Tool Gate · How it works
How the Client-Onboarding Runway gate works
How the Client-Onboarding Runway gate grades a new client before kickoff: six items weighted into a 0–100 readiness score, with a kickoff-blocker gate where no signed agreement holds the kickoff regardless of the score — which is how onboarding scoring 80 still reads HOLD KICKOFF, because you can't start billable work on an unsigned agreement.
How the gate works
This tool grades a new client's onboarding before you schedule the kickoff. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 6 weighted controls
| Signal | Weight |
|---|---|
| Signed agreement | 20 |
| Deposit / first payment | 18 |
| Scope & deliverables confirmed | 18 |
| Access & credentials | 16 |
| Primary contact & comms channel | 14 |
| Kickoff scheduled | 14 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
A blocker item below ready — no signed agreement, no deposit, or unconfirmed scope — holds the kickoff regardless of the readiness score. You can't start work you haven't been paid for or scoped, however ready everything else looks.
In the worked sample it scores 80 out of 100 and still reads HOLD KICKOFF — Deposit, scope, access, and the kickoff slot are all set — the readiness score is 80, which reads GO. But there's no signed agreement (a kickoff-blocker at 0): the gate holds the kickoff. You can't start billable work on an unsigned agreement, however ready everything else looks, so the verdict is HOLD KICKOFF. The one thing to fix first: Signed agreement is at 0 — get it signed before scheduling anything. You can't kick off billable work on an unsigned agreement no matter how ready the rest of onboarding is..
Common questions
Can something score well on the How the Client-Onboarding Runway gate works and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Kickoff-blocker — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 80 out of 100 and still reads HOLD KICKOFF, because deposit, scope, access, and the kickoff slot are all set — the readiness score is 80, which reads GO. But there's no signed agreement (a kickoff-blocker at 0): the gate holds the kickoff. You can't start billable work on an unsigned agreement, however ready everything else looks, so the verdict is HOLD KICKOFF.
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Signed agreement is at 0 — get it signed before scheduling anything. You can't kick off billable work on an unsigned agreement no matter how ready the rest of onboarding is.".
Your own onboarding checklist, scored offline. Not legal advice — confirm your own contract requirements.
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<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/client-onboarding-runway.html" title="How the Client-Onboarding Runway gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="1656" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/client-onboarding-runway">How the Client-Onboarding Runway gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/client-onboarding-runway"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/client-onboarding-runway-share.png" alt="Diagram of the Client-Onboarding Runway gate: six weighted items, a kickoff-blocker gate, and onboarding scoring 80 forced to HOLD KICKOFF because the agreement is unsigned." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how Client-Onboarding Runway works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.