How to Use ClickUp Onboarding Templates

ClickUp offers ready-made onboarding templates that help you standardize how new hires, clients, and users get started with your product or service. This step-by-step guide shows you exactly how to choose a template, customize it, and turn it into a repeatable system for your entire team.

The instructions below are based on the templates and best practices showcased in the official onboarding templates overview on the ClickUp blog.

Why Use ClickUp for Onboarding

Effective onboarding requires clear tasks, deadlines, ownership, and documentation. Doing this manually in spreadsheets or email is slow and inconsistent. Using a structured system solves these problems.

By working with the onboarding templates available in ClickUp, you can:

Centralize every onboarding task in one workspace
Assign clear owners and due dates for each step
Share documents, links, and videos directly inside tasks
Track progress with views, dashboards, and checklists
Reuse proven onboarding workflows for every new hire or client

Getting Started With ClickUp Onboarding Templates

Before you begin, make sure you have an account and workspace ready. You will use templates to save time and keep your process consistent.

Step 1: Open the ClickUp Template Center

Sign in to your workspace.
Create or open a Space, Folder, or List where you want your onboarding to live.
Look for the option to add a template from the template library.

From the library, you can search for onboarding templates designed for employees, clients, or product users. The source page at ClickUp onboarding templates highlights many popular options.

Step 2: Choose the Right ClickUp Template Type

The blog showcases multiple template types, each focused on a different onboarding scenario. In your workspace, look for templates similar to these categories:

Employee onboarding templates for new hires and internal training
Client onboarding templates for agencies, consultants, and service providers
Product onboarding templates for user activation and feature adoption
Customer journey templates for mapping interactions from awareness to retention

Pick the template that most closely matches your use case. You can customize it later to fit your exact workflow.

How to Set Up a ClickUp Employee Onboarding Template

Employee onboarding templates are designed to guide new team members through their first days, weeks, and months. They combine task lists, documentation, and timelines.

Step 3: Import and Name Your Employee Onboarding Template

Select an employee onboarding template from the template center.
Choose the location (Space, Folder, or List) where you want to store it.
Give it a clear name, such as “New Employee Onboarding – Marketing.”
Apply the template to create all lists, tasks, and views included in the pack.

Once imported, you will see predefined phases like pre-boarding, first week, first 30 days, and beyond.

Step 4: Customize Fields and Views

To match your own internal process, adjust what you see inside the onboarding template:

Update custom fields like department, manager, start date, and location.
Edit the default statuses to reflect your process (for example: To Do, In Progress, Waiting, Done).
Adjust views such as List, Board, Calendar, and Gantt to align with your preferences.

These configurations keep your onboarding repeatable and easy to understand for every new hire.

Step 5: Assign Tasks to New Hires and Stakeholders

Create a new list or duplicate the template for each hire.
Assign tasks to the new employee, HR, IT, and the hiring manager.
Set due dates relative to the start date (for example: 3 days before, Day 1, Week 1).
Add relevant documents, links, or videos to each task.

As tasks move through each status, you can track how well the employee is progressing and quickly spot bottlenecks.

How to Use ClickUp for Client Onboarding

Client onboarding templates help you build consistent experiences for each new customer. They typically include kickoff actions, requirements gathering, and implementation steps.

Step 6: Set Up Your Client Onboarding Pipeline

In your chosen Space, create or apply a client onboarding template so you can see every client’s progress in one place. Configure it by:

Creating a list for each client account
Adding stages such as Contract Signed, Discovery, Setup, Review, and Live
Defining required tasks for each stage

This turns your onboarding into a predictable pipeline instead of a series of ad-hoc tasks.

Step 7: Standardize Communication and Handoffs

Within each client onboarding template you import, use tasks and subtasks to structure communication:

Attach meeting notes, briefs, and proposals to kickoff tasks
Use checklists for required documents and access credentials
Assign ownership to sales, account managers, and delivery teams
Set reminders and automations to follow up on overdue actions

This creates a smooth handoff from sales to service delivery, reducing confusion and rework.

Using ClickUp for Product and User Onboarding

Product onboarding templates focus on guiding users through key actions that help them see value quickly. They are ideal for SaaS tools and digital products.

Step 8: Map Your Product Onboarding Journey

List the core milestones users must complete to experience success (for example: account creation, profile setup, first project, collaboration).
Use a product onboarding template to turn these milestones into tasks and stages.
Assign internal owners responsible for each part of the journey, such as product, success, and support teams.

Some templates also include a customer journey map, which visualizes phases from awareness to advocacy to help you design better onboarding content.

Step 9: Track Engagement and Iterate

Once your product onboarding template is active, monitor how users move through it:

Use dashboards to view completion rates and time-to-complete for key steps
Identify where users stall and adjust messaging or support materials
Test new sequences and keep improved versions as updated templates

This feedback loop helps you continuously refine your onboarding flow without rebuilding it from scratch.

Best Practices for Managing ClickUp Onboarding Templates

To get long-term value from your templates, treat them as living systems that evolve with your team and customers.

Step 10: Keep One Master ClickUp Template Per Use Case

Maintain a single master template for each onboarding type, such as employee, client, and product. When you improve a workflow, update the master so all future instances benefit from your changes.

Step 11: Review and Optimize Regularly

Schedule periodic reviews of your templates to ensure they match your current process:

Remove redundant steps that slow onboarding down
Add new tasks for tools, policies, or features you have introduced
Update documentation links and training materials as they change

Regular reviews keep your ClickUp onboarding system accurate and efficient.

Step 12: Align Onboarding With Reporting

Connect your templates to reporting views so leaders can see onboarding performance at a glance. Examples include:

Lists filtered by status to identify who is behind schedule
Dashboards showing tasks completed per week for each hire or client
Workload views that highlight overloaded team members

This ensures you can manage capacity and improve your onboarding experience over time.

Next Steps After Setting Up ClickUp Onboarding

Once your onboarding templates are live, share them with your team and document how to use them. Provide short internal guides so managers and coordinators know which templates to apply in each situation.

If you want help designing a broader onboarding strategy, you can work with experienced consultants who specialize in process design and implementation, such as Consultevo. Combine strategic planning with the flexible templates available in your workspace to build a complete onboarding system.

By applying and customizing onboarding templates effectively, you turn your workspace into a central hub where every new hire, client, and user follows a proven path to success.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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