Go live in about five minutes.
A complete, no-skip walkthrough for your first day with Starvo. We'll create your account, set up your first business and location, print your QR, place it, and confirm a test review lands. Everything in this guide works on the free plan.
Before you start
You will need three things in front of you:
- An email address you can sign in with. Use the one you actually read — Starvo emails all alerts here.
- Your Google review URL. Search your business name on Google, click the stars to open the reviews panel, click Write a review, copy the page URL. We'll need this in step 2.
- A printer or a print shop nearby. Any standard printer at 200+ DPI handles the QR PDF.
1. Sign up
Go to starvo.app/auth. Enter your email and a strong password. You'll receive a confirmation email; click the link to verify your address. You are now on the Free plan — no card collected, no trial timer.
2. Create your business
After verification, you land on the onboarding screen. Fill in three fields:
- Business name — the public-facing name customers know you by. Used in AI-generated reply drafts and on the review page header.
- Type — Restaurant, Café, Hotel, Salon, Gym, Clinic, or Other. Affects which industry-specific tone the AI uses when drafting replies.
- Google review URL — the link you copied in the previous section. This is where happy customers will be sent when they tap the Google button.
When you click Continue, Starvo creates your business record, generates a permanent per-location slug (e.g. your-cafe), and drops you on your dashboard.
3. Download your QR code
Go to Dashboard → Locations. You'll see one location card — the one you just created. Click the card to drill in, then click Download QR. A PDF file lands in your downloads folder.
The PDF is sized to print at any scale you like — A4 with white margins for a notice board, business-card sized for a receipt corner, table-tent sized for a restaurant table. The QR module itself uses high error correction so it survives folds and minor smudges.
4. Place your QR
Where you place the QR matters more than how it looks. Place it at the moment the customer's experience is freshest:
| Business type | Best placement | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | Receipt corner, table tent, bill folder | The menu — customers scan it for food, not for reviews |
| Café | Counter card next to the till, takeaway cup sleeve | Hidden behind the espresso machine where nobody looks |
| Hotel | Bedside card, check-out counter | The lift — the moment is wrong |
| Salon | Mirror at the styling station, payment counter | The entrance — service hasn't happened yet |
| Gym | Locker mirror, water station, reception | The workout floor — sweat + phones is friction |
| Clinic | Reception desk, appointment card | The waiting room — patients are anxious |
A deeper guide is in the QR codes doc (next chapter). For now, pick the best single spot and move on.
5. Verify with a test review
Before you trust the system with real customers, scan your own QR with your phone and submit a test review. Use a fake comment — “Test review, ignore” — and pick a low rating (1 star) so it goes into your private inbox rather than asking you to leave a real public Google review.
Within a few seconds, the test review should appear in the feedback list on your dashboard. You should also receive an email at your sign-up address.
Once you confirm the test review lands, delete it (click the review row, then Delete) and you're live.
What to do next
- Learn QR placement properly → QR codes doc.
- Try an AI reply on your test review → AI replies doc.
- Connect Google Business Profile (Starter plan and above) → Google Business Profile doc.
- Invite a manager or staff (Pro plan and above) → Staff and roles doc.
- Read the negative-review playbook → Responding to negative reviews.
Troubleshooting
I didn't receive the verification email
Check spam. If it's not there after five minutes, the sender domain may have been blocked by your provider — email support@starvo.app and we'll verify your account manually.
My Google review URL doesn't work in the form
The URL must start with https:// and resolve to a real Google review page. The simplest way: search your business on Google, click the star count, click Write a review, and copy the resulting URL. If Google doesn't show a stars panel for your business, you don't have a verified Google Business Profile yet.
My QR doesn't scan on an old phone
Print at a higher size (minimum 2.5 cm × 2.5 cm for handheld scans, 8 cm × 8 cm for standees). Use matte paper, not glossy — gloss reflects ceiling lights and breaks scans. Avoid laminating with cheap pouches; high-grade matte lamination is fine.
The test review didn't arrive
Two likely causes:
- You scanned a QR for a different location (left over from a previous test). Verify the URL after the scan ends in
/r/your-slug. - You hit the free-plan submission limit (50 scans / location / month). Test reviews count. Wait for your monthly cycle to reset on your billing-anniversary day, or upgrade.
Who can do what during setup
You are the Owner by default — you created the account. Owners can do everything. The other two roles exist for when you invite a team (Pro plan and above):
- Manager — can read, reply, and edit reviews for the location(s) they are assigned to. Cannot change billing or invite new members.
- Staff — read-only access to the inbox for their assigned location(s). Cannot reply, cannot change anything.
Full breakdown in the staff and roles doc.