Client onboarding packs that start the service
Authorities to sign, a set-up questionnaire to fill in and the go-live plan, in one document your new client completes.
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QuoteCloud lets a payroll or HR provider send each new client one onboarding document: the authorities they sign, a set-up questionnaire in a Forms block (pay frequencies, cut-offs, approvers), and the go-live plan as a Gantt chart on Business. Your team sees what's done; the employee data itself stays in your payroll system.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
A drawing of a fictional client's route from a signed proposal to its first pay run with a fictional bureau, as five stations: the two authorities, signed; the set-up questionnaire; the employee data import into the bureau's own payroll system; the parallel pay runs; and the first live pay run, marked with a flag. Beside it, the onboarding checklist for Brightwater Bakeries, to complete by Fri 30 Oct 2026: sign the two authorities and the set-up questionnaire in week 1 are done, the employee data import in week 2 is under way, and the parallel pay runs in weeks 3 to 4 and the first live pay run in week 5 are still to come.
Everything you need from a new client, in one document
Saffron sends Brightwater one onboarding pack the day the proposal is signed. It lists what's in it and what's done, and the set-up questionnaire sits inside it as a Forms block: pay frequencies, pay days, the cut-off for approved hours, who approves pay data and which site managers need portal access.
Set-up details and roles only. Employee names, pay, bank and tax details never go into the pack: they come across separately into your payroll system.
- A form inside the document, not a website form
- Roles, not people's records
- Authority wording locked (Business)
Forms block: Essentials and up
Forms in documentsWhat's in your pack
Built from Ashgrove's onboarding template
- 01Payroll service authorityAuthority · two signersSigned Locked
- 02Data handling agreementAgreement · how we process your pay dataSigned Locked
- 03Payroll set-up questionnaireForms block · 18 questionsCompleted
- 04Go-live planFive weeks to your first pay runFor review
- 05Portal access for site managersRoles from the questionnaireTo do
The authority and data handling wording is locked (content locking, Business). Employee details never go into this pack: they come across in a secure import into our payroll system.
Payroll set-up questionnaire
Completed inside this pack (Forms block). Set-up details and roles only: no employee data.
- Which pay frequencies do you run?Weekly, fortnightly, monthly
- Weekly pay dayThursday
- Cut-off for approved hours each weekTuesday, 12 pm
- Who approves pay data before each run? (role)Operations director
- Where do hours come from?Rostering app export
- Do any sites pay shift penalties or allowances?Yes
- Portal access to set up (roles)3 site managers
Completed · 18 questions · 7 shown
Five weeks from signed proposal to the first pay run
A sample go-live plan for a fictional 86-person client. Each week says what the client does, what your team does and how you know it's done.
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Phase 1, Week 1
Authorities and questionnaire
- The client
- Signs the payroll service authority and data handling agreement; answers the set-up questionnaire.
- Your team
- Sends the onboarding pack from your template the day the proposal is signed.
- Done when
- Both authorities are signed and the questionnaire is complete.
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Phase 2, Week 2
Employee data import
- The client
- Exports employee details from its current system, through your secure process.
- Your team
- Imports the data into your payroll system, not into QuoteCloud.
- Done when
- Every employee is set up in your payroll system.
-
Phase 3, Week 2
Pay calendar and cut-offs
- The client
- Confirms pay days and the cut-off for approved hours.
- Your team
- Sets the pay calendar from the questionnaire answers.
- Done when
- The pay calendar for the next three months is agreed.
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Phase 4, Weeks 3–4
Parallel pay runs
- The client
- Runs its usual payroll one more time.
- Your team
- Runs the same pay period and compares every payslip total.
- Done when
- Two runs match, or every difference is explained.
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Phase 5, Week 5
First live pay run
- The client
- Approves pay data before the cut-off.
- Your team
- Processes the first live run and returns payslips and reports by pay day.
- Done when
- Payslips are out; monthly charges start under the agreement.
Sample planning for a fictional client, not a promise. The timing is the bureau's own; QuoteCloud carries the pack and the plan.
What goes in a payroll onboarding pack
Build it once as a template. Every new client gets the same complete pack, and nothing is missed before the first pay run.
Authorities to sign
The service authority and data handling agreement, signed by several signers, with a certificate of authenticity.
Set-up questionnaire
A Forms block with pay frequencies, pay days, cut-offs and approvers by role. Set-up details only.
Go-live plan
A Gantt chart from the authorities to the first live run, so everyone sees the dates. Gantt: Business.
Locked wording
Authority and data wording kept as you wrote it, with content locking on Business.
Attachments
Your portal guide or pay calendar template attached to the pack. Attachments: Essentials and up.
Who has done what
Tracking shows when the pack is opened and signed; Slack or Teams alerts for document updates, comments and actions.
Turn your onboarding checklist into one QuoteCloud pack
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Send us your authority forms and set-up questions and we'll convert one template for you during the trial.
The go-live plan, signed off with the authorities
The pack carries the go-live plan as a Gantt chart: authorities and questionnaire in week 1, the data import and pay calendar in week 2, two parallel runs, then the first live pay run in week 5.
Nadia and Owen sign the authorities in the same document, so the plan they agreed to and the authority they gave sit together, with a certificate of authenticity.
- Gantt chart in the document
- Several signers
- Certificate of authenticity
Gantt chart: Business plan
Project plansYour go-live plan
Sign the authorities
2 of 2 signed
- Nadia FerrisOperations director SignedFri 23 Oct 2026
- Owen LeckieFinance manager SignedFri 23 Oct 2026
Agreement summary
- Authorities
- 2 of 2 signed
- Questionnaire
- Completed
- First pay run
- Thu 26 Nov 2026
Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached
Build your onboarding pack template
Once, then send it to every new client the day they sign.
Add the authorities
Add your authority and data handling wording and lock it (content locking, Business).
Add the questionnaire
Add a Forms block with your set-up questions: frequencies, pay days, cut-offs, approvers by role.
Add the plan
Add a Gantt chart with your standard go-live weeks (Business).
Set the signers
Add the client's signers, such as the operations director and the finance manager.
Send and follow
Send the pack, follow it in tracking, and have a zap pass the answers to your team's board.
Client onboarding pack questions, answered
Can new clients fill in a payroll set-up questionnaire in QuoteCloud?
Yes. Add a Forms block to your onboarding pack template and the client answers inside the document: pay frequencies, pay days, cut-offs and who approves pay data. The Forms block is a form inside a document, not a website form, and is on Essentials and up.
Should employee details go into the onboarding pack?
No. Keep the pack to set-up details and roles. Employee names, pay, bank and tax details belong in your payroll system and should come across through your own secure import, not through a proposal or onboarding document.
Can several people sign the authorities?
Yes. Add several signers, such as the operations director and the finance manager. Each signs online and the signed document carries a certificate of authenticity. eSignatures are on every plan.
Can the pack include a go-live plan?
Yes. Add a Gantt chart with your standard go-live weeks, from the authorities to the first live pay run. Gantt charts are on the Business plan.
How does our team know the pack is complete?
Tracking shows when the pack is opened and signed, and alerts for document updates, comments and actions can go to Slack or Microsoft Teams. Zapier's Form Submitted on Document trigger can pass the questionnaire answers on to your onboarding board.
Before and after the onboarding pack
The agreement that starts the service and the policy pack that often comes next.
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HR & payroll service agreementsScope, service levels in your words, monthly charges and terms, signed by two directors with a certificate of authenticity.Explore
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Policy & handbook packsPolicies assembled from your content library, locked where they must not change, sent for the client to review and sign off.Explore
- Payroll outsourcing proposalsPer-payslip and per-employee pricing, modules the client ticks, a set-up fee paid on signing and the monthly charges set out.
- Headcount pricing calculatorsYour pricing spreadsheet as a block in the proposal: headcounts by pay frequency set the lines, the total comes back per employee.
- HR service tiers & retainersPayroll only, payroll with HR advice, or a full HR partner: tiers the client compares and chooses inside the proposal.
- HR compliance audits & remediation quotesA health-check questionnaire, the audit report with ratings and findings, and the fixes priced as options the client signs for.
- Renewals & headcount changesAgreements nearing expiry in one list, renewal offers revised for this year's headcount, and price changes signed, not emailed.
- AI-drafted proposals & audit reports with MCPConnect your AI assistant through QuoteCloud's MCP service and have it draft proposals and audit reports for a consultant to review.
- CRM, accounting & automationHubSpot, Pipedrive, Xero, QuickBooks, Zapier, Make and the API, connected the way each one really connects.
- HR & payroll templatesReal QuoteCloud HR proposal, employment contract and workplace policy templates to start from.
- QuoteCloud implementation for HR & payroll firmsYour rate card rebuilt as a spreadsheet block, your policy library loaded, payments connected and consultants trained.
- FAQAnswers to the questions payroll bureaus, outsourced HR providers and HR consultancies ask most.
Start every new client the same complete way
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.