Set up your account: the Get started checklist

▶ 1:43

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Once you are signed in, the dashboard opens with a Get started checklist: seven steps, about fifteen minutes, and you can skip any step and come back later. Start with your business profile. The legal business name and EIN appear on compliance documents and paycheck certifications, so enter them exactly as registered with the state. Add the owner's name and title, then Save and Continue.

Next, add yourself as an employee. Your name and email are already filled in. Add a phone number if you want text reminders. You will be the only employee with the Owner role. Step four is how your team clocks in. SafeShift supports three modes: an entrance tablet with employee PINs, a connection to your point-of-sale system, or schedule mode. Each one gets its own video, so for now, skip this step.

Choose how you receive compliance alerts: push notifications on the manager app, a daily email digest, and a text when an employee reports a workplace concern. Then Save and Continue. SMS compliance notifications send timestamped break reminders and violation alerts to your employees, and every message is saved as evidence. It is two cents per delivered text. Leave both services on, then Activate and Continue.

Finally, download the manager app. Scan the QR code for iOS or Android to monitor breaks and get alerts from your phone, or choose I'll do this later. That is the whole checklist. Dismiss it, and your dashboard is ready: today's score, who is on shift, and your compliance risk. Next, add your team and choose how they clock in.

The moment your password is set, the dashboard opens with Get started with SafeShift — a checklist that takes about fifteen minutes end to end. Nothing is locked behind it: skip any step with Skip for now and the card stays on your Overview until it is done or dismissed. The video above walks through the whole thing on a fresh trial account.

1. 1

   Complete your business profile

   The legal business name and EIN appear on compliance documents and paycheck certifications, so enter them exactly as registered with the state. Add the owner's name and title, check the address (it was filled in from signup — it sets the sales-tax rate on your invoices), then Save & Continue.

2. 2

   Add yourself as an employee

   Your name and email are already filled in. Add a phone number if you want text reminders. You will be the only person with the Owner role — managers you add later get their own access level.

3. 3

   Choose how employees clock in

   SafeShift supports three modes: an entrance tablet where employees punch with a PIN, a connection to your point-of-sale system, or schedule mode. Each mode has its own guide and video, so it is fine to skip this step for now and come back after you have read Choose how employees clock in.

4. 4

   Set up notifications

   Choose how you hear about compliance: push notifications on the manager app, a daily email digest, and a text when an employee reports a workplace concern. Then Save & Continue.

5. 5

   Enable SMS compliance notifications

   SMS sends timestamped break reminders and violation alerts to your employees, and every message is saved as evidence. It costs two cents per delivered text. Leave both services on, then Activate & Continue. (During the free trial, texts are capped so a trial never runs up a bill.)

6. 6

   Download the manager app

   Scan the QR code for iOS or Android to monitor breaks and get alerts from your phone — or choose I'll do this later. The link is also in the Get the mobile app guide.

7. 7

   Dismiss the checklist and look around

   With every step done (or skipped) the card says You're all set. Dismiss it and your Overview is ready: today's score, who is on shift, and your compliance risk. Your next two jobs are adding your team and choosing how they clock in.