MSP Onboarding Processes from Day Zero to Go-Live

What should we expect during the MSP onboarding process?

New clients of an MSP should expect a structured, highly collaborative transition process focused on discovery, knowledge transfer, access collection, tool deployment, role assignment, and regular communication. For example, Corsica’s onboarding process emphasizes setting expectations early, minimizing disruption, establishing recurring meetings, and preparing the client for a long-term support relationship after onboarding is complete.

Here’s what that process looks like in detail.

1. A formal kickoff meeting involving key stakeholders, decision makers, and IT contacts to review the onboarding process, timelines, dependencies, communication cadence, and next steps.
2. A planning phase in which the MSP’s onboarding team develops an onboarding plan based on the specific services purchased by the client.
3. Requests for access, credentials, and environmental information so the MSP can begin discovery activities, network review, and planning.
4. Secure document collection and information sharing through an onboarding SharePoint site, with sensitive information uploaded through a secure process rather than exchanged through less secure channels.
5. Discovery and review activities to understand the client’s current environment, existing systems, dependencies, pain points, and operational requirements.
6. Deployment of the MSP’s tools and services, including activities such as account creation, remote monitoring and management (RMM) deployment, and other onboarding-related technical setup tasks.
7. Recurring progress meetings to review status, discuss issues, track milestones, communicate updates, and coordinate activities between the client and onboarding team.
8. Coordination with other IT providers when necessary, including discussions with an outgoing MSP or other technology stakeholders to facilitate a smooth transition.
9. Communication around planned work and potential disruptions, especially for onsite activities, with updates provided before, during, and after significant onboarding tasks.
10. Recommendations and improvement opportunities identified during onboarding, which may be documented and added to the client’s technology roadmap as discovery activities uncover areas for enhancement.
11. Access to a dedicated onboarding team responsible for gathering information, deploying services, answering onboarding questions, and helping the client reach a supportable operational state.
12. Clear guidance on who to contact for onboarding questions, account management concerns, support needs, procurement discussions, licensing questions, compliance matters, and other service-related issues.
13. A transition into ongoing support services after onboarding, including use of the service desk, client portal, email and phone support channels, ticketing workflows, customer feedback processes, and future business reviews.

When does the MSP onboarding process actually start?

For most MSPs, the onboarding process effectively begins right after the client signs the contract. For example, at Corsica Technologies, we conduct an internal kickoff meeting during the first business week to develop the customer’s tailored onboarding plan, using our standard processes as a starting point.

From there, onboarding proceeds through discovery, information gathering, kickoff activities with the client, deployment and transition work, and ultimately, a smooth handoff to ongoing support services. Overall, onboarding is a structured transition designed to minimize disruption while establishing the long-term service relationship.

MSP onboarding phases

How often does an MSP communicate during the onboarding process?

A good MSP should provide frequent and ongoing communication throughout onboarding rather than a single handoff event. For example, Corsica Technologies provides a kickoff meeting, recurring meetings (typically weekly), status updates during deployment activities, ongoing coordination around dependencies, and direct access to the onboarding team for questions.

In a nutshell, new MSP clients should expect regular touchpoints throughout the onboarding process. Here’s what that looks like in detail.