What this article is for
This guide walks you through setting up your first Board in Aptly, helping you turn a real-world process into a clear, repeatable workflow.
By the end of this article, you’ll be able to:
- Understand what Boards are and when to use them
- Create a Board that matches your process
- Define stages and fields correctly
- Avoid common setup mistakes
What is a Board?
A Board represents a workflow in Aptly — such as renter leads, lease renewals maintenance requests, or move outs.
Boards are where:
- Work is tracked from start to finish
- Cards move through stages
- Tasks and automations are triggered
If work has steps and ownership, it belongs on a Board.
Step 1: Choose the right process
Before creating your board, answer:
- What triggers this workflow?
- When does it start?
- When is it considered complete?
Tip: Start with a process your team already understands well.
Step 2: Create your Board
When creating a new Board:
- Give it a clear, descriptive name
(Example: Lease Renewals instead of Renewals)
- Choose whether to start from scratch or install a Best Practice Board
To create a board for the first time, start by navigating to the left-hand sidebar and click + New Board, then choose how you’d like to begin. You can select Create from gallery to start with a pre-built template designed for common workflows, or choose Create blank board if you want to build everything from scratch. Once created, the board will appear in the selected folder and is immediately ready for you to add stages, fields, automations, and cards.
Step 3: Define your stages
Stages represent the steps in your process, not tasks.
Good stage examples:
- Application Received
- Under Review
- Approved
- Lease Sent
- Completed
Avoid:
- Vague stages like “Pending”
- Too many stages (start with 5–7)
Learn more about how to create and manage your stages here.
Step 4: Configure fields
Fields store the information you need to make decisions and trigger automation.
Examples:
- Dates (move-in date, renewal date)
- Status fields (approved, denied)
- Reference fields (linked contacts or locations)
Only add fields you plan to use. You can always add more later.
Learn more about how to create and manage your field here.
Step 5: Decide what should be automated
Once your board structure is in place, consider:
- What should happen automatically when a card enters a stage?
- What tasks should always be created?
- What communications should be sent?
Start with simple, high-impact automations.
Learn more about how to create and manage your automations here.
Step 6: Test before rolling out
Before your team uses the board:
- Create a test card
- Move it through every stage
- Confirm tasks and automations fire correctly
Testing prevents confusion and rework later.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Recreating existing processes without simplifying them
- Adding automations before stages are finalized
- Using boards for data storage instead of workflows
- Skipping testing
Final advice
Your first board doesn’t need to be perfect. The goal is to create clarity, not complexity. As your team uses the board, you’ll naturally refine it.