Acquisition Operating-Move Kit

The deal is done. What needs to work on the first day?

Start with one operating milestone.

Use this kit with the people who own the work. It helps structure evidence, dependencies and decisions; it does not approve a transition or replace the responsible specialists.

Set the boundary. In the workbook’s working brief, name the project, operating milestone and scope. Start with one journey or business area rather than mapping everything at once.
Work through the modules. Record what is actually known, the evidence reference and the accountable owner. Leave an uncertainty visible rather than converting it into a green status.
Use the conditions register. Record what must hold, who accepts the evidence, and what remains unresolved. Mark completion only where the actual closure conditions are met.
Agree next actions. Add a closure outcome, owner and due date. Use the action log and decision brief to prepare the next discussion.
Save your work. Use the workbook’s completed-HTML download to keep an editable copy, plus a JSON backup if useful. Export the action log when sharing agreed actions. Browser storage is optional and belongs to that browser/device.

Keep project information under your control. The workbook runs locally with no submission to Leanpro. A downloaded file or exported log can contain your project data; store and share it using your own organisation’s arrangements. Check that your saved copy reopens before closing the original tab.

6 checks for your team discussion

Define the move

Describe what changes, for whom, and on which operating date. Keep the transaction completion date distinct from later systems moves.

Protect continuity

Trace customer, colleague, finance and supplier journeys. Agree what stays separate for now and who accepts that boundary.

Connect dependencies

For each cross-team input, name its provider, receiver, required date and acceptance evidence.

Prepare people

Describe changes by role. Involve the responsible HR, legal and technical specialists in the decisions they own.

Plan cutover and stabilisation

Sequence the move, communications, stop/recovery decisions and receiving-team support.

Hand over residual work

Give temporary arrangements, data work and supplier changes receiving owners, review dates and explicit closure evidence.

WORKED EXAMPLE / ENTIRELY FICTIONAL

From a reassuring status to a useful question.

Harbour Group / Cedar Services — fictional acquisition

The acquired business will move onto group identity and finance reporting next month. Customer-facing systems remain unchanged in the first phase. The immediate move does not complete the wider integration.

Commitment	Dependency / evidence	Owner / next action
Colleagues can work on the first day.	Receiving access roles and deputy approvals have not been proven.	Group IT and the receiving business owner agree and test real-user scenarios before accepting access.
Group receives usable reporting.	The acquired business and group have not agreed two data definitions.	Group finance records the definitions and acceptance evidence; the systems team plans against that decision.
Customers retain a support route.	Existing service desk stays temporarily; escalation ownership needs agreement.	Receiving operations lead confirms both routes, communications, coverage and review date.
Residual supplier change continues after cutover.	Supplier arrangements will not change on the immediate operating day.	Procurement accepts the residual action, required capacity and closure evidence; programme closure does not close this work.

Illustrative handover note

Immediate boundary: identity/access and agreed group reporting. Retained for this phase: customer-facing systems and current supplier arrangements. Open conditions: the acceptance evidence above is still needed. Later work: any subsequent migration has its own owner, business case and decision. These are fictional planning assumptions, not an endorsed transaction approach.

How to apply this: identify an equivalent condition in your project, name the person who can accept it, record the evidence available and agree the next action. Do not copy fictional assumptions into your plan as facts.

A useful decision summary

The milestone, scope and specific decision being requested.
Conditions supported by evidence, with an acceptance owner.
Open conditions, consequences and unresolved assumptions.
Next actions, owners, required dates and escalation.
Contingency, support and any residual work requiring a receiving owner.

Use the workbook’s decision brief to assemble this view. The number of complete rows is not a substitute for the significance of the remaining conditions.