How to complete your agency setup checklist

The **Agency Checklist** scores your agency configuration across 17 sections and shows what still needs attention before you switch your agency to live messaging.

### Overview

The checklist is a read-only scorecard. Every time you open it, it loads your agency's current configuration and works out which sections are done, so there is nothing to tick off by hand.

The page opens with the **AGENCY SETUP CHECKLIST** card, which shows how many tasks are complete (for example, 9 of 17 tasks complete), an overall percentage, a progress bar, and a **PDF** button. Below that, the 17 sections are grouped into **Foundation**, **Communication**, **Automation**, and **Content**, and each group header shows its own completed count. Every section row shows a completion icon, its title, a points badge, and a **Done** badge once it is finished. Expand a row to read what the section is for, see the records already configured, and open the screen where you manage it.

| Group | Sections |
|-------|----------|
| **Foundation** | **General Settings**, **Users**, **Roles**, **Locations** |
| **Communication** | **Agency Phones**, **Agency Emails**, **Web Domains**, **Email Domains** |
| **Automation** | **Statuses**, **Flows**, **Auto Messages** |
| **Content** | **Portals**, **Forms**, **Upload Templates**, **Data Dashboards**, **Reports**, **Files** |

### Prerequisites

- An eCourtDate account signed in to the agency you want to review
- Access to the areas the checklist reads, including settings, users, roles, locations, agency phones, agency emails, statuses, flows, auto messages, portals, forms, upload templates, dashboards, reports, and files
- Access to the eCourtDate Console, because **Web Domains** and **Email Domains** are managed there rather than in the application

### How-To Steps

#### Opening the Agency Checklist

1. Sign in to your [eCourtDate agency](https://app.ecourtdate.com).
2. Click **Help** in the top navigation bar.
3. Select **Agency checklist** from the menu. Once you have opened the checklist at least once, this menu item also shows your cached progress, such as **Agency checklist · 9/17**.
4. Wait for **Loading setup data...** to clear. The page loads all 17 sections at once.

You can also reach the same page from the **Checklist** tab in the tab strip on the **Setup**, **Billing**, **Carriers**, **Research**, **Referrals**, and **Help** pages, or from the alert on your **Dashboard** that asks you to review your agency checklist before going live.

#### Reviewing your progress

1. Read the tasks complete count and the percentage at the top of the **AGENCY SETUP CHECKLIST** card.
2. Read the milestone line under the progress bar, such as **Halfway done. Great progress so far.**
3. Scan each group header to see which group has the most sections outstanding.
4. Look for section rows without a **Done** badge. Those are the ones still to finish.

#### Completing a section

1. Click a section row to expand it.
2. Read the description under the title to confirm what the section covers.
3. Review the records listed inside the section. If none exist, the section shows a warning such as **No agency phones configured.**
4. Click **Manage** followed by the section name, for example **Manage Agency Phones**, to open that screen in a new browser tab.
5. Make your changes on that screen and save them.
6. Return to the checklist tab and reload the page to pick up the new scores.

#### Saving a copy of the checklist

1. Click **PDF** in the top right of the **AGENCY SETUP CHECKLIST** card.
2. Choose your printer or save the page as a PDF in the browser print dialog.

### What to Expect

Each section carries the point value shown in its badge, and the 17 values add up to 100 points. **General Settings** is worth the most at 10 points, **Agency Phones** and **Agency Emails** are worth 8 each, and the remaining sections are worth 5 or 6 points each.

Every section except **General Settings** is scored all or nothing. **General Settings** awards partial credit across 12 checks: the nine agency fields (name, phone, email, website, address, city, state, zip, and timezone), a logo, at least two languages, and a send mode of live. Any missing field shows a **MISSING** badge inside the expanded section.

Some sections have extra rules before they count as complete:

| Section | Complete when |
|---------|---------------|
| **Users** | At least two of your own staff accounts, excluding eCourtDate accounts, have signed in at least once |
| **Forms** | At least one form has a status other than draft |
| **Reports** | At least one report has a monthly export |
| **Email Domains** | A configured email domain matches the domain of your primary agency email |
| **Web Domains** | A configured web domain matches the domain of your default portal |

The progress bar fills as you go and a short celebration animation plays when the checklist reaches 100 percent, where the milestone line reads **Setup complete. Your agency is fully configured.** Your completed count is also cached in your browser, so the **Help** menu can show it without reloading the whole checklist.

### Best Practices

- **Start with General Settings.** It is worth the most points, it is the only section that gives partial credit, and its send mode setting controls whether your outbound messages are live or simulated.
- **Set up Agency Emails before Email Domains.** The **Email Domains** section only counts as complete when a configured domain matches the domain on your primary agency email.
- **Create your default portal before chasing Web Domains.** The **Web Domains** section compares your configured domains against the domain on your default portal.
- **Ask your staff to sign in.** Invited accounts that have never signed in show a **Never Active** badge and do not count toward the **Users** section.
- **Reload the checklist after each change.** Manage buttons open in a new tab, so the checklist keeps showing the scores from when you loaded it.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Can I mark a section complete myself?**

A: No. The checklist scores every section from your agency's live configuration each time the page loads, so there is nothing to tick off and nothing to reset.

**Q: Why does Users still show as incomplete after I invited my team?**

A: **Users** needs at least two of your own staff accounts, not eCourtDate accounts, that have signed in at least once. Accounts that have never signed in appear with a **Never Active** badge.

**Q: Why does Reports show as incomplete when I already have reports?**

A: **Reports** requires at least one report with a monthly export. Expand the section and look at the **Monthly Report with Export** line, which shows **MISSING** until one exists.

**Q: How is the overall percentage worked out?**

A: Each section contributes the points shown in its badge, and all 17 add up to 100. Everything except **General Settings** is all or nothing, and **General Settings** awards a share of its 10 points for each of the 12 checks you have completed.

**Q: Where do Web Domains and Email Domains take me?**

A: Both sections manage their domains in the eCourtDate Console, so **Manage Web Domains** and **Manage Email Domains** open the Console in a new tab rather than a page inside the application.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** The checklist will not load.

**Symptoms:** The page shows **Unable to load setup data. Please refresh to try again.** instead of the section list.

**Solution:**

1. Refresh the page. The checklist requests all 17 sections together, so a single failed request stops the whole list.
2. Confirm your role grants access to the areas the checklist reads, such as agency phones, users, reports, and files.
3. If it keeps failing, click the help button in the bottom right corner of the screen and select **New support ticket**.

**Issue:** A section still shows as incomplete after you configured it.

**Symptoms:** You saved the change in the tab that opened from a **Manage** button, but the section on the checklist still shows a grey circle and no **Done** badge.

**Solution:**

1. Return to the checklist tab and reload the page, because the data is only fetched when the page opens.
2. Check the completion rule for that section. **Users**, **Forms**, **Reports**, **Email Domains**, and **Web Domains** each need a specific setting rather than just one record.

**Issue:** General Settings never reaches complete.

**Symptoms:** The expanded section reports fewer than 12 of 12 settings configured, and one or more entries show a **MISSING** badge.

**Solution:**

1. Expand **General Settings** and note every entry with a **MISSING** badge.
2. Click **Manage General Settings** and fill in the missing agency fields, upload a logo, and enable at least two languages.
3. Set the send mode to live when your agency is ready. On the staging region, simulate mode counts as complete because staging always simulates outbound messages.

### Related Articles

- [How to Set Up a New Agency](/how-to-set-up-a-new-agency)
- [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers)
- [How to Manage Agency Emails](/how-to-manage-agency-emails)
- [How to Manage Users](/how-to-manage-users)
- [Roles and Permissions](/roles-and-permissions)
- [How to Create a Custom Domain](/how-to-create-a-custom-domain)