If you’ve ever managed B2B onboarding, you know it’s rarely as smooth as the sales deck promised. Multiple steps, scattered emails, clients who get lost or stall out—meanwhile, your team is stuck chasing status updates instead of actually helping. If you’re tired of onboarding chaos and want something practical (that doesn’t require a six-month IT project), this guide is for you.
Let’s cut through the noise and get into how you can actually streamline B2B onboarding workflows using the Arrows software tool. This isn’t a magic wand—just a set of honest steps to make onboarding less painful for everyone involved.
1. Map Out Your Real-World Onboarding Steps (Not the Idealized Version)
Before you even open up any software, sit down and sketch out what your onboarding process actually looks like today. Not the version on the slide deck, but what really happens, with all the side conversations and inevitable bottlenecks.
- Write down every step: From “welcome email sent” to “client’s IT department finally gives access,” capture it all.
- Identify bottlenecks: Where do clients stall? Where do you end up chasing people for info?
- Ask your team: Get feedback from the folks doing the work. They know where things break down.
Pro tip: Don’t try to fix every problem right now. Just get a clear picture. You’ll clean it up as you go.
2. Get Arrows Set Up—Keep It Simple
Now it’s time to bring in Arrows. If you’re not familiar, Arrows is a SaaS tool built specifically for managing customer onboarding, especially when you’re dealing with multiple stakeholders and a lot of moving parts.
- Sign up and connect your CRM: Arrows works best with HubSpot, but you can use it standalone if needed. If you’re not on HubSpot, don’t sweat it—just expect to do a bit more manual updating.
- Start with one workflow: Don’t try to automate everything. Just pick your most common onboarding process and build that first.
- Use their templates—but tweak them: Arrows has pre-built templates. They’re a decent starting point, but you’ll want to customize for your business.
What works: The real value is making onboarding steps visible to everyone (your team and the client) in one place. No more “Did you send that form?” emails.
What to ignore: Don’t get lost configuring every field or trying to make your onboarding 100% “automated.” You’ll waste time chasing perfection.
3. Build a Clear, Client-Friendly Onboarding Plan
Here’s where things get interesting: Arrows lets you turn your onboarding process into a step-by-step plan your clients can actually see and interact with.
- List out steps as tasks: Each step should be actionable—think “Submit logo file,” not “Branding.”
- Add deadlines and owners: Assign tasks to specific people (on your team or the client side). Dates help keep things moving.
- Link resources: Drop in links, docs, or videos right where people need them.
- Automate reminders: Set up automatic nudges so you’re not manually chasing folks all the time.
Be honest: Don’t overload clients with too many steps at once. If you can break big tasks into smaller ones, do it. Fewer “what now?” emails later.
What works: Clients like seeing progress—Arrows gives them (and you) a live view of what’s done and what’s next. Fewer surprises, less hand-holding.
What doesn’t: If you make it too complex or jargon-heavy, clients will tune out. Keep language simple and instructions crystal clear.
4. Loop In Your Team (Without Micromanaging)
Onboarding isn’t just one person’s job. Arrows makes it easier to pull in your CSMs, technical folks, or whoever needs to own a piece of the process.
- Assign tasks internally: Make it clear who does what. No more “I thought you were handling it.”
- Use internal notes: Arrows lets you add private notes only your team sees. Perfect for flagging tricky clients or sharing context.
- Track accountability: If something stalls, you can see exactly where and who needs to pick it up.
Heads up: If your team isn’t used to using a tool like this, expect some pushback. Change is annoying. Start small, show quick wins, and don’t force it down everyone’s throat from day one.
5. Communicate With Clients Through the Workflow
One of the best parts of using Arrows is that it gives you a single place to communicate about onboarding steps—no more endless email chains or lost Slack messages.
- Centralize updates: Clients can ask questions or upload files right in the task.
- Automated status emails: Arrows can send clients automatic progress updates, so they know what’s next (and so do you).
- Reduce meetings: A clear, shared plan means fewer “status check” calls.
Keep it human: Automation is great, but don’t hide behind it. Personal check-ins still matter, especially if a client gets stuck.
6. Measure What’s Actually Happening—Not Just What You Hope Is Happening
Here’s where most onboarding tools overpromise. Fancy dashboards don’t fix process problems—but a little data can help you spot patterns.
- Look at completion rates: Where do clients usually get stuck? Is it always waiting on legal, or something else?
- Check time-to-complete: Are clients getting through onboarding faster? If not, why?
- Survey clients: After onboarding, ask what confused them or what took too long.
Don’t obsess: You don’t need a weekly report with 30 charts. Pick 1–2 metrics that actually matter—like “time to first value”—and focus on improving those.
7. Iterate and Improve—Don’t Chase Perfection
The first version of your onboarding workflow won’t be perfect. That’s fine. The whole point of using a tool like Arrows is to make it easier to spot what works and tweak what doesn’t—without rebuilding everything from scratch.
- Ask for feedback: From both clients and your team. You’ll hear about confusing steps or missing info pretty quickly.
- Make small changes: Update tasks, add clarifications, or drop steps that don’t matter.
- Celebrate wins: If onboarding is smoother, shout it out. People notice improvements, even small ones.
Pro tip: Don’t get caught up in “best practices” you find online. What works for a SaaS company onboarding startups might not fit a B2B team onboarding big enterprise clients. Steal ideas, but make them your own.
What to Skip (And What to Watch Out For)
Arrows is solid, but it’s not magic. Here’s what to skip:
- Don’t try to automate away every human touchpoint. B2B onboarding is about relationships, not just checklists.
- Skip building crazy-complex branching workflows. Most clients just need a clear, linear path.
- Don’t expect clients to log in to yet another tool without some nudging. Make it easy—send links, keep instructions simple.
And keep an eye out for:
- Internal resistance. Some team members will cling to their spreadsheets. Change takes time.
- Clients who ignore tasks. Not everyone will engage with a workflow tool. Stay flexible.
- Over-customization. Resist turning every client onboarding into a bespoke project unless it really needs to be.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
B2B onboarding will never be 100% painless, but with Arrows, you can take a lot of the chaos out of the process. The key is to keep your workflows simple, visible, and actionable—for both your team and your clients. Start small, fix the biggest pain points first, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you go.
You don’t need to impress anyone with the fanciest setup. Just help your clients get started faster, with less back-and-forth. That’s what actually moves the needle.