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How to Use Preboarding Packages

Preboarding packages let you collect essential information from new employees before their first day. Instead of chasing paperwork after someone starts, you send them a single link that walks them through everything they need to provide.

What is a Preboarding Package?

A preboarding package is a guided, step-by-step wizard sent to a new hire via email. The employee opens the link from any device, fills in the requested information at their own pace, and submits it when they are done. Their responses flow straight back into Timecloud — no manual data entry needed.

How It Works (Admin Side)

  1. Navigate to HR > Employee Lifecycle.
  2. Open the employee's lifecycle view and click Send Package.
  3. Timecloud sends the employee an email containing a welcome letter and a secure preboarding link.
  4. You can track completion from the employee's lifecycle dashboard — each step shows whether it has been finished.

Prerequisites for Sending a Package

Before you can send a preboarding package, the following must be in place:

  • Work start date — the employee must have a work start date set on their profile. If no start date is set, the Send Package button is disabled with a tooltip explaining why.
  • Configured package — a preboarding package must be configured and saved in the employee's profile template.

If both conditions are not met, the Send Package button will be greyed out. Hover over it to see which requirement is missing.

Company Profile Requirements for Australian Preboarding

Before sending a preboarding package to an Australian employee, your company profile must be fully completed. If any required details are missing, Timecloud will show an error with a link to Settings > Overview where you can fill them in.

Make sure the following are completed in Settings > Overview:

  • Company name and website
  • Contact first name, last name, email, and mobile phone
  • AU Employer Details — Legal business name, ABN, branch code, legal contact name, and legal phone
  • Legal Address — Address line 1, city, state (valid AU state code, e.g. NSW), post code, and country

If Lifecycle Is Not Configured Yet

When you open the Lifecycle tab and no preboarding package has been saved in Profile Template, a landing screen appears instead of the usual timeline.

  • If you have access to the organisation view, a Go to Profile Template button takes you straight to the configuration page.
  • If you do not have access, the screen advises you to contact an administrator with organisation access.

Once a preboarding package is configured in Profile Template, the normal lifecycle timeline appears automatically.

Configuring Task Due Dates

When setting up lifecycle tasks in a profile template, the Due Date field represents a number of days relative to a meaningful employment date. The reference date depends on the phase:

  • Preboarding tasks — days before work start date
  • Onboarding tasks — days after work start date
  • Offboarding tasks — days before work end date
  • Post-termination tasks — days after work end date

For example, setting a preboarding task due date to "7" means the task is due 7 days before the employee's work start date. Setting an onboarding task due date to "3" means it is due 3 days after their start date.

The same applies to the Due Date field on the preboarding package itself — it represents days before the work start date.

Uploading an Employment Contract (Admin)

If the employee's preboarding package includes a contract step, the admin can upload the employment contract before or after sending the package.

From the Bulk Add Users table

  • When adding multiple employees at once, a contract upload slot appears automatically for each role that requires one.
  • Attach the contract file before clicking Add Users — Timecloud uploads it and links it to the employee on creation.
  • If the contract is required, the Add Users button stays disabled until all contract slots are filled.

From an employee's Lifecycle tab

  • Open the employee's profile and go to the Lifecycle tab.
  • When the preboarding package requires a contract, an Upload Contract button appears in the header.
  • Click Upload Contract, choose a file, and click Upload.
  • Once uploaded, the button label changes to Update Contract — click it again to replace the file at any time.
  • The uploaded contract is what the employee will see when they reach the contract step in their preboarding wizard.
Tracking Package Progress

Once a package has been sent, you can monitor per-step progress directly from the employee's Lifecycle tab:

  • A fraction indicator (e.g. 1/2, 3/5) appears next to the package row, showing how many steps the employee has completed out of the total.
  • Click the expand arrow beside the fraction to reveal the full step list.
  • Each step displays a green tick (done) or an open circle (pending).

This lets you see exactly where a new hire is in their preboarding process without waiting for the full package to be submitted.

How It Works (Employee Side)

The employee receives an email with a personalised welcome message and a button to open their preboarding package. Clicking the link opens a step-by-step wizard. Depending on what the company has configured, the wizard can include any combination of the steps below.

Step 1 — Welcome

  • Displays the company's welcome letter (customised by the admin).
  • Click Start Preboarding to begin.

Step 2 — Employment Contract

  • Download your employment contract using the Download Contract button.
  • Sign the contract offline (print, sign, scan — or use a PDF signing tool).
  • Upload the signed copy by clicking Upload Signed Contract.
  • Accepted file types: PDF, PNG, JPG, JPEG. Max size: 10 MB.

Step 3 — Basic Details

  • Fill in the personal information fields your employer has configured. Which fields appear and whether they are required depends on how your admin has set up the profile template.
  • Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required — you must fill them in before you can complete the package.
  • If you try to move forward without completing required fields, an inline error appears beneath each incomplete field explaining what is needed.
  • Emergency Contact — If included, enter the contact's Full Name, Relationship, Email, and Phone Number. The phone number field includes a country code picker that auto-selects based on your employment country.

Step 4 — Compliance Upload

  • Upload copies of any required compliance documents (e.g. licences, certifications, right-to-work documents).
  • Each item shows whether it is Required or Optional.
  • If a compliance item has an Issue Date and/or Expiry Date configured, a date picker appears so you can record when the document was issued and when it expires. Required items must have their dates filled in before you can proceed.
  • Click Add files to attach documents. You can upload multiple files per item.
  • Some items may also include custom fields (e.g. a certification date or licence number) — fill these in alongside any uploaded files.

Step 5 — Payment & Tax Details

Provide your bank account, tax, and superannuation or KiwiSaver details. The fields displayed depend on your employment country.

Australian Employees — Flare Workflow

Australian employees complete their bank, TFN, and superannuation details through an embedded Flare form. This is a secure service that handles payment and tax onboarding in one place.

  • The Flare form loads automatically when you reach this step.
  • Complete all required sections within the embedded form (bank account, tax file declaration, and super choice).
  • Once you finish and submit within the form, Timecloud confirms your details have been saved and the step is marked as complete.
  • You cannot save a draft while on this step — complete the Flare form in one session.

Troubleshooting: If the form does not load or appears blank:

  • Allow third-party cookies for this site
  • Avoid private or incognito browsing
  • Turn off ad blockers or content blockers

If issues persist, click the Try again button to reload the form.

New Zealand Employees

New Zealand employees will see:

  • Bank Account — Account name and account number (15–16 digits). The account number field auto-formats as XX-XXXX-XXXXXXX-XX while you type, so you can enter or paste digits and the hyphens are added for you.
  • KiwiSaver — KiwiSaver status (Active, Opted out, or On savings suspension), effective date, and contribution rates (employee, employer, and ESCT). Contribution rate fields only appear when KiwiSaver status is Active.
  • Tax — IRD number, tax code, IR330 received status, and optional fields for tailored tax rate, student loan deduction, and child support deduction.

Australian Employees — Manual Entry (Legacy)

If the Flare workflow is not available, Australian employees will see the standard form:

  • Bank Account — Account name, BSB, and account number. The BSB field auto-formats as XXX-XXX while you type, so you can enter or paste digits and the hyphen is added for you.
  • Superannuation — Fund type (APRA regulated fund or SMSF), fund name, member number, and either a USI (for APRA funds) or Fund ABN and SMSF account name (for SMSFs).
  • Tax — Tax file number (TFN), employment basis, residency for tax purposes, tax-free threshold claim, and optional offsets and loan flags.

Sensitive fields (such as bank account numbers, IRD/TFN, and member numbers) are masked after you save them. If you need to change a previously saved value, click the Re-enter button next to the masked field.

Step 6 — Acknowledgements

  • Read each company policy displayed on the page.
  • If a policy has an attached document, click the Download button to view the full policy file before acknowledging.
  • Tick the Acknowledged checkbox for every policy.
  • All policies must be acknowledged before you can submit.
Saving & Submitting
  • Save as Draft — saves your progress so you can come back later. Your link stays active for a limited time. (Note: Save as Draft is not available on the Flare payment step for Australian employees — complete it in one go.)
  • Next — validates the current step and moves to the next one. If any required fields are missing or contain errors, a warning notification appears listing exactly which fields need attention, and the page scrolls to the first issue so you can fix it quickly.
  • Complete (on the final step) — validates all steps before submitting, not just the current one. If an earlier step still has incomplete fields, the wizard navigates you back to the first step with issues and shows a combined warning listing every field that needs attention across all steps. A verification challenge appears before submission to confirm you are a real person.
Validation & Error Messages

The preboarding wizard checks your entries as you go and provides clear feedback when something needs attention:

  • Inline errors — each field with an issue displays a message directly below it (e.g. "This field is required", "Please enter a valid email", "Please upload a file", "Please enter a valid date").
  • Warning notification — a toast message appears at the top of the screen summarising all fields that need fixing, using the field names you see on the form.
  • Auto-scroll — the page automatically scrolls to and focuses the first field with an issue so you know exactly where to start.
  • Cross-step checking — when you click Complete, the wizard checks every step. If multiple steps have problems, the notification groups issues by step name (e.g. "Basic Details: Full Name; Compliance Upload: Certificates").
Good to Know
  • Work start date required. You must set a work start date on the employee's profile before Timecloud will let you send the package.
  • Links expire. If your link has expired, contact your employer to resend the package.
  • One submission only. After you complete the package, the link cannot be reused.
  • Mobile friendly. The wizard works on phones and tablets — a progress bar at the top shows how far along you are.
  • Save often. Use Save as Draft if you need to step away. When you return, the wizard picks up where you left off.
  • Fix as you go. You can always click Next to check whether a step is complete — the wizard will tell you exactly what is missing before moving on.
  • Compliance dates are saved with your draft. If you enter an issue or expiry date and save as draft, the dates will be there when you come back.
  • Required fields are set by your admin. The fields marked with an asterisk are configured by your company — your admin chooses which details are mandatory for your preboarding package.
  • Australian preboarding requires a complete company profile. If you receive an error when trying to send a package, check that all employer details are filled in under Settings > Overview.