# Welcome to Raal | Raal Help Center > A quick orientation to the Raal customer portal: what each section is for and where to start. Source: https://raal.io/help/getting-started/welcome-to-raal --- Getting Started # Welcome to Raal A quick orientation to the Raal customer portal: what each section is for and where to start. 3 min read Updated 25 June 2026 # Welcome. ![Raal customer portal dashboard showing the orders list and OPS balance](/help-images/64a9883085d07802.png) Raal is a global IT device lifecycle management platform. You ship laptops to new hires, retrieve them from leavers, and swap devices for existing employees, anywhere in 150+ countries. The portal is where you trigger and track that work; everything that happens after the click, we handle for you. This article is a tour. Use it to find the section you need; each feature has its own how-to article linked at the bottom. ## What Raal handles for you You don't chase couriers, fill out customs forms, or babysit shipments. The portal kicks off the work; we run it. - **End-to-end communication**: We email the employee, the courier, and customs on your behalf, up to 3 emails per step, until the package is collected and delivered. Your team doesn't get pulled into the back-and-forth. - **Packaging shipped to your door**: Raal return kits, with packing instructions, are shipped directly to the employee or office. No sourcing boxes, no writing instructions. - **Customs clearance done for you**: For cross-border shipments, we handle the import paperwork. You don't deal with brokers or HS codes. - **Insurance and claims**: Every shipment is insured for full replacement value. If something is lost or damaged in transit, we file and chase the claim on your behalf. - **Flexible invoicing**: Bill to whichever entity you need (parent, subsidiary, project entity), and pay at order placement, after fulfilment, or on a monthly consolidated invoice. - **Your time back**: A device move that used to take a vendor hunt, multiple emails, and customs forms becomes a few clicks in the portal. Hours per move, multiplied by every hire and leaver. ## What you can do in the portal - **Orders**: place new shipments (onboarding, offboarding, device changes) and track in-progress orders. - **OPS Credits**: see your credit balance, top up, and review your consumption history. - **Subscription**: pick a plan, switch tiers, schedule a downgrade. - **Billing**: enter your billing details, add a payment method, and choose how you pay (at order placement, after fulfillment, or on a monthly consolidated invoice). - **Users**: invite teammates and assign roles. - **Integrations**: connect BambooHR so employee data flows in automatically. - **Notifications**: choose which order events email you. - **Account & company settings**: update your profile and company information. ## Where to start If you just signed up, the fastest path is: 1. Add your company billing details. 2. Add a payment method. 3. Invite the teammates who will use the platform. 4. Place a test order to see the flow end-to-end. Each of those has its own article in this help center. ## A few terms you'll see - **OPS**: virtual credits that get consumed when you use platform features. Each action (placing an order, exporting data, paying after fulfilment) has a fixed OPS cost. - **PAYG**: pay-as-you-go, the default. No subscription; you pay per shipment. - **Subscription**: a plan (Starter, Pro, Business) that bundles a monthly OPS allotment at a lower per-OPS price. - **Collection point**: the address where Raal picks up the device, or where a return kit is delivered. - **Customs clearance**: handling import paperwork when a shipment crosses borders. ## Related articles - [Signing up and verifying your email](/getting-started/signing-up-and-verifying-your-email) - [First steps after sign-up](/getting-started/first-steps-after-sign-up) - [PAYG vs subscription: which is right for you](/plans-and-ops-credits/payg-vs-subscription-which-is-right-for-you) On this page - [What Raal handles for you](#raal-handles-for-you) - [What you can do in the portal](#r11wdwdlstk) - [Where to start](#c62sp0zztdm) - [A few terms you'll see](#xoqm5q66b5i) - [Related articles](#i5d7dyczyr4)