ForzaOKB

Step 1.1 — Sales Qualification Complete → Handoff to Accounting

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Step 1.1 — Sales Qualification Complete → Handoff to Accounting

Phase: Phase 1 — New Shipper Onboarding Owner: Sales (form completion) → Accounting (receipt and processing) Trigger: Sales has a verbal or written commitment from a prospective Shipper to move freight.

🎯 Ideal State

Sales completes a structured Shipper Onboarding Intake Form via Microsoft-Forms and submits it to accounting@forzalogisticsgroup.com. The form must be complete — incomplete submissions are returned to Sales, and onboarding does not begin until all required fields are present.

Pipedrive deal stage: Remains at “Competing” throughout onboarding. Pipedrive continues to track the sales relationship; EZ-Loader will track operational onboarding progression independently.

Required fields on the intake form:

Data FieldSource
Shipper company legal name (as on W-9)Shipper / Sales
Physical addressShipper / Sales
Mailing address (if different)Shipper / Sales
Federal Tax ID / EINShipper W-9
Primary Sales contact (name, email, phone)Sales
Billing/AP contact nameSales must obtain directly
Billing/AP contact emailSales must obtain directly
Billing/AP contact phoneSales must obtain directly
Requested payment termsSales negotiation
Shipper invoicing requirements (BOL, PO#, portal, etc.)Shipper / Sales
Estimated monthly load volumeSales
Commodity types (flag produce/reefer specifically)Sales
Assigned Sales rep + GP split % (must total 100%)Sales / Founder-CEO

Form mechanics: Microsoft-Forms form linked from Pipedrive routes submission to accounting@forzalogisticsgroup.com and creates a SharePoint-OneDrive tracking record. Form submission timestamps the handoff and establishes the onboarding start date.

🤖 SYSTEM AUTOMATION

Form submission is automated to deliver to the accounting inbox. Data entry by Sales is human but enforced by required form fields — incomplete submissions are blocked from submission.

🛑 HARD GATE

Onboarding does not begin in EZ-Loader or HaulPay until a complete intake form is received by Accounting. Incomplete forms are returned to Sales with specific notes on what is missing. This prevents the most common downstream problem — Accounting chasing Sales for basic information that should have been collected during the sales process.

📍 Current State

  • No structured intake form exists. Sales communicates new Shipper information through ad hoc channels — email, verbal, occasionally in Pipedrive notes.
  • Required field enforcement does not exist. Accounting receives partial information and chases Sales for missing data.
  • Pipedrive deal stages: Engaged → Discovery Call → Proving Value → Competing → First Load Pending. No dedicated onboarding trigger stage; onboarding is initiated informally.
  • No required fields configured on any Pipedrive deal stage. No automations triggered on stage change.
  • Handoff timing is inconsistent. Sometimes Accounting learns a Shipper is committed when the first load is being booked — onboarding happens reactively under time pressure.
  • No standardized intake documentation. Each Sales rep handles handoff differently.

Who does this today: Sales (informally communicates to Accounting) → Accounting (chases missing info).

🚧 Gap

  • No structured Shipper Onboarding Intake Form exists.
  • No enforced required fields at the handoff — Accounting regularly receives incomplete information.
  • No standard delivery channel — handoffs come through multiple uncoordinated pathways.
  • No visibility mechanism for Founder-CEO, Sales leadership, or Ops to see which Shippers are in the onboarding pipeline.
  • No SLA or expected timeline between handoff and greenlight.

🛠️ Gap Closure Actions

  • Action 1 — Design and build Shipper Onboarding Intake Form in Microsoft-Forms with all 13 required fields and validation (Owner: Casey + Accounting | Dependency: None | Effort: Low — half-day)
  • Action 2 — Link intake form from Pipedrive (custom field or link in sales playbook) so Sales has one-click access from the deal record (Owner: Casey + Sales | Dependency: Action 1 complete | Effort: Low)
  • Action 3 — Configure form submission to route to accounting@forzalogisticsgroup.com and create SharePoint-OneDrive tracking record (Owner: Casey + Accounting | Dependency: Action 1 complete | Effort: Low)
  • Action 4 — Document the handoff SOP for Sales — when to submit, what happens after, SLA expectations (Owner: Casey + Sales | Dependency: Action 1 complete | Effort: Low)
  • Action 5 — Train Sales (all reps, including Founder/CEO) on the new handoff process (Owner: Casey + VP of Sales | Dependency: Actions 1–4 | Effort: Low)
  • Action 6 — Establish SLA: Accounting acknowledges intake within 1 business day; greenlight target within 10 business days of complete intake receipt (Owner: Casey + Accounting | Dependency: None | Effort: Policy decision)

Next Step: Step-1.2-Sales-Introduction-Email

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