How It Works
The full onboarding lifecycle from template to completion.
Portico replaces the back-and-forth of emails, shared folders, and separate signing tools with a single structured flow. Here's how the pieces fit together.
The four stages
Every onboarding moves through four stages:
| Stage | What happens | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Build | You create a template with the fields, steps, and logic your onboarding needs. | You |
| Send | You create an onboarding from that template, assign it to a client, and send it. | You |
| Fill | Your client receives a link, opens the form, and submits their responses — files, signatures, payments, and data. | Client |
| Review | You review responses, approve or reject fields, and mark the onboarding complete. | You |
Templates vs. onboardings
A template is your reusable blueprint — the form structure, field types, conditional logic, and settings. You build it once.
An onboarding is a single instance of that template, sent to a specific client. It carries that client's responses, status, and history. One template can produce unlimited onboardings.
If you update a template, existing onboardings are not affected. Only new onboardings use the latest version.
What your client sees
When a client clicks the link in their email, they land on a branded, multi-step form. No login required.
The experience is straightforward:
- Welcome page (optional) — a message you configure, explaining what to expect.
- Step-by-step form — one step per page with a progress bar. Fields save automatically as clients type, so nothing is lost.
- Save & exit — clients can close the browser and come back later. Their progress is preserved.
- Review round — if you reject any fields, the client sees specific feedback on what to fix and resubmits only those fields.
- Completion — once all fields are approved, the client sees a confirmation screen.
Clients can also access a Client Portal that shows all their onboardings, uploaded files, and signatures in one place.
Statuses
Onboardings move through these statuses:
- Draft — created but not yet sent.
- Sent — email delivered, client hasn't opened the form yet.
- In Progress — client has started filling in responses.
- Completed — all fields reviewed and approved.
- Cancelled — you stopped the onboarding. The client link is deactivated.
- Expired — the client link was not used within 30 days.
You can reopen completed or cancelled onboardings, which generates a fresh link and moves the status back to In Progress.
Automations
Portico handles the follow-up so you don't have to:
- Email reminders — sent automatically based on a schedule you set (e.g., 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day before the due date).
- SMS reminders — available on Pro and above with Twilio connected.
- Webhooks — trigger external workflows when onboarding events happen (sent, submitted, completed).
- Data retention — automatically clean up old response data after a period you define.
Compliance
Every onboarding includes a built-in audit trail:
- Consent records — GDPR-compliant consent collection before the form starts.
- Signatures — legally timestamped e-signatures with IP address logging.
- History tab — every action (send, open, submit, approve, reject) is logged with timestamps.
- Data export/erasure — fulfill GDPR subject access requests and right-to-be-forgotten requests from Settings.
Collaboration
If you have a team, multiple members can work on onboardings:
- Assign onboardings to specific team members.
- Leave comments on individual fields — visible to the client or internal-only.
- Send messages to clients directly from the onboarding detail page.
All plans include unlimited team members at no extra cost.