Your First Job, End to End

Everything in SkySuite hangs off one idea: a Project is the job for one client, and Missions are the flights inside it. Every job moves through the same lifecycle — Plan → Fly → Process → Deliver → Invoice — and because it all lives on one record, nothing gets retyped between winning the work and getting paid.

The app has three areas along the top:

• Office — desk work: your projects, clients (CRM), money and invoicing, equipment, and the pilot community.
• Field — on-site: today’s flight brief, your mission queue, weather forecast, radar, and airspace.
• Admin — platform controls (admins only).

Step 1 — Create the project

Office ▸ Projects ▸ New Project · /projects/new

The project is the container that ties the client, the flights, the deliverables, and the invoice together. Pick one of two shapes:

• Solo mission — one flight, one site. The straight path, least overhead.
• Multi-mission project — a client contract holding several flights across days, each at its own phase.

Name it, and optionally attach a Company and Point of Contact — or leave those blank and link them later from the CRM (Office ▸ Clients).

Already flew the job? If the work is done and you just want it in the system for delivery and records, use Import past work instead of creating a live mission.

Heads-up on limits. The Free plan allows 3 active projects at a time. Finish or archive a project — or upgrade — to start more.

Step 2 — Plan the mission

Open your project ▸ New Mission (missions also queue under Field ▸ Missions · /plan/missions)

Add a Mission to the project and the planner opens on a map: search the site address, draw the area to fly, pick your drone, and set altitude and overlap. The flight path draws right on the map with distance and photo-count readouts. The full walkthrough is in the Mission Planner Guide.

Step 3 — Fly

Field ▸ Today ▸ Flight Brief · /field/tools/outlook

On the day of the flight, Field is your cockpit: the Flight Brief for today’s work, plus Forecast, Radar, and Airspace under Field ▸ Tools. Push your plan to the aircraft (see the planner guide), fly the site, and bring the card home.

Step 4 — Process the imagery

Raw photos become an orthomosaic, elevation model, and 3D model on the cloud GPU. Upload everything from the drone — photos and GNSS files together — and processing handles the rest, including PPK position correction when your GNSS files support it. The walkthrough is in Running a Survey.

This step uses credits. Processing runs on cloud GPU hardware and is metered, so it draws on your plan’s survey allowance (pay-as-you-go on Free).

Step 5 — Deliver to the client

When the outputs are ready, hand them off from the project’s delivery step: the client gets a share link and a branded portal where they can view the maps and download the files. The walkthrough is in Delivering to Your Client.

Step 6 — Invoice it

Office ▸ Money ▸ Invoices · /office/finance/invoices

Because everything hangs off the same job, invoicing pulls from the same record. Send the invoice, record the payment, and the ledger keeps your books current — expenses, mileage, and reports live under Office ▸ Money too.

Common questions

Do I create a Project or a Mission first? Project first — it’s the top-level container for the client. Then open it and add a Mission for each flight.

I already have photos from a past job. Do I still plan a mission? No. Use Import past work to file the job, or go straight to processing if you just need the map.

What does the Free plan include? Up to 3 active projects, up to 50 contacts, monthly AI credits, basic invoicing with the branded client portal, and survey processing on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Where do I set up my company name? Run the Setup wizard, or edit your profile under Settings ▸ Profile. The client portal’s branding (company name and colors) has its own settings — see Delivering to Your Client.