Getting Started with Tern: Advisor Onboarding Guide
Description: Routes advisors to the right resource based on what they need help with — process, growing their business, or something else. Includes the full Tern & Learn advisor checklist.
This article helps advisors find the right resource based on what they need help with. If you are an agency owner, use the Agency Owner getting started checklist instead: https://www.tern.travel/learn/checklist/agency-owners.html
Get walked through setup with the Tern AI assistant
The fastest way to get started is to let Tern walk you through it. Open AI Chat in the app and type "help me get started." The assistant guides you live, right inside Tern.
Here's what it does:
Starts with something real. It asks what you're working on right now, then helps you do it, whether that's building your first trip or drafting a client email. You see Tern working for you before touching a single setting.
Introduces the core AI features as you go. Trip building, email drafting in your voice, and the AI Notetaker, explained in the moment they're useful.
Flags the settings you need, when you need them. If a setting is blocking you, like connecting your email before you can send, the assistant points you to it instead of handing you a long checklist upfront.
Walks you through full account setup when you're ready. It covers security, branding, waivers and agreements, email and scheduling, and financial settings, one step at a time.
Answers your questions along the way. The assistant can search the Help Center and answer how-to questions in the chat, so you don't have to leave what you're doing.
If you'd rather work through setup on your own, use the Process checklist below.
How to use this guide
Tell us what you need help with. Match your situation to one of the three sections below.
Help with my process in Tern — you want to learn the platform, set up your account, build trips, and run your day-to-day work in Tern. Go to the Process checklist below.
Help getting more trips or growing my business — you want strategies for booking more clients, marketing yourself, or growing your advisor business. Go to Growing your business below.
Help with something else — anything else, including troubleshooting, billing, account access, or questions that do not fit the categories above. Go to Something else below.
Process checklist
This is the full Tern & Learn checklist for new advisors. It mirrors the public Tern & Learn advisor checklist: https://www.tern.travel/learn/checklist/advisor
Work through these 10 steps in order to get up and running.
Set up your Tern account
Orient yourself to Tern. Find out what lives where on the platform. Platform overview: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/platform-overview.html
Set up your personal settings. Define your advisor profile. Personal settings: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/platform-overview/personal-settings.html
Configure your business settings. Shape what your clients see in Tern. Business settings: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/advisor-setup-in-tern/business-settings.html
Define your process in Tern
Import or add your contacts. Your contacts: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/your-contacts.html
Define your must-have tasks with starter templates and workflows. Tern Library: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/tern-library.html
Create a form in Tern to manage intake of new contact info or trip requests. Client intake with forms: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/client-intake-with-forms.html
Build a trip in Tern
Build a starter trip. Trip building: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/trip-building.html
Collect payments for your first trip securely. Authorized payments and commission: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/authorized-payments-and-commission.html
Continue to use Tern
Build out additional templates and apply triggers to new trips or contacts to minimize manual work. Intro to automations and workflows: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/tern-library/intro-to-automations-and-workflows.html
Explore optional add-ons, lodging options, and more for advanced trip building. Optional add-ons: https://www.tern.travel/learn/courses/trip-building/optional-add-ons.html
If you have already completed a step, skip it. You do not need to do these in strict order, but the sequence above is the fastest path from zero to running real trips in Tern.
Growing your business
Tern does not currently offer a structured course path on growing your advisor business or generating more trips. Tern's platform is built to help you run your business more efficiently, not to teach sales or marketing strategy. For peer guidance, industry conversations, and tactical advice, these are the best places to start:
Tern Facebook community — thousands of advisors sharing what works for them, including lead generation, niche building, and supplier relationships. https://www.facebook.com/groups/terntravel
Office hours — live sessions where you can ask specific questions about your business. https://www.tern.travel/events?filter_eventcategory=office-hours
Case studies — how other advisors and agencies have grown using Tern. https://www.tern.travel/case-studies
If you are looking for a one-on-one growth consultation, this is not something Tern support provides. Reach out to your host agency or consortium if you have one, or use the community resources above.
Something else
If your question does not fit either category above, you have two options:
Reach out to Tern support at [email protected] or through the in-app chat. This is the right path for troubleshooting, billing, account access, and any specific issue you are hitting in Tern.
Join office hours for live help on anything Tern related. View upcoming sessions: https://www.tern.travel/events?filter_eventcategory=office-hours
Support is the primary route for anything specific or time-sensitive. Office hours are best for open-ended questions where you would benefit from talking through your situation with the team.