The managed print onboarding and audit process

The weeks before a managed print service goes live shape everything that follows. A rushed start leaves devices in the wrong places, users without access and a contract sized to a guess. A structured onboarding built on a proper audit sets the service up to deliver what was promised from the first month.

This guide walks through the stages a well run onboarding normally follows, from the first conversation to the first review meeting. It explains what the provider does at each stage, what your business needs to supply and how long each step tends to take, so you can plan internal time and know what good looks like.

The seven stages at a glance

Stage 1: discovery

Onboarding starts with a conversation, not a device. A good provider wants to know why you are looking at managed print: rising costs, unreliable machines, security concerns, an office move or an end of lease date. They will ask how many people print, across how many sites and whether staff work in a hybrid pattern. They should also ask about your current contracts, because notice windows and settlement terms can decide the realistic start date.

Come to this meeting with the key facts to hand. Know who holds the current lease and service agreements, roughly when they end and who in the business will act as the main contact. That single contact makes every later stage faster.

Stage 2: the print audit

The audit is the foundation of the service. Its job is to replace assumptions with measured facts. Most audits combine three sources of information.

• A device walk round. Every printer, copier and scanner is listed with its location, age, condition, connection type and who uses it.
• Usage data. Meter readings and, where possible, a temporary monitoring agent capture volumes by device, mono against colour and A4 against A3 over a period of weeks.
• Cost data. Lease rentals, service charges, toner purchases and repair invoices are gathered so the current total cost can be calculated.

Good auditors also watch how people work. Where do queues form? Which devices sit idle? Are confidential documents left on output trays? Which teams scan heavily and where do those scans go? These observations shape the design as much as the numbers do.

The audit is usually the longest stage because volumes need to be measured over enough time to capture normal peaks. Rushing it is a common reason fleets end up oversized or undersized.

Stage 3: proposal and design

The proposal should explain what was found and what is recommended in terms your finance and operations leads can follow. Expect a summary of current costs, a recommended fleet showing each device and its location, the print management approach, pricing and the service terms. It should also say what will change for users: fewer devices, card release, default duplex or mono and new scanning shortcuts.

Stage 4: installation

Installation is where the plan becomes physical. Devices are delivered and placed, connected to the network, given fixed addresses and configured with the agreed defaults. Scan destinations such as email, network folders or cloud storage are set up and tested. Print drivers or print queues are deployed to user computers, ideally centrally so staff do not need to install anything themselves.

Ask your provider to agree an installation window that avoids your busiest periods. Early mornings, late afternoons or a quiet day of the week often work well. Your IT contact should be available to approve network changes and confirm access to any servers or cloud services involved.

• Confirm power and network points at each planned location before the day.
• Agree who will test printing from each department before sign off.
• Check that secure release cards or PINs are issued to every user.

Stage 5: training

Even the best designed fleet fails if people do not know how to use it. Training is usually short and practical. Most users need only a few minutes on releasing jobs, scanning and what to do if something goes wrong. Key contacts benefit from a longer session covering reports, adding users and changing rules. Short written guides left beside each device help new starters and anyone who missed a session.

Stage 6: handover

Handover closes the implementation. Old devices are collected. Any device with storage should be securely wiped with a certificate of data destruction provided. The provider confirms how to log faults, who the account contact is and what the service levels are. Monitoring should now be live on every device, reporting meter readings and supply levels automatically.

Stage 7: the first review

The first review, often around three months after go live, compares actual usage with the audit forecast. It is the right moment to move a device that is overworked, remove one that is barely used, adjust colour or duplex rules and address any user feedback. After that, reviews should become a regular part of the service rather than a one off.

What your business should prepare

• A named internal contact with authority to make decisions.
• Copies of current lease, rental and service agreements.
• Twelve months of print related invoices if available.
• A site plan showing where teams sit and where devices are now.
• An IT contact for network, security and user directory questions.

If you would like to see how an audit would work for your organisation, our Managed Print Services page explains how CopyBox Document Systems reviews current printing, designs the right fleet and manages installation and training from our Bedford base.

For guides on every stage of managed print, from choosing a provider to switching and ongoing management, visit the MPS Help collection.

A careful audit and a planned onboarding are what turn a managed print proposal into a service that works from day one. To start with a free review of your current printing, visit our Managed Print Services page or call our Bedford team.