Hiring & Onboarding
New hires, step by step

Hiring & Onboarding

Every new hire from interview to the end of their 90-day introductory period. Each person gets a checklist for their role. Tick items as they're done; the site stamps who and when.

🔒 Managers only. Keep government IDs, I-9 documents, SSNs and bank info in QuickBooks Payroll, never on this page. Here you only tick that it was done.
🖨 Forms to print: Form I-9 (official, always the latest version) I-9 instructions & list of acceptable documents Blank job application Opens the government's own PDF, so it's never out of date. Print 2 pages: the form and the document list.
📋 How we hire, step by step (managers: read this first)
  1. Interview. Click + New hire, enter name, role and phone, stage Interview. Write interview notes in Notes (experience, shops, certifications, tools). Click Save.
    Don't ask or write down age, religion, marital status, health, pregnancy, nationality or immigration status. Ask "Are you legally allowed to work in the U.S.?" only, the same for every applicant.
  2. Offer. When the owners say yes, change stage to Offer. Print the offer letter (pay plan from the owners, schedule Mon–Fri 7–5, start date). He signs; you keep a copy. Set the Start date so due dates show up.
  3. Add him in QuickBooks Payroll (once he accepts, close to the start date):
    1. QuickBooks → Payroll → Employees → Add an employee.
    2. Type his name and email.
    3. Pick "Yes, allow employee to enter their tax and banking info in Workforce."
    4. Click Add employee. He gets an email and enters his own address, SSN, W-4 and direct-deposit bank info.
    Never take bank numbers, voided checks or SSNs on paper or on this site. If he hands you a voided check, give it to payroll the same day and shred it.
  4. Before day 1 (stage Onboarding): company email, site login (Admin → Team & access), Tekmetric user, uniforms (Cintas), name badge. Tick each item as you go.
  5. Day 1, paperwork:
    1. Form I-9 (print it from Forms to print above): he fills section 1 on day 1. By day 3 you look at his original documents (he picks which ones from the I-9 list; never ask for specific ones or extra ones), fill section 2, sign. File it in the locked I-9 binder, not his personnel file, not on this site.
    2. Handbook: give it, walk through the Mission Statement and Words to Live By, he signs the Certificate of Receipt.
    3. Emergency contact form and any role forms (techs: tablet agreement). Signed copies go in the locked personnel folder.
    4. Check QBO: did he finish Workforce setup? If not, help him do it on his phone.
  6. Day 1, the shop: tour, safety pages, meet the team, log in to the site, Messages and Riley. Then his trainer takes over the Week 1 list.
  7. 30 / 60 / 90 days. GM check-ins at 30 and 60. Day 90 = end of the introductory period (handbook): review and decide. Change stage to Introductory (90 days) after day 1, then Active after the review.
  8. Not hired? Change stage to Not hired / archived. Keep the notes; don't delete.

Keeping records: I-9s for 3 years after hire or 1 year after they leave, whichever is later. Tennessee new-hire reports are filed by QuickBooks Payroll when you add him (Elite plan, automatic taxes on). Not legal advice: ask the QuickBooks payroll experts if unsure.