Playbook — read once during setup
Per-deal checklist — duplicate per account
When a deal closes, the AE moves on. The information they have about that customer — the system quirks, the IT dependencies, the skeptics, the things promised but not signed — doesn't transfer. The CSM starts cold. The customer starts over. And the clock on your implementation timeline starts running in the wrong direction.
This is the Handoff Tax. It averages 10–25 additional implementation days per deal in payroll and compliance SaaS.
The CSM finds out on day two that the customer is on Dynamics GP 2018 with a non-standard chart of accounts. The configuration work starts over.
IT approval for the Procore integration requires a three-week lead time. Nobody asked. The go-live date moves.
The payroll manager — the person who will actually use the product — wasn't told the purchase happened. The champion bought it without them.
None of that information was hidden. The AE knew. It just didn't transfer. This template builds the infrastructure that changes that.
A defined acceptance standard — six sections of information the CS team requires before taking ownership of any account. The AE completes it. CS accepts it or returns it with gaps named. The account does not transfer. The kickoff call is not scheduled. Not until it's done.