What's New

Klaus Connect Work Summary — Aug 10–23, 2026

Over the past two weeks, Klaus Connect has focused heavily on communications, integrations, file management, HR, payments, security, backups, AI controls, and system reliability.

The goal has been not only to add new features, but also to make the platform easier to manage, more secure, and more reliable as additional companies and users come onto the system.

Communications & Integrations

Hatch Integration

Klaus Connect can now connect directly with Hatch.

The integration allows Klaus Connect to receive Hatch activity, send contacts and opportunities to Hatch, create opportunities from incoming activity, and maintain communication history inside Klaus Connect.

Admins can control inbound and outbound activity separately and test the connection directly from the integration settings.

Where: Admin Console → Hatch

GoHighLevel Integration

GoHighLevel is now supported as a Klaus Connect integration.

Conversations can be brought into Communication Logs, and Klaus Connect can automatically create contacts or opportunities depending on company settings.

Historical conversations can also be imported, and scheduled synchronization can run automatically based on the company’s local timezone.

Where: Admin Console → GoHighLevel

Communication Logs

Call Logs have been expanded and renamed Communication Logs.

The goal is to provide one central place for communication coming from different systems, including:

• RingCentral

• VAPI

• Hatch

• GoHighLevel

• SMS

• Email

This provides a more complete communication history without requiring staff to check multiple systems.

Help & Support

A new floating Help button is available throughout Klaus Connect.

Employees can click Help without leaving the page they are working on. The Klaus Support Desk opens in a new tab where users can:

• Search documentation

• Submit support tickets

• Reply to existing tickets

• Attach screenshots or files

This is part of our effort to build a centralized Klaus Connect documentation and support system.

File Gallery — Major Improvements

The File Gallery received a significant upgrade.

Calendar View

Users can browse files based on the date they were uploaded and see uploads in a monthly calendar.

Better Filtering

Files can be filtered by date, uploader, and category.

Image Markup

Photos can be opened and marked up directly inside Klaus Connect. The annotated version can then be saved as a new file.

AI Photo Observations

Klaus Connect can analyze job photos and suggest possible observations.

AI suggestions are not automatically accepted. A person still reviews and confirms whether the observation is valid.

Observation Packet

Confirmed observations can be combined into an Observation Packet PDF, making it easier to prepare inspection documentation.

Video Support

Videos can now be uploaded and played directly from the File Gallery.

Better PDF Preview

PDF documents now preview more reliably inside Klaus Connect.

HR & Leave Management

Unpaid Leave

Unpaid Leave is now available as a normal leave type on desktop and mobile.

Unpaid Leave:

• Does not reduce Vacation or Personal balances.

• Does not require available PTO hours.

• Still follows the normal supervisor approval process.

• Clearly identifies that the request does not affect PTO.

Supervisor Approval

Leave requests continue to use supervisor approval links, allowing supervisors to approve or deny requests directly from the email notification.

Payments & Progress Invoices

Progress Invoice

Individual payment milestones can now generate a Progress Invoice PDF.

The invoice shows:

• Contract price

• Amount already paid

• Current milestone

• Amount currently due

Where: Job → Payments → Milestone → PDF

Payment Accuracy

Additional improvements were made to payment calculations, including:

• Fixed payment amounts

• Credits

• Refunds

• Negative obligations

• Rounding

• Remaining balances

These changes help prevent situations where a fully paid job incorrectly shows a small remaining balance.

QuickBooks payment references and automatic matching were also improved.

Duplicate Estimates & Documents

When duplicating an estimate or estimate bundle, users can optionally move documents to the new estimate.

This is important:

Move means move — not copy.

If selected, the documents leave the original estimate and become attached to the new estimate.

The option can be left unchecked when documents should remain with the original.

Access Control Improvements

Deactivate Roles

Custom Access Roles can now be marked Inactive.

Inactive roles remain available for historical reference but cannot be assigned to new users.

The Admin role cannot be deactivated.

Effective User Access

Access Control now provides a clearer view of what an individual employee can actually access based on their assigned roles.

Access Control Review

A new Review section can analyze the company’s current permission structure and identify possible concerns such as:

• Duplicate roles

• Unusual access for a department

• Employees who may have excessive access

• Employees who may be missing expected access

• Roles that are no longer being used

When the OpenAI Access Control Review feature is enabled, AI can provide additional observations.

The review is advisory only.

Klaus Connect will not automatically change someone’s permissions. An administrator must review the recommendation and make any changes manually.

Where: Settings → Access Control → Review

Opportunity & Estimate Flow

Opportunity Flow and Estimate Flow received additional improvements.

Branch filtering now follows the actual branch/location codes configured for the company instead of relying only on customer state.

Job milestones and communication history have also been improved.

Managers and executives have more appropriate controls for managing opportunities from the Flow views.

Appointment Assignment Protection

Appointment scheduling will no longer accidentally replace the opportunity’s salesperson with a non-sales employee.

Only an employee classified as Sales can become the opportunity Sales representative.

This is especially important when CSRs, managers, production employees, or other staff are involved with an appointment.

Permit Change History

Changing whether a permit is required now creates a history note showing who made the change.

This gives Production and Management a better audit trail for permit decisions.

Smarter Notes

When someone begins typing a note, Klaus Connect can suggest an appropriate interaction type based on the wording.

The employee can still change the suggestion before saving.

This helps speed up note entry while keeping the final decision with the user.

Security — 12-Hour Idle Sign-Out

Klaus Connect now signs users out after 12 hours without human activity.

Mouse movement, keyboard activity, scrolling, or touch interaction resets the timer.

Background system activity does not.

If a user has multiple Klaus Connect tabs open, activity in one tab keeps the others active.

After 12 hours of inactivity, the user is signed out and can simply log back in.

This also ends administrator impersonation sessions.

Scheduled Database Backups

A major infrastructure improvement was completed with scheduled PostgreSQL backups.

Each Klaus Connect tenant server can create:

• A full server/cluster backup

• Individual database restore points

Backup information can also be reported to the control system so administrators can see what recovery points exist.

The automated restore engine is not available yet. Restore requests are intentionally prevented until that process is complete and properly tested.

AI Administration — New Aug. 23

One of the largest administrative changes is centralized control over OpenAI features inside Klaus Connect.

Previously, AI configuration was largely treated as one general ChatGPT/model setting.

It is now managed feature by feature.

OpenAI Feature Controls

Super Admins and users with the appropriate Admin Access Role can:

• Turn OpenAI completely on or off.

• Select the company’s default AI model.

• Enable or disable individual AI features.

• Choose a different model for individual features.

• Monitor usage.

• Review estimated cost.

Controllable AI functions include:

• Ask AI

• Opportunity Search

• Estimate Search

• Access Control Review

• Property AI Summary

• Document Photo Analysis

• Call Summary

• Call Transcription

• Referral Spam Filter

• Contract Text Generator

Where: Admin Console → Integrations → OpenAI

This gives administrators significantly more control over where AI is used and prevents unnecessary AI usage when a particular feature is not needed.

OpenAI Usage & Estimated Cost

The OpenAI area now includes reporting for:

• Last 24 hours

• Last 7 days

• Last 30 days

Admins can see:

• Number of AI calls

• Token usage

• Feature using AI

• Model being used

• Estimated cost

The dollar amount shown is an estimated cost based on published pricing, not the actual OpenAI invoice.

Where: Admin Console → Integrations → OpenAI → Reports

Instant Estimator Failure Alerts

Instant Estimator measurement failures are now easier to catch.

If an opportunity is successfully created but Artemis or the measurement order fails afterward, Klaus Connect sends an email alert to the configured staff with the failure reason.

The homeowner is not sent an inaccurate price range.

The opportunity remains in Klaus Connect so staff can correct the problem and retry the measurement.

This prevents measurement failures from quietly disappearing into technical logs.

Artemis Email User

The Artemis integration now requires an Email User.

The email must belong to an actual user inside Artemis.

This is necessary because automated Instant Estimator orders are submitted by the system rather than by a logged-in Klaus Connect employee.

Klaus Connect now warns administrators when this information is missing.

Where: Admin Console → Integrations → Artemis

If Instant Estimator measurement orders are failing, this should be one of the first settings checked.

Customer Portal — Preparation

Backend services for the future Customer Portal have been added.

This is preparation work only.

There is currently no customer-facing Klaus Connect portal screen, and public customer registration remains disabled by default.

Customers should not yet be told that a Customer Portal login is available.

Dark Mode & Appearance

Work continued on making Klaus Connect properly support both Light and Dark appearance modes.

Several areas have already been updated, including:

• Login

• Calendar

• Integrations

• Tasks

• Gallery

• Inventory

• QXO

• Settings

The Profile option previously called Theme Setting is now called Appearance.

Built-in Klaus/KLR branding also displays better in dark mode.

Uploaded company logos are intentionally left unchanged so Klaus Connect does not modify a company’s original branding.

Reporting Improvements

Reporting received additional improvements during this period.

Marketing reports now use branch/location information more consistently.

Campaigns that have leads but no advertising spend can still appear in geographic reporting.

Lead-source matching was improved when multiple campaigns could potentially match the same lead.

Additional improvements were also made to:

• ADL reporting

• Geographic reporting

• Filters

• CSV/PDF exports

• Report performance

Quick How-To

Open Help & Support

1. Click Help at the bottom of Klaus Connect.

2. The Support Desk opens in a new tab.

3. Search the documentation or submit a ticket.

4. Include screenshots or files when they help explain the problem.

Use the New File Gallery

1. Open an Opportunity, Estimate, or Contact Gallery.

2. Use categories, filters, or Calendar View to locate files.

3. Open a photo and use Markup when needed.

4. Review AI-suggested observations.

5. Confirm observations that are actually valid.

6. Generate an Observation Packet when needed.

7. Preview PDFs and videos directly from the Gallery.

Request Unpaid Leave

1. Open Leave.

2. Select Unpaid.

3. Enter the dates, hours, and reason.

4. Submit the request.

5. The supervisor approves or denies it normally.

6. Vacation and Personal balances are not reduced.

Print a Progress Invoice

1. Open the Job.

2. Go to Payments.

3. Find the appropriate milestone.

4. Click the PDF button.

5. Review, save, or print the Progress Invoice.

Manage OpenAI

1. Go to Admin Console → Integrations → OpenAI.

2. Confirm the OpenAI API key is configured.

3. Turn OpenAI on or off.

4. Select the default model.

5. Review each AI feature.

6. Enable only the features the company needs.

7. Select specific models where appropriate.

8. Save.

Review AI Usage

1. Open OpenAI → Reports.

2. Select 24 Hours, 7 Days, or 30 Days.

3. Review calls and token usage.

4. Review which features and models are consuming AI.

5. Use the estimated cost for monitoring only.

Run an Access Control Review

1. Open Settings → Access Control → Review.

2. Run the review.

3. Review High, Medium, and Low findings.

4. Check whether each finding came from a system Rule or AI.

5. Open the affected employee or role.

6. Make any appropriate changes manually.

Configure Artemis Email User

1. Open Admin Console → Integrations → Artemis.

2. Enter the Email User.

3. Make sure the email belongs to a real Artemis user.

4. Save.

5. Confirm the configuration warning disappears.