Docs / Quick Start Guide

Quick Start Guide

This guide helps you complete the essential setup tasks and process your first DSAR. Follow these steps to become operational quickly.

Open SAR Portal →

Dashboard - Your command center for managing DSARs
Dashboard - Your command center for managing DSARs Dashboard - Your command center for managing DSARs

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

Step 1: Complete Organization Setup (2 minutes)

Settings > Organization: Company Details and Email Signatory
Settings > Organization: Company Details and Email Signatory Settings > Organization: Company Details and Email Signatory
  1. Go to Settings in the sidebar (Settings is Admin-only — if you don’t see it, ask an admin)
  2. Click the Organization tab
  3. Under Company Details, fill in Company Name, Contact Email, Contact Phone and Company Domain. These appear in the emails sent to data subjects
  4. Optionally, under Email Signatory, set who signs the emails (Signatory Name, Signatory Title, Sign-off Wording)
  5. Fill in your Billing Address, then under Regional Settings choose your Language, Time Zone and Country
Settings > Organization: Billing Address and Regional Settings
Settings > Organization: Billing Address and Regional Settings Settings > Organization: Billing Address and Regional Settings
  1. Click Save Changes

Step 2: Configure Your Public Portal (3 minutes)

Your public portal is where data subjects submit requests.

Integrations - Configure your public portal access
Integrations - Configure your public portal access Integrations - Configure your public portal access
  1. Go to Settings > Integrations
  2. View your Public Portal Access URL
  3. Click Test Portal to preview
  4. Click Get Embed Code if you want to embed it on your site
  5. Copy your portal URL to add to your privacy policy
  6. Click Create Additional Portal URL to create time-bound URLs as per your requirements
Portal URL
Your portal URL looks like: https://app.sarportal.com/subjectaccess?token=[your-portal-token]

Add this link to your website’s privacy policy or create a “Submit DSAR” page that links to it.

Step 3: Customize Email Branding (2 minutes)

Customize how your automated emails look to data subjects:

Emails take the company name, contact email, phone and website from Settings > Organization (Step 1). There is nothing extra to type in for them.

Settings > Notifications & Communications: DPO Email Copies and the email template preview
Settings > Notifications & Communications: DPO Email Copies and the email template preview Settings > Notifications & Communications: DPO Email Copies and the email template preview
  1. Pro and Enterprise: upload your logo and set your brand colour for emails and the portal in Settings > Branding & Portal
  2. Go to Settings > Notifications. The Email Branding panel shows the details your emails will use (read-only; change them in Organization or Branding & Portal)
  3. Optionally, turn on CC DPO on all case emails under DPO Email Copies and enter a DPO Email Address
  4. Click Send Test Email to preview how emails will look

Step 4: Create Your First Test Case (3 minutes)

Practice with a test case before going live:

Create Case - Enter subject details and request type
Create Case - Enter subject details and request type Create Case - Enter subject details and request type
  1. Go to Cases > All Cases in the sidebar
  2. Click Create New Case (or click New Case in the sidebar)
  3. On the Manual Entry tab, fill in the form:
    • Request Type: Access Request
    • Subject Name: Test Subject
    • Email Address: subject-email@example.com
    • Date Request Was Received: today
    • Notes / Description (AI-Assisted): Test case for learning the system
  4. Click Create Case

Step 5: Explore Case Management

Now that you have a case, explore the key features:

Cases list: KPI cards, Search & Filter and the cases table
Cases list: KPI cards, Search & Filter and the cases table Cases list: KPI cards, Search & Filter and the cases table

View the Case

Click on your test case to open the case page. Here you can:

Attach Documents and Try AI Redaction

Documents are attached from within a case action — Request Info, Submit Info (shown when the case is Awaiting Information), or the Close Case dialog. There is no standalone upload button or drag-and-drop.

  1. Open one of those dialogs and use the file picker to add a sample document (hold Ctrl/Cmd to select several)
  2. Redactable files are scanned automatically — you land on the Review Detected PII screen. The pages processed (scanned pages, and text at 2,500 characters a page) count against your plan’s page allowance (Basic 125, Starter 1,250, Pro 5,000 pages a month; 500 pages during a trial)
  3. Every detected item starts selected, including the requester’s own details. Click Deselect Subject Data, check the selection, click Redact Selected, then review the result
  4. On Review Documents Before Attaching, check each file, then click Confirm & Attach to Case (or click Skip Redaction on the previous screen to attach the files unchanged)
Review Documents Before Attaching: entities redacted per file, View / Download / Remove
Review Documents Before Attaching: entities redacted per file, View / Download / Remove Review Documents Before Attaching: entities redacted per file, View / Download / Remove

Close the Case

The Close Case dialog: Closure Reason, Closure Notes and Attach Documents
The Close Case dialog: Closure Reason, Closure Notes and Attach Documents The Close Case dialog: Closure Reason, Closure Notes and Attach Documents
  1. Click the red Close Case button
  2. Choose a Closure Reason (required, e.g. “Completed & Fulfilled”); if rejecting, also pick a Refusal Ground
  3. Add Closure Notes (optional; they are emailed to the requester with the closure email) and attach any final documents
  4. Click Close Case to confirm

Going Live Checklist

Before accepting real requests, verify:

What to Do When You Receive a Request

From Public Portal

Requests submitted through your portal automatically create cases. You’ll receive an email notification with the case details.

Via Email or Other Channels

If someone sends a DSAR via email or letter:

  1. Create a new case manually
  2. Enter the subject’s details
  3. Attach any received documents via a case action (Request Info, Submit Info, or Close Case)
  4. Begin processing

Next Steps

Now that you’re set up:

Getting Help