Plane is gradually rolling out a new onboarding experience. If your workspace still uses the previous onboarding flow, refer to the guides labeled (classic).
This guide walks through how to onboard an employee via Plane’s Employer of Record (EOR) service. EOR allows you to hire employees internationally while Plane (or a Plane partner) handles the employment relationship, payroll, taxes, and compliance.
During EOR onboarding, both the admin and the employee complete a set of tasks to provide the information needed to establish the employment relationship and get set up for payroll.
The example below shows a full EOR onboarding project with the tasks required to complete onboarding.
1. Start EOR onboarding
To begin onboarding an employee via EOR:
Go to Add team member.
Enter the employee’s basic details:
First and last name
Personal email
Select the country where the employee is based.
Select Employee as the employment type.
If you select Employee for a non-U.S. country, Plane automatically treats the hire as an EOR employee.
Next, choose how you want to proceed:
Start onboarding – immediately starts the onboarding process and sends the employee an invitation to Plane so they can begin completing their tasks.
Save for later – creates the employee profile without starting onboarding. You can start onboarding later from the employee’s profile.
2. Set role, compensation, and start date
Next, complete the core details for the employee’s engagement.
These include:
Set role – provide the employee’s job title and a short description of their responsibilities. You can also optionally assign a manager and department.
Set compensation – define how the employee will be paid. Enter the amount and wage type (year, month, or hour) for the employee’s regular earnings. The compensation currency is automatically set to the employee’s local currency.
In some countries, compensation must include statutory bonuses such as a 13th month salary or 14th month salary (for example, Brazil and Italy). When these requirements apply, Plane shows additional options so you can choose whether the compensation you entered includes the statutory bonus or whether the statutory bonus should be paid on top of the base compensation.
Set start date – specify the date when the employee is expected to begin working. In some cases, start dates may need to be adjusted to accommodate onboarding timelines, immigration or visa requirements, and other country-specific processes. Plane will work with you to complete onboarding as quickly as possible while ensuring all required steps are completed properly.
3. Add optional services and compliance items
In the Options checklist, you can choose to add optional services or compensation elements. If additional details are needed, you can include them in the comment field for Plane’s operations team to review.
Background check – enable a background screening for the employee.
Immigration or visa support – indicate whether the employee will need immigration assistance (for example a visa or work permit). If immigration support is required, Plane’s operations team will coordinate the process and follow up with next steps. If you’re unsure about the employee’s status, you can select “I’m not sure yet” and provide additional context for the team to review.
Supplemental health benefits – request additional health benefits beyond statutory requirements.
Additional incentives – indicate whether the employee will receive compensation beyond base salary, such as equity, signing bonuses, or stipends.
Each of these is optional and can be configured based on your hiring needs.
4. Approve compensation and employer taxes
As the admin, you’ll review and approve the total compensation and employer tax obligations.
The Approve compensation and employer taxes step shows:
Base salary – the employee’s regular compensation
Employer taxes and contributions – mandatory employer-side taxes, social security contributions, and statutory benefits
Total employer cost – the full cost to employ this employee
The estimated employer cost reflects the compensation details and statutory requirements previously configured in the Set compensation step.
If the estimate looks correct, select Approve to continue onboarding.
If adjustments are needed, select I need changes and add a comment describing the requested change. Plane’s operations team will review the request and follow up if clarification is needed.
While the request is being reviewed, the task status changes to In progress and shows a message indicating the request is under review. Once the update is complete, the task will reopen so you can review the revised employer cost and approve it.
The example below shows a request for changes that is currently being reviewed by Plane’s operations team.
5. Authorize the security deposit
As part of EOR onboarding, you must authorize a security deposit before the employee’s first payroll can be processed. The deposit is typically equal to one month of payroll plus employer taxes and statutory contributions, ensuring funds are available to cover the employee’s first payroll cycle and related obligations.
Review the calculated deposit amount shown in this step. If everything looks correct, select Authorize to continue onboarding. If you have questions, you can choose I have questions to request clarification from Plane’s operations team.
6. Prepare and review the employment contract
Plane will generate an employment contract based on the information entered during onboarding, including details provided by the employee as they complete their profile. Because employees are invited to Plane as soon as onboarding begins, they can work on their profile in parallel while the contract is being prepared. Employees are encouraged to complete this information as soon as possible to help avoid delays in the onboarding process.
The contract flow includes:
Prepare employment contract – Plane prepares the employment agreement based on the compensation, role, and employment details collected during onboarding.
Review and approve contract – you review the draft agreement and confirm everything looks correct. If updates are required, you can leave a comment or upload redlined changes for review. When the agreement is ready, approve it and the employee will receive the contract for review..
Employee reviews contract – the employee receives the agreement as part of their onboarding tasks and reviews the document. If they have questions, they can flag them for review.
Employee signs contract – once everything looks correct, the employee receives an email with a link to sign the agreement outside of Plane and completes the electronic signature process there.
Once the employee’s signature is confirmed, the agreement is finalized. This is typically the final step in the onboarding process, and the onboarding project is then considered complete.
7. Employee completes their profile
After receiving their invitation, the employee will complete several onboarding tasks. These tasks appear in a dedicated onboarding page that shows only the steps the employee is responsible for completing.
The employee must complete the following steps:
Sign up for Plane – the employee accepts the invitation and creates a Plane account.
Provide personal details – the employee enters their legal name, date of birth, and nationality.
Enter administrative details – the employee provides residency information and relevant tax identifiers. These requirements vary by country (for example, EU citizens moving to the UK are asked about visa status; EU citizens in Italy are asked about freedom of movement).
Add address – the employee enters their residential address.
Set up bank account – the employee adds the bank account where salary should be paid.
Provide emergency contact – the employee adds a designated emergency contact person.
Admins can complete many of these steps on behalf of the employee if needed. However, tasks that require the employee’s personal signature or attestation must be completed by the employee themselves.
8. Track onboarding progress
During onboarding, admins can view the full onboarding project and track progress across all tasks, as shown in the earlier examples.
Employees see a simplified onboarding page that shows only the tasks they are responsible for completing. Tasks assigned to admins or other parties are not visible to the employee.
Once onboarding is complete, the employee gains access to the rest of the Plane application. The onboarding page remains visible for a short period after completion (about one week) and then disappears automatically.
9. Finish onboarding
Onboarding is complete once all required tasks have been finished.
At that point:
The employee’s profile is fully set up
Required tax, compliance, and payment details are on file
The employment contract is signed by both parties
The employee is ready to be added to the payroll system
Payroll begins according to the start date and pay schedule
Once payroll begins, the EOR provider (whether Plane or a partner) manages ongoing employment obligations including tax withholding, benefits administration, and statutory compliance.