---
title: "Onboarding Checklist: Your First 5 Steps in TimeSentry"
description: Learn where to get started with TimeSentry.
---
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1. [TimeSentry Knowledge Base](https://help.timesentry.ai/?hsLang=en)
2. [Getting started](https://help.timesentry.ai/getting-started?hsLang=en)
3. [Onboarding & Setup](https://help.timesentry.ai/getting-started?hsLang=en#onboarding-setup)
# Onboarding Checklist: Your First 5 Steps in TimeSentry
**Summary:** Set up your workspace, connect the people and clients you work with, create a project, record time, and verify approvals and billing.
Use this checklist when setting up a new TimeSentry workspace.
**1. Confirm the active company and profile**
Open **Company Settings** from the left navigation. Confirm the company or individual name, address, industry, website, and other basic details. If your login belongs to more than one workspace, use the company switcher and verify that you are editing the intended company.
Administrators should also review:
- default billing rate and financial settings;
- project naming convention: Project, Matter, or Case;
- time-entry defaults such as billable status and activity categories;
- UTBMS options when the firm uses legal billing codes;
- capture, meeting-recording, and client-heartbeat privacy settings.
**2. Connect your working relationships**
Go to **Org** to add or review clients, employees, contractors, collaborators, vendors, contacts, and AI agents. These are relationships between company entities, not simply address-book labels.
To connect an existing TimeSentry company, share the **Relationship Key** shown in Company Settings. Treat the key as an invitation code and share it only with the intended party.
**3. Create a project and contract**
Open **Org \> Projects** and create the project that will receive time, tasks, expenses, and related documents. Select the client when the work is performed for another company.
If the engagement has agreed billing rates or payment terms, create a contract under **Org \> Contracts**. Contract settings are the source of truth for team billing rates.
**4. Record and review time**
Open **Time \> My Time**. Choose one of the available capture methods:
- **Manual Entry** for a single entry;
- **Start Timer** for live work;
- **Bulk Entry** for several entries at once;
- **Use AI** for assisted timesheet generation;
- **Reconcile** to turn captured activity into complete time entries.
Before saving or submitting, confirm the date, timekeeper, client, project, duration, billable status, description, and any required category or billing codes.
**5. Test the complete workflow**
Submit a small test entry through the real approval path. Ask the receiving company or administrator to confirm that the entry appears in the correct workspace, displays the expected status, and can be approved. Then verify that it appears in the intended report or billing workflow.
Testing one entry end to end catches the most common setup problems: wrong active company, missing project relationships, incomplete rates, incorrect permissions, and disconnected integrations.
**Recommended next steps**
- Install the desktop app, Chrome extension, mobile app, or Office add-ins used by your team.
- Connect email, calendar, chat, phone, accounting, payroll, or practice-management integrations.
- Configure integration rules for automatic client and project routing.
- Review Analytics and Staffing after real data begins to accumulate.
- [Getting started](https://help.timesentry.ai/getting-started?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Platform Overview](https://help.timesentry.ai/getting-started?hsLang=en#platform-overview)
- [Onboarding & Setup](https://help.timesentry.ai/getting-started?hsLang=en#onboarding-setup)
- [Troubleshooting](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Access & Login Issues](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#access-login-issues)
- [Time & Data Issues](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#time-data-issues)
- [Billing & Payments Issues](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#billing-payments-issues)
- [Integration Errors](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#integration-errors)
- [Settings, Security & Capture](https://help.timesentry.ai/troubleshooting?hsLang=en#settings-security-capture)
- [General](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Best Practices](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#best-practices)
- [Core Concepts](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#core-concepts)
- [Time Tracking & Approvals](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#time-tracking-approvals)
- [Projects, Clients & Contracts](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#projects-clients-contracts)
- [Tasks, Notes & Calendar](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#tasks-notes-calendar)
- [Expenses & Documents](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#expenses-documents)
- [Organization & Staffing](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#organization-staffing)
- [AI, Agents & Developer Access](https://help.timesentry.ai/general?hsLang=en#ai-agents-developer-access)
- [Reports](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Report Types](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#report-types)
- [Running Reports](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#running-reports)
- [Exporting & Sharing](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#exporting-sharing)
- [Data Analysis](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#data-analysis)
- [Billing, Finance & Reporting](https://help.timesentry.ai/reports?hsLang=en#billing-finance-reporting)
- [Integrations](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Integration Overview](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#integration-overview)
- [Finance & Payments](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#finance-payments)
- [Maintenance & Troubleshooting](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#maintenance-troubleshooting)
- [Apps & Automatic Capture](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#apps-automatic-capture)
- [Core Integrations](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#core-integrations)
- [Collaboration & Productivity](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#collaboration-productivity)
- [Practice Management & HR](https://help.timesentry.ai/integrations?hsLang=en#practice-management-hr)
- [FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Getting Started FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#getting-started-faqs)
- [Time Tracking FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#time-tracking-faqs)
- [Billing & Revenue FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#billing-revenue-faqs)
- [Team & Access FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#team-access-faqs)
- [Account & Subscription FAQs](https://help.timesentry.ai/faqs?hsLang=en#account-subscription-faqs)
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