The passing of the baton from implementation to customer success is a key transition point in the client journey, but it doesn’t have to feel like a handoff at all. When both teams operate within the same client management platform, knowledge, context, and momentum flow naturally. Implementation sets the foundation, and customer success builds on it — all within a connected environment designed for long-term value delivery.
A smooth handoff ensures post-implementation needs are addressed while proactively nurturing the client relationship. This inevitably leads to renewals as well as upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
Let’s pause to consider what a large chunk of business revenue upsell and cross-sell opportunities are. Studies show that roughly 36% of SaaS companies’ new annual recurring revenue (ARR) comes from existing customers versus new customers.
Unfortunately, friction often colors the implementation of the customer success handoff. Critical information about the implementation process or client nuances isn’t always well-documented for or communicated to customer success teams. This can leave customer success less prepared to handle client inquiries, and also lead to missed opportunities to add value to the client experience. Meanwhile, misunderstandings over responsibilities and client expectations can cause gaps in the delivery of service, and leave clients who perceive the lack of coordination frustrated.
Wondering what you can do to combat this friction? Here are five measures that make a difference.
1. Clearly document the process for structured knowledge transfer
Consider comprehensive documentation as your roadmap for a smooth implementation, customer support, and success handoff. While providing a detailed account of client objectives, the documentation should also account for configurations made in implementation and any outstanding client needs or considerations. Comprehensive documentation helps hold implementation teams accountable for tracking this information while ensuring customer success teams have all the details they need to meet client expectations.
Let’s explore the configuration example a little more. When customer support and success teams have access to information about specific configurations, they can better understand a client’s environment and troubleshoot issues more efficiently. With this knowledge, they can also create targeted training materials that focus on features relevant to the client.
2. Encourage cross-training between the two teams
Cross-training helps to break down the silos that can exist between implementation and customer success teams. During joint training sessions, the two teams can discuss effective client communication strategies and common post-implementation client challenges, to name a few potential topics. These sessions are also a great time for implementation and customer success teams to collaborate on documentation. That way, customer success teams know they’ll have all the critical information they need.
Cross-training could also take the form of a shadowing program. As part of their employee onboarding, you could have a new customer success team member shadow an implementation specialist, and vice versa. While customer success can enhance their product knowledge and have more context for client interactions, implementation can gain user adoption insights and better understand post-implementation issues that arise.
3. Support good, consistent communication with a unified platform
Collaboration becomes second nature when implementation and customer support teams operate within the same connected system. With Setuply’s unified client management platform, both teams gain real-time visibility into the client journey — from sales handoff to onboarding to ongoing service and support. Centralized documentation, contextual communication, and project visibility ensure that no client expectations go unmet. With this clarity and transparency, teams can help clients adapt to change quickly, with minimal resistance.
And because Setuply is built to manage the entire client lifecycle, customer support teams can easily access historical decisions, communications, and deliverables — all in context. Whether troubleshooting an issue, identifying upsell opportunities, or tracking outcomes against goals, they have the insight they need without chasing down scattered systems.
4. Realign expectations with your clients
A client’s journey from implementation to customer success is dynamic. At any point in the client onboarding process, it’s possible that the initial expectations can evolve. As clients gain a better understanding of the system, they may want to make refinements or make use of other features. Alternatively, market changes may shift a company’s priorities during an onboarding process, and the implemented solution needs to account for these new strategic objectives.
Whatever the case may be, open and transparent communication is key. On one hand, implementation teams can help clients understand how these changes will impact project timelines and ensure their final product effectively meets their needs. Then, when it comes time for the handoff between implementation and customer success teams, customer success can seamlessly pick up the relationship where it left off. They’ll be armed with the most current insights to deliver on promises made in the onboarding process.
5. Introduce your customer success team to clients early
Customer support and success teams may not directly connect with clients until the implementation process is complete. But there are benefits to introducing the team to clients at the outset. When clients meet with customer success professionals early on, it helps to build a foundation of trust and rapport. Clients can be confident that when they close a door with a point-of-contact person from their onboarding team, they’ll open a new but familiar door where they’ll continue to receive tailored guidance and support.
The best time to introduce a customer success team is during a kick-off call. This helps establish a collaborative partnership from day one, setting clear expectations for clients and making them aware of the ongoing support they’ll receive. At the same time, customer success teams can use this as an opportunity to better understand a client’s challenges, goals, and expectations.
What happens when there is no handoff at all - just seamless continuity?
When implementation and customer success operate on the same platform, supported by connected workflows, shared data, and real-time collaboration, the “handoff” becomes a non-event. Instead, clients experience a smooth, continuous journey that builds trust and drives results. It’s this alignment — not just strategy, but infrastructure — that boosts satisfaction, accelerates time-to-value, and directly supports retention, renewal, and expansion.
A real-world example of this in action is CheckmateHCM. By consolidating their tech stack and adopting Setuply’s centralized, lifecycle-focused platform, they have less overhead, and their teams no longer have to toggle between tech to find information. With standardized project templates, real-time collaboration, and embedded workflows, their teams have gained total visibility into client needs and progress. This led to a 3x increase in output, more effective onboarding of new hires, and the ability to confidently support new growth and cross-sell opportunities.
As CheckmateHCM’s CEO, Josh Robinson, put it: “Setuply is more than just a process or project management tool. It’s a comprehensive client management solution that integrates every phase of the client lifecycle.”
Learn more about how Setuply powers up every aspect of your onboarding and beyond. Request a demo today.