two-factor authentication, also enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app
The web app provides the central areas of the desktop application in your browser: Dashboard, Quotations, Invoices, Reminders, Customers, Calendar, Accounting, Reports, Suppliers, Catalog, the optional modules (Jobs & Projects, Vehicles, Tire Storage, Time Tracking) and Settings. The generated PDFs (invoices, quotations, reminders with Swiss QR code) are based on the same templates as in the desktop application.
The web app is responsive and works on tablets and smartphones — ideal on the go, e.g. to quickly look up an invoice or record a time entry.
Setup wizard in the browser: The first time you sign in to a new workspace, the same setup wizard as in the desktop application guides you through the basics — start profile, company details, logo, VAT and bank details. Your entries are saved after every step, and Skip takes you straight into the application at any point. Pay particular attention to the QR-IBAN: without it you cannot create an invoice with a Swiss QR code later on.
Guided tour: The web app also offers a guided tour after setup, with the same stops as in the desktop application — only the last step presents the ? help menu instead of the data backup. You can restart the tour at any time from that ? menu at the top right. The tour is available at desktop screen width.
What's new: After an update the web app shows the changes in the current version, just like the desktop application. If you close the notice without ticking the box, it comes back the next time you start your browser or open a new tab; with Don't show again it stays hidden for that version. You can reopen it at any time from the question mark at the top right.
Combining desktop and web: If you use the desktop application in remote mode, both variants work on the same data. Changes are instantly visible everywhere.