> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://assembly.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Adding your first client

Assembly is most useful with a real client in the workspace — the apps you build will scope to specific contacts and companies, and many of the AI-generated decisions in your plan depend on having someone to point at.

If you only have a test client from the [first-app walkthrough](/docs/getting-started/build-your-first-app), that's fine to start. Add a real client when you're ready to use the apps for actual work.

## Create a contact

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Contacts page">
    From your Dashboard sidebar, open **Contacts**. You'll see your current contact list, empty or otherwise.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a contact">
    Click **New contact**. Enter the contact's name and email. Optionally, assign them to a company (more on that below).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide on invite timing">
    You can save the contact without inviting them yet. This is useful if you're setting up several apps and want to invite the contact only once everything is ready.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Invite them

When you're ready, send the invite. Clients receive an email with a sign-in link and set their own password.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Email invite">
    The default. The client gets a sign-up email branded with your workspace.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Magic link">
    A one-click sign-in link you can send directly. Good when the client is right next to you, or when you want to skip the password setup step.

    [How magic links work](/docs/core-concepts/magic-links)
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Direct sign up">
    Let clients sign themselves up via a public link. Useful for self-service onboarding.

    [Contact direct sign up](/docs/core-concepts/contact-direct-sign-up)
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Companies, briefly

Companies group multiple contacts together. If two people from the same firm are both your clients, you can put them under one company and share data at that level — invoices, messages, project trackers, anything the app builder builds against companies.

When to use companies:

* Your clients are B2B and multiple stakeholders work at the same customer
* You want one app instance shared across a customer team

When to skip them:

* Your clients are individuals
* Each client gets their own data and shouldn't see anyone else's

You can enable companies in your workspace settings if they aren't already on.

<Card title="More on contacts and companies" icon="building" href="/docs/core-concepts/contacts-and-companies">
  How scoping works inside your apps
</Card>

## Bulk import

If you have a lot of contacts to bring in, the bulk import flow takes a CSV.

<Card title="Advanced import" icon="file-arrow-up" href="/docs/core-concepts/advanced-import">
  The CSV import flow, including custom fields
</Card>

## What clients experience next

Once invited and signed in, your client sees your client experience — your workspace's branded client-facing view. What's in it depends on which apps you've installed and made visible to clients.

The first session is a big deal. Read [Test the complete experience](/docs/rolling-out-to-clients/test-before-launch) and walk the journey yourself before you onboard anyone you can't easily re-onboard later.