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Eight steps from scope to sign-off.

1. Define the business scope

   List every employing entity, jurisdiction, worker population, pay group and location. Separate what must work on day one from later phases. Name the business decision owner and document the current pain in observable terms.

2. Map the current stack and responsibilities

   Name the HR, time, payroll, finance, benefits and identity systems. Mark keep, replace or investigate for each. Identify the source of truth, integration owner, important identifiers and the people responsible for funding, filing and support. A similar feature is not proof an existing system can be retired.

3. Write testable requirements

   Describe the result, not only a feature label. Include country scope, effective dates, multiple assignments, approved pay rules, time exceptions, correction history and role restrictions. Mark Must, Should or Could and state the evidence needed. The template includes 36 starting requirements to adapt.

4. Ask for the full delivery and cost picture

   Request exact products and editions, prerequisites, partner responsibilities, interface charges, implementation work, support coverage, minimums and exit costs. Use the same headcount, entities, volumes and comparison period for every quote. No directory price or implementation timeline is assumed.

5. Run the same scripted demonstration

   Give each vendor the same fictional population, changes, time exception, malformed file and expected results. Ask them to show correction, reconciliation, approvals and audit evidence. Record demonstrated, explained-only, not-shown and gap separately. Keep production data and real payment actions out of the demo.

6. Review security and integration evidence

   Have the appropriate security and IT owners assess access controls, MFA/SSO, data handling, subprocessors, logs, resilience, incident response and customer responsibilities. Verify exact connectors, data direction, permissions, error recovery and ongoing ownership. An assurance report or marketplace badge alone does not answer every requirement.

7. Score the evidence and verify references

   Agree weights before demos. Apply the same 0–4 rubric, preserve unknowns and link each score to evidence. Resolve mandatory gaps separately; a high average must not hide an unsupported country or missing payment control. Ask comparable customers about implementation, support and the actual workflows that matter to you.

8. Plan acceptance, parallel runs and the handoff

   Name migration and cutover owners, populations, expected results, tolerances and sign-off. Test record sets, cents, GL, payment controls and integration recovery. Agree rollback and escalation criteria before go-live. The accountable employer team approves the decision; no quiz or worksheet automatically authorizes production payroll.