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Client onboarding
How a Momentum engagement runs from kickoff to go-live — what we own, what we'll need from you, and what happens at each phase.
How we work with you
Vendors implement their software. Momentum represents your side of the project — the data, the decisions, and the people who have to live with the result. Our consultants join your project team, hold the plan, and stay accountable for the deliverables your vendor is waiting on.
We can join a project that's already underway, or start with you from system selection. Either way, a single Momentum team stays accountable from the first file review through go-live and steady-state operations.
What we take on
These are the client-side responsibilities that usually decide the timeline. We own them with you:
| Area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Requirements and design | Workbooks, org structures, pay rules and approval flows — documented and decided before build. |
| Data conversion | Extraction, mapping and load cycles run against your vendor's templates, validated on every pass. |
| Testing | Test scripts, parallel payroll runs, and defect tracking through to resolution. |
| Change and training | Communications, job aids and manager readiness, so adoption doesn't stall at go-live. |
| Employer responsibility | Compliance obligations, filings and account setup, handled alongside the technical build. |
| Post go-live support | Hypercare, issue triage, and a clean handoff to your steady-state team. |
The path to go-live
Every engagement moves through the same five phases. You'll always know which one you're in.
Discovery and data profiling
We review your current systems, pay rules and data exports to understand what you have and what the new system needs. Expect working sessions with your HR, payroll and IT leads.
Sending us data
Data is transferred only through secure managed file transfer or a secure channel you provide — never as email attachments. See Data handling.
Field mapping sign-off
We map every field from your source data to the new system and walk you through the mapping. You approve it before anything is loaded.
Mock load and validation
We load your data into the new system in test cycles and validate the results each pass, fixing issues at the source rather than patching them downstream.
Parallel testing
We run payroll in the old and new systems side by side and reconcile the differences until the results match.
Cutover and hypercare
The new system becomes your system of record for live processing. We stay close through the hypercare period — heightened support right after go-live — then hand off to your steady-state team.
What we'll need from you
- A project sponsor and a day-to-day contact who can make decisions and approve sign-offs
- Access to your current systems or exports, shared through a secure channel
- Timely answers on design decisions — unanswered workbooks are the most common cause of delay
- Time from your testers during parallel testing
New to the terms?
Go-live, hypercare, parallel testing and more are defined in the Data Glossary.