Want to run a route yourself? Set yourself up as a tech

Many PoolHelm owners service pools on their own routes. Here’s how to give yourself a tech account so you can use the tech app in the field — while keeping your owner account for running the business.

Why two accounts? Each PoolHelm login has one role. Your owner account manages routes, customers, and billing; a tech account gets the streamlined My Route experience built for the field. PoolHelm’s flat pricing means adding yourself as a tech costs nothing extra.

If you only want to see what your techs see, you don’t need a second account at all. At the top of Settings → Team there’s Preview the tech app — “See exactly what your techs see — nothing is saved or sent.” It walks you through the real technician screens against practice data. Nothing you do in there touches your business: no visit is recorded, no reading is saved, no customer is emailed. It’s the right tool for training someone or checking a workflow template. It is not the tool for actually servicing a pool, because it saves nothing. For that, set up the tech account below.

Step 1 — Create an email alias for your tech account

Every PoolHelm account needs its own email address, but you don’t need a new mailbox. If your email is hosted by Google (Gmail or Google Workspace) or Microsoft 365, “plus addressing” works automatically:

Your email: pat@bluewaterpools.com
Your tech alias: pat+tech@bluewaterpools.com

Mail sent to the alias lands in your normal inbox. Nothing to set up.

Note: a few email providers don’t support plus addressing. Send yourself a test message at the alias first — if it doesn’t arrive, create a free Gmail address for your tech account instead.

Step 2 — Add yourself as a tech

Sign in to PoolHelm as the owner.
Go to Settings → Team and choose Invite Tech.
Enter your name and phone.
For the email, use your alias from Step 1 — not your owner email.
Enter your home address. It’s required, and for you it’s the useful part: it’s what lets PoolHelm start your route from your own driveway.
Choose how to set the password:
- Send setup email — the invitation lands in your inbox (it’s your alias, after all); follow the link and choose a password. Usually the smoother of the two, and it’s what the form picks by default.
- Set password now — fine too, but PoolHelm will make you change it the first time you sign in on the tech account, so you’ll be choosing a password either way.

Step 3 — Sign in as the tech on your phone

On your phone, open PoolHelm at the same web address you use on your computer, and sign in with your alias email. There’s nothing to download — PoolHelm runs in your phone’s browser. Add it to your home screen so it’s one tap away.
You’ll see the tech experience: My Route, with today’s stops in order, plus Reports and Settings.
Check your home address. You entered it when you created the account; you can change it any time from Settings → Account on the tech account. It’s what lets PoolHelm plan your day’s drive times from your driveway rather than from the shop — on the Planner map, a house marker means a route starting from home, a briefcase means one starting from the shop.
Tip: keep your owner account signed in on your computer and the tech account on your phone. That way there’s no switching — office on the desk, route in your pocket.

Step 4 — Assign yourself stops

Back in your owner account, assign stops or whole routes to your new tech in Routes, exactly as you would for any team member. Your tech account will see them on My Route the next morning — or the same day, for changes you make to today’s route on the Today page.

Good to know

Weather alerts reach both accounts, differently. Your owner account gets the decision cards on Today (Skip & notify, which drafts a message to the customer, or Keep). Your tech account gets the field-side card on My Route (Skip & Notify Office or Wait & See). During weather, check the Today page as the owner first — that’s where the customer-facing decision lives.
“Skip & Notify Office” from your tech account sends the message to… you. It still creates the proper record, so use it — future you will want the paper trail.
Switching on one device: sign out and back in with the other email, or use two browser profiles.

That’s it — you’re both the office and the route.