Sign-Up Flow Analysis
Pre-work for Session 3 | Prepared: 2026-02-17
Summary (3 sentences for Danny)
Our current onboarding spec is a skeleton — four steps, admin-assisted, with no self-service sign-up flow defined and no qualification built in. Best practice says every extra form field costs 4-7% conversion, so the sign-up should collect only email + password + name (3 fields), then use a progressive “first-run wizard” to gather organisation and property details while simultaneously qualifying the lead and routing them to the right onboarding path. The single most important design decision is where we place the “aha moment” — a tenant sending a message and the landlord seeing it appear on the dashboard — and the recommendation is to deliver it within 5 minutes of account creation using a pre-loaded sandbox property, before the landlord imports a single real tenant.
Current Onboarding Flow
What the spec says today
The current Onboarding spec defines four steps:
- Sign up — Form submitted, org created, auth user created, owner access granted
- Admin review — Envo admin notified, assists with setup
- Import — CSV upload for properties and tenants (batch create)
- Live — Dashboard accessible, tenant engine active
Tenant welcome is also defined: SMS/WhatsApp with property address confirmation, how to report issues, and the landlord’s organisation name.
What works
- The four-step structure is sound as a high-level flow.
- CSV import format is defined (properties: address, postcode, type, units; tenants: property_address, name, phone, email, room_number).
- E.164 phone validation and partial import handling (successful rows committed, failed rows returned) are good engineering foundations.
- Tenant welcome message content is well thought out.
What’s missing
| Gap | Impact |
|---|---|
| No definition of what the sign-up form actually asks | Cannot build the form or optimise conversion |
| Admin-assisted as default, no self-service path | Bottleneck — cannot scale beyond one admin person |
| No first-run experience after sign-up | Landlord hits an empty dashboard and does not know what to do |
| No qualification signals captured | Danny cannot distinguish a 50-property HMO operator from a tyre-kicker with 1 flat |
| No “aha moment” designed | Landlord has to import data before they feel any value — most will drop off |
| No sandbox / demo data | Impossible to show value before requiring real property data |
| No trial duration or tier selection | Pricing and packaging cannot be applied |
| Future enhancements are flagged but not designed | Self-service CSV upload, automated tenant verification, and “more comprehensive onboarding flow” are all marked needs-decision |
Sign-Up Questions
Design principles
Research is unambiguous: fewer fields = higher conversion. Reducing form fields from 11 to 4 yields 120% more conversions. Each additional field costs roughly 4.1% conversion. Phone number fields specifically reduce conversion by 18.7%.
The approach: collect the bare minimum to create an account (Step 1), then progressively profile during the first-run wizard (Steps 2-3). Every question in Steps 2-3 should either (a) configure the product for the user, or (b) qualify them for Danny. Ideally both.
Step 1: Account Creation
This is the sign-up form on the website. Goal: absolute minimum friction. Get them into the product.
| Field | Required? | Why We Ask | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yes | Personalise the experience, address them in comms | Single field, not first/last split — reduces friction |
| Work email | Yes | Authentication, account identifier | Validate domain — reject personal email (gmail, yahoo) if we want to filter out hobbyist landlords. Decision needed: do we gate on work email or allow any? Recommendation: allow any, but flag personal email as a qualification signal |
| Password | Yes | Authentication | Minimum 8 characters. Show strength indicator. Offer Google OAuth as alternative (improves sign-up rate by ~8%) |
That’s it. Three fields. No company name, no phone number, no “how did you hear about us.” Those come later.
Alternative: Email-only magic link (no password). Removes one field and avoids the “forgotten password on day 1” problem. Supabase Auth supports this natively. Downside: adds a step (check your email). Recommendation: offer both — magic link as primary, password as fallback.
Step 2: Organisation Setup
This is the first screen after account creation — the “welcome wizard.” It should feel like a conversation, not a form. Multi-step, one question per screen, with a progress bar.
| Field | Required? | Why We Ask | Qualification Signal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organisation name | Yes | Creates the org record, appears on tenant-facing comms | Company name vs personal name hints at professionalism | Free text. Pre-fill with “name + Properties” as default (e.g., “Sarah’s Properties”) |
| How many properties do you manage? | Yes | Configures expectations, determines trial scope | Primary qualifier. 1-5 = Cold, 5-25 = Warm/Starter, 25-100 = Hot/Professional, 100+ = Enterprise | Dropdown with ranges, not free text. Ranges: 1-5, 6-15, 16-50, 51-100, 100+ |
| What type of properties? | Yes | Configures issue categories, compliance requirements | HMO = Hot (highest pain), Mixed = Warm, Single-let only = Cooler | Multi-select: HMO, Single-let, Purpose-built flats, Mixed portfolio |
| Where are your properties located? | No (but encouraged) | Enables future geographic clustering, localises vendor recommendations | UK city concentration = better lead | Free text or postcode-based city lookup. “We’ll use this to set up your first property faster” |
| Your phone number | No | Allows Danny to follow up, enables SMS notifications | Providing a phone number = higher intent | Optional. Frame as “for account security and setup assistance.” Do NOT make this required — it kills conversion by 18.7% |
What we deliberately do NOT ask:
- Company registration number (friction, not needed for trial)
- Billing details (no card required for trial — see pricing analysis recommendation)
- Team size (we learn this from usage)
- Current tools (nice to know, but not worth the friction)
- “How did you hear about us” (ask later, in a post-trial survey or during onboarding call)
Step 3: First Property
Immediately after org setup, guide the landlord to add their first property. This is critical — an empty dashboard is a dead dashboard.
| Field | Required? | Why We Ask | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property address | Yes | Creates the property record, used for tenant comms and vendor dispatch | Use a UK address autocomplete (Ideal Postcodes, getAddress.io, or Google Places). Landlord types a postcode, selects from results. Minimum typing |
| Property type | Yes | Determines compliance requirements, issue categories | Dropdown: HMO, Single-let, Purpose-built flat, Commercial (greys out — “coming soon”) |
| Number of units/rooms | Yes (for HMO) | Configures tenant slots, affects pricing | Only shown if property type = HMO or purpose-built flat. Pre-fill based on property type selection |
| OR: Skip — “Use our demo property instead” | N/A | The sandbox option. Pre-loads a sample HMO with 4 tenants, sample documents, and one open issue | This is the fastest path to the aha moment. Recommended as the default option, with “Add your own property” as secondary |
The sandbox property is the single most important onboarding feature we can build. It lets the landlord experience the AI in action without importing anything. They can text the demo WhatsApp number, see the AI respond, and watch the issue appear on their dashboard — all within 5 minutes of sign-up.
Qualification at the Door
Every sign-up question in Steps 2-3 doubles as a qualification signal. Here is how the answers map to lead temperature (from the Lead Tiers Playbook):
| Question | Hot Signal | Warm Signal | Cold Signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Properties managed | 25-100+ | 6-25 | 1-5 |
| Property type | Predominantly HMO | Mixed portfolio | Single-let only |
| Location provided | Yes (shows intent) | Partial | Skipped |
| Phone number provided | Yes | N/A | Skipped |
| Email domain | Company domain (e.g., @sarahproperties.co.uk) | Generic but professional | Throwaway / temp email |
| Speed to first property added | Within first session | Next day | Never |
| Sandbox used | Tried the AI demo | Skipped | N/A |
Automated lead scoring (internal, invisible to user)
| Score | Threshold | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| High (Hot) | 25+ properties AND HMO AND phone provided | Danny gets an instant Slack/email alert: “Hot lead just signed up — [Name], [X] properties, HMOs in [City].” Danny calls within 2 hours |
| Medium (Warm) | 6-25 properties OR HMO type OR phone provided | Added to Danny’s weekly review list. Automated welcome email with “book a walkthrough” CTA sent at 24h |
| Low (Cold) | 1-5 properties AND single-let AND no phone | Self-service only. Automated onboarding emails (day 1, 3, 7, 14). No Danny involvement unless they upgrade or engage heavily |
What this replaces
Currently, Danny has to manually qualify every lead through conversation (the CHAMP-Lite framework from the lead tiers playbook). With qualification at sign-up, he gets pre-scored leads delivered to him with context — he knows their portfolio size, property type, and location before making the first call. The CHAMP-Lite questions then deepen the qualification rather than starting from zero.
First-Run Experience
The “aha moment”
For Envo, the aha moment is: the landlord sees a tenant message arrive on their dashboard in real time, without having to do anything. This is the visceral “my life just got easier” moment. It proves 24/7 automated tenant support is real, not marketing.
The fastest path to this moment: the sandbox property with a pre-configured demo tenant. The landlord sends a WhatsApp message (or texts a demo number, or uses the web chat), the AI responds, and the issue appears on the dashboard.
Minute-by-minute first-run
| Timeframe | What Happens | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 min | Sign up: email + name + password (or Google OAuth). Land on welcome screen | Account exists |
| 1-2 min | Organisation wizard: name, property count, property type, location (4 screens, one question each, with progress bar) | Org configured, lead scored |
| 2-3 min | First property: “Try our demo property” (default) or “Add your own.” Demo property pre-loads with 4 sample tenants, a gas safety cert about to expire, and one open issue | Dashboard has content |
| 3-5 min | The aha moment. Guided prompt: “Try it now — text ‘My boiler is broken’ to this number.” Landlord sends a WhatsApp/web chat message. AI responds. Issue appears on dashboard with category, urgency, and tenant details | Landlord feels the value |
| 5-10 min | Explore the dashboard. Guided tooltips highlight: issue timeline, compliance alerts, vendor assignment. “Assign a vendor” walkthrough on the demo issue | Landlord understands the core workflow |
| 10-30 min | ”Ready to add your real properties?” CTA. Option to add manually (one-by-one with address autocomplete) or upload CSV | First real data enters the system |
| First hour | If they added a real property: prompt to add their first real tenant. “Send a welcome message to [tenant name]?” One click sends the tenant SMS/WhatsApp with how to contact Envo | First real tenant connected |
| First day | Onboarding checklist visible on dashboard (persistent, dismissible): (1) Add a property, (2) Add a tenant, (3) Upload a document, (4) Assign a vendor to an issue, (5) Experience the AI as a tenant. Check-off progress bar | Activation milestones tracked |
| Day 2-3 | Automated email: “You’ve added [X] properties and [Y] tenants. Here’s what happened overnight.” Shows any AI conversations that occurred | Demonstrates 24/7 value |
| Day 7 | Check-in email: “Here’s your first week in numbers.” Issues reported, response times, compliance status. If Hot lead: Danny calls | Retention and upgrade prompt |
| Day 12 | ”Your trial ends in 2 days.” Clear CTA to choose a plan. Show what they will lose access to | Conversion prompt |
| Day 14 | Trial ends. If not converted: dashboard becomes read-only. Data preserved for 30 days. “Reactivate anytime” message | Grace period, no data loss |
Activation milestones (what we track internally)
| Milestone | Target | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Account created | 100% of sign-ups | Baseline |
| Org wizard completed | >90% | If they drop here, the wizard is too long |
| First property added (real or sandbox) | >80% | No property = empty dashboard = churn |
| First AI interaction (sent a test message) | >60% | This is the aha moment — if they do not do this, they have not experienced the product |
| First real tenant added | >40% within 7 days | This is the commitment signal |
| First real issue created (by a tenant, not a test) | >20% within 14 days | This means the product is live and working |
| Converted to paid | >15% of trials | Industry benchmark for B2B SaaS free trial conversion is 10-25% |
Self-Serve vs White-Glove
Based on the packaging matrix tiers and the lead scoring from sign-up:
| Customer Type | Properties | Onboarding Style | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small landlord (1-5 properties, single-let) | 1-5 | Fully self-serve | Low revenue potential (GBP 15-30/mo). White-glove is uneconomical. Automated emails, in-app tooltips, sandbox demo. If they activate, great. If not, they were not our ICP anyway |
| Growing landlord (6-25 properties, HMO) | 6-25 | Self-serve with optional assist | This is the Starter tier sweet spot. Self-serve onboarding by default, but offer a “Book a 15-min setup call” in the wizard. Danny reaches out to Hot-scored leads proactively |
| Portfolio landlord (25-100 properties) | 25-100 | Guided onboarding | Professional tier prospect. Danny calls within 2 hours of sign-up. Offers a 30-minute walkthrough and handles CSV import personally. This is where conversion effort has the highest ROI |
| Agency / large operator (100+ properties) | 100+ | White-glove | Enterprise tier. Dedicated onboarding session, custom CSV mapping, BYOAK configuration assistance, team setup. Danny books a 1-hour call and walks them through everything. May involve the engineering team for technical setup |
| Inbound from demo (any size) | Any | Sales-assisted | They came via the “try it live” demo on the website (texted the WhatsApp number). Already had the aha moment. Fast-track to sign-up with Danny’s personal follow-up |
The handoff
| Step | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up + wizard | Automated (product) | Account creation, org setup, lead scoring |
| Hot lead alert | Automated (system) | Slack notification to Danny with lead details |
| First contact (Hot/Portfolio) | Danny | Personal call or WhatsApp within 2 hours |
| CSV import assist | Danny, Bilal, or Deen | Helps format and upload property/tenant CSV |
| Technical setup (Enterprise) | @bilal @deen | BYOAK configuration, custom domain, SSO |
| Ongoing check-ins | Danny | Day 7, Day 12 calls for Professional+ prospects |
Competitor Sign-Up Comparison
| Aspect | Fixflo | Arthur Online | COHO | Envo (Proposed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry point | Demo request only (sales-led) | Free trial available (14 days) | Free trial available | Self-serve free trial (14 days) |
| Self-service? | No — must book a demo and speak to sales | Partially — can register online but needs setup assistance | Yes — self-service sign-up | Yes — fully self-serve with optional assist |
| Time to first value | Days (after demo call, onboarding call, data import) | Hours to days (after trial setup and data entry) | Hours (simpler product, less data needed) | 5 minutes (sandbox demo property, instant AI interaction) |
| Onboarding support | Dedicated Customer Service Executive, 30-day onboarding programme | Guided setup, account specialist | FastTrack service available, 6-stage onboarding process | Self-serve wizard + optional Danny call for Hot leads |
| Data import | Admin-assisted import into Fixflo system | Manual or assisted | Manual entry or FastTrack | Self-serve CSV upload + manual add with address autocomplete |
| Minimum commitment | Custom quote, ~50 property minimum, GBP 50+ base fee | GBP 70-78/mo minimum (Standard plan) | GBP 2.50/unit, monthly contract | 14-day free trial, no card required |
| What they ask at sign-up | Name, email, company, phone, property count, role (demo request form) | Name, email, company details, property portfolio | Name, email, company, property details | Name, email, password (then progressive profiling) |
| Qualification method | Sales team qualifies during demo call | Sales team during trial setup | Self-serve (limited qualification) | Automated lead scoring from wizard answers + Danny follow-up for Hot |
| AI / automation? | None | None | None | AI-powered demo from minute 3 |
Key lessons from competitors
-
Fixflo’s sales-led gate is a barrier we can exploit. A landlord who wants to try Fixflo has to book a demo, wait for a call, sit through a pitch, then wait for onboarding. We can have them experiencing AI tenant support in 5 minutes. This is our biggest competitive advantage in the sign-up flow.
-
Arthur’s 14-day trial sets the market expectation. Landlords expect a trial period. 14 days is the standard. Match it.
-
COHO’s self-service approach works for HMO operators. They are comfortable signing up and exploring on their own. But COHO’s product is simpler — property management with rooms, rent, compliance. Our AI adds complexity that needs a guided first-run experience.
-
Nobody offers a sandbox / demo property. This is a genuine differentiator. Every competitor requires the landlord to enter their own data before they can experience the product. A pre-loaded demo property with sample tenants and a live AI conversation is something none of them do.
-
30-day onboarding is too slow for our market. Fixflo’s 30-day onboarding programme is designed for agencies with 100+ properties and complex workflows. Our target (15-50 property HMO operators) wants to be live in days, not weeks.
Recommended Flow (Visual)
LANDING PAGE
|
v
[Try it live] -----> Text demo WhatsApp number -----> Experience AI as tenant
| |
v v
[Sign Up Free] "Want this for your properties?"
| |
v v
+---------------------------+ +---------------------------+
| STEP 1: Account Creation |<--------------------| Pre-fill email if known |
| - Name | +---------------------------+
| - Email |
| - Password / Google OAuth |
+---------------------------+
|
v
+---------------------------+
| STEP 2: Org Wizard |
| Screen 1: Org name |
| Screen 2: Property count | -----> [Lead scoring runs silently]
| Screen 3: Property type | -----> [Hot? Alert Danny via Slack]
| Screen 4: Location |
| Screen 5: Phone (optional)|
+---------------------------+
|
v
+------------------------------------------+
| STEP 3: First Property |
| |
| [A] "Explore with a demo property" <--- DEFAULT, one click
| Pre-loads: sample HMO, 4 tenants, |
| 1 expiring doc, 1 open issue |
| |
| [B] "Add your own property" |
| Address autocomplete, type, units |
+------------------------------------------+
|
v
+------------------------------------------+
| STEP 4: The Aha Moment |
| "Try it now -- message our AI" |
| [WhatsApp QR] [Web Chat] [Call] |
| |
| Landlord sends: "My boiler is broken" |
| AI responds, asks follow-ups |
| Issue appears on dashboard in real time |
+------------------------------------------+
|
v
+------------------------------------------+
| DASHBOARD (with onboarding checklist) |
| [ ] Add a property |
| [ ] Add a tenant |
| [ ] Upload a compliance document |
| [ ] Assign a vendor to an issue |
| [x] Experience the AI as a tenant |
+------------------------------------------+
|
|--- Day 1-3: Automated emails with tips
|--- Day 7: "Your first week in numbers" email
| (Hot leads: Danny calls)
|--- Day 12: "Trial ending soon" email
|--- Day 14: Trial ends, dashboard read-only
v
+------------------------------------------+
| CONVERSION |
| "Choose your plan" |
| [Starter] [Professional] [Enterprise] |
| Based on properties added during trial |
+------------------------------------------+
Pre-sign-up hook: “Try it live”
The landing page should prominently feature a “Try it live” experience — before the prospect even creates an account. This is the idea from the packaging matrix (“the hook that gets people in”):
- Display a WhatsApp QR code or phone number
- Prospect texts “My kitchen tap is leaking” to the number
- AI responds in character, asks follow-up questions, and says “I’ve logged this with your landlord”
- Below the chat: “Want this for your properties? Sign up free.”
This costs us one AI conversation (~GBP 0.12) and is more compelling than any landing page copy. It proves the product is real in 60 seconds.
Data Model Implications
Reviewing the Data Model, the sign-up flow needs:
| Need | Current State | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| Organisation creation with property count estimate | organisations table exists but no estimated_properties or property_type field | Add estimated_property_count (int), primary_property_type (enum) to organisations — used for lead scoring, not billing |
| Lead score / temperature | Not in data model | Add lead_score (enum: hot, warm, cold) and lead_source (text) to organisations |
| Sandbox/demo property | No concept of demo data | Add is_demo boolean to properties and tenants. Demo data is excluded from billing and reporting but included in the dashboard |
| Onboarding progress | No onboarding tracking | Add onboarding_status (jsonb) to organisations tracking checklist completion |
| Trial dates | organisations.plan enum exists but no trial tracking | Add trial_started_at, trial_ends_at to organisations |
| Phone number (optional) | Users table synced from Supabase Auth — phone not currently captured separately | Capture in users table or a separate user_profiles table |
Open Questions for Session
Must-decide
-
Do we gate sign-up on work email, or allow personal (gmail, etc.)? Gating on work email filters out tyre-kickers but also filters out many HMO landlords who use personal email for everything. Recommendation: allow any email, but use domain as a qualification signal.
-
Do we require a first property before showing the dashboard, or allow an empty dashboard? Recommendation: strongly guide towards the sandbox demo property (one-click default), but allow skip. An empty dashboard is a conversion killer.
-
Can we build the sandbox demo property for launch? This is the highest-impact feature in this entire document. It requires: a pre-configured demo property, demo tenants with test phone numbers/email, and a demo AI conversation endpoint that works with the demo data. Is this feasible before first deployment?
-
What is the trial duration? 14 days matches the market (Arthur, Landlord Studio, general SaaS standard). The packaging matrix also recommends 14 days. Confirm.
-
Credit card required at sign-up? Recommendation: no. Research shows no-card trials have higher sign-up rates. We want volume at this stage, not pre-qualification by payment intent. We are pre-revenue — learning is more valuable than filtering.
Should-decide
-
“Try it live” pre-sign-up experience — do we build this for launch? It is the most powerful conversion tool in our arsenal but requires a working WhatsApp integration (E-008) and a standalone demo endpoint. Can it be a simulated/recorded experience initially?
-
How does Danny want to receive Hot lead alerts? Slack? Email? SMS? WhatsApp? What information does he need in the alert to make the first call effective?
-
Do we auto-suggest a tier at sign-up based on property count, or let them choose? Recommendation: auto-suggest based on wizard answers (“Based on your portfolio, we recommend Professional”). Reduces decision paralysis.
-
Onboarding emails — who writes the copy, and what tool sends them? Options: SendGrid sequences, a dedicated email tool (Customer.io, Loops), or build into the app. Recommendation: SendGrid sequences for now (we already have it in the stack), move to a proper tool when we have >100 sign-ups.
-
Per-property or per-unit for trial limits? The pricing analysis recommends per-unit, but the sign-up wizard asks about “properties” (which landlords understand). Do we expose unit-counting during sign-up, or count properties during trial and convert to per-unit at billing?
Nice-to-decide
-
Google OAuth at sign-up — do we support it? Improves sign-up rate by ~8%. Supabase Auth supports it natively. Downside: adds a third-party dependency to the sign-up flow. Recommendation: yes, offer it alongside email/password.
-
What happens to the sandbox demo data when the landlord adds real properties? Options: (a) auto-delete demo data, (b) let them manually delete it, (c) keep it in a separate “demo” tab. Recommendation: auto-archive after first real property is added, with option to restore.
-
Should we capture “how did you hear about us?” at sign-up? Recommendation: no, not in the sign-up wizard (every field costs conversion). Ask in the Day 7 email or during Danny’s onboarding call for Hot leads.
Research Sources
- SaaS Conversion Rate Guide & Benchmarks (MadX Digital)
- How to Optimize SaaS Sign Up Flow (Custify)
- What is a Good Conversion Rate for Signup Flow (Heap)
- Sign Up Form Best Practices (Authgear)
- Progressive Profiling for B2B (Brixon Group)
- Self-Serve vs White Glove Onboarding (UserPilot)
- The State of Product-Led Growth in SaaS 2026 (UserGuiding)
- SaaS Onboarding Best Practices 2025 (Flowjam)
- Reduce Time-to-Value for B2B SaaS (Cerebral Ops)
- The Aha Moment Guide (Appcues)
- Product-Led Onboarding 2025 (Product School)
- Lead Forms in B2B (Brixon Group)
- B2B SaaS Onboarding Guide (Product Fruits)
- Fixflo Lettings — demo-only sign-up, 30-day onboarding, dedicated CSE
- Arthur Online (Capterra) — 14-day free trial, guided setup
- COHO Property Management — self-serve sign-up, GBP 2.50/unit, 6-stage onboarding
- COHO Onboarding Knowledgebase — FastTrack service, 6-stage process
This analysis is a proposal for discussion in Session 3. The recommended sign-up flow prioritises speed to value (5 minutes to aha moment), invisible qualification (lead scoring from wizard answers), and minimum friction (3 fields to create an account, progressive profiling after). The sandbox demo property is the single highest-impact feature recommendation in this document — if we build one thing from this analysis, build that.