When you first log into your Onward portal, you'll be greeted with a personalized welcome page and a set of setup checklists to help you get up and running. This guide explains what's on the onboarding page and how to work through each step.
What You'll See
The onboarding page displays your name at the top with a welcome message, followed by up to three setup checklists depending on which Onward products you have:
Account Setup Checklist — Essential steps to configure your account (contacts, billing, branding).
Protect Setup Checklist — Steps to activate and configure Onward Protect and Checkout+.
Returns Setup Checklist — Steps to set up your returns portal and policies.
Each checklist shows individual steps with checkboxes. Some steps are completed automatically by the system (for example, when you connect a payment method), while others can be manually checked off by you.
Working Through the Checklists
Account Setup
The Account Setup checklist covers the basics every merchant needs:
Add your company contact information — Set up your main company contact, support contact, billing contact, and escalation contact.
Add a payment method — Connect a bank account or credit card for settlements and billing.
Upload your brand assets — Add your logo and email banner for a branded customer experience.
Protect Setup
If you have Onward Protect, this checklist walks you through:
Add FAQ's to your shop - Navigate to our Launch Assets to find FAQ page copy examples to add to your shop
Hide from Remarketing campaigns - This link will take you to a detailed document on how to hide Onward from remarketing campaigns
Returns Setup
If you have Onward Returns, this checklist covers:
Set up your return address — Enter the address where you receive returned items.
Configure your return policies — Set your return window, eligible items, and return reasons.
Set up shipping labels — Connect ShipSidekick or choose manual label management.
Go live with Returns — Activate your customer-facing return portal.
Tips for Completing Onboarding
You don't have to finish everything at once. The checklists save your progress, so you can come back anytime.
Some steps link directly to the relevant settings page. Click on a step to jump to the page where you can complete it.
Once all checklists are complete, the onboarding page will no longer appear — you'll go straight to your dashboard on future logins.
Work with your account manager - Our white glove onboarding and installation process will cover this checklist in depth.
Need Help?
The onboarding page includes a "Need Some Help?" section on the right side with links to:
Protect onboarding guide — A detailed walkthrough for setting up Protect.
FAQ — Answers to common questions about getting started.
Contact us — Email help@useonward.com with any setup questions.