Account Setup at First Sign-In FAQ
Answers to common questions about the steps a person walks the first time they sign in, and about the Onboarding Settings page that shapes them.
For what account setup is and how it fits together, see the
Account Setup Overview.
Walking the steps
What will I be asked the first time I sign in?
Up to four steps, in this order: Your profile, Notifications, Availability & shifts, and Security setup. You see only the ones that apply to you, so your list may be shorter. The panel beside each step shows which are done and which are left.
Can I skip a step and come back to it later?
No. There is no skip button, and each step must be saved before the next one opens. Until you finish, every page you open sends you back to the steps. Some fields inside a step are optional — the phone number on Notifications is one — so you can leave those empty and continue. You can sign out part-way and pick up at the same step next time.
Why wasn’t I asked to set a password?
One of these reasons:
- You sign in through your company’s single sign-on, so there is no password here to set.
- You already chose your own password — from a team invite, a set-password link, a password reset link, or the page that asks you to replace an expired password — so you are not asked again.
- Your administrator has hidden the Security setup step.
Why don’t I see the Notifications or Availability & shifts step?
Those steps appear only when they apply. Availability & shifts is shown when your company uses Shifts & Scheduling. Notifications is shown when your company uses Shift Marketplace, On-Call Management or Calendar. An administrator can also show or hide either step for everyone.
Why can’t I turn on Email or SMS on the Notifications step?
Email is off and cannot be switched on when your account has no email address, or when mail cannot be delivered to it. SMS can be switched on only once your phone number is verified: add the number and verify it on the step, or do it later in Account Settings → Notifications. SMS is also unavailable if your company has it turned off, or if you replied STOP to our texts. In-app notifications are always on.
If I turn Email off, can I still reset my password?
Yes. Password reset emails are still sent to you. Sign-in codes are too, where your company allows signing in with a code.
Can I do this on my phone?
Yes. The same steps appear in the phone layout, in the same order. A step you already answered in the mobile app is not asked again on the web.
Changing answers afterwards
Where do I change what I entered during account setup?
Each answer has its own place, and the finished page links to the ones open to you:
| Answer | Where to change it |
|---|---|
| Email, SMS and other notification choices | Account Settings → Notifications |
| Photo and phone number | Your profile (when your company lets people edit their own profile) |
| Hours, weekend and holiday availability | Account Settings → Availability (when your company uses Shifts & Scheduling) |
| Password | Account Settings → Security (not shown to single sign-on users) |
| Language | Account Settings → Preferences |
On a phone, Availability, Password & security and Language open the full site.
Why can’t I change my name or time zone?
Your company may reserve those fields for an administrator. When it does, the finished page names which and tells you to ask your administrator. If you signed in through single sign-on, fields your organization filled in can also be read-only on the Your profile step.
What does Start over do?
Start over? is on the finished page. After you confirm, the steps reopen from the first one with your earlier answers already filled in, so you can change them as you go. Nothing you answered is cleared. You are held at the steps again until you finish them. Your password is not asked for again.
To get back to the finished page later, open /onboarding/completed.
For managers
How do I know my new hire has finished setting up?
You get a notification titled with their name and “is set up and ready”. It opens their profile, where their contact details are. When your company uses Shifts & Scheduling, the profile also has a When they can work card. It shows their availability answers once they have saved them, and says no answers are on file until then.
Why didn’t I get a notification when my new hire finished?
The notification goes to the person’s manager on record in your company. Check that you are set as their manager. If their manager has left the company, it goes to the next manager up the reporting line. If the person has no manager, nobody is notified.
My report started over and finished again. Why wasn’t I told a second time?
The notification is sent once per person. Starting over and finishing again does not send another.
For admins
Where do I choose which steps new people see?
Go to Admin → General Settings, find the Onboarding card and click Manage Onboarding. In the Onboarding Steps card, set each step to Auto (recommended), Always Show or Always Hide, then click Save Settings. The badge on each step shows what Auto resolves to for your company today.
What does Always Hide actually do, and when is it ignored?
Always Hide removes the step for everyone, with these limits:
- Profile Completion: ignored for anyone missing a first or last name. They still see the step.
- Security Setup: people stay on the temporary password they were given, unless your password policy expires it.
- Notification Preferences: no Email or SMS choice is recorded for the person. Each notification category keeps its normal default.
If every step is hidden for a person, their setup completes on their first visit and they go straight in.
Do single sign-on users go through account setup?
Yes, but not Security setup — they skip it whatever that step is set to. Their Your profile step arrives pre-filled. While Lock fields provided by organization is on, the pre-filled fields are read-only and the rest stay editable. That switch is on by default and appears on Onboarding Settings only when single sign-on is configured.
Does the go-live date decide who has to walk account setup?
No. The Go-live date governs HR’s side only: which employees the Missing I-9 and Onboarding task HR alerts can fire for, and who is counted in the statistics panel. Account setup does not read it. Anyone who has not finished is held at the steps, whatever their hire date and whether or not a date is set.
How do I see who has signed in but not finished account setup?
Go to Admin → Users, open More filters, and in the activity filter choose Signed in, account setup not finished. People who have never signed in are listed under Never Logged In instead. To check one person, open them from the list and read the Account setup: line. It says finished with the date, hasn’t signed in yet, or not finished with the step they last reached. Someone you have invited also shows Invited, with the date the invitation was sent for invitations sent since the date began to be recorded.
Where does account setup show up in HR reporting?
On the New Hires Report, each person listed has Account setup done with the date, or Account setup not finished, under their HR status. The CSV export carries the same fact in an Account setup column. On Onboarding Settings, the statistics panel counts Finished account setup (the steps above) and Not yet finished account setup once a go-live date is set.
Can I finish or reset someone’s account setup for them?
No. Account setup is the person’s own. When you view as someone, their step forms are disabled, nothing saves, and Start over? is refused. The finish date on their profile is shown, not typed, so it cannot be entered by hand either.
When something looks wrong
A new hire says every page sends them back to the setup steps. What is wrong?
Nothing — they have not finished. Each step that is shown must be saved, in order, and the last one completes the setup. Check their Account setup: line in Admin → Users to see the step they last reached, and ask what message that step shows them. Common ones: maximum hours per week lower than the minimum, a phone number shorter than 7 characters, or a missing password confirmation. Hours per week take 0 to 80, and maximum consecutive days take 1 to 7 or No preference.
HR’s report still lists someone as incomplete, but they finished account setup. Which is right?
Both. They are two different facts. Account setup is the first sign-in steps. HR’s Onboarding Status is set on the employee record as forms and documents come in. Finishing account setup moves a blank or Not Started status to In Progress, and no further. The New Hires Report prints both on each row so they can be read together.
More help
- Account Setup Overview — what account setup is and how it fits together.
- Users, Roles & Permissions — adding people and sending invitations.
- Mobile — What Employees Get — signing in on a phone.
- Ask AI — the assistant answers account setup questions from these articles.