# Quick Start Guide ## You've got a Collective—awesome! Now what? Once you have a Collective, you can start submitting expenses, edit your page content, and create events for your community right away. In order to receive money or pay out expenses, you need a [Fiscal Host](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/fiscal-hosts/fiscal-hosts) or you need to be set up as an [independent collective](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/independent-collectives). Whether you have a Fiscal Host yet or not, here are some steps you can take to get your Collective started. ### 1. Make your Collective your own Update your images and main color and add about info. [Here's how](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collectives/collective-settings/customize-collective). ### 2. Add Core Contributors If you have collaborators on your project who can help you manage your page and approve expenses add them as Core Contributors. [Here's how](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collectives/collective-settings/core-contributors). ### 3. Add Financial Contributors to your GitHub and website Check the many ways you can export your data on [Data Export](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collectives/collective-settings/data-export) and our diversity of [Buttons & Banners](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collectives/widgets). ### 4. Start tracking expenses [Submit expenses](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/expenses-and-getting-paid/submitting-expenses) through your Collective, so others can see where money will be spent (even if you don't have any yet). This builds trust with potential supporters. ### 5. Spread the word You can connect your Twitter account to your collective and automatically thank your backers. [Here's how](https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collective-settings/integrations#twitter-integration). ### 6. Launch! Write a blog post, tell people the vision, and explain why you are raising money. For more detailed ideas about helping your Collective launch well, check out [**Ten Steps to Successful Open Source Crowdfunding**](https://medium.com/open-collective/ten-steps-to-successful-open-source-crowdfunding-fa2b43e82687). If you need help, join our community on [Discord](https://discord.opencollective.com) or [contact us](https://opencollective.com/contact). Welcome aboard! --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.opencollective.com/help/collectives/quick-start-guide.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.