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Quick Start Guide

Get your Hibiscus HR account set up and running in under 15 minutes. This guide walks you through the essential first steps — from your first login to running your first payroll.

Step 1 — Log In (1 minute)​

  1. Open app.hibiscushr.ca in your browser
  2. Enter the email and password from your welcome email
  3. If this is your first time, click the "Set your password" link in the email you received

You'll land on the Dashboard — your at-a-glance view of your entire workforce.

Step 2 — Set Up Your Company (3 minutes)​

Go to Settings (gear icon at the bottom of the sidebar) and click Company.

Fill in your basics:

  • Company name — your legal business name as registered with the CRA
  • CRA Business Number — your 9-digit BN
  • Address and province — your primary business location
  • Active provinces — toggle on every province where you have employees

Click Save Changes.

Why this matters: Your company province and CRA number are used on T4s, ROEs, and CRA remittance tracking.

Step 3 — Add Your Employees (5 minutes)​

Click Employees in the sidebar, then + Add Employee.

The guided wizard walks you through 4 steps:

StepWhat to enter
1. PersonalName, email, phone
2. EmploymentJob title, department, province, salary, start date
3. EmergencyEmergency contact, SIN (optional now — employees can enter their own later)
4. ReviewConfirm everything, toggle onboarding ON, click Add Employee

Short on time? Click Save & Complete Later on any step. The employee is saved as a draft — finish their profile when you're ready.

Repeat for each employee. You can also send them an onboarding invite so they enter their own SIN, banking, and TD1 information.

Step 4 — Send Onboarding Invites (2 minutes)​

For each new employee:

  1. Go to Onboarding in the sidebar
  2. Click on the employee's onboarding card
  3. Click Send Onboarding Invite

The employee receives an email and completes their own setup — SIN, banking details, TD1 forms, and policy sign-offs — before their first day. You don't need to collect paper forms.

Step 5 — Run Your First Payroll (3 minutes)​

Go to Payroll and click Run Payroll.

The payroll wizard handles the rest:

  1. Select pay period — choose the dates
  2. Preview — see each employee's gross, CPP, EI, tax, and net
  3. Review deductions — verify the numbers
  4. Confirm and process — click to finalize

CPP, EI, and provincial tax are calculated automatically based on each employee's province and salary. The CRA remittance amount is tracked for you.

Step 6 — Set Up Billing (2 minutes)​

Go to Settings (gear icon) and click Billing.

  1. Review your plan — Hibiscus HR offers three plan tiers:
    • Starter — $8/employee/month, up to 25 employees, 1 GB storage. Includes Employees, Leave Management, Time & Attendance, Onboarding & Offboarding, and Compliance.
    • Growth — $12/employee/month, up to 150 employees, 5 GB storage. Adds Payroll, Performance, Benefits, Reports, Integrations, T4 Filing, and ROE generation.
    • Scale — $16/employee/month, unlimited employees, 25 GB storage. Adds multi-location support and advanced analytics.
  2. Verify your payment method — click Add Payment Method to securely verify a credit card via Helcim (PCI compliant — card data never touches our servers)
  3. Review estimated charges — see your per-employee cost with applicable GST/HST/PST/QST based on your province

Billing is monthly in arrears, based on the number of active employees during the billing period.

What to Do Next​

Now that the basics are set up, explore these modules at your own pace:

ModuleWhat to try
Leave ManagementCreate a leave request and approve it
Time & AttendanceEnter timesheet hours for a week
BenefitsConfigure your benefit plans (10 plan types available), set eligibility rules, and enroll employees
ComplianceCheck your compliance score and review upcoming CRA deadlines
PerformanceCreate a review cycle for your team
Broker PortalInvite your benefits broker via Settings → Benefits Admin → Invite Broker
BillingReview your plan tier and download past invoices from Settings → Billing

5-Minute Daily Routine​

Once you're set up, here's what a typical day looks like in Hibiscus HR:

  1. Check the Dashboard — see pending leave requests, expiring documents, and CRA deadlines
  2. Approve or deny leave requests — one click each
  3. Review timesheets — approve weekly hours
  4. Handle any alerts — probation reviews due, documents expiring, ROE deadlines

That's it. The platform handles the compliance math — you just make the decisions.

Getting Help​

Keyboard Shortcuts​

ShortcutAction
EscClose any open drawer or modal
Click X buttonClose the drawer or modal (drawers do not close on backdrop click)

Tips for Success​

  • Start with 2-3 employees to get comfortable with the system before adding your full roster
  • Use onboarding invites — let employees enter their own SIN and banking info instead of collecting it yourself
  • Check compliance weekly — the Compliance module surfaces issues before they become problems
  • Export reports monthly — the Reports module generates CSV exports for your accountant or board