Payee Onboarding Process

After you create a payee, a manager fills in their record and then assigns a start-work packet: the tax forms, bank details, and signed documents the payee needs before they can be paid. You choose who completes the packet, you or the payee, and once it is complete and approved the payee can be included in payroll. Onboarding isn't a single linear form: it's the payee's own page, ending at the start-work packet card where you make that choice.

The company-side steps in this guide require Admin or Payroll. An Approver can check a payee's status but cannot finish or approve their setup, send links, record an employer I-9 attestation, edit payment details, or open private documents. Payees still complete their own steps through their portal.

The onboarding scroll and the packet

Onboarding starts on the payee's own page, one continuous scroll rather than a numbered wizard. A manager fills in, in order:

1. Engagement & union: union and agreement, job title, and effective start date. The payee's tax classification, chosen when they were added, is stated here rather than offered. A union engagement needs a job title, picked from the union's list or typed as a custom title, before the setup can be submitted or approved.
2. Personal info (called Business info, and asking for the business name, on a loan-out or vendor): legal name, email, phone. Before the payee is approved, this section deliberately collects only name and contact info, with no date of birth, tax ID, or address yet. Those are collected in finish setup.
3. Representation: optional; set up an agent, manager, business manager, or attorney if the payee has one, and their payment-direction authorization. Positioned here, before any pay details, because who (if anyone) directs the payee's money is treated as a wiring choice rather than a payroll detail.
4. Pay: pay rate(s), priced weekly, hourly, or by an 8/10/12-hour day. A payee needs at least one rate before you can first send them the packet, unless they bill per invoice (see the callout below).
5. Allowances and Deductions: per diem, housing, wardrobe, taxable earnings, and any deduction lines. For a union engagement, an Automatic union deductions card between the two shows what the agreement computes on every payroll.

Right after Deductions, the scroll reaches the start-work packet card, then the locked Payment card. The product deliberately stops here and asks you to choose the next step, rather than assuming you'll fill in everything yourself. Once the setup has been submitted for approval, the packet card moves near the top of the payee's page instead, since it then carries the page's one pending action.

Two paths, one packet

Until a packet is assigned, the card is titled Assign a start-work packet: "Choose the start-work packet this payee needs." Pick a packet from the list (see Startwork packet, below), then choose one of two buttons:

Assign and complete as manager. Assigns the packet and takes you to a dedicated Finish payee setup page (/payees/[code]/setup), the same setup flow the payee sees in their own portal, mounted for a manager acting on the payee's behalf. See Finishing setup yourself, below.

Assign and send to payee. Assigns the packet and emails the payee an account-aware link instead. If the payee's email already has a Greenroom account, because they work with another production on the platform, the email invites them to join this company rather than create a new account, and an active manager of your own company is invited to see their pay in the Greenroom login they already have; the send itself is identical. The payee then completes their own setup from any device, in one session: personal details, then, for a loan-out, contractor, or vendor, their W-9, then their payment method and the packet's documents. Then they submit the packet for approval. The link expires after 14 days; sending again revokes it and issues a fresh one (see Following up with a payee, below). The send is refused, with nothing assigned or sent, when the payee's email already signs in to Greenroom as someone who can't also be this payee's login, such as a manager at another company, a teammate you've deactivated, or Greenroom staff: "[email] already has a Greenroom login, so this payee can't get a separate payee login at that address yet. Change their email to another one, such as a personal address, then send again."

Sending and finishing setup both use the payee's record as it's saved. While the record has unsaved changes, both buttons wait, with Save your changes first: sending and finishing setup use what's saved.

Once a packet is assigned

Once a packet is assigned, the card shows the packet's name and version, who is completing it (Manager completing or Sent to payee), a status badge (In progress, Needs review, or Complete), and a row for every item in the packet with its own status. The two buttons become Continue as manager and Send to payee (Resend to payee once an account link has been emailed; the card then says "Account link emailed to [email] on [time]."): you can switch paths whenever the payee's setup isn't waiting for your approval, and the details and signatures already saved stay with the packet. While a submitted setup waits for your approval, neither path is offered. The card on the payee's record has one link to their Finish payee setup in place of both buttons: Review and approve, with the line "Setup submitted — waiting for your approval.", or, when something holds approval there (documents only your company can make ready, or your company not yet connected to our tax partner), Review setup, with "Setup submitted — approval is on hold." After a refusal for any other reason it shows Review and approve with the on-hold line, since approving again may succeed. On Finish payee setup itself, where you approve, the card shows that line in place of the buttons. A switch or a send from a page opened earlier is refused, with "This payee's setup is submitted and waiting for your review, so who completes the packet can't change until you approve it or request changes." or "This payee's setup is submitted and waiting for your review, so nothing was sent." Once you request changes, both paths work again. Below them, Open tax & payroll setup opens the payee's tax & payroll setup in a new tab, where their tax forms and payment details are completed, and a status line beside it reads Not checked yet, In progress, Waiting on: [step] (or Signed copy uploaded while it waits on our tax partner's W-9 signature and a signed copy of the W-9 is uploaded in Greenroom), Not started yet. Approving this payee's setup starts it., Complete, or Status unavailable. Use Refresh status to try again., with the time it was read. For a loan-out, contractor, or vendor, their own setup can start it before you approve anything, and the not-started line reads Not started yet. It starts when the payee opens their W-9 or links their bank, when they choose how they're paid in their portal, or when you approve their setup. (for one marked W-9 not required, Not started yet. It starts when the payee links their bank, when they choose how they're paid in their portal, or when you approve their setup.). Until it has, Open tax & payroll setup opens nothing and says This payee signs their W-9 themselves, from the Tax form step in their portal. (for one marked W-9 not required, This payee has a W-9 exemption on file, so there's no W-9 to sign. Their tax & payroll setup starts when the payee links their bank, when they choose how they're paid in their portal, or when you approve their setup.); for an employee before approval it says Tax & payroll setup opens once the payee's setup is approved. The status refreshes when you come back to the tab; Refresh status re-reads it on demand. For a payee with an active Greenroom login, the card also offers Send password reset. When that login is also a manager's, it sends nothing and says "This payee signs in with their own Greenroom login. They can reset its password from the sign-in page with "Forgot your password?"." The card's ⋯ menu holds Change packet (see Taking documents off a packet, below).

Finishing setup yourself

Finish payee setup (breadcrumbs Payees / [payee] / Finish setup) opens with the packet card, followed by a To-do list of the steps below, in the order to do them. Its header counts them, for example 2 of 5 done · 2 to do now · 1 after approval for an employee, or 2 of 4 done · 1 to do now · 1 for the payee for a contractor. Until the payee has a record with our tax partner, a step you can't do from this page says why: an employee's W-4 carries an After approval badge, and a loan-out's, contractor's, or vendor's W-9 carries Payee's step. In the payee's portal, the I-9 attestation reads The company's step. Each step opens in place, shows whether it's done, and a bar at the bottom counts them, for example "3 of 5 steps complete".

The steps, in order

The order depends on the tax form. A loan-out, contractor, or vendor goes Personal details → Tax form (W-9) → Payment method → Startwork documents, and can finish all of it in one session. The W-9 comes before the payment method because signing it with our tax partner also asks how they want to be paid: a direct deposit chosen there carries into their Payment method step, which then shows it, for example Direct deposit to [bank] ••[last 4]. An employee goes Personal details → Payment method → Startwork documents, then the W-4, which opens after approval, then the employer I-9 attestation.

Documents, and submitting for approval

To record a paper-signed document, enter the Signer name on the document, choose the Signed PDF (up to 10 MB), tick "I hold this document signed by the named person and am retaining the signed copy.", and click Record signed document. If you don't have signed paper forms, Send to [payee] to sign hands the documents to the payee instead. You can't e-sign a document on the payee's behalf.

Some of the packet's documents ask for details before they can be signed, such as the trust account for a minor's child trust, or the employer facts on a New York wage notice. Those appear under Additional packet documents, with a count of how many are signed.

To add one of those documents to this payee's packet later, or to have them sign the current version of one (a company policy you've since republished, for example), use Request a document at the bottom of Additional packet documents: choose the document and click Request current version. It's added to this payee's packet straight away, and the confirmation starts "Added to [payee]'s packet. Nothing was sent." and ends "Existing signed copies are retained." A required document has to be signed before the packet counts as complete again, and on a setup already submitted, approval waits for it (see When approval waits or is refused). Requesting never emails anyone by itself, and the form says beforehand what happens next: if you're completing the packet as the manager, record the signed paper copy; if the payee already has a Greenroom account, it appears in their portal under Finish setup the next time they sign in; otherwise a Send to payee button appears after the request to email them the link. The list only offers documents that can apply to this payee; a manual payment certification, for instance, is offered only for a payee paid by paper check. Nor does it offer a company policy your company hasn't published; a request for one from a page opened earlier is refused with "Anti-harassment policy isn't published yet, so it can't be signed. Publish this company's document in Onboarding packets, then request its current version here." A guardian permission is offered even before your production has saved its show name and guardian count, but choosing it says what to save first, in place of what happens next, for example "Guardian permission names the show and its number of guardians, so it can't be requested yet. First save the Show name in Settings, on the Company tab, and save the Production guardian count in Onboarding packets, then request it here.", and Request current version waits. A request from a page opened earlier is refused in the same words.

Finishing and submitting

When the required steps are done (job title, personal details, payment method, and the packet's required documents), Finish and approve becomes available. It submits the setup and approves it in one click, with you as the approver, whether or not automatic approval is on. In the payee's own portal the same button is Submit for approval, or Submit when automatic approval will approve the packet as they submit it ("Submit your start-work packet. It's approved as soon as you submit it."). The tax form and the employer attestation never hold up finishing or submitting. Nor does a tax ID our tax partner is still confirming, though once the setup is approved, the card on Finish payee setup reads Setup approved, never Approved and payroll-ready, and says "[name] can't be included in payroll until our tax partner confirms their tax ID; any other outstanding tasks from our tax partner still apply."

A required document that only your company can make ready doesn't hold up the payee either: a company policy you haven't published (a new packet leaves one out, but an older packet can still hold one), a New York wage notice you haven't confirmed, or a guardian permission assigned before the production set its guardian count and show name. The payee's setup leaves it out, and they can finish and submit without it. Approval still waits for it, so Finish and approve waits too, and the card says what it's waiting on. See When approval waits or is refused, below.

The employer I-9 attestation

For an employee, the packet includes an Employer I-9 attestation. Greenroom doesn't collect Form I-9 or the identity documents that go with it: your company completes and keeps the I-9 and its supporting documents outside Greenroom, then a company manager records an attestation that it was done.

The card appears on the payee's page and on Finish payee setup: "Complete the employer I-9 attestation. Payroll can continue while it is pending." It shows the attestation itself:

I attest that [your company's legal name] has received a completed Form I-9 for this individual, has examined the documentation presented, and has determined that this individual is authorized to work in the United States. I understand that [your company's legal name] is responsible for completing and retaining the Form I-9 and any supporting documentation, and that Greenroom does not collect, store or retain these records.

To record it, tick "I confirm the employer attestation above.", type Your full name, tick the electronic-signature consent (it names the form: "I have read and agree to the terms of Form I-9, Section 2 (Employer Review and Verification) for [payee], and I intend my typed name to constitute my electronic signature."), and click Record employer attestation. Only a company teammate with Admin or Payroll can record it.

A pending attestation doesn't block approval or payroll. The packet stays In progress until it's recorded, and the payee's readiness checklist lists Employer I-9 attestation pending as an advisory. The I-9 rules still apply: your company completes Section 2 within three business days of the employee's first day of work. Greenroom doesn't hold the form. Loan-outs, contractors, and vendors don't owe an I-9 and have no attestation.

Startwork packet

A Startwork packet is the set of tax forms and documents a payee completes before they start work. The packet list on the card offers Greenroom's standard packet for the payee's classification, plus any packets your company has built in Packets (see Onboarding Documents & Packets). Whichever you pick, the packet starts from the standard one for the payee's classification:

The tax forms, tax ID, and bank link are completed with our tax partner; your company's own documents are signed in Greenroom. A W-9 in your company's packet is left out, with the note Completed in tax & payroll setup in this packet, because our tax partner collects the W-9 itself. Greenroom also adds documents automatically, based on the payee: an anti-harassment policy and a confidentiality agreement for everyone, once your company has published them in Packets (a packet assigned before then gets them the next time the payee's details are saved, unless you've taken them off their packet); a manual payment certification for a payee paid by paper check; a New York wage notice for every employee of a company based in New York; a union retirement election for a union employee, where the union's retirement plan is in Greenroom's catalog (until the plan's terms are loaded it reads Plan details pending, and the employee can still decline; the IATSE Annuity Fund and Local 764 401(k) deferrals are optional elections that never hold up the packet); and, for a payee under 18 on their start date, a child trust authorization and a parent or guardian permission.

Once a packet is assigned, the card doesn't offer a packet choice again: the packet stays the one you picked. You can still take documents off it (below), and switching between the manager and payee paths keeps everything already saved. Switching is allowed whenever the payee's setup isn't waiting for your approval (see Once a packet is assigned).

Taking documents off a packet

To take documents off one payee's assigned packet, open the ⋯ menu at the top right of the start-work packet card and choose Change packet. It lists the packet's additional documents, the ones Greenroom adds or you request. The packet's own items aren't among them: the tax form, the bank link, and any document your company's packet includes. Uncheck each document to take off, and click Save changes; a confirmation reads "Removed from this packet: [documents]." A document that has to stay is shown locked, with the reason:

The same rule applies under Additional packet documents on Finish payee setup, where a document that can come off has Remove from this packet. To take a company policy off many payees' packets at once, use Take off payees' packets on the policy's row in Packets (see Taking documents off an assigned packet). To put a document back, use Request a document on Finish payee setup (see Documents, and submitting for approval, above).

Taking a document off doesn't change an approval that's already been given, and it doesn't run automatic approval; that runs at the payee's next submission.

Approval

A setup you finish yourself is approved when you click Finish and approve. A packet the payee submits from their portal leads to one of two outcomes, depending on a company setting.

Automatic approval, the default. Approve completed packets automatically on Settings → Company (in Payroll and approvals once Greenroom has approved your company, on the Start-work packet approvals card before) is on for every company unless an Admin turns it off: "Approve payees automatically when they submit a complete packet, without waiting for you. A setup you finish yourself is approved when you finish it, either way. Approval creates the payee's payroll record with our tax partner if their own setup has not, and opens an employee's tax forms; a contractor's W-9 is already open in their setup. You can still revoke an approval." A packet the payee submits is approved straight away. An employee is emailed that their tax forms are open; a loan-out, contractor, or vendor is emailed that their start-work packet is approved. When a payee's own setup has already created their record with our tax partner, approval uses that record. It sends the tax ID on file only while our tax partner still asks for one, and it doesn't send a payment choice over a different one our tax partner already holds.

Manual approval. With the setting off, the submission waits for you. The payee's onboarding status reads Review submission, and the payee is emailed that their packet was submitted. On Finish payee setup a panel reads Setup submitted — your approval, and says what approval will do for this payee: "Approval connects the payee to our tax partner and opens their pay portal. Any remaining tax steps stay visible above.", or, for a payee already connected to our tax partner (by their own setup, or by an earlier approval, including one that was refused or that you later revoked) and for any payee in a practice company, "Approval opens the payee's pay portal. Any remaining tax steps stay visible above." Click Approve setup, or Request changes to send it back. Changes need a note ("What needs to change?", 10 to 1,000 characters), sent with Send back for changes; the payee gets an "Open Your Portal" email with your note, and their status reads Changes requested until they resubmit.

When approval waits or is refused

Approval can be refused. Greenroom sets the payee up with our tax partner before it marks them approved, so if our tax partner refuses, or a union engagement still has no job title, the payee stays submitted and the reason is shown on Finish payee setup. That's true for automatic approvals too. For a mailing address our tax partner can't verify, see When our tax partner can't verify an address. When something already holds approval, the card on Finish payee setup says so before you click: its headline reads Setup ready, approval on hold, or Setup complete, approval on hold once every step is done (an employee's W-4 opens only after approval, so an employee normally sees the first), with the reason and its fix, and Finish and approve waits. A company not yet connected to our tax partner holds every approval: "Company payroll setup: this company is not connected to our tax partner yet. Complete company setup before approving this payee." If the payee's details change while an approval is going through, it stops with "[name]'s details changed while their setup was being approved. Review the changes, then choose Approve setup again." Approval also waits for any required document that only your company can make ready (see Finishing and submitting): the packet stays Needs review, its card says what each one needs, and the reason reads "Not approved yet: [document] is waiting on the company before the payee can sign. The start-work packet shows what each one needs. Approve once they are signed." For a wage notice, confirm it; the payee can then sign it from their setup. For a company policy, publish it in Packets: publishing hands the published version to the copy waiting in their packet (see Onboarding Documents & Packets). For a guardian permission, set the production guardian count in Packets and have an Admin set the show name in Settings → Company: the save that completes the pair hands the completed version to the copy waiting in their packet, with nothing to request. Once their parent or guardian has signed it, approve. For a minor employee paid by direct deposit, approval also sets up the trust account from their signed child trust authorization, and a failure there refuses the approval with a reason starting Child trust account: (see Child Trust). Fix the problem and approve again. A payee approved without a working connection to our tax partner shows Complete the payroll connection there instead, with a Connect to payroll button.

Once the payee has submitted, a document still to be signed holds approval too: one your company made ready only after they submitted, as above, or one you add with Request a document. They sign it from their own setup, which tells them "Approval waits on you: sign [document] on this page. We'll email you when your start-work packet is approved." Until then, the panel on Finish payee setup reads "Approval is on hold: the payee hasn't signed [document] yet. They sign it from their own setup. Approve once it is signed.", Approve setup waits, and the packet card on their record links there with Review setup and "Setup submitted — approval is on hold." A minor's guardian permission and child trust authorization are their parent or guardian's to sign, from the payee's setup page, and both lines say so. If a document still to be signed sits in a step their submitted setup locks, the panel's line ends "Their setup is locked while submitted, so Request changes to send it back for them to sign." instead. Approving a submitted setup that's incomplete for any other reason is refused with what's missing, for example "Approval is on hold: Payment method is not complete in this payee's setup. Request changes to send it back to them."

When our tax partner can't verify an address

When our tax partner sets a payee up, it checks their mailing address against how the post office writes it, and refuses one it can't verify.

What the payee sees. A loan-out, contractor, or vendor meets it in their own setup, where their record with our tax partner is created. Their W-9 card and bank link show "Our tax partner couldn't verify this mailing address. Please check the street number and name, city, state and ZIP against how the post office writes it, then try again. If it's already right, Greenroom has been told and will follow up." or, when our tax partner names the ZIP code as the problem, "Our tax partner says the ZIP code doesn't match this address. Please check the ZIP against how the post office writes this address, then try again. If it's already right, Greenroom has been told and will follow up." Unless their setup is waiting for approval, it opens on Personal details, with the same sentence at Mailing address (or ZIP) until they change the address or their details are saved again. Approval can be refused for the address too, for any kind of payee. While automatic approval is on, the payee's submitted setup then reads "Our tax partner couldn't verify your mailing address. [company] can send your setup back so you can correct it."

What Admin and Payroll see. When approval is refused for the address, the payee stays submitted, and Finish payee setup gives the reason with its fix: "Our tax partner couldn't verify [name]'s mailing address. Press Request changes to reopen their setup, correct the street number and name, city, state and ZIP under Personal details to match how the post office writes it, then Finish and approve. If it's already right, contact Greenroom." When the ZIP is the problem, it reads "Our tax partner says the ZIP code on [name]'s mailing address is incorrect. Press Request changes to reopen their setup, correct the ZIP under Personal details to match how the post office writes their address, then Finish and approve. If it's already right, contact Greenroom." A submitted setup can't be changed, so to fix the address:

1. In Payees, open the payee and choose Review and approve.
2. Choose Request changes, write a note of 10 to 1,000 characters, and choose Send back for changes. The note is emailed to the payee.
3. Open Personal details, correct the address, and choose Save personal details.
4. Choose Finish and approve.

Instead of steps 3 and 4, the payee can correct the address in their own setup and submit it again. With automatic approval on, that approves it; otherwise choose Approve setup on their Finish payee setup.

For an approved payee, Connect to payroll reports the same refusal with the fix on their record: "Our tax partner couldn't verify [name]'s mailing address. Correct the street number and name, city, state and ZIP on their record to match how the post office writes it, then Connect to payroll. If it's already right, contact Greenroom." (for the ZIP, "Our tax partner says the ZIP code on [name]'s mailing address is incorrect. Correct the ZIP on their record to match how the post office writes their address, then Connect to payroll. If it's already right, contact Greenroom."). In Add a vendor payment, the sentence starts On their Finish payee setup page: because the drawer has no Request changes of its own.

Needs attention on the list and dashboard

A mailing-address refusal stays visible after the attempt that found it. The payee list's Status dot is labelled Needs attention, its tooltip gives the reason, and the dashboard has a [name] needs attention link. The payee's own page opens with the same reason, such as "Our tax partner couldn't verify [name]'s mailing address." or "Our tax partner says the ZIP code on [name]'s mailing address is incorrect." Beside the address under their name, the page reads Not yet accepted by our tax partner until our tax partner accepts their details. This is separate from the packet's status and the payroll-readiness checklist.

For Admin and Payroll, the notice offers Go to finish setup while setup is unfinished, or Edit their address after approval. Its instructions match the current state: request changes first for a submitted setup; correct Personal details while setup is open; or correct the approved record. For an approved payee already connected to our tax partner, correct the address on their record and choose Save changes to send it again. If the approved payee still needs a payroll connection, correct the record and use Connect to payroll. If the address is already right, contact Greenroom.

Approvers see the reason and its effect, followed by "Ask a Payroll or Admin teammate to correct it." Their notice has no editing or finish-setup button.

The payee sees Not yet accepted by our tax partner beside the address on their own Profile too. If they already have a record with our tax partner, their Profile also gives the sentence their own setup gives for the refusal (see When our tax partner can't verify an address).

Greenroom also emails active company teammates with the subject [name]'s setup needs attention and an Open their payee page button. The email names the refused field and its effect without including the address, tax ID, or bank details. It points to the payee page for the next step, so each teammate sees the controls their role permits. Greenroom sends one notice per recipient for the ongoing refusal; another unsuccessful attempt doesn't send the same notice again. The notice clears when our tax partner accepts the correction. Archived payees are left out; restoring a payee brings an unresolved refusal back.

After approval

After approval, an employee's tax forms open: they complete their W-4 and state withholding in our tax partner's secure setup, which opens in a new tab from Complete your tax forms on their Tax forms step. A loan-out, contractor, or vendor who isn't marked W-9 not required signs their W-9 in their own setup whether or not they're approved yet; if it's still open after approval, they finish it there. A Tax & payroll setup card on Finish payee setup lists anything our tax partner still needs for this payee. Until the payee has a record there it reads, for a loan-out, contractor, or vendor, "Not started yet. It starts when the payee opens their W-9 or links their bank, when they choose how they're paid in their portal, or when you approve their setup." (for one marked W-9 not required, "Not started yet. It starts when the payee links their bank, when they choose how they're paid in their portal, or when you approve their setup."), and for an employee, "Not started yet. Approve this payee's setup to create their payroll record and make tax setup available."

To undo an approval, open Finish payee setup and click Revoke approval: "This returns the payee to company manager review and pauses their inclusion in new payrolls. Existing payrolls stay unchanged. You will need to approve this submission yourself, even when automatic approval is on."

Payment details are collected in finish setup

Bank and payment information doesn't live in the payee page's sections: it's a standalone Payment card right after the start-work packet card. Until the payee is approved the card is locked (Unlocks after setup): it reads "Payment is collected during finish setup", with a Go to finish setup button. Bank or check details are entered in the packet's Payment method step, by you on Finish payee setup or by the payee in their portal.

Once the payee is approved, the card becomes the full summary: payment method (direct deposit or paper check), the bank account that receives the remainder of their pay, account type, and the routing and account numbers masked to their last 4 digits, with an audited view action for the full value. Edit payment method opens the payment plan editor in a drawer, where manually entered numbers are typed twice and the routing number is checked against the standard ABA checksum. A routing number that fails the checksum is rejected rather than silently accepted. While a submitted setup is waiting for approval, payment can't be changed from either place: Finish payee setup reads "Setup is locked while it's waiting for your approval. Request changes to reopen it." (the payee's own setup reads "Setup is locked while it's pending approval. The manager can request changes to reopen it."), and the Payment card stays locked until approval. To fix a bank-detail typo at that point, request changes (or approve the setup and then edit). See Payment Details for direct deposit splits, bank linking, and paper checks.

Saving progress

While you fill in the payee's page, edits are saved automatically to your browser, not the server, so you can navigate away and come back without losing work, or recover after a crash or an accidental back-button press. These local drafts never include the tax ID, date of birth, or bank numbers; they expire after 24 hours; and they're cleared on sign-out. Restoring a draft is always an explicit choice: Greenroom offers it in a banner (Restore draft / Discard draft) rather than silently reapplying it, since this is a payroll record, not a low-stakes form.

Onboarding status

Greenroom tracks three separate signals, shown as separate badges. There's no single unified "onboarding status" value.

Onboarding status: the pill next to the payee's name at the top of the page. Tracks where the payee's setup stands:

Start-work packet: the badge on the packet card, and the payee list's Packet column:

On Finish payee setup, the bar under the steps also shows the review state once there is one: "Setup submitted — waiting for your approval." with a Review submission badge ("Setup submitted — approval is on hold." while something holds approval), or "Setup approved." with Approved. In the payee's own setup the submitted state reads "Setup submitted — awaiting manager approval.", with Pending Manager Approval (or "Setup submitted — approval is on hold." with Approval on hold while a document is still to be signed in their setup or, where your company approves automatically, while anything else holds approval).

Login status: a third, independent badge in the header: Login active when the payee has claimed their Greenroom portal account, Login invited when an account link is outstanding, and no badge when neither is true. The payee list's Login column shows the same thing as a dot (Login active, Invite sent, or Never invited). A payee can be mid-onboarding with no login at all if you're completing the packet for them, so login status and onboarding status move independently.

Managing Onboarding

Following up with a payee

There's no separate "reminder" button. You follow up the same way you sent the original link: Send to payee (or Resend to payee) on the start-work packet card sends a fresh link and revokes the outstanding one, so only the newest link works. While an invite is outstanding, or once the payee has an account, the pay-rate gate doesn't apply. After approval, an employee who still has tax steps to finish can be sent Send tax setup link from the Tax withholding card on their page.

A second send within a minute of the first, to the same address, is refused with "Just sent — give it a minute before resending.", and the link already sent stays good. If the email couldn't be delivered, you'll see "Packet assigned; email could not be delivered. Try sending again.", and you can send again straight away. If Greenroom couldn't confirm the email went out, you'll see "Packet assigned. We couldn't confirm the email went out. If it hasn't arrived in a minute, send it again." The email may still arrive, so a send within that minute gets the same "Just sent" answer.

Correcting a payee's email cancels the link already sent. Once you save a new email on their record, the link in the old inbox stops working, and the save says so: "The account link sent to [old email] no longer works. Send a new one to [new email]." If Greenroom couldn't confirm that link's email went out, the notice opens "The account link we may have sent to [old email] no longer works." instead. Send to payee sends the new one to the email now on the record. The notice only names a step that works:

• For a payee archived on or before October 17, 2026 with a link still open, it ends "Restore this payee, then send a new one to [new email]."
• If the new email already signs in to Greenroom as someone who can't also be this payee's login, such as a manager at another company, it ends with the sentence Send to payee would refuse with: "[new email] already has a Greenroom login, so this payee can't get a separate payee login at that address yet. Change their email to another one, such as a personal address, then send again."

A manager of your own company can also be a payee. A link to their email adds the payee to the login they already have. An email that signs in as someone who can't be this payee's login gets a note when you add the payee or change their email, and Send to payee refuses it with the sentence above.

Archiving a payee cancels their link too, and restoring them doesn't bring it back. While they're archived, Send to payee is refused with "This payee is archived. Restore them before sending an account link." See Archiving Payees.

Tracking progress

The payee detail page is a single continuous scroll, not a set of tabs. To see where someone stands:

• The onboarding status pill at the top of the page, next to the payee's name.
• Once the payee is approved, the Onboarding rail on their record: each step setup collected, marked done or not, with what's on file (see The Onboarding rail).
• The start-work packet card: its status badge, a row per item showing Pending, Complete, Needs review, or Not needed, and the tax & payroll setup status line with the time it was read. A W-9 row stays Pending while our tax partner confirms the tax ID, signed or not (W-9 signed; our tax partner is confirming the tax ID, or W-9 not signed yet; our tax partner is confirming the tax ID), and reads Needs review, with the reason, if our tax partner doesn't accept the tax ID: for example Our tax partner did not accept the tax ID: it is not a valid number.
• On Finish payee setup, the step list and its "N of M steps complete" bar, plus the Tax & payroll setup card, which lists what our tax partner still needs once the payee has a record there.
• On the payee list, the Packet column: Unassigned, Complete, or a count such as 3/6 complete · Pending, and for an employee a second line, Employer I-9 attestation · Pending or · Complete. Once the payee's tax & payroll status has been read, a last line says when, in Eastern time, for example Status read Oct 17, 12:04 AM ET, with the year when it isn't this year's. The column appears once the list is wide enough to hold it; in a window narrower than 1024px, where each payee is a card, the same lines are on the card.

See Onboarding status above for what each status value means.

To-do list

2 of 5 done · 2 to do now · 1 after approval

✓Personal detailsName, address, and date of birth on file

✓Payment methodDirect deposit or paper check on file

3Startwork documentsSign your startwork packet

4Tax withholding (W-4)Recommended before payrollAfter approvalPending in tax & payroll setup

5Employer I-9 attestationRecord the employer I-9 attestation for this packet

2 of 5 steps complete · W-4 not needed to submit — recommended before payroll

Submit for approval

Waiting on the required startwork documents — Jordan Ellis can e-sign the startwork documents, or you can record their signed paper forms.

Navigating Payee Details

The payee details page includes breadcrumb navigation at the top, "Payees" followed by the payee's name, for easy navigation back to the payee list. Finish payee setup adds a third crumb, Finish setup.

Assisting Payees

Provide support to payees who encounter difficulties during onboarding. This may include answering questions about required information, helping with document uploads, or guiding them through specific steps in the process.

Required Documents by Payee Type

Beyond the start-work packet, Greenroom keeps a short list of documents each payee type owes, in its document_requirements table (data-driven, not hardcoded per type):

A loan-out, contractor, or vendor marked W-9 not required doesn't owe the W-9; it stays on their list as optional (see Payee Types). Nor does one whose tax ID our tax partner holds from their W-9 while Greenroom holds none: the row reads optional, with the note Signed with our tax partner, or Tax id with our tax partner; W-9 not signed yet until they sign. Once a tax ID is entered in Greenroom, the signed W-9 upload is owed again (see Tax Information). Every payee also signs whatever your company's packet includes beyond these defaults; see Payment Details for how payment method itself is collected.

Onboarding Validation

Information

The finish-setup form marks every required field with an asterisk. A missing field never stops you saving personal details: the partial save goes through, and if something required is still missing the step stays open, flags each gap, and lists them under Still needed to finish personal details, with a link straight to each field. Nothing is guessed and nothing is skipped silently.

What's actually checked: email format (surrounding spaces in a payee record's email are trimmed first), a ten-digit US phone (or a valid international one), a date of birth that is a real date, not before 1900, and not in the future, and a routing number that passes the standard ABA checksum with the account number typed twice to confirm. See Form Validation for the exact messages.

Documents

Supporting uploads are checked for type (PDF, JPG, PNG, or WEBP), size (10 MB per file), and count (20 files per payee). The check happens before the upload starts, so an unusable file, an iPhone HEIC for instance, is refused immediately rather than after a slow transfer. A paper-signed packet document you record as a manager must be a PDF.

Greenroom does not read what's inside a document. Whether a signed copy is the right document, legible, and complete is a human judgement. Identity documents for the I-9 aren't uploaded to Greenroom at all: your company examines them itself, outside Greenroom. See Document Validation.

Best Practices

• Follow up with payees who haven't completed onboarding after 3-5 days
• Provide proactive support to help payees through the process
• Monitor onboarding completion regularly, especially before payroll deadlines
• Review submitted information thoroughly before approving
• Decide whether automatic approval suits your company: it's on by default, and an Admin can turn it off in Settings → Company if you'd rather approve each packet yourself
• Keep onboarding requirements updated as regulations or company policies change

Tip: Set a calendar reminder to check onboarding status a few days before each payroll run to ensure all necessary payees have completed the process.

Next Steps

Continue with Managing Payee Information to learn about updating payee details, see Payment Details to understand payment configuration, or see Representatives & Payment Direction to set up an agent or manager for a payee.