MSP Client Onboarding Documentation SOP Template

1.Purpose

To onboard every new managed services client the same way, so the MSP takes control of the environment securely, documents it completely and hands the service desk everything it needs from day one.

2.Scope

Applies to the technical onboarding of every new managed services client, from the signed agreement to the start of steady-state support, including takeover from an outgoing IT provider. Commercial onboarding and billing setup are covered elsewhere.

Definitions

Outgoing provider

The previous IT provider or internal IT person who hands the environment over to the MSP.

Discovery

Scanning and inspecting the client environment to find every device, account, service and dependency.

Baseline assessment

A comparison of the client environment with the MSP’s technical standards, producing a list of findings and risks.

Go-live

The date the MSP’s service desk starts taking the client’s support requests under the agreement.

3.Responsibilities

Onboarding Project Manager

Runs the onboarding plan, timeline and kickoff, chases client inputs and owns the onboarding checklist until sign-off.

Onboarding Engineer

Takes over credentials, deploys agents, runs discovery and builds the client documentation.

Service Desk Lead

Sets up the client in the PSA and prepares the service desk to support the client from go-live.

Technical Account Manager

Reviews the baseline findings, agrees the remediation plan with the client and owns the relationship after go-live.

Client Point of Contact

Provides access, documents and contacts, coordinates with the outgoing provider and approves onboarding sign-off.

RACI matrix

R = Responsible, A = Accountable, C = Consulted, I = Informed

4.Materials and PPE

Materials, tools and systems

• →Onboarding checklist and project plan
• →Client documentation template set
• →Password manager with a new client vault
• →RMM tool and agent installers
• →Network discovery and scanning tool
• →PSA ticketing system
• →Baseline assessment checklist

5.Procedure

1. 5.1

   Hold the onboarding kickoff

   Onboarding Project Manager

   The Onboarding Project Manager meets the client to confirm scope, timeline, go-live date, contacts and the list of information and access the MSP needs.

2. 5.2

   Collect access and existing documentation

   Client Point of Contact

   The Client Point of Contact provides admin access, license and vendor details and any existing documentation, and introduces the MSP to the outgoing provider.

   Warning: Do not accept passwords by email or chat. Send a secure vault request link and have credentials entered there.

3. 5.3

   Take over and rotate admin credentials

   Onboarding Engineer

   The Onboarding Engineer changes every administrative password, stores the new ones in the client vault and enables MFA on admin accounts that lack it.

   Checkpoint: The outgoing provider’s accounts and remote tools are disabled on the agreed cutover date.

4. 5.4

   Deploy monitoring and management agents

   Onboarding Engineer

   The Onboarding Engineer deploys the RMM agent and security tools to every server and endpoint and compares the agent count with the client’s expected device count.

5. 5.5

   Run network and asset discovery

   Onboarding Engineer

   The Onboarding Engineer scans each site to find network devices, printers and other equipment that cannot run an agent, and records anything unexpected for review.

6. 5.6

   Build the client documentation

   Onboarding Engineer

   The Onboarding Engineer creates the client hub from the standard template and documents sites, network, servers, cloud tenants, applications, backups and vendors.

7. 5.7

   Assess the environment against standards

   Onboarding Engineer

   The Onboarding Engineer completes the baseline assessment, recording gaps such as missing MFA, failing backups, unsupported operating systems or open remote access.

8. 5.8

   Agree the remediation plan

   Technical Account Manager

   The Technical Account Manager prioritizes the baseline findings, estimates effort and agrees with the client which items are fixed in onboarding and which become projects.

9. 5.9

   Set up the client in the PSA

   Service Desk Lead

   The Service Desk Lead configures the client’s contract, SLA, contacts, approvers, after-hours rules and ticket routing in the PSA.

10. 5.10

    Brief the service desk

    Service Desk Lead

    The Service Desk Lead walks the technicians through the client hub, key runbooks, VIP users and known issues before the go-live date.

11. 5.11

    Tell client users how to get support

    Onboarding Project Manager

    The Onboarding Project Manager sends the client’s staff a welcome guide explaining how to raise tickets, support hours and what to expect on go-live day.

12. 5.12

    Sign off onboarding

    Technical Account Manager

    The Technical Account Manager reviews the onboarding checklist with the Client Point of Contact, records sign-off and moves the client to steady-state support.

    Checkpoint: Every checklist item is done, or open with an owner and due date that the client has accepted.

6.Quality checks

• →All administrative credentials were rotated and stored in the client vault before go-live.
• →Agent coverage matches the expected device count, with differences explained.
• →The client hub contains the full core documentation set at sign-off.
• →Baseline findings have an agreed owner, priority and plan.
• →The outgoing provider’s access was removed on the cutover date.

7.Records

• →Completed onboarding checklist with client sign-off
• →Baseline assessment report and remediation plan
• →Credential takeover log
• →Agent deployment and discovery results

8.KPIs

• →Days from signed agreement to go-live
• →Percentage of onboarding checklist items complete at go-live
• →Ticket volume and escalations in the first 30 days
• →Number of critical baseline findings closed within 90 days

9.Common mistakes

• →Going live before the outgoing provider’s access has been removed.
• →Accepting credentials over email and leaving them in the inbox.
• →Trusting the client’s device list instead of verifying it with discovery.
• →Skipping the service desk briefing, so the first tickets are worked blind.

10.Revision history