Quick Start

This guide takes you from zero to a working Celerp installation with your first invoice created. Estimated time: 5 minutes.

1. Install Celerp

Desktop app (recommended)

Mac, Windows, or Linux: go to the download page, grab the installer for your OS, double-click to install, and launch. Opens automatically to localhost:8080.

Advanced / server install

Prefer the terminal? Install from PyPI, then initialize:

pip install celerp
celerp init

Running on an always-on Linux server (a VPS or home server)? See Run on a server for the full guide.

All methods start a local server on http://localhost:8080. The desktop app opens your browser automatically.

2. Create Your Company

4

Register an account

Enter your name, email address, a password, and your company name. This account exists only on your local machine - nothing is sent to Celerp servers.

5

Set your company details

Go to Settings → Company and fill in your company name, address, currency, and tax ID (if applicable). This information will appear on all your documents.

3. Add Your First Items

Celerp tracks inventory at the item level. Every line item on an invoice or PO references an item in your inventory.

Tip: If you have existing inventory data in a spreadsheet, you can skip manual entry and use CSV import instead.

6

Go to Inventory → Add Item

Fill in the required fields:

  • SKU - your internal item code (e.g. WIDGET-001)
  • Name - a human-readable name
  • Quantity - current stock on hand
  • Cost price - what you paid for it
  • Retail price - what you sell it for

Optional fields: barcode, category, weight, description, custom attributes.

4. Add a Contact

7

Go to CRM → New Contact

Add the customer or supplier you'll be invoicing. Fields: name, email, phone, address, tax ID, payment terms. You can also set them as customer, supplier, or both.

5. Create Your First Invoice

8

Go to Documents → New Invoice

Select your contact, set the date and due date, and add line items. Each line item pulls from your inventory - start typing a SKU or name to search.

9

Preview and send

Click Preview PDF to see how the document looks. When ready, click Finalize to lock the invoice and generate a share link. You can:

  • Download the PDF and email it manually
  • Copy the share link and send it - recipients can view and import the document into their own Celerp

What's next?

📦 Bulk import inventory

Import thousands of items from a CSV file in one step.

🔗 Connect Shopify (coming soon)

Sync your Shopify products, orders, and customers automatically.

📤 Share documents

Send invoices with "Accept & Import" links - your customers get Celerp for free.

Tip: Other devices on your network can reach Celerp at your machine's IP (e.g. http://192.168.1.50:8080). For internet access, put it behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS.

Team access: Need multiple team members to access Celerp at the same time? Connect to Celerp Connect to get a secure public URL and create a tunnel enabling concurrent access for your whole team.

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