> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.getzendo.io/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Create an onboarding card

| **Plans:** Pro and Agency.

An onboarding card is a card on a client's dashboard that tells them what to do next. It can welcome a client the first time they sign in, or explain what happens after they buy a particular service. You create onboarding cards on **Settings › Portal › Onboardings**.

## Create and publish the card

1. Open **Settings › Portal › Onboardings** and select **Create onboarding**.
2. Enter the **Onboarding name** and select **Create onboarding**. Clients see the name as the title of the card on their dashboard.
3. If the card is not meant for every client, turn on a restriction, as described in the next section. **Flow preview**, on the right, sums up who will see the card.
4. Under **Customize onboarding**, choose the **Layout**: **Full width** or **Half width**.
5. Write the **Welcome message**.
6. If the client should be able to download files from the card, add them under **Attachments**.
7. If you want an image on the card, add a **Featured image**: a JPG, PNG, GIF or WEBP file of up to 1 MB.
8. Under **Checklist**, select **Add task** for each thing the client should do. Give each task a title, and if it needs explaining, a **Task message**. A task can have its own attachments and image.
9. Select **Preview** to see the card the way the client will.
10. Select **Publish**. Until then the card is a **Draft**, which no one sees; **Save draft** keeps your changes without showing the card.

![The onboarding editor: name (2), layout (4), welcome message (5), attachments (6) and featured image (7). Flow preview on the right sums up who sees the card.](https://getzendo.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kb-p8-editor.webp =610x621)

![Preview shows the card the way the client will see it, with the checklist (8).](https://getzendo.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/kb-p8-preview.webp =800x350)

## Which clients see the card

By default, a card has no restrictions: every client sees it, and the list shows **Visible to all**. A card like this can be used, for example, to welcome clients who signed up on their own.

With **Limit onboarding to specific services or request types**, only clients who bought one of the selected services, or submitted one of the selected request types, see the card. Each subscription package is a separate entry, for example `Ongoing Support Plan [Growth]`, so a Growth subscriber and a Starter subscriber can see different cards.

With **Limit onboarding to specific clients or teams**, only the clients and client teams you select see the card.

If you set both restrictions, a client has to meet both to see the card.

## Several cards on one dashboard

A client can see more than one card at a time, for example a general welcome and a card about a specific purchase. Which other cards are on the dashboard, and in what order, is set on **Settings › Portal › Dashboards**. See [Build a dashboard](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/build-a-dashboard-1dy17xy/).

## Reaching clients who have no request yet

Most ways of reaching a client depend on something that already exists. You can only post in a request once there is one, a message only goes out if someone writes it, and automations only run on requests. The onboarding card is therefore the only way to reach two kinds of client:

- a client who signed up on their own and has not done anything yet;
- a client who bought a service that does not create a request. See [Track delivery on the order, without requests](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/track-delivery-on-the-order-without-requests-54jzsy/).

## If a card does not appear

Open the client's profile and select **View as client**. You then see their dashboard with every onboarding card that applies to them. When a card is missing, the usual reason is that it is limited to a service the client has not bought. See [View the portal as a client](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/view-the-portal-as-a-client-8xh4sc/).

## Related

- [Build a dashboard](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/build-a-dashboard-1dy17xy/)
- [Show different things to different clients](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/show-different-things-to-different-clients-td4yka/)
- [Let clients sign up by themselves](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/let-clients-sign-up-by-themselves-1imyph1/)
- [Decide what happens after a purchase](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/decide-what-happens-after-a-purchase-kdi63s/)
- [View the portal as a client](https://help.getzendo.io/en/article/view-the-portal-as-a-client-8xh4sc/)