Start one onboarding record for a hire. Open **Employee Lifecycle**, then **Employee Onboarding**.

You need an [Onboarding template](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-templates) before the activities and documents can be built. The hire needs an email before you can send the portal link.

## Create the record

1. Choose **New Employee Onboarding**.
2. The header says **New Employee Onboarding**, and the subtitle says to add the hire, joining date, and template, then create the record.
3. Fill **Employee Name** and **Date of Joining**. These are required.
4. Choose **Onboarding Template**. You can also set **Email**, **Department**, **Designation**, **Type of Contract** (**Seasonal**, **Permanent**, or **Contractor**), **Boarding Begins On**, and **Employee portal language**.
5. Optional links are **Job Applicant** and **Employee**. Choosing one fills the name and email when SmoothHiring already has them.
6. Choose **Create Employee Onboarding**.

You should see the person’s name as the title and a **Draft** status. The subtitle tells you to submit so activities and documents are built from the template. A missing name or template is named in that subtitle.

## Submit and send the portal

1. Choose **Submit**. The button shows **Submitting…** while it runs.
2. You should see **Onboarding submitted**. The page opens **Activities**. **Documents** lists what the template asked to collect. Status moves to the boarding status, usually **Pending** or **In Process**.
3. On **Documents**, the table shows **Document**, **Template**, **Instructions**, **Status**, **Uploaded**, and **File**. An empty list says **No documents on this onboarding** and tells you to add documents or sync from the template.
4. Choose **Send Portal Access**. You should see **Portal access sent**. The side panel **Portal** line shows the date. The button becomes **Resend Portal Access**.
5. If you resend, confirm **Portal access was previously sent. Send the credentials email again?**

**Preview Portal** opens a read-only view titled **Onboarding Portal Preview**, with **Desktop** and **Phone**. The banner says employees see the live version after onboarding is submitted and portal access is sent. Close it with **Close**.

## While they work

- **Activities** lists **Activity**, **Role**, **Due On**, and **Status** (**Pending**, **In Progress**, **Completed**). If it is empty, the page says to sync from the template or submit again after assigning a template.
- **Add document** asks for **Document name**, **Capture mode** (**Upload**, **Signature**, **ID Document**, or **Headshot**), and **Instructions**. Signature mode also asks for **Signature template**. Choose **Add document**.
- Open **Actions** for steps that are available on this record:
  - **Sync From Template** keeps existing uploads and entered values. Confirm the message, then you should see how many documents and activities were added.
  - **Save Progress** saves task and document updates. You should see **Progress saved**.
  - **Create Employee** asks you to confirm, then opens the new **Employee** record. **Open Employee** is on the header when an employee is already linked.
  - **Mark as Completed** sets every task to completed and boarding status to **Completed**. Confirm before it runs.
  - **Unlock for Employee** appears after the hire has submitted. It lets them edit again. They get an email that onboarding was unlocked.
  - **Cancel** stops the onboarding. You should see **Onboarding cancelled**. The status returns to **Draft**, and the activity and document tabs close.

A declined signature shows a **Refusé** warning with the reason, and the list can show the decline. A document can also read **Missing file**, **Re-upload required**, **Waiting on company**, **Signed**, or **Declined**.

## If it fails

- **Create Employee Onboarding** does not save when **Employee Name** or **Date of Joining** is missing. The screen names the required fields.
- **Submit** fails with **Action failed** when the template or required details are not ready. The record stays **Draft**.
- Send portal access stays off until the record is submitted. If there is no email, the subtitle says to add an email on **Setup**, then send portal access.
- A save that conflicts with someone else’s edit says to reload and try again. Your other edits are still on the page when a save fails with **Save failed. Your edits are still here.**
- Upload failure says **Upload failed. Try again once the file is ready.** Download failure says **Download failed**.
- A Zoho subtitle asks you to confirm **Type of Contract** before you send portal access. A **Returning hire** chip means this person has been onboarded before.

## Next

[Onboarding portal](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-portal) is what the hire sees after the email arrives.