In Stage W, which event marks the success milestone?

• A. Client runs first payroll successfully
• B. SC approves the deal
• C. Live Date is reached
• D. Win/Loss survey completed

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is confirming production readiness by actually processing payroll. The milestone is reached when the client runs their first payroll successfully. This shows that the system is correctly configured end-to-end—from employee data and pay rules to tax withholdings, deductions, benefits, and direct deposits—and can execute a real payroll cycle in the live environment. It’s the clearest sign that onboarding has moved from setup and testing into true production readiness, giving both the client and the team confidence to continue with regular payroll runs.

Other events are important, but they don’t demonstrate production payroll readiness. Approving a deal is a sales milestone, not an operational one. Reaching the live date comes after readiness has been proven and is about timing for go-live. Completing a win/loss survey is feedback after a sale, not a validation of the payroll system’s ability to process payroll successfully.