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The New Hire Paperwork Checklist (Small Business Edition)

A clean hire starts with clean paperwork. Most “HR problems” later—pay disputes, misclassification, missing acknowledgments—begin with incomplete onboarding documents. Use this checklist to standardize your first-day and first-week workflow.

HR ANCHOR. A practical new-hire paperwork checklist: what to collect, when to collect it, and how to keep records clean and consistent.

Core documents to collect (Day 0–Day 1):

  • Offer letter (signed) with start date, pay rate, and role summary

  • Employee information form (address, emergency contact)

  • Tax and payroll forms (federal/state as applicable)

  • Work authorization verification (e.g., I-9 in the U.S.)

  • Direct deposit authorization (or pay method selection)

  • Acknowledgments: handbook receipt, key policies, and required notices


Operational setup (Week 1):

  • Job description and reporting line confirmation

  • Timekeeping setup and training (especially for hourly staff)

  • Required trainings (anti-harassment where applicable, safety, role-specific)

  • Access provisioning (systems, keys, scheduling app)

  • File structure created (see “Recordkeeping” toolkit)


Two rules that prevent future chaos:

  1. One owner for onboarding documents (HR/admin), not “whoever is free.”

  2. One storage system (digital folder structure + naming standard) so you can retrieve anything in minutes.


Download the HR ANCHOR “New Hire Checklist + Folder Naming Standard” toolkit.


Disclaimer: Educational information only; not legal advice. Requirements vary by location and role.

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