Your step-by-step guide from zero to a live, streaming radio station.
When your account was created, we provisioned everything automatically. Here's what's ready to go:
Your public listener URLs are active immediately. Until you add music and go live, listeners will hear a RunBeat placeholder message. Once you start broadcasting, your audio replaces it automatically.
You'll have received two emails:
Go to runbeatpulse.com and sign in with your email and temporary password. You'll be prompted to set a new password immediately.
Alternatively, click "Sign in with Microsoft" if your organisation uses Microsoft 365 — it links automatically on first use.
After logging in, you'll see a station picker. Select your station to enter the Pulse dashboard. This is your command centre for everything playout-related.
Tip: The same login works across all RunBeat products. Once you've set your password in Pulse, use it everywhere — CRM, Compliance, CMS, Contracts, Bonus, Calendar, and Engage.
Pulse is your cloud playout system. It handles music storage, scheduling, automation, and streaming. Here's how to get from zero to a live station.
Navigate to Media Library in the sidebar. Drag and drop MP3 or FLAC files, or click "Upload" to browse. Pulse automatically reads ID3 tags (artist, title, album, genre) and generates waveforms.
Tip: Pulse supports bulk upload. Select multiple files or drag an entire folder. Large libraries (1000+ tracks) work fine — they'll process in the background.
Clocks define the structure of each hour. Go to Clocks in the sidebar.
Go to Schedule in the sidebar. The schedule assigns clocks to time slots across the week.
Once you have music uploaded and a schedule configured:
Tip: Use Prep/VT Log to manually control what plays next — great for live shows. Switch between automated and live modes anytime from the dashboard.
Pulse can generate AI presenter links between songs — time checks, weather, song intros. Set these up in Clocks → AI Voice Link slots. Choose from British male/female voices powered by ElevenLabs.
Your CRM is at runbeatcrm.com. It's designed for radio advertising sales — manage advertisers, track deals, and run campaigns.
Go to Accounts and click "New Account". An account is a business you sell to (e.g. a local advertiser). Add their name, industry, and contact details.
Within an account, add the people you deal with. Each contact has a name, email, phone, and job title.
Go to Pipeline to see your sales pipeline. Click "New Deal" to create an opportunity — link it to an account, set a value, and move it through stages (Prospect → Proposal → Negotiation → Won).
Once a deal is won, create a Campaign to track the ad spots. Set start/end dates, spot count, and link it to the advertiser account.
Access at radiocompliance.co.uk. Compliance checks your audio against the Ofcom Broadcasting Code — profanity, hate speech, and content that shouldn't be broadcast.
In Pulse, enable auto-compliance in your station settings. New uploads are automatically sent to Compliance for checking before they enter rotation.
Add your own forbidden word list in Settings → Custom Rules. Useful for brand-specific restrictions or watershed content.
Access at runbeatcms.com. Build and manage your station's public website — news, show pages, schedules, and an embedded player.
On first login, you'll be guided through selecting a site template. Pick one that matches your station's style — you can customise colours, fonts, and layout later.
Go to Pages and click "New Page". Use the block editor to add text, images, audio players, and schedule widgets. Publish when ready.
The CMS can pull your Pulse schedule automatically. Add a Schedule Block to any page — it shows what's on now and what's coming up.
In Settings → Domain, add your custom domain. You can register a new domain through RunBeat or point an existing one using a CNAME record.
Access at runbeatcontracts.com. Create, send, and track contracts with legally-binding e-signatures.
Go to Templates and create a reusable template (e.g. "Advertising Agreement"). Add merge fields for client name, dates, and values that auto-fill when you send.
Create a new contract from a template, fill in the details, add signatories, and send. Recipients get an email with a secure link to review and sign.
The dashboard shows all contracts and their status — draft, sent, viewed, signed, or expired. You'll get notifications when contracts are signed.
Access at runbeatbonus.com. Track sales targets, calculate commissions, and manage bonus payments for your sales team.
Go to Frameworks and create a commission structure. Define tiers (e.g. 5% on first £10k, 8% above £10k), qualifying criteria, and payment periods.
Add your sales team members and assign them to a framework. Their deals from the CRM will automatically feed into bonus calculations.
At the end of each period, review calculated bonuses in the Approvals queue. Approve, amend, or query before payment.
Access at runbeatcalendar.com. Schedule presenter shifts, book studios, and manage your team's availability.
Invite team members from Settings → Team. They'll get access to view and manage their own shifts.
Click on the calendar to create a shift. Assign a presenter, set the show name, and choose the time slot. Recurring shifts (e.g. every Monday 6–10am) are supported.
If you have studios or equipment to manage, add them as Resources. Team members can book them alongside their shifts.
Access at runbeatengage.com. Add a live chat widget to your station website and let an AI chatbot handle common questions.
Go to Settings → Widget and copy the embed code. Paste it into your website (or if you're using RunBeat CMS, it's already integrated — just enable it in CMS settings).
In Bot Settings, tell the AI about your station — what you broadcast, your schedule, how to contact you. It uses this to answer listener questions automatically.
Live conversations appear in the Inbox. The AI handles most queries, but you can jump in and take over any conversation at any time.
Your streaming infrastructure is managed automatically by Pulse. Here's what you need to know:
These are in your welcome email. Share them on your website, social media, and with listener directories. They look like:
https://stream.runbeatpulse.com/listen/your-station/radio.mp3 — Standard quality (128kbps MP3)https://stream.runbeatpulse.com/listen/your-station/radio-hq.mp3 — High quality (320kbps MP3)https://stream.runbeatpulse.com/listen/your-station/radio-mobile.aac — Mobile (64kbps AAC)These connect Pulse's playout engine to the streaming infrastructure. You don't need to do anything with these — they're configured automatically. They're not for listeners.
Note: Your stream won't carry audio until you've uploaded music and started playout in Pulse. Until then, listeners hear a RunBeat placeholder message.
Download from runbeatmedia.co.uk/downloads. The desktop app gives you quick access to Pulse with native notifications, keyboard shortcuts, and offline media management.
Mobile apps are available via TestFlight (iOS) and internal distribution (Android) during the beta period. We'll send you access links separately. The mobile app lets you monitor your station, manage playlists, and go live from anywhere.
Beta testers: You have direct access to the development team. Don't hesitate to report bugs, request features, or ask questions — that's what the beta is for.
| RunBeat Pulse | runbeatpulse.com | Cloud playout & automation |
| RunBeat CRM | runbeatcrm.com | Sales & advertiser management |
| RunBeat Compliance | radiocompliance.co.uk | Ofcom content checking |
| RunBeat CMS | runbeatcms.com | Station website builder |
| RunBeat Contracts | runbeatcontracts.com | CLM & e-signatures |
| RunBeat Bonus | runbeatbonus.com | Commission tracking |
| RunBeat Calendar | runbeatcalendar.com | Team scheduling |
| RunBeat Engage | runbeatengage.com | Live chat & AI bot |