This guide walks you through first-time setup — from creating a workspace to opening your first assessment in the workbench.
Prerequisites
- A Kliper account (sign up at app.kliper.dev)
- Your firm details (name)
- At least one client’s basic info (client name)
Step 1 — Create your workspace
A workspace is the top-level home for your firm. All clients, engagements, assessments, team members, and files live inside it.
Land on onboarding
After signing in for the first time you arrive at /onboarding, which forwards to a Welcome to Kliper screen.
Choose Create new workspace
Pick Create new workspace (the recommended option). You can instead Join with invite code if a teammate sent you one.
Fill in the details
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Organization name | Your firm or team name (e.g. Acme Fintech Inc.) — shown to teammates and on reports |
| Workspace handle | A URL slug under the kliper.app/ prefix (lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens). A live indicator shows available / taken / invalid as you type. |
| Primary framework | A selectable group — PCI DSS is enabled today; SOC 2, ISO 27001, and DORA show Soon badges and are not yet selectable |
Create it
Click Create workspace. Kliper provisions the workspace and drops you on the dashboard.
Step 2 — Add your first client
A client is the entity you’re assessing.
Open the Engagement Hub
In the left sidebar, click Engagements (route /engagement-hub). The page header reads Engagement Hub.
Add a client
In the Clients section, click Add client. (There’s no “+ New Client” button in the top-right — those controls are the Overview/Table/Pipeline view toggle, Export, and Refresh.) The Add New Client dialog opens.
Enter the details
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Client name | Yes | The only required field |
| Industry | No | e.g. Financial Services, Healthcare |
| Contact name / email / phone | No | Your main point of contact |
| Address | No | Stored per-tenant; only your firm can see it |
PCI-specific fields (merchant level, transaction volume, acquirer) are not in this dialog — add them later from the client profile.
Create it
Click Create Client. The client appears in the Engagement Hub.
Step 3 — Create a Letter of Engagement (LOE)
The LOE is the contractual container for one or more assessments. Open the client’s profile and click Add LOE to launch the 7-tab wizard — Details → Engagement → Scope → Timeline → Payment → Terms → Signatures — with a pinned Back/Next/Save bar.
To get started you only need the Details tab (a Title) and the Engagement tab (Start date and End date); everything else can be filled in later. You can also import an existing LOE from a PDF in the Details tab to pre-fill the wizard. Click Create LOE on the final tab.
Step 4 — Launch an assessment
The assessment is where the PCI DSS evaluation happens. Open the LOE and click Add Assessment, or use the New assessment button in the top bar from any page, to open the creation wizard.
The wizard walks through several steps — Basic info → Client → History → Framework → Scope & visibility → Templates → Quality gates → Review & create — capturing the engagement name and owner, the framework and version to load, scope and output variants, and a final review. Click Create Assessment on the last step.
Step 5 — Navigate the workbench
The assessment opens into a tabbed workbench. The main tabs are:
| Tab | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Scoping Questions | Answer the scoping interview that scopes the assessment |
| Section | The requirement editor — testing procedures, answer fields, finding status, and a right rail with live status, Cortex, evidence, and more |
| Task | Tasks for the assessment |
| Attachments | Upload and manage evidence files (malware-scanned and SHA-256 hashed) |
| Messages | The team conversation thread |
| Collaborators | Who can access the assessment |
An Analysis menu adds Gap Analysis, Risk Dashboard, Audit Trail, and Security Tools.
Answer a requirement
In the Section tab, pick a requirement from the left tree, fill in the testing-procedure responses, and set the finding status (In Place, Not Applicable, Not Tested, or Not in Place).
Add evidence
Use the Attachments tab (or the section right rail) to drag in evidence files.
Ask Cortex
Open Cortex from the section right rail to draft justifications, validate evidence, or get requirement guidance.
What’s next
Evidence Management
Upload, tag, validate, and review evidence files.
Client & Engagement Management
Complete the client profile and LOE with scope, financials, and milestones.
Gap & Risk Analysis
Track progress with the gap navigator and risk dashboard.
Cortex AI
Learn what the AI assistant can draft, review, and triage.