The Ultimate MSP Client Onboarding Checklist
A step-by-step guide to onboarding new MSP clients — from initial discovery to full management in 30 days.
Client onboarding sets the tone for the entire MSP-client relationship. A smooth, thorough onboarding process builds trust and prevents problems down the road. A chaotic one erodes confidence before you've even started. Here's the complete checklist.
Week 1: Discovery & Documentation
Day 1-2: Business Discovery
- Key contacts (technical, billing, executive sponsor)
- Business hours and support expectations
- Compliance requirements (HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2, etc.)
- Existing IT infrastructure overview
- Current pain points and priorities
- SLA expectations and escalation procedures
Day 3-5: Technical Discovery
- Network topology and infrastructure audit
- Server inventory (physical and virtual)
- Workstation/endpoint inventory
- Cloud services inventory (M365, Google Workspace, AWS, etc.)
- Line of business applications
- Backup status and disaster recovery posture
- Security posture baseline (current AV/EDR, firewall, etc.)
- Domain, DNS, and certificate inventory
- Existing credentials and access review
Week 2: Agent Deployment & Tool Migration
Day 6-8: Agent Deployment
- Deploy RMM/EDR agent to all endpoints
- Configure monitoring policies per client requirements
- Set up automated patch management
- Configure backup policies
- Deploy DNS filtering
- Verify all endpoints reporting healthy
Day 9-10: Tool Migration
- Migrate from previous MSP's tools (if applicable)
- Import existing documentation and passwords
- Transfer domain registrar and DNS management
- Update vendor contacts to new MSP
- Verify backup integrity with test restore
Week 3: Security Hardening
Day 11-15: Security Baseline
- Run initial vulnerability scan
- Deploy MFA on all admin and cloud accounts
- Review and harden firewall rules
- Configure email security (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Set up security awareness training
- Run initial phishing simulation (baseline)
- Review and remediate critical vulnerabilities
- Document security posture in IT documentation
Week 4: Optimization & Handoff
Day 16-20: Optimize & Train
- Configure client portal for end-user self-service
- Set up automated reports (monthly summary, SLA report)
- Train client contacts on ticket submission and portal usage
- Document runbooks for client-specific procedures
- Review and refine alert thresholds to reduce noise
- Conduct formal handoff meeting with executive sponsor
A unified platform makes this process dramatically easier because every step — RMM deployment, EDR configuration, documentation, ticketing, security setup — happens in the same console. No jumping between tools, no manual data entry across systems.