Your onboarding journey: what to expect
The four onboarding stages, who you'll work with, and how your books get to the finish line.
Your onboarding journey: what to expect
Welcome to Uplinq. Onboarding is the process of getting your accounts connected, your history caught up, and your books running smoothly before they're handed to the bookkeeper who'll look after them every month. Here's the whole journey at a glance, so you always know where you are and what comes next.
Onboarding happens in four stages. Your job is simple: connect your accounts, upload the documents we ask for, and answer your transaction questions promptly. Do those three things quickly and your books finish faster.
The four stages of onboarding
- Welcome & Foundation. We kick off with a call to confirm your scope and your catch-up period (how far back we're bringing your books current). You'll connect your accounts, grant any access we need, and start collecting the documents we request.
- Educate & Automate. Together we review your uncategorized transactions and set up rules so that categorization starts happening automatically. The more we set up here, the less you'll be asked later.
- Milestone Check-In. We review your progress and walk through your first Profit & Loss together. You'll learn your way around the app and we'll set clear expectations for what's left.
- Transition Readiness. We clear any final blockers — a missing statement, an outstanding document, a payment-processor report — so nothing's left hanging before you're handed off.
Who you'll work with
You'll meet two people during your time with Uplinq:
- Your onboarding specialist gets you set up. They run your kickoff, help you connect accounts, and guide you through the stages above. This role is temporary — your specialist is not your long-term point of contact.
- Your dedicated bookkeeper takes over once onboarding is complete and maintains your books every month from then on.
It's normal to build a rapport with your onboarding specialist, but they hand you off once your books are ready. Your dedicated bookkeeper is who you'll work with month after month.
How your books reach the finish line
Onboarding is the first leg of a longer path. Here's the full route:
- Onboarding — accounts connected, documents in, transactions reviewed (the stages above).
- Submitted for review — your account is handed to our team for the next step.
- Cleanup & initialization — a specialized team reconciles everything and produces your financials.
- Tax — your finalized books feed into tax.
- Ongoing — your dedicated bookkeeper takes over and keeps your books current every month.
What to expect along the way
During onboarding, your reports are still a work in progress — they're incomplete and not tax-ready, and that's completely normal. An accurate, finalized set of books typically follows about 5–7 business days after your catch-up period finishes and everything has been reconciled.
If your Profit & Loss looks off while onboarding is underway, that's expected — the picture isn't complete yet. See Why your books look "off" for what's normal and what isn't.
Your job during onboarding
Three things move you to the finish line fastest:
- Connect your accounts so your transactions flow in automatically.
- Upload the documents we request so we can set opening balances and reconcile.
- Answer your transaction questions promptly so categorization stays accurate.
Finding your specialist's contact info
You can find your onboarding specialist's contact details on your home dashboard. It may take a little while to appear after your account is first set up, so don't worry if it isn't there the moment you log in.