The Wraptor handbook

Installers — hire vetted freelance installers and designers (and get hired)

Who it's for

The installer network has two audiences.

For shop owners and managers, it's where you find and hire freelance wrap installers and designers when you need overflow help, a specialty skill, or a set of hands in another city — and pay them safely through Wraptor. Browsing is open to anyone; sending a hire request or starting a new message thread is included on Wraptor Shop and Wraptor Fleet.

For freelance installers and designers, it's a free public profile that brings shops to you, plus the tools to message shops, get paid into escrow, and earn badges and reviews. Listing costs nothing and works on every plan, the 7-day free trial included.

It's separate from your shop's Directory listing, which faces customers — this one faces shops hiring labor.

Where it fits

Hiring slots into the production stage of the job workflow: the job is booked and you're short on install capacity, so you bring in outside help. The network is public at wraptor.app/installers — no login to browse — and the in-app door is WrapForce → Hire an Installer.

A freelancer you hire through the network is not a member of your shop, so the job stays on your own Jobs board and you hand the work off from it: Packet opens the printable job sheets, Installer link copies a no-login page they can run from a phone. My Jobs is for people you added to your crew under Team with the Installer role — a network freelancer does not show up there.

Overview

There are four pieces, in the order you'll use them:

The network (/installers) — a public list of freelance installers and designers with skills, rates, city and travel radius, availability, ratings and trust badges.
Hire requests and messaging — send a request from a profile, then go back and forth in a 1:1 thread.
Escrow payments — the installer sends a payment request; you pay it into escrow, the money is held, and you release it when the work is done.
Reviews and badges — once a hire request is accepted you can rate the installer; installers can earn Verified and Insured badges.

For a freelancer, the mirror image is: join → build a profile → apply for verification → answer hire requests → message shops → set up payouts → request payment → mark complete → get paid → collect reviews.

One account, not two. Being listed isn't a separate login. Your listing hangs off a regular Wraptor account, and there are two ways in: sign up at wraptor.app/installers/join, or pick Independent installer in the first-run picker if you already have an account. There is no separate installer login or /installer portal.

For shops (hiring)

WrapForce → Hire an Installer (/wrapforce) — the in-app door. Reach WrapForce from the corner ? help dock → Purchase a design, or ⌘K → WrapForce. The tab holds Browse the network and Get listed & get hired, plus a note that a full-time Job board is coming next. On a plan without network access the whole page is a locked screen instead — "WrapForce comes with Wraptor Shop".
The network — wraptor.app/installers, public. Each profile has its own page at /installers/<name>.
Installer messages (/installer-messages) — your threads with installers. It opens when you click Message on a profile; there is no sidebar link for it.
Installer payments (/installer-payments) — every escrow your shop has funded, with the right action on each. The payment-request email links straight here.

For freelancers (your own dashboard)

When the account was set up as an installer, the sidebar's More drawer gains My Listing and Payments. If those rows aren't there, open wraptor.app/installer-listing directly — the drawer only adds them for an installer-type account. Everything else hangs off My Listing.

My Listing (/installer-listing) — your public profile editor, with the Wraptor verification card above it. The row across the top links Hire requests, Payouts and Messages (with an unread count).
Hire requests (/installer-listing/inquiries) — every request a shop has sent you. Each row shows the shop's name, email, phone, job location, dates and message, with Accept, Decline and Message; once answered, Close clears it. Accepting or declining emails the shop.
Payouts (/installer-listing/payouts) — payout setup, Request a payment, and every escrow owed to you.
Messages (/installer-listing/messages) — your threads with shops.
Payments (/installer-payments) — the other side of the same coin: escrows your shop has funded when you hire someone.

Capabilities

Browse and compare (public)

Filter the roster with the chip strip: All skills, Vehicle Wraps, Paint Protection Film (PPF), Window Tint, Signs & Graphics, Vehicle Lettering, Ceramic Coating, Detailing, plus an Insured toggle. Up to 100 profiles show at once.
Each card shows the name, Verified and Insured badges, an availability pill (Available / Booked / Unavailable), the headline, city and travel radius, up to four skills, rates and the star average.
Cards are ordered to put verified, higher-rated people first.
The profile page adds the bio, years of experience, the full skill list, portfolio photos and every review.

Hire and message (Wraptor Shop and Wraptor Fleet)

Message opens a 1:1 thread — no hire request needed first. Threads refresh every few seconds, and the other side gets one email nudge per unread run rather than one per message.
Request this installer is the form under the profile: your shop name and email pre-fill, and you add phone (optional), job location, dates and the scope of work, then Send hire request. The installer is emailed, and the form confirms with Request sent.
On a plan without network access, a signed-in shop sees "Messaging and hiring through the private design and install network is included with Wraptor Shop" and an Upgrade to Wraptor Shop button in place of those controls. Signed out, the panel reads "Sign in to your shop account to send a hire request."
Threads you already have keep working if you later move to a lower plan. Only new requests and new threads are gated.

Pay with escrow (shops)

The installer sends a payment request — a description and an amount, $1 minimum. You get an email and the row lands on Installer payments.
A platform fee is added on top: the installer receives their full amount and you are charged amount + fee. The row spells it out as Payout $X + fee $Y = $Z. The rate is decided once, when the request is created, and never changes afterwards — 0% when the relationship didn't come from the network, 5% when the network made the introduction (an accepted hire request) and the installer holds an active membership, 10% network-sourced without one.
Pay opens Stripe Checkout for the total. The money sits with Wraptor; the installer is not paid yet.
The row status reads Payment requested → In escrow → Ready to release → Released, or Refunded, Disputed, Cancelled.
Release and Dispute appear as soon as the money is held — you don't have to wait for the installer to do anything. Once they click Mark complete, the row also auto-releases 7 days later and prints that date.
Cancel is offered while the request is unpaid or the money is only held — an unpaid request just closes, a funded one is refunded in full. Dispute freezes the funds for Wraptor to resolve.

Join and get found (freelancers)

Sign up at /installers/join, then fill in Set up your installer listing — name, home city, state code, headline, and the skills you install — and click Create my profile.
My Listing is the full editor: Availability (Available for work / Booked / limited / Not available), Identity (avatar, name, headline, bio, phone, years of experience), Service area (city, state, state code, travel radius in miles), Skills, Rates (hourly, per sq ft, day rate — fill whichever apply) and Portfolio (up to 12 photos, images under 15 MB). Save changes publishes it.
The skill chips include Wrap Design and Print Production alongside the install trades, so designers list here too.
The Wraptor verification card runs the badges. Click Apply for verification, tick I'm a legitimate, licensed installer and My portfolio is my own work, and optionally attach Proof of insurance (PDF or image, under 15 MB) — the reviewer adds Insured when they approve you. Both badges are free and neither is required to list. While it's with a reviewer the card reads Application under review — we'll email you; if it comes back rejected the reviewer's note is shown with a Re-apply button.

Get paid (freelancers)

Open Payouts and click Set up payouts once — it hands you to Stripe's hosted onboarding. Come back before you've finished and the button reads Finish payout setup; once Stripe clears you the card reads ✓ Payouts active — you can request payments.
Request a payment: pick the shop, describe the work, enter the amount, Send request. The picker only lists shops you have already messaged.
Your rows read Awaiting payment → Paid — in escrow → Awaiting release → Paid out. Mark complete on a paid row starts the shop's 7-day release clock. Cancel stays available right up until the money is released.

Reviews and reputation

Once an installer accepts your hire request, their profile shows you a ★1–5 review form with an optional comment. One review per shop, and you can change it later (Edit your review / Update review).
Because a review needs an accepted request, ratings come from real hires. The average and count show on the profile and on the network cards, and they push a profile up the ordering.

Step-by-step tasks

Hire a freelance installer or designer (shop)
1. Open WrapForce → Hire an Installer → Browse the network, or go straight to wraptor.app/installers.
2. Filter by skill (and Insured if you need it), scan the cards for city and availability, and open a profile.
3. Click Message to agree scope, dates and price, or fill in Request this installer and click Send hire request.
4. Hand off the work from the job: open the job, then Packet for the printable sheets or Installer link to copy a no-login work page.
5. When they send a payment request, open Installer payments and click Pay. It opens Stripe Checkout, so the shop owner or a manager has to do this step.
6. They click Mark complete; you click Release, or let it auto-release after 7 days. Then leave a review on their profile.
If something goes wrong (shop)
1. Open Installer payments and find the row.
2. Called off before the work started — click Cancel. An unpaid request just closes; a funded one is refunded in full.
3. Work is in dispute — click Dispute. The funds freeze, Wraptor reviews it, and either refunds you or releases to the installer. Cancel is no longer offered once the installer has marked the job complete.
Get listed as a freelance installer or designer
1. Sign up at wraptor.app/installers/join, or pick Independent installer in the first-run picker if you already have an account.
2. Fill in Set up your installer listing and click Create my profile.
3. On My Listing, set Availability, then add rates, travel radius, bio and portfolio photos and click Save changes.
4. In the Wraptor verification card, click Apply for verification, tick both attestations, and attach insurance proof if you have it.
Get paid as a freelancer
1. Open Payouts → Set up payouts and finish Stripe's onboarding. You can't send a request until the card says payouts are active.
2. Click Request a payment, pick the shop, describe the work, enter the amount ($1 minimum) and click Send request.
3. After the shop pays and you finish the work, click Mark complete. They release the funds, or the 7-day timer does it.

Settings & permissions

Browsing the network and reading profiles needs no login.
Sending a hire request or starting a new message thread needs a signed-in shop on Wraptor Shop ($199/mo) or Wraptor Fleet ($299/mo); grandfathered legacy Pro plans keep it as well. A card-backed trial does not qualify — this one is paid-only. Threads and requests that already exist keep working. See Plans.
Paying, releasing and cancelling an escrow is money movement: the shop owner, or a manager who holds the billing permission. Anyone else gets "Only the shop owner or a manager can manage billing".
Reading the payments list and opening a Dispute need only a signed-in account on the shop. A teammate on the built-in Installer role is the exception — their app is My Jobs and they never reach the page.
Leaving a review needs an accepted hire request from your shop.
Being listed is free on every plan and needs no verification.
Verification, the Insured badge and dispute resolution are handled by Wraptor.
Escrow charges run through Stripe Checkout; installer payouts use a Stripe Express account the installer connects from the Payouts page.

Tips & common pitfalls

Hiring is a paid-plan feature. Anyone can browse, and freelancers can list for free, but the Message and Request this installer controls only appear for a paying Wraptor Shop or Wraptor Fleet shop.
It's one account. You don't keep a separate installer login — the listing hangs off your normal Wraptor account.
A network freelancer isn't on your crew. They won't see the job on My Jobs. Send the Packet or copy the Installer link from the job instead — or add them under Team with the Installer role if they're going to work with you regularly.
A held payment isn't paid yet. Money only reaches the installer on Release or the 7-day auto-release. Cancel beforehand and you're refunded in full.
Cancel closes once the work is marked complete. After that your two options are Release and Dispute.
Message before you hire. Agree scope, dates and price in the thread so the payment request matches — and an installer can only send a request to a shop they've already messaged.
Set up payouts early. No payment request goes out until Stripe payouts are active.
Reviews follow an accepted request, not a payment. Accepting a request is what unlocks the shop's review — and it's also what marks the hire as network-sourced for the fee tier.
Keep your availability current. Shops filter and scan on it, and the empty hire-requests screen says as much: "Make sure your profile shows you're available for work."
Verified is not Insured. They're two independent badges; an installer can have either, both, or neither.

WrapForce — the certified design and install network the hiring tab sits in.
Jobs — run the install; Packet and Installer link are on the job.
My Jobs — the board for installers you added to your own crew.
Team — add a regular installer as a teammate with the Installer role.
Onboarding — the first-run picker with Independent installer.
Directory — your shop's customer-facing listing, not this network.
Plans — what Wraptor Shop and Wraptor Fleet include.
Workflow map · Personas