---
title: Initial setup
description: This phase is meant to gather the initial information required onboard a customer. For example, gathering core information like onboarding manager name, key customer contact, internal and external stakeholders, their responsibilities, and so on.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/acct-lifecycle-events/account-lifecycle-use-playbook-initiate.html
release: australia
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 4
breadcrumb: [Account onboarding playbook, Manage account onboarding cases, Account onboarding, Use, Customer Success Management]
---

# Initial setup

This phase is meant to gather the initial information required onboard a customer. For example, gathering core information like onboarding manager name, key customer contact, internal and external stakeholders, their responsibilities, and so on.

<table id="table_ghf_3n4_1yb"><thead><tr><th>

Activity

</th><th>

Details

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Select account

</td><td>

When you select the customer account, a new account onboarding case is generated.**Note:** If the account onboarding case was generated from a case, this field is auto-populated.

Select **Continue** to go to the next activity.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Enter onboarding related info

</td><td>

The next activity in the playbook involves gathering onboarding related information. The required fields to be entered are:-   Assigned to: Select the provider agent who is working on this case.
-   Service Exchange integration: Select one of the following options:
    -   Not required: No Service Exchange integration is required.
    -   Remote catalog: A Service Exchange integration for the remote catalog feature is required.
    -   Remote task: A Service Exchange integration for the remote task feature is required.
    -   Foundation data sync: A Service Exchange integration for the foundation data sync feature is required.
-   Type: Select one of the following:
    -   Phased: A specific part of the onboarding process for this customer is managed through this Customer Success Management onboarding case.
    -   Full: The entire onboarding process for this customer is by this Customer Success Management onboarding case.
-   Specify the Go live date and select **Mark complete** to proceed with the next activity.

**Note:** The State field is set to **New** for a new record. If this field is updated, the Stage field is automatically updated based on the predefined mapping. This mapping is also available for account onboarding case tasks between the Progress and State fields. See [Field mapping for account onboarding cases and case tasks](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown) for details.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Add customer team

</td><td>

Add the customer contacts working on the account onboarding case.

 -   Enter the First name, Last name, Email address and select **Add** to create a customer contact.
-   Select **Mark complete** to move to the next step.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Add customer team responsibilities

</td><td>

Assign responsibilities to each customer contact you added.-   In the **Responsibility** field, select one of the predefined user roles and select **Add** to assign responsibility for the customer contact.
-   Select **Mark complete** to move to the next step.

After you complete this step, the system automatically generates an email to all contacts assigned the **Customer On-Boarding Point of Contact** responsibility.

**Note:** At least one user must be set up as the customer onboarding point of contact. Only one responsibility can be assigned to each contact. Email text is defined and configured directly within the playbook.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Add account team

</td><td>

Add and assign responsibilities to the internal team members \(service providers\) working on the account onboarding case. This includes the ServiceNow administrator handling the case. An account member can be assigned up to two responsibilities. If more than one responsibility is selected, the tasks aren't automatically assigned.-   Select a predefined user role in the **Responsibility** field.
-   Select a user who is assigned this role and select **Add** to assign responsibility to the team member.
-   Select **Mark complete** to move to the next activity.

After you complete this step, the system automatically generates an email to all other customer contacts participating in the onboarding process.

**Note:** By default, all tasks in the playbook are assigned to the provider's ServiceNow administrator.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Add squad

</td><td>

Add the squad members who will be involved in completing the onboarding case and other activities. This is an optional activity. Select **Mark complete** to move to the next activity.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Create engagement

</td><td>

Specify the Customer success manager, Account manager, and Renewal date to create an engagement. This is an optional activity. Select **Mark complete** to move to the next stage.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>After the Initial Setup stage has been completed, the case information, account, customer, and squad team member information you have added is displayed in the left panel.

## Field mapping for account onboarding cases and case tasks

For account onboarding cases, when the State field is updated, the Stage field is automatically updated based on the mapping as shown here:

|State|Stage|
|-----|-----|
|New|Not started|
|Unassigned|Not started|
|Active|On track|
|Blocked|Paused|
|Closed|Finished|
|Canceled|Finished|

For account onboarding case tasks, when the State field is updated, the Progress field is automatically updated based on the mapping shown after this:

|State|Progress|
|-----|--------|
|Open|Not started|
|Awaiting customer|Paused|
|Awaiting internal|Paused|
|In Progress|On track|
|Review|On track|
|Closed|Finished|
|Canceled|Finished|

If you’re using an earlier version of the Customer Success Management application, follow the instructions in [KB1651427](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=87a1689247a34e1077748d01426d4308) to correct the mapping between these fields.

**Parent Topic:**[Account onboarding playbook](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/acct-lifecycle-events/account-lifecycle-account-onboard-playbook.md)