Onboarding is the hire’s checklist before day one. You build a template, start an Employee Onboarding record, and send the person a link to the onboarding portal. They fill sections, upload files, and sign documents. You watch progress on the same record.

Open **Employee Lifecycle**. The screens for this work are **Employee Onboarding** and **Onboarding Template**. Files you keep on the employee after onboarding live under **Employee Document**. Documents that need a signature live under **Digital Signatures**.

## What you set up first

1. Create an [Onboarding template](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-templates) with activities, documents, and the portal sections the hire will complete.
2. [Start onboarding](/hrms/onboarding/employee-onboarding) for the person, choose that template, and submit it.
3. Send portal access. The hire finishes the work in the [Onboarding portal](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-portal).

## What you should see

- The Employee Onboarding list shows the person, contract, language, joining date, status, progress, whether portal access was sent, and any decline note.
- After you submit, the record opens **Setup**, **Activities**, and **Documents**. **Trainings** appears when your company uses required courses.
- Status starts as **Draft**. After submit it follows boarding status: **Pending**, **In Process**, or **Completed**.
- The side panel shows **Status**, **Portal** (a date, or **Not sent**), and **Progress**.

## If it fails

A new record stays **Draft** until you submit it. Portal access cannot go out until the record is submitted and the hire has an email. If the list is empty, the page says it tracks onboarding journeys from offer to day one, and the button is **New Employee Onboarding**.

## Next

- [Start onboarding](/hrms/onboarding/employee-onboarding)
- [Onboarding templates](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-templates)
- [Onboarding portal](/hrms/onboarding/onboarding-portal)
- [Documents and signatures](/hrms/documents-compliance/overview)