Onboarding Wizard

The Onboarding Wizard guides you through everything needed to set up a new client in Kraal. It walks you through a multi-step flow from basic client details to data intake, first proofs, and launch readiness so your client is ready to work with from day one.

Accessing the Wizard

The onboarding wizard launches automatically when you create a new client. You can also access it at any time from Settings > Clients, then selecting the client you want to configure.

The Setup Flow

Step 1: Organization Setup

Confirm your organization details and preferences. This includes your firm name, default settings, and any organization-wide configurations that apply to new clients. If you have already completed this step for a previous client, your settings carry forward.

Step 2: Client Creation

Enter the basic information for your new client:

• Client name — the display name used throughout Kraal
• Accounting engine — Kraal provisions ERPNext automatically for every active accounting client
• Client description — optional notes to help your team identify this client

If the client already uses QuickBooks Online, guided setup will add a QuickBooks connection and migration proof later in the flow.

Step 3: Choose Data Intake

Choose how Kraal should receive the client's financial data:

• Statement upload — use PDF or CSV bank statements through the transaction processor
• Plaid bank feeds — optional automatic bank and credit-card intake for clients who want connected feeds; this is a paid add-on per linked account
• QuickBooks Online — connect an existing QuickBooks company when the client is migrating or running a parallel period
• E-commerce platforms — optionally connect Shopify, Amazon, or other sales channels for revenue tracking

Plaid can be skipped without blocking launch. If Plaid is skipped, users provide statements instead.

Step 4: Initial Data Import

Bring in the foundational accounting data:

• Chart of accounts — start from a template, use the AI builder to generate one based on the client's industry, or sync directly from ERPNext
• Opening balances — enter or import starting balances so reporting is accurate from the beginning
• Review imported data — verify that accounts, balances, and categories look correct before proceeding

Take time on this step. Accurate starting data makes everything downstream — reconciliation, reporting, close — much smoother.

Step 5: Feature Activation

Enable the features relevant to this client:

• Inventory management — for clients with physical goods
• Automated close — enable period-end close checklists and automation
• AI auto-post — let the AI automatically post routine transactions that meet your confidence thresholds
• Initial preferences — configure default categories, approval workflows, and notification settings

You can adjust all of these settings later as the client's needs evolve.

After Onboarding

Once you complete the wizard:

• The client appears in your client list and is ready to use
• The Workspace populates with Next Actions based on the imported data and connected sources
• You can begin processing transactions, reconciling accounts, and running reports immediately

Re-Running Steps

Need to change something? You can revisit any onboarding step from the client's detail page in Settings > Clients > select client. Each step can be re-run independently without affecting the others.

Launch Readiness

Kraal checks launch readiness inside onboarding instead of sending users to separate technical checkers. The readiness view verifies:

• ERPNext provisioning and chart of accounts readiness
• QuickBooks connection, token health, and first sync when QuickBooks is used
• banking intake through either Plaid or statement upload
• invoice delivery and client communication paths
• first reports or first operating outputs
• setup drift that Kraal can repair automatically

When Kraal can fix an item safely, it does so in the background. When a business action is required, the user sees one plain-language next step.