The uncomfortable truth: 63% of customers consider the onboarding period when making a purchase decision. And 74% will switch to a competitor if onboarding is too complicated. These aren't just unhappy customers – this is the difference between growth and stagnation.

The 6-Tool Problem

A mid-sized SaaS company from Cologne – 85 employees, in business since 2017, specializing in workflow automation for craft businesses – went through exactly this. Their onboarding process was scattered across six different tools: Excel for planning, Jira for tasks, Slack for communication, Google Drive for documents, HubSpot for the sales handoff, and a separate ticketing system for support requests.

The result? Chaos. Information got lost. The team did duplicate work. Nobody had a clear view of the project status. And the customer? They had to navigate three different portals just to follow along.

60% of companies use 4 to 6 tools for customer onboarding. Every handoff between tools is an opportunity for mistakes, delays, and frustration. For both sides.

How Leadtime solves this

Leadtime brings the entire onboarding process into one system. Project Components are reusable templates that structure the complete onboarding journey – from initial planning through data import to go-live. Every onboarding project starts with the same proven template, but gets flexibly adapted to the customer's specific requirements through forms and questionnaires.

The Customer Portal gives clients direct visibility into project status without switching between different tools. All documents, tasks, and communication live in one place. One system, one source of truth, clear accountability.

From "We Constantly Forget Things" to "We've Got This"

The Cologne company analyzed after three months why their onboardings kept taking longer than planned. The most common issues? Forgotten steps. Unclear responsibilities. Missing information from customers that nobody followed up on.

Another software company from Hamburg – 120 employees, B2B SaaS for project management in construction, active since 2019 – had the same problem. With every new customer, they had to figure out from scratch: What do we need? In what order? Who's responsible for what? Every single time.

90% of customers believe companies could do better with user onboarding. This isn't just nice feedback – it's a clear signal that most onboarding processes simply aren't good enough.

How Leadtime solves this

With Leadtime, you define your onboarding process once as a Component – with all epics, work packages, checklists, and questionnaires. Every new onboarding project starts with this structure. Nothing gets forgotten. Every step is documented. Everyone knows what needs to be done.

Forms in work packages ensure all required information gets collected. Conditions show only the relevant tasks: Does the customer need data migration from a legacy system? The corresponding work package appears automatically. Don't need it? It stays hidden. The process adapts automatically.

Acceptance tests at the end of each phase guarantee quality. Before the next epic starts, you verify: Are all requirements met? Does everything work? Only then do you move forward.

The 3-Month Trap

The average onboarding timeline for B2B SaaS with a high-touch model? 33% of companies report it takes at least a month. Often longer. And during this time, customers are waiting to finally extract value from the product.

The problem: No plan survives first contact with reality. The customer suddenly needs three additional integrations. Data quality is worse than expected. The key user goes on parental leave. Suddenly you're in week 8 and still not live.

The average time-to-value is about 1.5 days – for simple self-service products. For complex B2B solutions with implementation overhead? Weeks. And poor onboarding is the third biggest reason for churn.

How Leadtime solves this

Leadtime makes onboarding predictable. With minimum effort estimates in every work package, you know from day one how much work is coming. The Pipeline shows you in real-time which resources are available and where bottlenecks are forming.

If a customer has additional requirements, simply add the corresponding components. Time estimates adjust automatically. Delays become visible immediately – not when the customer calls asking when things will finally move forward.

With Leadtime, you don't just see where you are. You see where you'll be in two weeks. That's the difference between "We hope we'll hit the deadline" and "We know we'll hit the deadline".

Onboarding as a Growth Lever

Most SaaS companies treat onboarding like a necessary chore – something that just needs to get done so the customer can start. The best companies understand: onboarding is the first impression customers get of your product. And 86% of customers are more loyal when they have access to good onboarding content.

With Leadtime, onboarding doesn't just get faster and more structured – it becomes professional. From day one, customers see that you have their implementation under control. They get a clear plan, transparent communication, and a structured process. That builds trust. And trust leads to retention, upsells, and referrals.

Three weeks to go-live? With the right system, that's not a promise – it's a guarantee.