An agency may tell you that schedules, notes, invoices, and service requests live in a family portal. That description does not tell you whether your family can use it when a shift changes or a question needs an answer.
Treat portal setup as part of starting service. Complete it before the caregiver works without you present. This sheet follows the same document-first method described in How We Write the Sheets: identify the person responsible, run the process, and keep the record produced by the test.
1. Name what the portal is supposed to do
Ask the provider to show you the functions included with your service. Do not build your checklist from a sales description. Build it from the screens and written instructions the provider actually gives you.
Ask:
Which of these will appear in the portal?
_____ Scheduled visits
_____ Assigned caregiver names
_____ Completed visit records
_____ Messages
_____ Requests for schedule changes
_____ Service documents
_____ Invoices or payment records
_____ Something else: ____________________
Write down any item handled somewhere else. A complete contact route matters more than forcing every task into one system. The broader hiring sequence is laid out in Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.
2. Identify the portal owner at the provider
Ask, “Who sends the invitation, who fixes access, and who answers requests submitted through the portal?” These may be different people.
Write:
Invitation sender: ____________________
Access problems: ____________________
Service requests: ____________________
Phone number if the portal cannot be reached: ____________________
Walk away from setup language such as “the office watches it” unless the provider can name the role that receives a request and explain how you will know it was received.
3. Decide who in the family gets access
List each person who needs to see or act on information. Ask the provider whether every person receives an individual account or whether the provider expects the family to share one login.
User: ____________________
Needs to view: ____________________
Needs to submit or change: ____________________
Account invitation sent to: ____________________
If several relatives are involved, name one person who owns portal administration for the family. That person keeps the user list, reports access problems, and asks for access to be removed when someone no longer needs it.
4. Receive and inspect the invitation
Do not mark setup complete when the provider says the invitation was sent. Open it while the setup contact is available.
Check:
_____ The sender matches the provider or the portal service the provider named.
_____ The invitation was sent to the correct address or phone number.
_____ The link opens.
_____ The account shows the correct care recipient.
_____ The displayed provider name matches the organization you hired.
If a name is wrong, stop and have the provider correct it before adding schedules, messages, or family users. The hiring party and service arrangement should already be clear from the work described in Hire a Caregiver in St. Louis: Agency or Direct.
5. Set up access on the device that will actually be used
Open the portal on the phone, tablet, or computer the family member will use during service. A successful login on someone else’s device is not the finished test.
Record:
Device tested: ____________________
Sign-in page or app name: ____________________
Password recovery method shown: ____________________
Notification method selected: ____________________
Then sign out and sign in again. If the family member cannot repeat that step without the agency representative taking over the device, leave the setup open.
6. Compare the first schedule with the written service order
Open the first scheduled visit and compare what appears there with the written arrangement you accepted.
Check:
_____ Care recipient
_____ Service address
_____ Arrival time
_____ End time
_____ Recurring pattern
_____ Caregiver name, if the provider displays it
_____ Office contact connected to the visit
Write every difference exactly as shown. Do not correct your own copy and assume the provider’s system changed.
Difference found: ____________________
Sent to: ____________________
Provider response: ____________________
7. Send one harmless test request
Use the same path you would use for a real service question. Send a test that does not alter care, such as: “Portal setup test. Please confirm receipt and close this request.”
Before sending it, ask:
Who receives this message?
Does sending it create a tracked request?
Where will the reply appear?
What should I do if the matter cannot wait for a portal reply?
Record:
Test sent through: ____________________
Receipt appeared: yes / no
Reply appeared: yes / no
Status changed to closed: yes / no
Name or role that answered: ____________________
A portal message is not an emergency route unless the provider’s written instructions expressly make it one. Keep the provider’s stated urgent contact method beside the portal instructions.
8. Test one notification from end to end
Ask the provider to identify an action that should create a notification, such as posting a reply or changing a test item. Perform that action and confirm where the notice arrives.
Notification expected by: ____________________
Notification received by: ____________________
What the notice showed: ____________________
Could the user open the related item from the notice? yes / no
If no notification arrives, check the portal setting, the device setting, and the address or number on the account. Write down which setting fixed the problem.
9. Establish the route when the portal fails
Ask the provider to walk through three failures:
“What do I do if I cannot sign in?”
“What do I do if the schedule in the portal is wrong?”
“What do I do if I submit a request and receive no acknowledgment?”
Write the answers as actions, not assurances.
Access failure contact: ____________________
Schedule correction contact: ____________________
Unanswered request contact: ____________________
Information to provide when calling: ____________________
If the answers depend on local public or nonprofit assistance outside the provider, use the starting points collected on Local Help for Hiring a Caregiver.
10. Close setup with a saved record
Keep the provider’s portal instructions, the account-owner list, the fallback phone number, and the result of the test request together. Do not record passwords in the service binder.
Portal setup is complete only when:
_____ Each intended user has entered the correct account.
_____ The first schedule matches the written service arrangement.
_____ A test request reached the provider and produced a visible response.
_____ At least one notification reached the device that will be used.
_____ The family has a written fallback route.
_____ One person owns additions and removals from the family user list.
Keep the provider’s own written materials as the source for its portal procedures. For the public records and agencies used by this desk when checking general hiring guidance, see Sources.