How CouncilPapers is set up for your council

What happens before you log in

Before your login is created, CouncilPapers gathers your council's core information via an onboarding survey. This covers your council's name, contact details, address, office hours, and other identity information that appears on your public portal.

Once that information has been entered, the system sends you a welcome email. Following the link in that email lets you set your password and gives you access to the system.

What is already configured when you first log in

When you log in for the first time, the following will already be in place:

• Your council's core identity — name, address, contact details, and office hours, as provided in the onboarding survey
• A Full Council committee, which is also designated as your council's adopting committee
• A default venue

You do not need to set any of these up yourself. If any of the pre-configured details are incorrect, you can update them under Council in the left-hand menu.

What you will need to add

Everything else needs to be added by you before your council is ready to run its first meeting. The main tasks are:

• Additional committees — any committees beyond Full Council that your council operates. You will know which these are from your council's constitution or existing committee structure.
• Councillors — all current councillors, with their details and ward assignments.
• Committee membership — which councillors sit on which committees.
• Default meeting content — the standard agenda items that appear automatically when you create a new meeting for each committee.
• Meetings — your council's meeting schedule.

The Onboarding checklist takes you through these tasks in the right order.