Onboarding a Member

This guide explains how to onboard a Member in Lookout. Onboarding happens in two stages: first creating the person's profile, then creating their membership. This article focuses on creating the membership - the step that turns a profile into a Member.

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Onboarding a Member

A Member is an individual receiving care or services. Onboarding a Member brings them fully into Lookout so you can plan their care, manage their funding, and schedule their support.

There are two steps to onboarding:

1. Create a profile - the basic record for the person.
2. Create a membership - the step that gives the profile the Member role, along with their funding, plan, communities, and care details.

This article covers step two. If you haven't created the person's profile yet, start with our Creating a Profile guide, then come back here.

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Before you start

To onboard a Member, make sure:

• The person's profile already exists. If not, create it first.
• If you're adding a contact who needs their own record (such as a family member acting on the Member's behalf), you can select an existing profile or create a new one as you go.
• You have access to the community the Member will belong to.
• You have any key details to hand - funding, plan, communities, and important dates, though most can be added later if unknown.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open the Members list

• From the main navigation menu, click Members to open the full list of Members.
• Click the blue +New Membership button in the top-right corner.
• A new screen will load where you can create a new profile for the Member.
• As we have already created a profile, we will click use an existing profile.

 

Step 2: Select the Member's profile and set their options

This first step sets the options for the Member's own profile. You'll add other people (representatives, emergency contacts, and so on) as key contacts in Step 3.

• Use the available search bar to find the profile you created for this Member and select it.
• Set the options for this Member:

• • Assign as the primary representative - one person can be assigned as the primary. This person is selected for any actions that require a single representative.
  • Receives statements - the person receives and can view billing summaries and statements. If you turn this on, choose how they should receive statements:
  • • Send via email
    • Export a PDF to send via post
• Send an invitation to create a user (email required). This will send a Care app invitation.

 

Step 3: Add key contacts

Key contacts are the people connected to the Member - such as a family member who acts on their behalf, an emergency contact, or someone who should receive statements or be able to view visits. Contact rows are repeatable, so you can add as many as you need now - and you can always add or update contacts later from the Member's dashboard.

For each contact you add:

• Select an existing profile, or create a new one.
• Set their relationship to the Member.
• Choose whether they're the primary representative.
• Assign their roles - Registered Supporter, Appointed Decision Maker, or Emergency Contact (roles record who they are), completing the applicable details for each role selected.

  • For example, a Registered Supporter's conflict of interest, or an Appointed Decision Maker's scope of legal authority, expiry, and documents.

• Assign their permissions - Full access, Receives statements, or Can view visits (permissions control what they can do, including Care app access).
• Optionally, invite the contact as a Care app user (an email address is required).

A contact needs at least one role or permission.

 

Step 4: Set the funding details

• Choose who will fund the membership and service fees.
• Select from the available options, or choose another funder (such as a government funding body).

 

Step 5: Complete the membership details

Work through the remaining sections - most can be updated later if you don't have the information yet:

• Custom attributes: Any extra fields your organisation has set up (such as dropdowns or radio buttons) to capture the details you need.

• Important dates: When the Member signed up, their commencement date, and their next review date.

• Communities: Select the community (or communities) this Member will belong to.

• Membership plan: Choose the applicable plan.

• Care plan template: Choose a template to start their care plan.

• Cohort: Tag or label the Member if needed.

• Tickets: You can open tickets straight from the membership creation.

• Matching requirements: Set any requirements to ensure Helpers have the right qualifications and clearances for this Member.

• Notes: A free-text field for anything else relevant to the membership.

When you are ready, press the blue Save membership button.

A green banner will display confirming your membership was created successfully. Some suggested next steps will appear - submit forms, create a care plan and view tickets. When you close the next steps window, you'll see your Members Dashboard.

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What happens next?

After onboarding:

• The person is now a Member with a full profile and dashboard.
• If you sent an invitation, they'll be invited to the Lookout app.
• Any contacts you added appear in the Key contacts panel on the Member's dashboard, with badges for their roles and access.
• Any tickets you opened during setup are ready in the ticket inbox.
• You can begin care planning, scheduling, and managing their funding.

 

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What different Users/ Staff will see

For staff with access to the community

• Can view and manage the new Member, their care plan, funding, and schedule.

 

For the Member and their contacts (Lookout App)

• If invited, the Member and any contacts with the right permissions can access the Lookout app. What they see depends on their permissions - a contact with Full access sees the same as the Member (including statements), Can view visits shows the schedule and visits, and Receives statements relates to statement delivery.

 

For Helpers

• Once connected through their care work, Helpers can see the Members they support in their own app.
• For those Members, they can view the essentials needed to deliver care: basic details, the care plan, and the visits they're scheduled for.
• Helpers do not see the Member's funding, budgets, or financial details.

 

For Sharers

• If added later, they can see the Member's schedule only - not contact or financial details.

 

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Troubleshooting

I can't find the profile when creating the membership

Make sure the profile has been created first. If not, see our Creating a profile article.

Try searching by preferred name or email.

 

I can't add a contact

If the person needs their own profile, create one as you go (or beforehand). Remember each contact needs at least one role or permission before it can be saved. For full details, see our Key contacts article.

 

I can't send an app invitation

An email address is required to invite someone to the app. Add one to the person's profile (you can do this inline while adding them as a contact) and try again.

 

I don't have all the dates or details

That's fine - sign-up, commencement, and review dates (and most other fields) can be entered later by editing the membership.

 

A warning appears about Helper requirements

This means a matched Helper is missing a qualification or clearance the Member requires. Review the Member's matching requirements and the Helper's verifications.

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Still need help?

If you're still experiencing issues, please contact our Support Team and include:

• Screenshots (if possible)
• The user's name/email
• The exact steps taken
• Any error messages received