Onboarding Walkthrough

The Plotwise onboarding flow helps you set up your account, create or join an organization, and configure initial tracking preferences. The exact steps you see depend on whether you're a new user joining an existing organization, an existing user creating a new organization, or both a new user and new organization.

Onboarding Flows

Plotwise offers three onboarding flows based on your situation:

Flow 1: Full Onboarding (New User, New Organization)

This is the complete onboarding experience for first-time users creating their own organization. You'll complete all setup steps.

Flow 2: User-Only Onboarding (Joining Existing Organization)

If you've been invited to join an existing organization, you'll only set up your personal profile without creating an organization.

Flow 3: Organization-Only Onboarding (Existing User, New Organization)

If you're an existing user creating an additional organization, you'll skip personal profile steps and only set up the new organization.

Step-by-Step Guide (Full Onboarding)

Step 1: Profile Setup

Set up your personal profile information:

1. Name: Enter your full name (maximum 64 characters)
2. Phone Number: Enter your phone number in E.164 format (e.g., +14155551234)
   • Required if you want to enable SMS notifications
   • Can be updated later in Profile Settings
3. Profile Picture: Upload an avatar (optional)
   • Click Upload Photo to select an image
   • Cropped to a circular format automatically
4. SMS Notifications Opt-In: Check the box to receive SMS alerts
   • Label: "I authorize Plotwise to send SMS alerts about permit activity to the number provided"
   • Includes disclosure about STOP/HELP keywords, message frequency, and rate disclaimers
   • See SMS Notifications for compliance details

Click Continue to proceed.

Step 2: Theme Selection

Choose your preferred visual theme:

• Light Mode: Bright, clean interface ideal for well-lit environments
• Dark Mode: Reduced eye strain in low-light conditions
• System: Automatically matches your device's theme preference

Your theme preference is saved and can be changed anytime in Profile Settings.

Click Continue to proceed.

Step 3: Organization Creation

Create your organization (company/team boundary):

1. Organization Name: Search for your company or enter a custom name
   • Use the autocomplete to find your company in our database
   • If your company is found, you'll see how many permits are already tracked (e.g., "105 permits found in database")
   • Selecting a known company links your organization to existing permit data
2. Slug: A URL-friendly identifier auto-generated from your organization name
   • Example: "Acme Construction" becomes "acme-construction"
   • Used in URLs: dashboard.plotwise.us/acme-construction/permits
   • Can only contain lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens
   • Must be unique across all Plotwise organizations
3. Logo: Upload your company logo (optional)
   • Supports circular or square crop
   • Displayed in the sidebar and organization settings

Click Continue to proceed.

Step 4: Portfolio Conditions (Optional)

Set up Portfolio conditions to automatically discover permits from contractors, licenses, or people you work with regularly:

1. Add Condition: Click to create a new condition
2. Select Type: Choose from Company, License, or Person
3. Enter Details:
   • Company: Use autocomplete to search by company name, or enter FEI number/phone
   • License: Enter license number
   • Person: Use autocomplete to search by name, or enter email
4. Repeat: Add up to 5 conditions total

Click Continue to proceed.

Step 5: Watchlist Setup (Optional)

Based on your organization and portfolio settings, Plotwise automatically searches for matching permits. The page title dynamically updates to show your results:

• "Searching for permits..." - While the search is in progress
• "We found X active permits matching your search" - When permits are found
• "Start tracking permit changes" - If no matching permits are found

Pick a few permits to start tracking. We'll keep you updated on status changes, inspections, and new activity.

1. Review Results: Browse the automatically discovered permits
2. Select Permits: Click to add permits to your watchlist
3. Continue: Proceed with your selected permits

See Adding Permits for detailed search instructions.

Click Continue to proceed.

Step 6: Team Invitations (Optional)

Invite team members to your organization:

1. Suggestions Based on Your Permits: Plotwise analyzes your permit data and suggests potential team members
   • Shows contacts found on your permits (applicants, owners, employees)
   • Displays the number of permits associated with each contact
   • Click Add to include them in your invitations
2. Related Contacts: Additional contacts found for your linked company
3. Invite by Email: Manually enter email addresses for team members not in suggestions
4. Role: Select their role (Admin or Member)
   • Admin: Can manage settings, members, and billing
   • Member: Can track permits and manage their own preferences

Invitations are sent via email with a link to join your organization. See Team Management for more details.

Click Finish to complete onboarding.

User-Only Onboarding

If you've been invited to join an existing organization, you'll only see Steps 1-2 (Profile Setup and Theme Selection). After completing these steps, you'll be added to the organization and redirected to the dashboard.

Organization-Only Onboarding

If you're an existing user creating an additional organization, you'll only see Steps 3-6 (Organization Creation, Portfolio Conditions, Watchlist Setup, Team Invitations). Your existing profile settings remain unchanged.

Tips by Role

After Onboarding

Once you complete onboarding, you'll be redirected to your organization's dashboard. From here, you can:

• View your Dashboard Overview
• Add more permits to your Watchlist
• Set up Portfolio or Radar conditions
• Configure Notification Preferences
• Manage Organization Settings

Troubleshooting

Related Documentation

• Creating Your Account
• Understanding Your Dashboard
• Profile Settings
• Organization Settings
• SMS Notifications