The first experience a client has with Policy Stack shapes how they engage with their banking system going forward. This guide walks through the advisor-side steps for onboarding a new client — from sending the invitation to walking them through their dashboard.
Step 1: Invite the Client
-
Navigate to Clients in the advisor sidebar.
-
Click "Invite Client."
-
Enter the client's email address.
-
Choose the relationship type — Connect (client-controlled read/write or read-only data sharing, free) or Seat (you cover their Builder Pro subscription).
-
Add a personal message — a brief note explaining what Policy Stack is and why you're inviting them.
-
Send the invitation.
The client receives an email with your name, firm, and personal message. If they do not already have a Policy Stack account, the link guides them through account creation.
Step 2: Set Up the Connection
Once the client accepts:
- Connected clients default to read/write access and can downgrade to read-only or no data access. They control what they enter and when.
- Seated clients receive full Builder Pro access. You can enter data on their behalf or let them manage it themselves.
For seated clients, you may want to enter their first policy and snapshot before the onboarding call so the dashboard is populated when they log in.
Step 3: First Data Entry
Walk the client through recording their first policy:
| Data Point | Where It Comes From | |------------|---------------------| | Policy name and carrier | The policy contract | | Issue date | The policy contract | | Base premium and paid-up additions | Annual statement or illustration | | Current cash value | Most recent annual statement | | Current death benefit | Most recent annual statement | | Outstanding loan balance (if any) | Most recent annual statement |
If the client has a recent annual statement, use the document extraction feature (Builder Pro) to pull values automatically. This saves manual entry and reduces errors.
Step 4: Walk Through the Dashboard
Schedule a brief call to walk the client through their banking system dashboard:
- Net CV — what it means and how it is calculated
- Policy snapshot history — how updating snapshots keeps their data current
- Data source badges — what Actual, Planned, Projected, and Modeled mean
- Policy loans and repayments — how loan balances and repayment progress are tracked
The goal is to make the client comfortable navigating their own data. They do not need to understand every feature on day one — focus on the overview and how to record a snapshot update.
Step 5: Set Follow-Up Reminders
After the onboarding call:
-
Add a note to the client's profile summarizing what was covered.
-
Set a reminder for 30 days out to check whether the client has logged in and explored their dashboard.
-
Set a recurring annual reminder tied to their policy anniversary for future reviews.