Set Up OnRamp for Your Organization

Last updated: March 23, 2026

Getting OnRamp configured upfront means your team can hit the ground running from day one. This guide walks through the full admin setup in the order that works best for most teams — from branding and users through playbooks, automation, and reporting.

Your goal isn't perfection on day one. It's getting OnRamp ready for real usage, testing, and iteration.

Before you begin: You'll need Super Admin access to complete this setup. Gather your branding assets (logo, colors), team list, and any integration credentials (Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack) before you start.

1. Set Up Your Profile

Your profile shows up in comments, task assignments, and project views — for both your team and your customers. Make it recognizable.

  1. Click your avatar in the top-right corner.

  2. Select My Profile.

  3. Upload a photo and fill in your details.

2. Configure Your Workspace and Portal Branding

The portal is what your customers see — make it feel like yours. These basics affect everything downstream, including what customers see, so it's worth getting them right early.

  1. Go to Settings › Portal.

  2. Upload your logo and set brand colors.

  3. Update the default language and time zone.

  4. Configure notification settings for your workspace.

To set up a custom domain (e.g., onboard.yourcompany.com), see Configure a Branded Customer URL.

3. Invite the Right Users (to Start)

At this stage, don't onboard your entire CS team — invite a small core group who will help with setup, configuration, and testing. You can expand access once things are running smoothly.

  1. Go to Administration › Users.

  2. Click Add User and choose internal (your team) or customer (the organization you're onboarding).

  3. Assign the appropriate user type (Super Admin, Creator, Collaborator, Contributor, etc.).

See Understand User Types and Permissions in OnRamp for a full breakdown of what each role can do.

4. Configure Data Fields

Data fields let you track custom information that matters to your organization — things like kickoff date, industry, or contract tier.

  1. Navigate to Settings › Data Fields.

  2. Add or edit fields for Projects, Tasks, or Users.

  3. Choose field types (text, dropdown, date, etc.) and set visibility.

5. Create Your First Playbook (Keep It Simple)

Before automation, you need a process. A Playbook is your reusable onboarding recipe — build your standard process once, then launch it for every new customer.

Start with one or two Playbooks covering your most common onboarding flow. Focus on a small number of clear modules, meaningful tasks in logical order, and resist the urge to capture every edge case. Simple and usable beats complete and overwhelming.

  1. Go to Library › Playbooks.

  2. Create a new Playbook from scratch or import an existing template.

  3. Define modules, tasks, and assign Task Roles.

6. Set Up Project Automation with Workflows

Once your Playbook is ready, use Workflows to automate project creation. Define what event triggers a project (usually a CRM event), which Playbook to use, and how project settings should be applied. This ensures the right project gets created, the same way, every time.

  1. Go to Settings › Integrations.

  2. Connect your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot) and other tools.

  3. Follow the prompts to authorize and map fields.

  4. Configure Workflows to trigger project creation from CRM events.

7. Configure CRM Write-Backs and Lifecycle Automation

Set up automation for how OnRamp communicates back to your CRM as projects progress — writing back when a project starts, updating statuses as milestones are completed, or syncing key lifecycle moments. These automations keep systems aligned without manual updates.

8. Test with a Dummy Project

Before inviting real customers, launch a test project internally. Walk through it as if you were the customer, catch anything that feels off, and tighten it up.

  1. Create a test project.

  2. Assign tasks to teammates and run through the flow end to end.

  3. Adjust anything that doesn't feel right before going live.

9. Explore Views & Insights

Finally, spend time exploring Views and Insights — OnRamp's reporting and visibility tools. This is where you track project progress, spot bottlenecks, and understand how Playbooks are performing. You don't need to customize everything immediately — just get comfortable reading what OnRamp is telling you.

What to Skip for Now

Early on, it's fine to skip advanced permission models, complex branching logic, and rare edge cases. You'll make better decisions once you've seen real projects in motion.

Troubleshooting

  • Portal not matching your brand? Try a hard refresh (Cmd+Shift+R / Ctrl+Shift+R).

  • Users not seeing tasks? Check task visibility settings in the Playbook or Task editor.

  • Integration field mapping issues? Review your field mapping in Workflows.