Getting started

Brick is invite-only. Your account starts from the invitation email, and a short welcome flow sets up the things Brick needs from you.

Accept your invitation#

Look for an email with the subject You've been invited to join Brick. Click Accept Invite. It opens Brick on the first welcome step, Create your account.

The link belongs to the email address it was sent to, and it works once. If the Brick team sends the invitation again, the link is the same one. If you open the link again after you have created your account, what happens depends on whether you are signed in. Signed out, Brick takes you to the sign-in page. Signed in with the invited address, Brick takes you to the second welcome step. Signed in with a different account, Brick opens the app.

If Brick shows This invite is no longer valid, the invitation was withdrawn. Click sign in if you already have an account. Otherwise, reply to the invitation email and the Brick team will sort it out.

The public sign-up page has no form. It says that Brick is invite-only and tells you to open the Accept Invite link in your email. It has a Get on the list link to the waitlist, a Sign in link, and a Contact support link. You cannot create an account from it.

Create your account#

Your email address is filled in and cannot be changed. Choose one of two ways to create the account:

  • Click Sign in with Google and pick the Google account that uses the invited address. If you pick a different Google account, Brick refuses and tells you which address the invite is for. Signing in with Google does not connect your mailbox. That is a separate step.
  • Or type a Password of at least 8 characters and click Continue.

Brick creates your account and your workspace, signs you in, and moves to the next step.

A thin bar at the top of the page shows how far through the welcome steps you are. Every step has a footer with a copyright line, Privacy Policy, Support, and, once you are signed in, Sign out. Support opens the support form in place. A light and dark theme switch sits in the bottom-right corner.

Tell Brick who you are#

The second step is Let's get to know you. Fill in:

  • Profile picture (optional). Click Upload image and pick a PNG, JPEG or GIF up to 10 MB. A square photo looks best. Remove clears it.
  • First name and Last name. If you signed in with Google, Brick fills these from your Google profile. Check them.
  • Email. Shown so you can see which account this is. You cannot change it.
  • Cell number. Your own mobile number. Brick sends you notifications on it, and when a client calls your Brick number and you do not answer in the app, Brick rings this number.

First name, Last name, and Cell number are required, so Continue stays grey until each one has something in it. A number that is not a real 10-digit phone number shows Enter a 10-digit phone number. when you click Continue. This step has no back button and no skip.

When you click Continue, Brick names your workspace after your first name, for example Taylor's Workspace.

Connect your mailbox#

The third step is Bring your contacts into Brick. Back returns to the previous step if you want to change something.

Click Connect Google Account. Google opens its consent screen. Allow everything it asks for. Brick reads your Gmail and Calendar and sends email on your behalf, and refuses a connection that is missing any of these. Only you can see the emails Brick syncs.

When the connection succeeds, Brick moves to the last step and shows Mailbox successfully connected. If it fails, you come back to this step with the reason under the buttons. Try again.

Connect Microsoft Account looks greyed out because Outlook is not supported yet. Clicking it opens a feedback form, Microsoft isn't ready yet, with a request already typed in. Send feedback tells the Brick team you want it. Cancel closes it. Nothing is connected either way.

To skip this step, click I'll do this later. Brick shows Continue with fewer features? with a list of what works only with a connected mailbox: contacts created from your inbox, emails on each contact's record, sending email from Brick, calendar meetings on each client's timeline, and the follow-up list. Cancel keeps you on the step. Yes, I'm sure moves on without a mailbox. You can connect one later from Settings, then Email and calendar accounts. See Email and calendar accounts.

Get your Brick number#

The last step is Get your Brick phone number. A Brick number is a phone number of your own that Brick uses for every call and text you make from the app. Clients see this number. They do not see your cell number.

Brick shows one available Toronto-area number with its city and ON under it, or Greater Toronto Area when the city is not known. Click Show me another to see a different one. Click Register this number to take the one on screen. Brick shows the message Your Brick number is ready, the heading changes to Your Brick number, the number appears above a Continue button, and Continue opens Brick.

If someone else took the number while you were deciding, Brick says That number was just taken. Here's another one. and shows a different number. Click Register this number again to take that one. If Brick cannot reach its phone provider, it says so. Try again.

If Brick shows No Toronto numbers left today, there is nothing to choose. More numbers are released most mornings. Skip this step and get a number later.

To skip, click Skip for now. Brick asks Are you sure you don't want a new number? and lists what the number is for. Cancel keeps you on the step. Yes, I'm sure opens Brick without a number. Calling and texting do nothing until you have one. Get one later from Settings, then Phone, or from the Call or Text button on any contact. See Calls and texts.

This step has no back button. Both Continue and Yes, I'm sure end the welcome flow and open Brick on the Inbox.

What happens when you skip a step#

Nothing locks. Whatever you left undone waits for you in the Getting started checklist in the sidebar. While your Inbox is empty, it also shows a banner for a missing mailbox and a banner for a missing Brick number. A banner goes away when you have the thing, when the Inbox has its first conversation, or when you click its ✕. Closing a banner counts only in the browser you closed it in.

The Getting started checklist#

The checklist is a card at the bottom of the sidebar, above the row of small icons. Its header reads Getting started, then a count such as 2/5 steps completed with a short note on your progress, then a progress bar and five items:

  • Connect your mailbox opens Settings, then Email and calendar accounts. Done once a Google account is connected.
  • Get your Brick number opens the Get your Brick phone number dialog. Done once you have a number.
  • Complete your profile opens Settings, then Profile. Done once your Phone number (your cell number) is filled in.
  • Add your contacts opens the Contacts page. Done once your workspace holds at least one contact, whether you typed it, imported it, or Brick created it from your mailbox. See Contacts.
  • Ask Brick anything opens the Ask Brick panel and sends the question What kinds of things can you help me with? for you. Done once you have a chat with at least one message in it. This item ticks as soon as you click it.

You cannot tick an item by hand. Brick checks your real data, so an item completes on its own when the thing exists, and a done item shows struck through with a blue check. The card refreshes when you come back to the browser tab.

Rest your mouse on an item to see a card that explains it, with a button that does the same as clicking the item:

Click the − button in the card's header to shrink the checklist to a pill that reads Getting started 2/5. Click the pill to open it again. This choice is per browser.

To remove the checklist for good, click the ⋮ button in its header, then Mark all as completed. The card disappears on every device you use, and there is no way to bring it back. Once every item is done, the card disappears on its own.