How to Set Up Notion for a Small Team (Complete Guide 2026)

Setting up Notion for a team is the difference between "we love this tool" and "we went back to Google Docs." After onboarding three different teams onto Notion, here's the exact setup process that works — and the common mistakes that kill adoption.

Before You Start: The 3 Rules

Rule 1: Start simple, expand later. The #1 reason teams abandon Notion is over-engineering the workspace on day one. Start with 3 pages. Seriously.

Rule 2: One person owns the setup. Don't design by committee. Designate a "Notion Champion" who builds the initial structure and answers questions for the first month.

Rule 3: Migrate gradually. Don't try to replace Google Docs, Trello, and Confluence simultaneously. Move one workflow at a time.

Step 1: Create Your Workspace (5 minutes)

Go to notion.so and create a new workspace:

1. Choose "Team" — not "Personal" (you can add personal pages later)
2. Name it your company/team name — keep it professional
3. Skip the templates — Notion will suggest starter templates; skip them for now

Choosing the Right Plan

| Team Size | Recommended Plan | Monthly Cost | |-----------|-----------------|-------------| | 2-5 people | Free (start here) | $0 | | 5-10 people | Plus ($10/user/month) | $50-100 | | 10+ people | Business ($18/user/month) | $180+ |

Start on Free even if you plan to upgrade. It forces you to learn the tool without the pressure of wasted subscription dollars.

For a detailed cost breakdown, see our Notion pricing analysis.

Step 2: Build the Core Structure (30 minutes)

Here's the workspace hierarchy that works for teams of 3-15:

🏠 [Company Name] Workspace
├── 📋 Getting Started (onboarding page)
├── 📊 Team Hub (dashboard)
├── 📝 Meeting Notes (database)
├── ✅ Task Board (database)
├── 📚 Wiki (team knowledge base)
└── 🗂️ Team Spaces
    ├── Engineering
    ├── Marketing
    └── Operations

The "Getting Started" Page

This is the first page every new team member sees. Include:

1. What we use Notion for — 2-3 sentences explaining your team's Notion purpose
2. How to find things — Quick links to the Task Board, Wiki, and Meeting Notes
3. Rules and conventions — How to name pages, use tags, and assign tasks
4. Who to ask for help — The Notion Champion's name

The Team Hub (Dashboard)

Create a page with linked views of your key databases:

• My Tasks — Filtered view showing tasks assigned to the current user
• This Week's Meetings — Calendar view filtered to the current week
• Recent Wiki Updates — Latest 5 wiki pages, sorted by last edited

This becomes everyone's Notion homepage.

Step 3: Set Up Core Databases (1 hour)

You need exactly 3 databases to start. Not 10, not 7 — three.

Database 1: Task Board

Create a database with these properties:

| Property | Type | Purpose | |----------|------|---------| | Task Name | Title | What needs to be done | | Status | Select | To Do, In Progress, Review, Done | | Assignee | Person | Who's responsible | | Due Date | Date | Deadline | | Priority | Select | P1 (Urgent), P2 (High), P3 (Medium), P4 (Low) | | Project | Select | Which project this belongs to |

Default views:

1. Board view — Grouped by Status (kanban)
2. My Tasks — Table view, filtered to current user
3. Calendar — Calendar view by Due Date

Database 2: Meeting Notes

| Property | Type | Purpose | |----------|------|---------| | Meeting Title | Title | What the meeting was about | | Date | Date | When it happened | | Attendees | Person | Who was there | | Type | Select | Standup, Planning, 1:1, Retrospective | | Action Items | Relation | Link to Task Board items |

Template: Create a meeting notes template with sections for Agenda, Notes, Decisions, and Action Items.

Database 3: Wiki / Knowledge Base

| Property | Type | Purpose | |----------|------|---------| | Page Title | Title | Topic name | | Category | Select | Engineering, Marketing, HR, Product, General | | Owner | Person | Who maintains this page | | Last Reviewed | Date | When was this last verified |

Starter wiki pages:

• Company Values / Mission
• Tool Access & Accounts
• Onboarding Checklist
• Common Processes (how we deploy, how we handle support tickets, etc.)

Step 4: Set Permissions (15 minutes)

Notion's permission model:

| Level | What It Controls | |-------|-----------------| | Workspace | Who can see everything | | Team Space | Who can see team-specific content | | Page | Individual page access | | Database | Read/edit access per database |

For teams under 10: Keep it simple. Give everyone "Full Access" to the workspace. Over-permissioning creates friction and slows adoption.

For teams 10-20: Create Team Spaces for each department. Engineering doesn't need to see HR's performance review templates.

Step 5: Import Existing Content (30 minutes)

Move content from your current tools:

From Google Docs

• Use Notion's built-in Google Docs importer
• Go to Settings → Import → Google Docs
• Select documents to import
• They'll appear as new Notion pages with formatting preserved

From Trello

• Use the Trello importer (Settings → Import → Trello)
• Boards become databases with Board view
• Cards become database entries
• See our Trello to Asana migration guide for patterns that also apply to Notion

From Confluence

• Export pages as HTML from Confluence
• Import HTML files into Notion (Settings → Import → HTML)
• Manual cleanup will be needed for complex pages

Pro tip: Don't import everything. Only bring over documents your team actively references. Archive the rest.

Step 6: Onboard Your Team (1 week)

Day 1: The 30-Minute Kickoff

Agenda:

1. (5 min) Why Notion — What problems it solves for your team
2. (10 min) Live tour — Walk through the Getting Started page, Hub, and 3 databases
3. (10 min) Hands-on — Everyone creates a task and a meeting note
4. (5 min) Q&A — Address concerns

Days 2-5: Guided Usage

• Assign real work in Notion — Create actual tasks for the current sprint
• Hold meetings using Notion — Take notes in the Meeting Notes database
• Post daily in your team channel — "Today I used Notion to..."

Days 6-14: Autonomous Usage

• Team members should be able to create tasks, find documents, and take meeting notes without help
• The Notion Champion should do a 15-minute office hours session twice a week for questions

Common Setup Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Mistake 1: Creating Too Many Databases

The problem: 15 databases with 3 entries each. Nobody knows where anything lives.

The fix: Start with 3 databases. Add a new one only when an existing database has 50+ entries and clearly needs to be split.

Mistake 2: Nested Pages 5 Levels Deep

The problem: Wiki → Engineering → Backend → APIs → Authentication → OAuth → Google OAuth → Configuration. Nobody can find anything.

The fix: Maximum 3 levels of nesting. Use database properties (tags, categories) for organization instead of page hierarchy.

Mistake 3: No Naming Conventions

The problem: Pages named "Notes," "Stuff," "Meeting," "TODO," "New page."

The fix: Enforce naming conventions from day one:

• Meeting notes: [Date] Meeting Type — Topic
• Wiki pages: [Category] Topic Name
• Tasks: Start with a verb — "Design login page," "Fix payment bug"

Mistake 4: Trying to Replace Everything at Once

The problem: Switching from Google Docs, Trello, Slack, and Confluence to Notion simultaneously. The team revolts.

The fix: Migrate one workflow per month:

• Month 1: Meeting notes + task board
• Month 2: Knowledge wiki
• Month 3: Project documentation
• Month 4: Everything else

Mistake 5: No Templates

The problem: Everyone creates pages from scratch, resulting in inconsistent formats.

The fix: Create templates for your top 3 recurring workflows (meeting notes, bug reports, project briefs). Lock the template structure but allow content editing.

The 30-Day Checkpoint

After one month, evaluate:

• [ ] Does the team check Notion daily?
• [ ] Are meeting notes consistently created?
• [ ] Is the task board actively maintained?
• [ ] Can new team members find what they need without asking?
• [ ] Has anyone gone back to the old tools?

If 4/5 are "yes," your Notion setup is successful. If not, identify the friction point and simplify.

For more Notion insights, read our full Notion review, Notion vs ClickUp comparison, or check the Notion pricing breakdown.