Connector Coverage Audit Before Client Onboarding (Onboarding)
A checklist with 7 steps: Inventory every source system the client actually runs, not the systems named in the sales call.
By InnovaAI ResearchPublished
What are the steps?
Connector Coverage Audit Before Client Onboarding (Onboarding)
- 01
Inventory every source system the client actually runs, not the systems named in the sales call
Pull the client's SaaS billing export and IT asset list. Agencies routinely discover three to five shadow tools (support desks, billing, ad platforms) that never surfaced in discovery.
- 02
Map each source against the connector list of the platform you plan to standardize on
Weld publishes coverage across 300+ sources, Dataddo lists 400+ managed connectors, and Polytomic covers warehouse, database, and SaaS endpoints. Mark each client system as native, API-only, or unsupported.
- 03
Flag any source that requires custom API work and price it separately
A single unsupported source can add 10 to 25 engineering hours to onboarding. Quote that as a one-time build line rather than absorbing it into the monthly retainer.
- 04
Confirm the destination warehouse and its write permissions before the first sync
Verify service account scopes on BigQuery, Snowflake, or Redshift, and confirm who owns the billing project. Permission gaps are the most common cause of a stalled first pipeline.
- 05
Decide which direction each dataset flows: into the warehouse, back into an operational tool, or both
Reverse ETL targets (CRM, ad platforms, support tools) need their own field-level mapping and rate-limit review. Document both directions in one diagram the client signs off on.
- 06
Document the connector roadmap risk in writing and set a 90-day review date
If a niche client stack depends on a connector the vendor has not shipped, state the fallback (custom function, middleware, or manual export) in the onboarding doc so the client sees the exposure.
- 07
Assign one named owner inside the agency for pipeline health
The embedded implementation lead model works here: one person accountable for schema drift alerts, failed sync notifications, and the monthly coverage review.