#3b New Accounts Training : Groom Student Portal before inviting student, Onboarding Student Clients to CounselMore
Most common steps counselors take before inviting a student client to the student portal or parent portal
Peer Mentor Resources
There is no "one way" to onboard a student. We asked our members for advice they'd pass on to new counselors. Throughout the Knowledge Base you'll find these helpful ideas brought to you directly from the desk of your Peer Colleagues.
Also consider if you'd prefer to welcome students into the portal autonomously. Many of our Counselor-Customers prefer to welcome students into the portal right away, before the first meeting!
These are the types of options to discuss with your Peer Mentor. Book your meeting today.
Jump to the 15 step image
Groom Student Portal prior to Inviting into services
Assuming Inquiry is Already Received
- Make student Record in CounselMore, Set record status to Active
- Click Stop watch to start tracking time spent on student
Add Master Folders:
- Confidential Master Folder contains: Biography of Counselor, Methodology of services, services menu, contract
Add Routine Assignments:
- Welcome Assignment: Link/connect to Copied over Master Folders /documents in student Google Shared folder by clicking on Google Drive inside each assignment.
- Student Portal Orientation Assignment: Link to Google Folder, Welcome video, Counselor created video, link to book next meeting, other resources
- Choose audience for each assignment, set start date for each assignment
- Add Counselor Routine Assignment - FU with prospective client 2 weeks.
Add Schools
- Search for schools
- Add Schools by name
- Use a pre-made school list by topic, found in My Database
- Pre-create a standard list of "demonstration" schools used for new clients.
Add Data Columns
- Account set up will allow for setting default columns for each list type however, choose to add additional data columns specific to student interest or concerns.
- Consider turning on the ability for the student to search the proprietary database and add schools to their list.
Email Assignments
Share Google Shared Folder
Invite to portal
Virtual Meetings - During Meeting with student
How to run a student meeting. The mechanics of running a student meeting:
Most meetings are virtual. Most members use a lap top as their device of choice.
Set up your Tech environment
Connect your laptop to an external monitor
Ask the student to share their screen and to log into their student portal
On the external monitor, the counselor will have their counselor portal open
This allows the counselor to look at their laptop monitor and see the student navigating the students portal
On the external monitor the counselor can navigate the counselors portal
This allows the counselor to take notes during the meeting without having to share those notes live
The counselor can easily generate meeting notes in the assignments tab., save those notes. Periodically or as needed to close the notes tab and navigate two different areas of the app
The student portal the counselor's portal and the parent portal all look the same
In order to empower the student the counselor can be struck the student to navigate their portal and to find the answers on their own
Thus teaching the student how to use the student portal, making the student more invested in the capabilities of the student portal
And keeping the counselors hands-free to be able to take notes and manipulate the counselor's portal without having to share their screen
CounselMore Setup Timeline
Complete Student Onboarding Workflow
Student Account Setup
Add student and parent email addresses. Create student records automatically via AI Assist or API integration (CRM, intake form, lead tool) or manually using "Add Student."
CounselMore generates the student database record.
Begin Time Tracking
Click the Stopwatch to begin tracking time immediately.
Tracked time can later be assigned to a specific billing profile or time category.
Files Tab – Document Placement
Click into the student's Files Tab. If you see the button near the top, click Create Student Folder to generate the student's Google Drive folder.
Upload contracts (Google Signature tool), planning documents, and transcripts into the student's assigned Google Drive folder.
A secure copy is auto-created in the Admin Drive. Students may also upload documents directly into this folder from "shared with me" or via their Student Portal.
Assignments Tab – Apply Routine Assignments
Apply the group of Routine Assignments that form the backbone of the service delivery process.
Link assignments directly to assets stored in the student's Google Drive folder for seamless delivery and tracking.
Set Assignment Start Dates
Set a Start Date for each assignment so the work appears in the Student Portal at the correct time.
Assignments may follow a uniform cohort schedule or a fully individualized student timeline.
Welcome Assignments
Apply the Welcome Assignment sequence (separate from the full curriculum). These assignments introduce the portal, outline first steps, and guide families through contract review and next actions.
Many counselors include a personalized welcome video. The Welcome Assignment links directly to the contract stored in the student's shared folder and outlines the 30-day consideration window before invoice collection.
Turn On Automated Sends
Activate automatic Assignment Summary emails.
Choose how often students receive updates showing Active and Overdue Assignments.
Counselor College List
Search for schools using filters or Community Lists shared by peers. Build the private Counselor List, then selectively promote schools to the Student List.
Enable student search and self-added schools when appropriate.
Counselor Notes to Student Column
Add counselor-only strategic notes explaining why each school is being suggested for the student.
Student Research Notes Column
Students record their own impressions of each school.
Mobile app allows students to dictate notes during campus visits, which sync instantly to their profile.
College Data Menu
Activate or remove data columns from the 300+ available college data points.
Create private data fields visible only to counselors based on each student's priorities.
Stopwatch – Save & Categorize Time
Click the Stopwatch again to submit tracked time. Assign time to a billing category, product, pro bono, or non-billable administrative tracking.
For teams, this step supports counselor performance and internal billing management.
Accounting Tab
Logged time now appears automatically as a time line item. Apply the product or service package the family has purchased.
New time entries will attach directly to billing profiles.
Invoice
Send invoices manually, schedule automatically, or structure as payment plans.
Stripe integration ensures all payments sync to the Accounting tab in real time. Invoices are always sent to the Parent email address only.
Invite Student & Parent to Portals
Send invites manually or through API automation and triggers. Secure login credentials and role-based access are automatically created.
Use "Log in as Student" to preview the student experience. Student and Counselor portals are intentionally similar to support shared-screen advising sessions. Parent Portal access is optional.
Resulting Outcomes
All completed before the first formal advising session even begins:
Teach students to upload their transcript to the Files tab inside their Student Portal