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Onboarding new staff

Create staff profiles, assign PINs and locations, set up payroll IDs, and send the welcome message — so new hires can clock in, take training, and get announcements from day one.

What you'll set up

By the end of this guide each new staff member will have:

• A staff profile with name, email, and contact details
• A 4–6 digit PIN for clocking in via Shopify POS
• Assigned location(s) so schedules and clock-ins scope correctly
• A role (Staff, Manager, or Admin) with the right permissions
• A payroll ID for matching CSV exports to your payroll provider
• An invitation email with login and mobile/PWA access

Step 1 — Open the Staff Directory

From Shopify admin, open Staff Hub from the sidebar, then go to Manage → Staff. (On the standalone web app, navigate to Admin → Staff Profiles.) Click Add Staff Member.

Step 2 — Enter the basics

Fill in:

• First and last name (and optional preferred name)
• Email — required for login and the welcome email
• Phone number — optional but useful for emergencies
• Job title and department — used for filters and the org chart

Step 3 — Assign a role

Pick the right permission level:

• Staff — Can clock in/out, view their own schedule, take training, read announcements, post tips. Cannot edit other people's data.
• Manager — Everything Staff can do, plus: view the live POS roster, approve timesheets, fix missed punches (with required reasons), publish schedules, mark no-shows.
• Admin — Full access. Can create staff, edit any record, configure pricing, run payroll, manage commissions and API keys.

Step 4 — Set the PIN for POS clocking

If you're using POS time clock, generate or set a PIN:

1. In the staff profile, scroll to Workforce settings
2. Click Set PIN
3. Enter a 4–6 digit number that's unique within your store
4. Click Save

Staff Hub stores the PIN as a bcrypt hash — the original number is never stored or visible after save. Tell the staff member their PIN privately. If they forget it, set a new one (no recovery flow — by design).

Step 5 — Assign location(s)

If your store has multiple locations:

1. In Workforce settings → Assigned locations, select one or more locations
2. If you enable "Assigned location only" in your workforce settings, this staff member can only clock in at the listed locations

Single-location stores can leave this empty.

Step 6 — Add payroll details

For payroll-ready exports to map cleanly to your payroll provider:

• External payroll ID — the staff member's ID in Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, etc. Matches up CSV rows during import.
• Compensation type — hourly, salary, or none
• Hourly rate (in cents) — used for labor cost reporting
• Tip eligible / Commission eligible — toggles that affect tip pool and commission run inclusion

Step 7 — Save and invite

Click Save. Staff Hub creates the profile and queues an invitation email. The staff member receives a one-time link to set their password and access the staff portal.

If your SMTP isn't configured yet, the invitation won't send. Configure SMTP under Settings → Email first, or send your team the staff portal URL and they can use Forgot password to set a password manually.

Step 8 — Tell them how to clock in

Send your new hire a one-pager with three things:

1. Their PIN (privately — don't put this in a public channel)
2. How to clock in: "Tap the Staff Hub tile on Shopify POS, enter your PIN, then tap Clock In."
3. Their staff portal: https://app.staffhubapp.com (or your storefront proxy at /apps/staff-hub) for schedule, training, time off, and announcements.

Common issues

"Staff member can't log in"

Check that they used the email address you put in their profile and that the invitation email arrived (check spam). If SMTP isn't configured, use Resend invitation from the staff profile or share the staff portal URL and have them use Forgot password.

"PIN not accepted on POS"

Three causes: (1) PIN not set on the staff profile, (2) staff member terminated or set to inactive, (3) location restriction — you've enabled "Assigned location only" but this staff member isn't assigned to the location they're clocking in from. Check the audit log to see the exact reject reason.

"Welcome email not sending"

Configure SMTP under Settings → Email. Without SMTP, password reset and welcome emails won't go out. The app still works — staff just need the staff portal URL and the manual password-reset flow.