If you’re in charge of onboarding customers, you know the drill: people get stuck, timelines slip, and nobody’s quite sure who’s waiting on what. You want to see, at a glance, exactly where each customer sits in your onboarding process—without drowning in spreadsheets or chasing down status updates. If you’re using Arrows, this guide will show you, step by step, how to set up and actually use progress tracking. We’ll cover what’s useful, what’s not worth your time, and a few gotchas to watch for.
1. Know what “progress” really means for your team
Before you start, get clear on what customer progress looks like in your onboarding. Is it finishing a checklist? Hitting certain milestones? Getting through their first login? Don’t just default to what Arrows tracks out of the box—those templates are fine, but they’re not magic.
Ask yourself:
- What actually signals a customer is moving forward (or getting stuck)?
- Which steps matter, and which are just busywork?
- Who needs to see this progress—CSMs, managers, or the customers themselves?
Write down your “must-track” moments. If your onboarding is a black box, you’ll never get good data from any tool.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure, map out your current process on paper first. You’ll spot gaps that even the fanciest workflow tool can’t fix.
2. Set up your onboarding workflow in Arrows
Arrows is built around templates and tasks. If you’ve got a standard process, you’ll want to make a template for it. Here’s how to set up something useful (not just pretty):
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Create a New Template
- In Arrows, go to Templates and click “New Template.”
- Give it a clear name—something like “Standard SaaS Onboarding,” not “Template 17.”
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List Your Steps
- Add tasks for each key onboarding milestone—not every tiny step.
- Use plain language. “Connect CRM account” beats “CRM Integration Touchpoint 1.”
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Assign Owners and Due Dates (if it matters)
- Decide which tasks are for your team vs. the customer.
- Only add due dates if you’ll actually use them to follow up.
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Attach Docs and Links
- If a step needs a guide, link it directly. Don’t make people dig through your help center.
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Save and Test
- Run through the workflow yourself. Does it make sense? Would a customer know what to do next?
What works: Simple, outcome-focused templates.
What doesn’t: Cramming in every possible step “just in case.” You’ll never keep it updated.
3. Add customers and kick off onboarding plans
With your template ready, you can create a plan for each customer. This is where the tracking magic happens:
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Create a Plan from Your Template
- Go to the template, click “Use Template,” and fill in the customer details.
- Double-check the assigned tasks—sometimes you’ll need to tweak them for a specific customer.
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Invite Your Customer (Optional but recommended)
- Arrows lets you invite customers to collaborate. If you’re nervous, start by inviting a friendly customer and see how it goes.
- Explain briefly what they’ll see. People ignore mysterious emails.
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Track Internal-Only Steps
- If some steps are just for your team, mark them as internal. Don’t clutter the customer’s view.
What works: Customizing plans as needed.
What doesn’t: Treating every customer the same. Real life doesn’t match the template 100% of the time.
4. Use progress tracking features (but don’t obsess)
Here’s where Arrows earns its keep: you can see, at a glance, who’s moving and who’s stalled.
- Progress Bars: Each plan shows percentage complete. Not perfect, but it’s a quick pulse check.
- Task Status: See which tasks are open, in progress, or done.
- Due Dates & Reminders: Get notified before things go off the rails (if you’ve set it up).
A few tips:
- Ignore Vanity Metrics: 80% complete means nothing if the last 20% is the hardest bit. Look for tasks that actually unblock the customer.
- Don’t Chase Zero Tasks: Sometimes there will always be a few steps open—maybe you’re waiting on a contract, or the customer’s busy. That’s normal.
- Use Filters: Sort by “stuck” or overdue tasks to see where to nudge.
What works: Glancing at the dashboard a couple times a week.
What doesn’t: Refreshing it every hour or panicking over minor delays.
5. Dig deeper: follow up on blockers, not just percentages
Numbers are nice, but they don’t tell you why someone’s stuck. The real value comes from using Arrows as a conversation starter.
- Check Comments: If your team (or the customer) leaves notes on tasks, read them. The back-and-forth is often more useful than the status itself.
- Use @mentions: Tag teammates if you need help unblocking something. Don’t let tasks linger in limbo.
- Reach Out Early: If a customer’s stalled out for a week, ping them with a friendly nudge. Don’t wait until the whole project is off track.
What works: Treating Arrows as a collaboration space, not just another dashboard.
What doesn’t: Assuming silence means everything’s fine.
6. Report on onboarding progress (without drowning in data)
Arrows has some basic reporting, but don’t expect hyper-granular analytics. Here’s how to make it useful:
- Export Progress: If you need to show leadership or track KPIs, export plan data to CSV and make a simple summary. Focus on “time to complete,” “where people get stuck,” and “how many plans finish on time.”
- Spot Trends: Are customers always stuck on the same step? That’s your real bottleneck, not the percentage bar.
- Skip the Vanity Reports: Don’t waste time making charts nobody reads. Share what actually matters: overall completion rates and key blockers.
What works: Using reports to spot patterns, not to prove you’re busy.
What doesn’t: Chasing fancy dashboards if you’re not going to act on the data.
7. Tighten your process as you go
No tool can fix a broken onboarding process, but Arrows makes it easier to spot what’s working (and what’s broken). Every few months:
- Review your templates. Cut steps nobody uses.
- Ask your team what’s confusing or missing.
- Update tasks based on real customer feedback—not your best guess from six months ago.
What works: Iterating.
What doesn’t: Setting it and forgetting it.
Tracking customer progress in Arrows isn’t rocket science, but it does take some thought. Focus on your critical milestones, keep templates lean, and use the tool to drive real conversations—not just checkboxes. Don’t overcomplicate it. Start simple, see what sticks, and tweak as you go. That’s how you’ll actually get value—and maybe, finally, get your onboarding out of spreadsheet limbo.