Onboarding a new client

Onboarding is what happens between "the client signed" and "we are actually working for them". It collects the documents and portal logins you need, settles how they will be billed, and finishes by putting the agreed work live.

Before you start

• An approved proposal for that client. Onboarding starts from one and cannot be started without it.
• Your firm profile complete — the client portal link cannot be sent without it.
• A contact with an email or phone, so the link has somewhere to go.

Start an onboarding

1. Open Onboarding from the left menu.
2. Click Start Onboarding.
3. Pick the approved proposal. The client and the agreed services come across with it.
4. Work through the four steps: the client's registrations, the documents you need, the credentials you need, and how billing will run.

Let the client do their part

1. Open the onboarding and generate the Client Portal Link.
2. Send it. The client opens it with no account and no password — the link is the key.
3. They see exactly what is outstanding: documents to upload, registration details to confirm, logins to supply.
4. Their progress appears on your screen as they go, under Client Activity.

Use Send test to me first if you want to see what the client will see. Use Revoke link to kill it if it went to the wrong person.

Finish the onboarding

1. Check the documents and credentials collected are what you asked for.
2. Confirm the billing arrangement — cycle, start date and amounts.
3. Choose Mark client as onboarded.

The engagement is now live: the compliance items from the proposal are attached to the client, the invoice schedule is set running, and the client's portal closes.

What the system does on its own

• The signed proposal supplies the work. You do not re-enter the services — completing onboarding attaches the compliance items that came from it.
• The billing schedule starts. Recurring services begin producing invoices on their agreed cycle from the start date.
• The portal closes on completion. The client's link stops working once you mark them onboarded, so old links cannot be reused.
• Uploads land against the client as they arrive — nobody has to move files across.

What you cannot do (and what to do instead)

• You cannot onboard from a proposal that is not approved. Get it signed first; onboarding sets up work the client has agreed to pay for.
• You cannot complete a cancelled onboarding. Start a new one.
• You cannot complete the same onboarding twice. If something was missed, reopen it, fix it, and complete it again.
• You cannot delete a completed onboarding. Live work and invoices depend on it.
• You cannot reopen an onboarding that was never completed. It is still open — carry on where you left off.
• You cannot send a portal link without a firm profile. Complete Settings, then Profile, first — the client sees your firm's name and branding on that page.

Common questions

The client will not use the portal.

Collect the documents however they prefer and upload them yourself from the onboarding screen. The portal is a convenience, not a requirement.

What actually happens when I mark a client as onboarded?

Their compliance items go live, the invoice schedule starts, and their portal link stops working. Do it when you are genuinely ready to act for them.

We forgot to collect a document.

Reopen the completed onboarding, add the document, and send the client a fresh link.

Most of our clients came before we used the product. Do they need onboarding?

No. Onboarding is optional — an existing client can be given compliance items and invoices directly.