Onboarding and implementation checklist
Purpose. A practical gate list for teams who already selected a DCA. It assumes programme lifecycle phases are underway. The goal is to prevent “go-live” that is only a contract date while files, reconciliation, and governance are immature.
Controls and recall. Before production, prove the controls framework is operable, including recall stop work and evidence. Where the bank uses COF, integration tests should include state gates and prohibition paths agreed for your programme, not only happy-path files.
Due diligence and risk
- Financial and operational resilience of vendor; subprocessors disclosed and acceptable.
- Conduct track record; complaints and regulatory themes understood.
- Security and data residency aligned to policy; penetration test or equivalent complete if required.
Contract and SLA alignment
- SLA metrics match Layer 3 definitions; no orphan KPIs only in the vendor deck.
- Fee mechanics and pass-through rules documented with examples.
- Recall and stop-work SLAs explicit for standard versus conduct-urgent cases.
- Exit and transition clause understood with tested recall file format.
Data transfer and file testing
- Schema signed off for placement, delta, payment, activity, remittance, DCA state, escalation feeds, recall instruction, and recall request or decision return paths.
- End-to-end test packs with known accounts: balance changes, hardship flag flip, duplicate suppression, compliance recall with dialler stop, strategic recall with proposed versus actual next strategy.
- Trace fields populated in CP test environment for R1 and simulated R2.
Reconciliation and controls
- Daily reconciliation runbook and owner roster.
- Thresholds for exception ageing and escalation documented.
- Double contact scenario tested: recall mid-campaign.
Reporting test pack
- Mock Layer 3 pack built from test data; finance validates tie to GL rules on paper.
- Recovery rate definition signed by collections, risk, and finance.
Governance calendar
- Weekly, monthly, quarterly meetings scheduled with named chairs.
- Issue taxonomy and logging tool ready (see Issue taxonomy).
Sign-off before live placement
Minimum evidence pack:
- UAT sign-off for each interface with defect log closed for material items.
- Runbook for operations and vendor with phone tree for incidents.
- Named approvers for first production placement batch (often small and reversible).
- Hypercare plan for first two weeks with daily war-room on breaks.
Related: Requirements · Reconciliation · Back to pack home