SaaS Customer Onboarding Checklist
A customer onboarding checklist for SaaS teams: sales handover, kickoff, setup, first value and a 30-day check, so new accounts activate instead of churning.
- Typical schedule per new customer
- The checklist 5 sections, 20 items
- Variables
{{customer}}{{plan}}{{csm}} - Start from CI
Use this checklist for each new paying customer who needs more than a self-serve sign-up: a team plan, an annual contract, a migration from another tool, or an integration. It runs from the signed deal until the customer uses the product on their own, usually within the first month.
Who owns it
A customer success manager (CSM) or account owner owns the run. In a small company that may be a founder or the support lead. Sales owns the handover items. The CSM decides when the account counts as onboarded, based on agreed success criteria rather than a date on the calendar.
Common pitfalls
- Sales promises that never reach the CSM. If the deal included a custom integration or a specific date, write it into the handover. Otherwise the customer has to repeat everything.
- Onboarding the buyer, not the users. The person who signed is often not the person who uses the product daily. Identify the champion and the real users at kickoff.
- Feature tours instead of outcomes. Agree on one or two things the customer wants to achieve, and get them there first. Training on everything else can wait.
- Silence after go-live. Accounts often go quiet after the first weeks. Schedule the 30-day check before the kickoff call ends.
- No definition of done. Without success criteria, onboarding either never ends or ends too early. Write them down.
Start the run from your CRM when a deal is marked won. The CSM then has the checklist with the plan filled in, and the account history shows what was done and when.
The checklist: Onboard customer {{customer}}
Handover from sales
-
Sales handover note received: plan
{{plan}}, goals, promises and deadlinesInclude anything non-standard: discounts, custom terms, integrations or dates promised in the deal.
-
Main contact, champion and billing contact recorded in the CRM
-
Account created on
{{plan}}with the right limits and billing settings -
Internal kickoff between sales and
{{csm}}held for larger accounts optional
Kickoff
-
Welcome email sent by
{{csm}}with the kickoff invitation -
Kickoff call held with the champion and the people who will use the product daily
-
One or two success criteria agreed and written down
For example "first project live" or "team of ten using it weekly". Make them measurable.
-
Onboarding plan with dates shared with
{{customer}}
Setup
-
Users invited and roles assigned
-
Single sign-on or user provisioning configured optional
-
Data imported or migrated, and the result checked with the customer optional
-
Key integrations connected and tested optional
-
Customer's own configuration completed: settings, templates, branding
First value
-
First success criterion reached and confirmed with the champion
-
Training session held for daily users, or recordings shared
-
Help center, support channel and response times explained
30-day check
-
Usage reviewed: active users and the key actions the customer bought the product for
-
30-day check-in call held and feedback recorded
-
Open issues and feature requests logged
-
Account handed to ongoing success or support with a short summary
Checklist as Markdown
Start this checklist from your pipeline
When a deal is marked won in the CRM, POST /api/v1/runs with template "Onboard customer {{customer}}" and plan and csm.
curl -X POST https://runbook.metastic.ch/api/v1/runs \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNBOOK_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"template": "Onboard customer {{customer}}", "variables": {"customer": "…", "plan": "…", "csm": "…"}}'Frequently asked questions
What should a SaaS customer onboarding checklist include?
A sales handover, a kickoff with agreed success criteria, account setup (users, data, integrations), a first-value milestone, training, and a check-in after about a month. Each step should have an owner and a date. The template above follows that order.
How long should customer onboarding take?
It depends on the product and the account size. A small team plan may be done in a week, while a migration with integrations can take several weeks. Define the end as reaching the agreed success criteria, not as a fixed number of days.
What is the difference between customer onboarding and product onboarding?
Product onboarding happens inside the app: tours, empty states, tips. Customer onboarding is the human process around an account: handover, kickoff, setup help and check-ins. Larger accounts need both, and this checklist covers the human side.
Updated