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Julia Ja, OperationsFred Alakbarov, ArchitectureBalash Mirzabey, EngineeringTalk

Employee onboarding — New hires show up to a ready desk, a working login and a plan

Employee onboarding automation runs the same checklist every time someone is hired. It sends the new-hire paperwork, adds them to payroll, opens their accounts and tells each person what to prepare. It suits small teams where hiring happens often enough to matter but there's no HR department to run it.

By Julia Ja, Owner

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New dental assistant · starts Mon

2 of 6 done
  • Offer letter signedDone
  • Handbook acknowledgmentDone
  • Payroll formsWaiting
  • X-ray certificate uploadedMissing
  • Practice software and email loginsWaiting
  • First-day text: parking, start timeWaiting
Remind her about the certificate
IllustrationPaperwork, logins and first-day details for a new hire, tracked from hire to first day.
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Why it matters

The problem it solves

In a small business, onboarding usually lives in the owner's or office manager's head. Each hire gets whatever that person remembers that week, and important steps are easy to skip.

The new hire feels it first. They arrive to a missing login, no uniform or nobody expecting them, while forms are still being chased. License copies and required training go missing until someone asks for them.

Example · illustrative

A dental office hiring an assistant

  1. On Monday the office manager marks a new assistant as hired, starting the following Monday.
  2. That afternoon the assistant gets her offer letter, handbook acknowledgment and payroll forms, plus a request to upload her X-ray certificate.
  3. IT gets a request for her practice software and email logins, and the lead assistant gets a note to plan her first day.
  4. Friday she gets a text with parkingStart time and who to ask for.

How it works

How employee onboarding works

  1. Starts whenA candidate accepts the offer or is marked hired
  2. 1Step 1Send the paperworkThe new hire gets the offer letter, handbook acknowledgment and payroll forms through the payroll or e-signature tool.
  3. 2Step 2Set up accountsEmail, scheduling, chat and job-specific system logins are requested or created, based on the role.
  4. 3Step 3Tell the teamThe manager, IT person and whoever orders uniforms or tools get their tasks with the start date.
  5. 4Step 4Send first-day detailsThe new hire gets where to go, when, who to ask for, what to bring and what to wear.
  6. A person decidesCheck inThe manager is reminded to check in after the first days and weeks, and confirms training is done.

Before · by hand

  • The owner or office manager runs onboarding from memory.
  • Logins and equipment aren't ready on the first day.
  • Forms are chased by email after the person has already started.
  • Every new hire gets a slightly different first week.

With employee onboarding

  • Each hire starts the same checklist the moment they accept.
  • Accounts and equipment are requested ahead of the start date.
  • Paperwork is signed before day one.
  • Managers get reminders for check-ins and training sign-off.

What we build

The parts of employee onboarding

Your systems

  • Gusto
  • BambooHR
  • ADP
  • DocuSign
  • Google Workspace
  • Microsoft 365

What we build

  1. 1Role checklists

    A written checklist for each role: forms, accounts, equipment, training and who owns each task.

  2. 2Hire trigger

    Starts the checklist when someone is marked hired in the hiring tool, the payroll system or a simple form.

  3. 3Paperwork and uploads

    Sends forms through payroll or e-signature, and collects licenses, certifications and uniform sizes.

  4. 4Task routing

    Gives the manager, IT and whoever orders equipment their tasks and due dates, and reminds them.

  5. 5First-day message

    Tells the new hire where to go, when, who to ask for and what to bring.

  6. 6Check-in tracker

    Reminds the manager about check-ins and records training sign-off for each new hire.

Your team decides

  • Managers decide on training and confirm when the new hire is ready to work alone.
  • A person checks identity and work-eligibility documents as the law requires.
  • The business writes and approves the checklist for each role.

Industries it fits

What employee onboarding looks like in each industry

HVAC, plumbing & electrical

New technicians get their truck, tool list, field app login and ride-along days set up before the first shift. The lead tech is reminded to sign off each ride-along before the new tech runs calls alone.

Everything for hvac, plumbing & electrical

Your industry isn’t listed, or works differently? Describe it and get an answer in a minute.

Getting started

What you need first

We go through these with you in the audit, before anything is built.

Before we start

5 things to have ready
  • A payroll or HR system for tax and new-hire forms, such as Gusto, ADP or BambooHR.
  • A checklist for each role, even a rough one, and who owns each task.
  • Admin access, or a person who has it, for the accounts new hires need.
  • A clear point at which someone counts as hired.
  • A manager for each hire who signs off training.

How a rollout runs

  1. 1Write the checklistsWe write down what happens for each role today, then fill the gaps with the manager.
  2. 2Connect the systemsWe connect payroll, e-signature, email and chat, and decide which accounts are created and which are only requested.
  3. 3Run a test hireWe onboard a test employee from offer to first check-in, and check every task and message.
  4. 4Go live with the next hireThe next real hire runs through it, with the office manager watching each step.
  5. 5Add offboardingOnce onboarding is steady, a matching checklist can close accounts and collect equipment when someone leaves.

What to measure

How to know it's working

Weekly report · employee onboarding

Illustration

  • Checklist items done before day one

    Shows whether the start date is actually ready, not just planned.

  • Paperwork signed before the start date

    Late forms hold up payroll and compliance.

  • Accounts working on the first day

    A new hire with no login loses their first day.

  • Training sign-offs completed

    Confirms the new hire is ready to work alone.

  • Open tasks by owner

    Shows which person or step keeps slipping.

We measure the baseline before building, so the change can be compared afterwards.

When it’s not a fit

  • It can't fix a checklist nobody agrees on. Settle what each role needs first.
  • Some account setups need an admin, especially with security rules. Those stay as requests, not automatic steps.
  • If you hire rarely and everything lives in one system, the payroll provider's own onboarding may be enough.
  • Identity and work-eligibility checks still need a person. Those documents shouldn't be stored outside payroll or HR.

Tool or custom build

Do you need a custom build?

Option A · a ready-made tool

An off-the-shelf tool may be enough

Gusto, BambooHR and Rippling include onboarding checklists and new-hire paperwork. If most steps live inside one of them, start there.

Option B · built around your systems

When a custom build is worth it

A custom build is worth it when onboarding spans several systems, like job software, practice software and equipment orders. It also fits role steps those tools can't trigger.

Not sure which fits?

What it typically costs

Typical ranges as of October 2026. Not a quote.

Ready-made tool, set up by us

An existing platform on your own account, configured for your business.

Setup, one timepaid to Lorryn
$750–$1,500
Tool subscriptionpaid to the provider
$15–$75 / month

Fits when your process matches what the platform already does.

Custom build

Built around how you work, with no platform subscription. You own it.

Build, one timebasic version to full version
$2,000–$5,000
Running costshosting and usage, on your accounts
~$10–$50 / month

Fits when your systems, rules or exceptions don't match a ready tool.

Optional Automation Care: $125 · $250 · $375 / month

1, 2 or 3 hours of support a month, with monitoring and alerts included. Without it, you run it yourself after handover.

Typically works with Gusto, BambooHR, ADP, DocuSign.

Booking into or writing to your field-service, practice or shop software adds up to $500 to the ready-made tool (often a built-in feature) and $500–$1,500 to a custom build.

Your price depends on volume, the systems involved and how many exceptions need a person. Our team confirms a fixed price before any work starts.

Proof and who stays in charge

Who does what

The automation does the routine steps. A person makes the call.

  1. 1Send the paperworkAutomated
  2. 2Set up accountsAutomated
  3. 3Tell the teamAutomated
  4. 4Send first-day detailsAutomated
  5. 5Check inA person

Consent and privacy

Tax and identity forms stay in the payroll or HR system, not in email or chat. Form I-9 review still needs a person.

FAQ

Questions about employee onboarding

  • Usually. Gusto, ADP, BambooHR and most other providers can be connected, and their own new-hire forms stay where they are.

  • Yes. A technician, a front-desk hire and a manager can each get their own tasks, accounts and training.

  • It depends on how many steps and systems are involved. Even with few hires, a fixed checklist stops things from slipping between hires.

  • They get reminders before the start date, and the manager is told what's still open.

  • Tax and identity forms stay in your payroll or HR system. Other uploads, like licenses, go where you choose, such as the HR system or a restricted folder.

  • Yes. First-day messages and reminders can go out in Spanish or another language. Official forms still come from your payroll provider.

  • The checklists can be edited. We set them up so the office manager can change tasks and wording.

Related use cases

Often built together

All automation ideas

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    Book a callJulia Ja, OperationsFred Alakbarov, ArchitectureBalash Mirzabey, Engineering
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