Onboarding clients is one of the most underappreciated challenges for any financial technology company. Ensuring a company goes from prospect to customer, is happy with that process, and can get up and running with a more secure, efficient accounts payable (AP) automation solution is incredibly vital.
So how does a company like Bottomline approach onboarding? It starts with collaboration.
In a recent episode of the Payments Podcast, I sat down with Solitaire Moffett, Director of Implementations at Bottomline, to explore the art and science of successful client onboarding. With over 15 years of experience in the financial technology sector, including time spent implementing solutions like Paymode, our secure business-to-business payments network, Solitaire had plenty of insights to share. She gave us an insider’s view on practical strategies, common pitfalls, and teamwork, and illustrated that good onboarding is a two-sided process that hinges on excitement and involvement from all stakeholders.
Common Pitfalls: Engagement and Testing Paralysis
Solitaire noted that the most common challenge during an AP automation implementation is maintaining consistent engagement from the client’s team. Life happens—audits, internal projects, shifting priorities, trade shows—but keeping the implementation team informed as early as possible helps keep the project moving smoothly. It’s also important for companies to thoughtfully select stakeholders who’ll remain engaged throughout the onboarding project, asking the right questions and carrying out their role with aplomb.
Another hurdle is “testing paralysis,” where clients feel overwhelmed by repeated testing. Solitaire’s advice? Lean on the implementation team for support and remember that thorough testing ensures a smooth go-live, even if it sometimes feels never-ending.
Start with Clarity and the Right People
Solitaire emphasized that onboarding begins with ensuring the client’s project team fully understands the AP automation solution being implemented. It’s not just about the decision-makers who signed the contract. It’s really about involving the people who will use the system daily as early and often as possible.
“Including individuals that are going to be doing this on a day-by-day basis is also key because they really become the champions, right? They feel like they got brought in early enough to say, ‘Oh, I get this. I was part of the implementation,’” she told me.
Early demos, discovery calls, and clear communication help align expectations and build awareness and appreciation for the solution. This can help head off future headaches by making sure users and stakeholders know how to use the tools and don’t miss out on helpful features that could make their lives easier.
“You know they don’t know me or my team from Adam,” Solitaire added, “but they do know themselves. That’s why collaboration and trust are essential from the start.
Plan Around Real Life
From vacations to audits and company events, Solitaire encouraged clients to share blackout dates where they won’t be available early in the process. Every company has wildly different holiday schedules, downtime, and company-wide meetings that can lead to unexpected gaps when standing up a new solution.
“We want to plan accordingly and don’t want to make our customers feel overwhelmed,” she said.
Be the Squeaky Wheel
One of Solitaire’s standout pieces of advice: ask questions. If you’re not clear how involved your information technology (IT) team needs to be, don’t hesitate to ask. Confused about the way your ERP hooks up with Paymode? Ask. Unsure who you should go to with questions? Ask about that too!
“We do this all the time,” Solitaire said, “and the squeakier the wheel, the better the implementation goes, the sooner we can get in front of anything that may be perceived as a blocker.”
Clients who speak up early often help uncover issues before they become problems, leading to better outcomes and shorter go-live timelines. Solitaire emphasized how important it is for implementation teams to deliver the information clients need upfront, but given that not every issue can be predicted, firing off any and all questions just makes sense.
The Power of Pre-Implementation
Bottomline recently introduced a pre-implementation specialist role to bridge the gap between sales and implementation, a handoff process we aim to make as smooth and seamless as possible.
These specialists help clients prepare technical requirements, understand APIs, and even generate initial files before the formal onboarding begins. This proactive approach sets the stage for faster, more confident launches. It also ensures that the implementation team receives the right information upfront, making it easier to get started and better anticipate client needs.
Measuring (and Achieving) Success
Success isn’t about going live; it’s about what happens after. Solitaire’s team looks at client engagement, understanding of the system, comfort levels with file uploading and processing, and post-deployment performance. Minimal handholding and quick transitions to technical support are signs of well-executed onboarding, but the work isn’t over for the implementation team at that milestone.
“We want to make sure it's not just us saying that you're comfortable. We want to make sure that you're actually comfortable, that you're ready to go as well,” Solitaire said.
A truly smooth run from sales to implementation to support and customer service for future inquiries is the key, Solitaire notes, which involves seamless communication and a wealth of information being shared between teams at Bottomline. That all benefits the client, and ideally, leads to customer comfort and a smooth transition into a more automated, efficient future.
Speaking of efficiency, Solitaire closed with a call to action: move away from checks.
“North America is one of the last large countries still doing checks today,” she said. The risks associated with checks—fraud, mail delays, inefficiency—are too high and too costly. Offering a variety of electronic payment options, from ACH to virtual cards, accelerates vendor adoption and improves vendor satisfaction, which in turn helps you to hit the ground running with your fully implemented solution.
Successful onboarding is a partnership, not just a checklist and a process. With the right people, planning, and preparation, implementation and onboarding can be as simple and swift as it ought to be.