This page takes an Owner or SolaHR Administrator from an empty SolaHR to a working setup: settings, structure, employees, attendance, leave and team access. Follow the steps in order; each one links to the page with full detail.
Where to find it
- Portal: sign in at solavel.com, choose the organization in the sidebar switcher, then click the SolaHR app card.
- SolaHR opens on Overview → Dashboard (
/dashboard) for the organization you had selected in the Portal. In a brand-new workspace it opens on Set up SolaHR first (step 1). - To work in another organization, click the organization pill in the top bar and choose Switch organization, or switch in the Portal and open SolaHR again. To go back to the Portal or open another Solavel app, use the account menu (your initials, top right): they open in a new tab. The Documentation tile in the same menu opens these SolaHR guides in a new tab.
Before you start
| You need | Where it is set |
|---|---|
| An organization whose plan includes SolaHR | Portal → Billing & subscriptions |
| Access to SolaHR as Owner or SolaHR Administrator | Portal → Team / Application roles |
| A free SolaHR seat for every staff member who will sign in | Portal → Team seat meters |
Employees who only check in, request leave or read payslips do not need a seat. They use the employee portal link (step 6).
If SolaHR opens with Access denied, your Portal role does not include SolaHR. Ask the organization Owner.
Setup checklist
1. Review the workspace setup and settings
In a new workspace SolaHR shows Set up SolaHR (/setup) and keeps everything else closed until an Owner or SolaHR Administrator has reviewed three things and ticked I have reviewed and confirmed the HR settings.: company details and logo, payroll settings (the payroll currency comes from Finance and must be confirmed) and attendance settings (working hours, grace period, non-working days). See Workspace setup.
Afterwards, System → Settings (/settings) is where you adjust those defaults, the lateness deduction rule and the numbering. See Settings. Print branding for payslips and vouchers is in System → Documents & Printing (Documents and printing).
2. Build your structure
- Open People → Departments (
/departments) and add your departments, for example Operations, Sales, Finance. - Open People → Job Titles (
/job-titles) and add titles such as Store Supervisor or Accountant. - Check People → Org Chart (
/departments/chart) once employees are added.
See Departments, Job Titles and Org Chart.
3. Define working time
- Time & Attendance → Work Schedules (
/work-schedules) — the Main work schedule already mirrors your attendance settings; add other shifts (a warehouse early shift, night guards) and assign them to employees on their profiles. See Work schedules. - Time & Attendance → Holidays (
/holidays) — add public holidays such as Eid Al Fitr and UAE National Day, for the whole organization or chosen departments, and name anyone who must work on duty. See Holidays. - Time & Attendance → Attendance Locations (
/attendance/locations) — add each site where staff may check in, by place search or by pasting a map link, choose who may use it (everyone, or selected departments and people) and activate it. See Attendance locations.
4. Set up leave
Open Time & Attendance → Leave (/leaves) and review leave types and balances (annual, sick, unpaid and so on). See Leave.
5. Add employees
- Open People → Employees (
/employees) and click Add employee. - Fill in the profile, department, job title, joining date and salary, then save. Tick Send a welcome email to the employee only if you want one; nothing is emailed otherwise.
Employee numbers are issued per organization in sequence, and an employee is created completely or not at all. See Employees.
6. Give employees their portal link
Open People → Portal Access (/employees/portal-access). Turn on the employee portal for the organization, then copy each employee's link (or export selected links) and send it to them privately. Employees use it to check in, request leave, see payslips and, if they need to, submit a resignation. Each employee connects their own phone once. See Portal Access and, for the employee's side, Employee portal.
7. Payroll (optional)
Set Payroll & Compensation → Payroll Settings and create your first run in Payroll & Compensation → Payroll Runs. Before the first run, check Reports → attendance for the month. See Payroll.
8. Give managers access
- In the Portal, invite each manager and give them a SolaHR role, for example Department Manager (Team).
- Back in SolaHR, open System → Team Access (
/team-access) and assign the departments or employees each scoped member works with. Until you do, they see no one. See Team access.
Check your work on the dashboard
Overview → Dashboard shows active workforce, today's attendance, the Awaiting your approval card, pending requests, the payroll snapshot, headcount by department, and contracts or probations ending in the next 30 days. Once employees and attendance are in, it is the quickest way to confirm that the setup works. See Dashboard.
Setup at a glance
| Step | Page | Who does it | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workspace setup, Settings | Owner / Administrator | The setup review is finished; currency, numbering and working time are saved. |
| 2 | Departments, Job Titles | Owner / Administrator / manager role | Every employee has a title to pick. |
| 3 | Work schedules, Holidays, Attendance locations | Owner / Administrator | At least one active location. |
| 4 | Leave | Owner / Administrator | Leave types and balances exist. |
| 5 | Employees | HR | Everyone is added with a department and job title. |
| 6 | Portal Access | Owner / Administrator | Links are sent and the first check-ins are bound. |
| 7 | Payroll | Owner / payroll | The first draft run calculates. |
| 8 | Team access | Owner / Administrator | Each scoped manager sees only their people. |
Worked example
Al Noor Trading LLC (Dubai, AED) starts using SolaHR with 25 staff.
- Mariam (Owner) opens SolaHR from the Portal and completes Set up SolaHR: uploads the company logo, confirms the payroll currency AED (taken from Finance) and sets working hours 09:00–18:00 with Saturday and Sunday as non-working days.
- She adds departments Operations, Sales and Finance, and job titles Store Supervisor, Sales Associate, Accountant.
- She creates a Day shift 09:00–18:00 schedule, adds UAE public holidays, and adds the attendance location Dubai Main Warehouse by pasting its Google Maps link, then activates it.
- She adds Omar Haddad (Operations, Store Supervisor, AED 8,500) and the other employees. They get numbers in sequence.
- On Portal Access she enables the employee portal and sends each employee their link by WhatsApp. Each employee taps Connect this phone at work the first time.
- In the Portal she invites Khalid as Department Manager for SolaHR. In SolaHR Team access she assigns him the Operations department. Khalid now sees and manages only Operations staff, and keeps his own My Portal.
Tips and common problems
- A menu entry is missing. Either your role lacks the permission or the module is not in your plan. Owners and SolaHR Administrators see every module in the plan.
- A manager sees an empty employee list. Assign departments or employees in Team access.
- Wrong organization opened. SolaHR opens the organization selected in the Portal. Use Switch organization.
- Employees ask for a password. Employees normally use their portal link, not a Solavel account. Send them the link from Portal Access. Staff who sign in can use My Portal.