> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.smaq.io/documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.smaq.io/documentation/get-started/quick-start/onboarding-wizard.md).

# Onboarding wizard

The onboarding wizard runs the first time you create an organization. It's designed to get you to value fast: pick what kind of business you run, connect one platform, run an audit on it, and choose a plan.

You can skip any step except Category — but the more you fill in, the more useful SMAQ is on day one.

### Step 1 — Category

**"What kind of business are you running?"**

Pick the archetype that best matches you. SMAQ uses this to pre-load the right dashboard templates, automations, and benchmarks:

| Archetype               | For                                                                                  |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Local services**      | Home services, restaurants, salons, fitness studios — local-intent ads, GMB-driven   |
| **Pro services / B2B**  | Agencies, consultancies, B2B SaaS, finance/legal — lead-gen funnel, long sales cycle |
| **D2C ecommerce**       | Direct-to-consumer brands selling on Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.                      |
| **B2B SaaS**            | Subscription software companies with self-serve + sales-assist motions               |
| **Multi-location**      | Franchises, chains, retail with 5+ physical locations                                |
| **Creator / Education** | Course creators, info products, coaches, content monetization                        |

Pick the closest match — you can change archetype later in project settings.

### Step 2 — Business profile

Tell SMAQ what you sell. Filling this in helps the AI ground its answers in your actual business:

* **Business name**
* **Website**
* **Industry context** — a short free-text description (e.g. "Premium tea brand, Hong Kong + Singapore D2C")
* Optional: target audience, key competitors

Skip is allowed — you can add this later in [Knowledge Base](/documentation/features/knowledge-base.md).

### Step 3 — Connect

Pick one platform to authorize. The wizard prioritizes the ones that give SMAQ the most signal:

* **Google Ads** — paid search performance, keywords, ad copy
* **Meta Ads** (Facebook + Instagram) — paid social performance, creative library
* **Google Analytics 4** — site behavior, conversion funnels, channel mix

The OAuth flow happens in a new tab and only requests read scopes. Once you're back, you may need to pick a specific account/property if your login has access to multiple.

You can skip this step — the wizard will route you to a demo project so you can see what SMAQ looks like even without your own data.

### Step 4 — Audit

**"Let's audit your \[platform]"**

SMAQ runs the same audit as the [pre-signup audit](/documentation/get-started/quick-start/pre-signup-audit.md) on the platform you just connected. It takes 30–90 seconds and streams progress live.

Findings show up as cards you can expand and read — wasted spend, fatigued creatives, broken tracking, etc.

### Step 5 — Plan pick

You see the V3 pricing tiers (**Starter**, **Growth**, **Scale**, **Agency**) with the audit findings baked into the upsell. Pick one:

* **Continue on the free trial** — full Growth-tier features for 14 days, no card required.
* **Subscribe now** — go through Stripe checkout. You can pick monthly or annual billing.

See [Tiers explained](broken://pages/HOOsaBYkwAu0cfNo2Xy2) for what each tier includes.

### What happens after Step 5

* If you connected a platform: SMAQ runs your first automations in the background (Daily Brief, Campaign Performance Check) while showing you a "populating" overlay. You're then dropped into the project home with a pre-built dashboard.
* If you skipped Connect: you'll see a dialog offering a demo project (read-only sample data) or an empty workspace.

### Re-running the wizard

The wizard only runs the first time. If you want to set up a new project with a similar guided flow:

1. Go to **Projects → Create new project**.
2. SMAQ skips Category and Profile (you already set those for the org) but still walks you through Connect and an optional audit.

### Skipping for existing users

Already on a paid plan, or migrating from an older SMAQ tier? You won't see the V3 onboarding wizard — you skip straight to the project home. This is intentional: we don't want to interrupt established users with an onboarding flow they don't need.