Setup Mode and Starting Processing
What Setup Mode Is
Every new Trailspark organization starts in setup mode. Trailspark collects signals from the moment you connect a data source, but it doesn't map those signals, score your accounts, or sync anything to your CRM until a workspace Owner or Admin clicks Start processing. This gives you control over exactly when scoring begins, so it starts only after your data and your ICPs are actually in place — not partway through setup on incomplete configuration.
While you're in setup mode, a blue bar runs across the top of every page. It always starts with Setup mode and names the one next thing to do.
What the Blue Bar Tells You
The bar changes as you complete each step, in this order:
| Situation | What it says | Button |
|---|---|---|
| No data source connected, no signals received | No data is coming in yet | Connect a data source (opens Settings > Integrations) |
| A data source or API key exists, but no signal has arrived | Your data source is connected but no signals have arrived yet | Check connections |
| Signals have arrived, but no signal mapping rule is active | Shows how many signals are collected and asks you to map them | Map signals (opens Signal Mapping) |
| Signals are mapped, but no ICP is active | Asks you to create and activate an ICP | Set up an ICP |
| Ready: at least one signal received, one active mapping rule, and one active ICP | Shows how many signals are collected and waiting | Start processing |
Info
Only workspace Owners and Admins see these buttons. Other members see the same status text, plus a line asking them to ask a workspace admin.
What You Need Before You Can Start
Three things have to be true at the same time:
- At least one signal has been received.
- At least one signal mapping rule is active.
- At least one ICP is active.
Until all three are true, Start processing doesn't appear — the bar keeps pointing you at whichever of these is still missing.
See Creating Signal Mapping Rules, ICP Overview, and CRM Integration Overview for how to get each piece in place.
Starting Processing
Once you're ready, click Start processing. A confirmation titled Start processing? shows a one-line summary — how many signals are waiting, how many mapping rules are active, and how many ICPs are active — and explains that Trailspark will map the waiting signals and score your accounts against your active ICPs, with first results appearing shortly. You can pause anytime afterward from Settings > General.
If your organization has no excluded domains configured yet, the confirmation recommends adding your own company's email domain, and those of any consultants or agencies you work with, under Excluded domains first — see Configuring Site Settings — so your own employees and contractors aren't scored as buyers. This is only a recommendation; you can start without doing it.
Info
If something changes between opening the confirmation and confirming — for example an ICP gets deactivated — Trailspark doesn't start. It tells you what's still needed instead.
What Happens After You Start
The blue bar disappears. Trailspark maps the signals that arrived during setup mode and begins scoring your accounts — nothing collected while you were setting up is lost. Check the Dashboard to see results as they come in.
Pausing and Resuming
The same control lives on Settings > General, in the Processing card, which shows a Status: of Collecting signals only (setup), Active, Paused by your team, or Paused — contact support to resume. While you're in setup mode, the card shows the same next step as the blue bar; once you're ready, it shows Start processing there too.
Pausing your own team: An Owner or Admin can click Pause processing on the Processing card at any time. This stops scoring and CRM syncing — signal collection and imports keep running, so nothing is lost. An amber Processing is paused bar then appears for everyone, and an Owner or Admin can click Resume processing either there or on the Processing card. Queued work catches up once you resume.
Paused automatically: A red Processing is paused bar means something different — Trailspark paused new scoring on its own after detecting unusually high activity, to protect your account. Your team can't resume this one directly; contact support.
How This Differs From the Setup Guide
The Setup Guide checklist in the bottom-right corner tracks eight configuration steps and disappears once all eight are complete. It's a separate tracker — checking off every item there does not start processing. The blue bar (or the Processing card in Settings > General) is what actually turns scoring on.