When you send AML onboarding, your client receives a link to a secure form branded with your firm's logo. This article walks through exactly what they see, so you can answer questions and talk them through it. If a client asks why it's needed, the short answer is on the form itself: it's part of your firm's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations — a standard compliance step, not a reflection on them.
Opening the link shows an AML/CTF Onboarding form with the explanation: Please complete this form as part of [your firm]'s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations. All information is kept confidential and stored securely. The form has four sections:
Personal Details — First Name, Middle Name (optional), Last Name, Date of Birth and Occupation. Fields are pre-filled from your contact record where Nagaris already has the data, so the client usually only confirms or corrects them. Middle Name is prefilled the same way, but the client can clear it: an emptied box is treated as the client confirming they have no middle name, not as missing data.
Residential Address — the client first picks a Country from a searchable dropdown listing every country (it defaults to Australia). Below that is an address search (Start typing your address...) backed by Google Places and scoped to the chosen country, with an Enter manually option. Changing the country clears any address already entered or searched, so the client always finishes the address for the country they actually selected.
For an Australian address, manual entry asks for street, Suburb, a State dropdown (the standard AU states) and a 4-digit numeric Postcode. For any other country, the same fields appear as free-text City / Suburb, State / Region and Postcode / ZIP, since other countries don't fit the AU state list or 4-digit postcode format.
Regulatory Questions — Are you, or have you ever been, a Politically Exposed Person (PEP)? with the options No, Yes — Domestic, Yes — Foreign and Yes — International Organisation; Primary source of funds with the options Employment / Salary, Business Income, Investments / Savings, Inheritance, Superannuation, Government Benefits and Other; plus checkboxes I have financial dealings with foreign countries and I am acting on behalf of another person. Ticking the last one reveals Third party name, Relationship and Reason for acting on their behalf.
Declaration — a single consent covering three statements: that the information is true and correct, that the client consents to identity verification through a third-party identity verification service, and that they agree to notify their accountant of any changes.
They finish with Submit Onboarding Form.
Straight after submitting, the client sees Form submitted — redirecting to identity verification... and is taken to the secure verification session. The verification is a document check and face recognition: the client photographs a government-issued photo ID and takes a selfie. The portal explains: To complete your onboarding, please verify your identity using a government-issued photo ID and a selfie. This is required under Australian AML/CTF regulations.
Most clients do this on their phone in a couple of minutes. When they finish, a Verification Complete screen confirms: Your identity verification has been submitted. Your accountant will be in touch once the review is complete. You can safely close this page.
If the automatic hand-off to verification fails, the form data is still saved and the client sees an error explaining they can retry via the link in their email.
If the client re-opens their onboarding link after submitting the form but before verifying, they land on a two-card summary: their submitted Onboarding Form details, and an Identity Verification card with either Continue to Verification (resume the existing session), New Session (start a fresh verification session) or Start Identity Verification if none exists yet.
Clients with a Nagaris client portal login also get an Onboarding page in their portal sidebar. It shows the same stepper — Complete Onboarding Form while the form is outstanding, then the verification card — along with any other onboarding actions your firm has assigned. When everything is done it shows You're all caught up.
An expired or revoked onboarding link shows Link Unavailable: This onboarding link is no longer valid. It may have expired or been revoked. Please contact your accountant for a new link. Onboarding links expire after 14 days — just re-send from the contact's AML tab.
If the client already finished everything, re-opening the link shows Onboarding Complete: Your onboarding has been completed. Your accountant will be in touch if anything further is needed.
Every required individual should complete their own onboarding and verification — including trust beneficiaries, directors and beneficial owners where your AML program requires it. Each person gets their own link tied to their own contact record.
Client portal invitations (for the portal login itself) are separate from onboarding links. Portal invitations are single-use and valid for 7 days; if one has already been used, was cancelled, or has expired, the client sees a specific message telling them to ask you for a new invitation.
If a client can't complete verification — for example poor-quality photos — you can re-verify them or confirm identity manually; see the article on reviewing verification results.
The residential address step supports clients living outside Australia: choosing a non-AU country switches the address search and manual fields to a generic format instead of the AU-specific state list and postcode format.
