Onboarding Questions & What Each One Changes

Every question in the six-step onboarding wizard is meant to change something real in the workspace it sets up — a category, a location, a tag, a custom field, a checklist step, or which code an asset list shows next to every item. This page doesn't describe that from reading the code: it actually calls the same buildStarterPlan() function the wizard calls, once per option, and reports what came out the other side — so a table below is wrong only if the wizard's own setup logic is also wrong.

Every option is tested against an otherwise-blank profile, so what you see attached to one option is exactly and only that option's own contribution — in the real wizard, several answers combine (a film/TV workspace with a large inventory gets both sets of extra categories, deduplicated). A minus sign means the option REPLACES part of the default set rather than adding to it — a small inventory, for instance, gets four starter categories instead of the usual seven.

Every question

What kind of outfit is this?

Why we ask: It sets the categories and locations we start you with, so you are not staring at a blank screen.

Option	What it sets up
Production company — You run the jobs and supply the gear and crew	No standalone effect (see note below).
Venue — You have a room and house kit that gets used on jobs	+1 category (House systems); +2 locations (Front of house, Dock)
Agency or brand — You commission the work and bring people in	No standalone effect (see note below).
Hire company — Your gear goes out the door and comes back	+2 locations (Collection counter, Quarantine)
Freelancer or sole trader — You are the operation	+1 location (Vehicle); -1 location (Prep bay)
Something else — We will keep the setup general	No standalone effect (see note below).

What sort of work do you run?

Why we ask: Your answer decides which gear categories, locations and tags we create for you.

Option	What it sets up
Live events — Concerts, festivals, awards nights	+1 category (Staging and rigging); +1 tag (Bump-in critical)
Corporate AV — Presentations, screens, streaming	+1 category (Presentation and playback)
Film and TV shoots — Camera, grip, sparks, sound	+3 categories (Camera, Grip, Location sound); +1 location (Studio); +1 tag (Rental grade)
Photo shoots — Studio, location, product, editorial	+2 categories (Camera, Studio lighting); +1 location (Studio); +1 tag (Rental grade)
Installs and fitouts — Permanent rigs and integration work	+1 category (Fixings and hardware); +1 location (Van); +1 tag (Install stock)
Dry hire — Gear goes out, client runs it	+1 location (Collection counter); +1 tag (Dry hire only)
Wet hire — Gear goes out with your crew on it	+1 tag (Needs an operator)
Touring — The same rig moving venue to venue	+1 category (Trucking and transport); +1 location (Truck); +1 tag (Tour pack)
Conferences — Multi-day, multi-room, breakouts	+1 category (Presentation and playback)
Activations — Pop-ups, brand experiences, roadshows	+1 category (Scenic and props); +1 location (Van)

Roughly how much gear are we talking?

Why we ask: Under a couple of hundred items you can add by hand. Past that we start you at the importer.

Option	What it sets up
Under 50 items — A kit list you could write out from memory	-3 categories (Rigging and staging, Power and distro, Cable and comms)
50 to 250 items — A store room, and cases that travel as a set	+checklist: Build your first kit
250 to 1000 items — Racking, and more than one person putting gear away	+checklist: Build your first kit, Run a stocktake; swaps checklist step: "Add your gear" → "Import your gear list" (/assets/import)
More than 1000 items — A warehouse. Nobody has all of it in their head	+3 locations (Rack A, Rack B, Rack C); +checklist: Build your first kit, Run a stocktake; swaps checklist step: "Add your gear" → "Import your gear list" (/assets/import)

How many people will be in here?

Why we ask: Small teams get a simpler setup. Bigger ones get locations and tags that keep gear findable.

Option	What it sets up
Just me — One login, one set of hands	+1 location (Vehicle); -1 location (Prep bay)
2 to 5 — A small core team	No standalone effect (see note below).
6 to 15 — A department	No standalone effect (see note below).
16 to 50 — Multiple teams	No standalone effect (see note below).
More than 50 — A whole operation	No standalone effect (see note below).

Do you bring on freelance crew?

Why we ask: Shelf can hold crew who never log in, so you can hand them custody of a case without an invite.

Option	What it sets up
Yes, most jobs — Freelancers are how the work gets done	+1 tag (Goes out with a freelancer)
Sometimes — Extra hands for the bigger jobs	No standalone effect (see note below).
No, all in-house — Your own people run everything	No standalone effect (see note below).

Want to invite your team now?

Why we ask: A yes puts inviting your team at the top of your checklist instead of buried in Settings.

Option	What it sets up
Yes, straight away — Get the rest of the team a login now	+checklist: Invite your team
Not yet — It will just be me for now	Declining answer — produces nothing by design.

What do you want Shelf doing for you first?

Why we ask: It decides the order of the checklist waiting for you inside.

Option	What it sets up
Know where my gear is — Every case and flight pack accounted for	No visible reorder in isolation — see the dedicated table below.
Get jobs organised — What is booked out, for when, and by whom	reorders checklist to start with: Create your first job → Add your crew → Add your gear
Do a proper stocktake — Find out what you actually still own	+checklist: Run a stocktake
Get on top of what is out on hire — What is out, with who, due back when	No visible reorder in isolation — see the dedicated table below.
Just having a look — No commitment, show me around	reorders checklist to start with: Create your first job → Add your gear → Check your locations

What do you need to be able to prove?

Why we ask: Each answer adds the field or the report that answers it, so it is ready before somebody asks.

Option	What it sets up
What is out right now — At any moment, what has left the building	+checklist: Run a stocktake, See what the reports tell you
Who had it — A name against a case, not a best guess	+custom field: Serial number (TEXT); +checklist: See what the reports tell you
What it cost — Replacement value, for insurance and claims	+custom field: Purchase price (AMOUNT); +checklist: See what the reports tell you
Test and tag dates — When each item was tested, and when it is due again	+custom field: Test & tag due (DATE); +checklist: Run a stocktake
Nothing formal — Nobody is asking us for paperwork	Declining answer — produces nothing by design.

How do you keep track of it today?

Why we ask: If you are coming off a spreadsheet we will point you at the importer instead of manual entry.

Option	What it sets up
Spreadsheets — The one everybody has a different copy of	swaps checklist step: "Add your gear" → "Import your gear list" (/assets/import)
Paper and whiteboards — The store wall	No standalone effect (see note below).
Another hire or asset tool — We can take an import	swaps checklist step: "Add your gear" → "Import your gear list" (/assets/import)
In my head — It has worked so far	No standalone effect (see note below).
Nothing yet — Starting clean	No standalone effect (see note below).

Where does your gear actually live?

Why we ask: It decides the extra location we add for you, on top of the store and prep bay everyone gets.

Option	What it sets up
A store or warehouse — One place, shelves and racks	+1 location (Loading dock)
Home or garage — It lives with you between jobs	+1 location (Garage)
Mostly on client sites — It goes where the job is and stays there	+1 location (Client site)
Spread across a few places — More than one address has gear in it	+1 location (Secondary store)

How do you want to find a case in the store?

Why we ask: It sets what your lists show beside every asset: a QR id, a barcode you already have, or a short code.

Option	What it sets up
QR labels we print — One on every case, scanned with a phone camera	+checklist: Print your first label; sets what asset lists show to QR_ID
Barcodes already on the gear — Supplier or manufacturer barcodes you scan today	sets what asset lists show to Code128
A short code we read out — Six characters somebody can say down the phone	sets what asset lists show to SHELF_CODE
Not sure yet — Show us one and we will pick later	+checklist: Print your first label

Do you hire gear out to clients?

Why we ask: Gear leaving with people who are not your crew is what makes labels and lost-and-found worth doing.

Option	What it sets up
Yes — Clients pay to take gear out the door	+1 tag (Goes out to clients); +checklist: Print your first label
No — Our gear only goes out on our own jobs	Declining answer — produces nothing by design.

Do you print your own asset labels?

Why we ask: If you already have a printer we will put connecting it at the top of your checklist.

Option	What it sets up
Brother VC-500W — The little colour label printer	+checklist: Print your first label, Connect your label printer
A Zebra printer — Thermal barcode/asset labels	+checklist: Print your first label, Connect your label printer
Not yet — We will print QR labels some other way for now	Declining answer — produces nothing by design.

Note. The options above marked "no standalone effect" are not declining answers — they simply don't drive anything in buildStarterPlan() on their own today (some combine with another answer; e.g. team size only matters via "Just me"). Only the work type question is unit-tested to guarantee every option changes something on its own. Affected options: What kind of outfit is this? → "Production company"; What kind of outfit is this? → "Agency or brand"; What kind of outfit is this? → "Something else"; How many people will be in here? → "2 to 5"; How many people will be in here? → "6 to 15"; How many people will be in here? → "16 to 50"; How many people will be in here? → "More than 50"; Do you bring on freelance crew? → "Sometimes"; Do you bring on freelance crew? → "No, all in-house"; How do you keep track of it today? → "Paper and whiteboards"; How do you keep track of it today? → "In my head"; How do you keep track of it today? → "Nothing yet".

The veto, verified. Selecting “Nothing formal” alongside a proof-need answer that DOES have its own effect (“What is out right now”, as a stale browser tab might post) still produces no change at all — the veto wins even when it isn't the only thing selected.

What "first thing you want sorted" reorders

This question doesn't add anything of its own — it reorders the SAME checklist every workspace gets, so whatever the producer said mattered most is first, not buried under four other steps.

Answer	Lead-in shown above the checklist	First 3 checklist steps
Know where my gear is	Get the kit listed and put away, then Shelf can tell you what is out.	Add your gear → Check your locations → Add your crew
Get jobs organised	Build one real booking first. Adding gear to it teaches you the rest.	Create your first job → Add your crew → Add your gear
Do a proper stocktake	Get the gear and locations in, then run an audit against them — that is the first time the list is worth trusting.	Add your gear → Check your locations → Run a stocktake
Get on top of what is out on hire	List the gear first, then a job to hang it on, and you will see what is out and when it is due.	Add your gear → Check your locations → Add your crew
Just having a look	Put one real job in. It shows you more in five minutes than clicking around does in an hour.	Create your first job → Add your gear → Check your locations
(not answered)	Work down this list in order. None of it takes long and you can stop any time.	Add your gear → Check your locations → Add your crew