Frequently Asked Questions

General#

What is OpenBoxes?#

OpenBoxes is an open-source supply chain management system designed for healthcare organizations. It handles inventory tracking, procurement, distribution, and reporting for medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and other commodities. It is used by hospitals, NGOs, and government health programs in over 20 countries.

What is OpenBoxes Lift?#

OpenBoxes Lift is a fully managed cloud hosting platform for OpenBoxes. Instead of setting up and maintaining your own servers, database, and infrastructure, Lift handles everything: provisioning, backups, updates, security, and monitoring. You sign up, and your OpenBoxes instance is ready in minutes.

How is Lift different from self-hosting OpenBoxes?#

With self-hosting, you are responsible for servers, databases, SSL certificates, backups, updates, and security patches. With Lift, all of that is managed for you. You get automatic backups, guaranteed uptime SLAs, managed security updates, and support, without needing a dedicated IT team.

Who is OpenBoxes Lift for?#

Lift is designed for healthcare organizations, NGOs, government health programs, and any organization that manages medical supply chains and wants a reliable, low-maintenance deployment of OpenBoxes.

Can I try OpenBoxes before signing up?#

Yes. Request access at openboxes.cloud/demo. Enter your email and we'll send you an access email in seconds, with a one-click button that signs you straight into the public demo (it also lists your login details for signing back in later). No account or payment details needed. The demo carries a purpose-built sample data set: a fictional health NGO with a central warehouse, four regional depots, fifteen clinics, 500+ products and about two years of supply-chain history, plus open work you can actually finish, like a requisition awaiting approval. It resets once a day (3:00am US Eastern), so if your credentials stop working, just request fresh ones from the same page.

Account & Billing#

Visit openboxes.cloud and click Start Free Trial. The plan is set by the link you follow (Start Free Trial is Shared; the Dedicated link on the pricing page starts Dedicated). There is no plan-picker step in signup. You create your account, pick a subdomain, and your instance is provisioned automatically. Enterprise is arranged through Contact Sales.

Is there a free trial?#

Yes. Every Shared and Dedicated signup starts with a 30-day free trial. A payment method is required at signup, but you are not charged during the trial. Billing starts only if you keep your instance past the 30 days. Cancel before then and you pay nothing.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?#

New signups can choose Shared or Dedicated directly. To move an existing Shared subscription to Dedicated, message us in the portal chat and the team will arrange the migration. Downgrades from Dedicated to Shared also require a coordinated data migration. Enterprise agreements are arranged with our sales team, and changes to them are handled with our team directly.

Can I cancel anytime?#

Yes. There are no long-term contracts on Shared or Dedicated plans. You can cancel through the portal, and your subscription ends at the end of the current billing period. Your instance keeps working until then. After that it is suspended, and 30 days later the instance and its data are permanently deleted; you can resubscribe from Billing within those 30 days to get it back as it was. If you cancel during the free trial you are not charged; the instance is suspended when the trial ends and permanently deleted 30 days after that. Data export is available before and during those 30 days (see Billing).

Do you offer discounts for NGOs or nonprofits?#

Yes. Registered nonprofits and NGOs get:

$25/month off the Shared Tier monthly plan ($125/month instead of $150), or $300/year off the Shared Tier annual plan ($1,140/year instead of $1,440)
$100/month off the Dedicated Tier monthly plan ($500/month instead of $600), or $1,200/year off the Dedicated Tier annual plan ($4,560/year instead of $5,760)

There is no nonprofit discount on the Enterprise Tier.

Right now the founding-member offer is the bigger discount (50% off for 24 months for everyone who signs up before December 31, 2026), and the two are not combined. A nonprofit that signs up now gets the founding rate for its first 24 months and then moves to the nonprofit rate instead of standard pricing. Nonprofits signing up from January 2027 get the nonprofit rate from the start, and a nonprofit already on standard pricing gets it from the next invoice after we verify. The discount comes off the plan price only; add-ons are billed at their listed prices.

To claim it, email sales@openboxes.cloud with your nonprofit registration details and we'll apply the rate when it comes into effect. The full terms are at openboxes.cloud/nonprofits. Many OpenBoxes users are humanitarian and health organizations; for institutional situations that don't fit the standard plans, the same address reaches our sales team.

What payment methods do you accept?#

We accept major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and US bank accounts (ACH direct debit). During signup you can enter your card directly, provide it via Apple Pay or Google Pay where your browser offers them, or connect a US bank account by logging into your bank, verified instantly, with no microdeposits. Bank accounts can only be added during signup; after that, the portal's Billing page takes cards only (entered directly, or via Apple Pay or Google Pay). Invoice or purchase-order billing (net 30) is part of every Enterprise agreement.

Are there any hidden fees?#

No. The published price includes hosting, backups, SSL, and standard support, and nothing is added to your bill unless you choose it. The optional add-ons are self-serve under Billing > Add-ons in the portal once your subscription is paid: on Shared, +5 users ($25/mo per pack, up to 2), more storage (+25 GB $25/mo or +100 GB $100/mo, one band at a time), a higher API rate (2× $30/mo or 5× $70/mo), longer backup retention (90 days $15/mo or 1 year $30/mo), and Priority Support ($99/mo or $950/yr: your conversations in the portal support chat answered ahead of the standard queue, with an 8-business-hour first-response target during 9am–6pm US Eastern, Monday to Friday, measured from the point the conversation is handed to a person; a target, not a guarantee, with no service credits attached, and sold on Shared only because Dedicated and Enterprise already include the same target in the plan); on Dedicated, +25 users ($100/mo per pack, up to 2), +100 GB storage ($60/mo per band, up to 3) and API 2× ($175/mo); and on both, more AI assistant questions ($25/mo per pack of 500 questions a month, up to 4, once the assistant is on). Annual billing takes 20% off add-ons too; the founding-member discount applies to your plan only. Enterprise add-ons are listed on the pricing page.

AI Assistant#

What is the AI assistant?#

An assistant inside OpenBoxes that answers questions about your stock in plain words: stock at a location or across your locations, lots and expiry dates, stock movements to or from a location, and what the screen you are on means. It only looks at the locations you can open in OpenBoxes. If your account owner turns them on, it can also prepare draft stock requests and make stock changes, each only after you confirm. See AI Assistant.

Is it included in my plan?#

Yes, but it is off until the account owner turns it on. Once it is on, each instance gets a monthly allowance of questions: 100 on Shared, 500 on Dedicated and 2,000 on Enterprise, with up to a fifth of that usable in one day. On Shared and Dedicated the account owner can add 500 questions a month for $25/month ($240/year) per pack, up to 4 packs, once the subscription is paid and while the assistant is on. Unused questions do not carry over. During the 30-day free trial every plan gets the Shared allowance (100 questions a month, 20 a day).

How do I turn it on?#

The account owner turns it on in the portal under AI assistant, after agreeing to the AI assistant terms. It is off until then, and the owner can turn it off at any time. If the owner turns the assistant off, every extra question pack is scheduled to end at the end of the current billing period: there is no further charge after that, and no refund for the current period. On Enterprise it is turned on once it is added to your agreement.

Can it change or delete my data?#

Only what your account owner turns on, and only at the location you are working at. It can prepare a draft stock request into that location, or change the quantities on a draft it prepared for you; the draft is listed in OpenBoxes as Pending and is never submitted. It can also make the stock changes described below, if the owner turns them on. Either way it shows the change first, and nothing changes until you click Confirm. The assistant cannot undo a stock change. Apart from removing a draft it just created that did not save as shown, it cannot delete anything. It cannot change minimum or maximum levels, submit or approve requests, or change users, roles or passwords. See Draft stock requests and Stock changes.

Are draft stock requests on by default?#

No. They are a separate switch on the portal's AI assistant page, off until the account owner turns them on and agrees to their terms. They cost nothing extra; preparing a draft counts as one question, and Confirm and Cancel use none. They are available on Shared and on Dedicated, and on Enterprise they are available where your agreement provides for them.

Can the assistant change stock?#

Yes, for the kinds of stock change your account owner turns on, each answered below; it cannot change stock in any other way. Each kind has its own switch on the portal's AI assistant page, under Let the assistant change stock, off until the account owner turns it on and agrees to the terms for stock changes. These switches are separate from draft stock requests. The assistant shows a preview first, and nothing changes until the person using it clicks Confirm. It works only at the location you are working at, and it cannot undo a stock change: a person with the right permissions corrects it in OpenBoxes. New lots, new bins, write-offs and rolling back a receipt are done in OpenBoxes, and minimum and maximum levels cannot be changed with the assistant. Stock changes cost nothing extra; preparing one counts as one question, and Confirm and Cancel use none. They are available on Shared (all three kinds) and on Dedicated (receiving shipments and cycle counts; recording stock quantities is on Shared only), on Enterprise they are available where your agreement provides for them, and they are not offered on the public demo. See Stock changes.

Can the assistant do cycle counts?#

Yes, if your account owner turns on Enter and submit cycle counts, but only on a cycle count already started in OpenBoxes at the location you are working at. It cannot create or start a count, or start a recount. Entering counted quantities and submitting the count are two separate changes, each with its own Confirm. Entering counts does not change stock, and submitting a count does not change quantities either: a count where every count matches is recorded in OpenBoxes as the new count, and a count with differences goes to a recount in OpenBoxes, which changes nothing until the recount is finished there. A submitted count never changes quantities. The assistant cannot undo a submitted count. It works for people whose OpenBoxes role at that location is Assistant or above. See Cycle counts.

Can the assistant receive a shipment?#

Yes, if your account owner turns on Receive shipments. It receives stock on a shipment on its way to the location you are working at, all of it or part of it (the whole shipment at a location that receives whole shipments only), with lots and expiry dates exactly as shipped, into the bin OpenBoxes uses for receiving that shipment. Stock changes as soon as you click Confirm, and the assistant cannot undo a receipt. It works for people whose OpenBoxes role at that location is Assistant or above. Writing off what is left to receive and rolling back a receipt are done in OpenBoxes. See Receiving shipments.

Can the assistant set a stock quantity?#

Yes, if your account owner turns on Record stock quantities. It sets the quantity on hand of one product at the location you are working at, for the bins and lots that product already holds there; the preview lists every one, and the ones you do not mention stay as they are. Stock changes as soon as you click Confirm, and the assistant cannot undo it. It works only for people whose OpenBoxes role at that location is Manager or above. A new lot or bin is added in OpenBoxes. See Recording stock quantities.

Where do my questions go?#

To Anthropic, our AI provider, with the figures the assistant looked up to answer them and your name, roles, current location and page in OpenBoxes, processed in the United States. Anthropic does not train its models on them under its commercial terms. We keep conversations for 90 days, and a conversation ends when you sign out of OpenBoxes. Where draft stock requests or stock changes are on, we keep the record of each confirmed change for 1 year. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

Technical#

What browsers are supported?#

OpenBoxes works best on modern browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge (latest two versions of each). Internet Explorer is not supported.

Can I access OpenBoxes on mobile devices?#

Mobile is not a supported surface. OpenBoxes is designed for desktop and tablet browsers; phones are served a separate, limited mobile interface that covers only a fraction of the application, and we do not support it. Use a desktop or tablet for your day-to-day work.

How is my data backed up?#

Every instance is backed up automatically: nightly on Shared and Dedicated, kept 30 days; Enterprise agreements include backups every 6 hours, kept 90 days, with copies in a second region. On Shared you can extend retention to 90 days ($15/mo) or 1 year ($30/mo) with a backup-retention add-on. That changes how far back your backups go, not how recent the newest one is. Shared instances are backed up by Lift around 02:15 UTC and those backups are listed on the Backups page. Dedicated databases are backed up at 04:00 UTC by the database operator. Those scheduled backups are not listed on the Backups page (on-demand ones are), so ask support if you need to restore from one. You can also take an on-demand backup at any time from the Backups page in the customer portal. Backups are encrypted at rest.

Restores are self-serve for the account owner: on the Backups page, open the ⋯ menu on a backup and choose Restore from this backup…. A restore is destructive (it replaces your instance's current data with the backup), so take a fresh on-demand backup first if you might need to go back.

Can I export my data?#

Yes. OpenBoxes provides data export in CSV and Excel formats for most entities (products, inventory, shipments, purchase orders). You can also use the REST API to extract data programmatically. If you cancel a paid subscription, the instance is suspended at the end of the period you have paid for and permanently deleted 30 days later, so take a copy during those 30 days if you have not already. If you cancel during the free trial, the instance is suspended when the trial ends and permanently deleted 30 days after that, so export what you need before the trial ends. For a full copy on a Shared instance, download a backup from the Backups page or use Settings > Danger zone > Export my data (see Billing for what each one contains).

Is my data isolated from other customers?#

Yes. Every tenant on OpenBoxes Lift gets an isolated database schema. Your data is never co-mingled with another organization's data, regardless of tier.

Can I use my own domain name?#

Not currently. All instances are hosted under the openboxes.cloud domain (e.g., yourorg.openboxes.cloud). Custom domain support is planned post-launch and is not available on any plan today.

How are updates handled?#

Lift manages OpenBoxes version updates. We test updates before rolling them out, and all tiers are updated by Lift. For Dedicated and Enterprise customers we do our best to coordinate timing around your operations.

Security & Compliance#

Is my data encrypted?#

Yes. Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256). Database backups are also encrypted.

Where is my data hosted?#

OpenBoxes Lift runs on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) in the us-east1 region. Region selection is not available today; organizations with data-residency requirements can raise them as part of an Enterprise agreement.

Do you support single sign-on (SSO)?#

Yes. Company sign-in (single sign-on, SSO) is available now: your people sign in with their company account from your identity provider, over SAML 2.0 or OpenID Connect, with Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace or any standard provider. It is included on Enterprise. On Dedicated it is a paid add-on at $299/month on the Dedicated Tier monthly plan or $2,900/year on the Dedicated Tier annual plan. It is not available on the Shared Tier. On Dedicated you buy the add-on in the portal under Billing, using Browse add-ons. The setup is done with our team: after you buy it (or at any time on Enterprise), email sales@openboxes.cloud and tell us which identity provider you use. See Company Sign-In (SSO).

Two related features are available on every plan, and neither is company sign-in. Automatic sign-in is the portal-to-instance bridge: clicking Launch in the customer portal signs you straight into your OpenBoxes instance. Third-party sign-in with Google, Microsoft, or GitHub is available for individual accounts.

Account Setup#

When your OpenBoxes instance is provisioned, we rotate the default OpenBoxes admin user's password to a strong random value and show you that password exactly once on the signup-complete page. We call it a break-glass credential because it's only for situations where you need to log directly into OpenBoxes and automatic sign-in from the portal is unavailable.

You should:

Copy the password to your password manager when shown. We do not store it on our side after that moment, and we cannot recover it for you.
Use automatic sign-in from the portal (app.openboxes.cloud → "Launch") for normal daily access. The break-glass credential is not your day-to-day login.

If you missed it or lost it: sign in through the portal with Launch, then use OpenBoxes' built-in Forgot Password flow to reset the admin user's password. The break-glass credential isn't recoverable from our side. That's intentional, so a compromise of our portal doesn't expose direct-OB access on your account.

Why doesn't OpenBoxes Lift accept email addresses with `+` aliases?#

Some users like to add +tag aliases (e.g., you+lift@example.com) when signing up for services so they can filter mail by sender. OpenBoxes' built-in login form has a quirk where the + character in a username gets URL-decoded to a space, which breaks direct OpenBoxes login for accounts using these aliases. Automatic sign-in from the portal would work, but the direct-OB login path would not, so we block + at signup to avoid the inconsistent experience.

Please use a primary email address (e.g., you@example.com) at signup. If filtering matters, most providers let you create per-service aliases that don't rely on + (Gmail's dots, custom domains, etc.). We track the underlying OpenBoxes issue upstream and will lift the restriction once it's fixed.