How to Sell Treasury Services During the Onboarding Process

Why the first 30 days with a new business client are your most powerful sales window

Treasury is often treated as a post-sale conversation. It shouldn’t be.

Most financial institutions wait until after a business account is opened, sometimes weeks or even months, to begin selling treasury services. By then, momentum is gone. The business has already settled into new workflows, and the opportunity to integrate treasury tools into day-to-day operations has largely passed.

But what if treasury wasn’t an afterthought — what if it was the foundation? The onboarding period is the most engaged a business will ever be with your institution. It’s when they’re moving funds, resetting systems, and most importantly — open to change. That makes it a critical moment not just for adoption, but for shaping the long-term relationship.

Why Onboarding Is a Strategic Moment for Treasury

When a business switches institutions, they’re not just updating account numbers. They’re rethinking:

How money flows in and out of the organization
What tools they rely on for AR/AP, payroll, and reporting
Who they trust to help modernize financial operations

These decisions often happen fast — and they rarely happen twice. That’s why the onboarding process is a natural trigger for treasury conversations:

Switching AP systems? Introduce ACH origination.
Migrating payroll? Recommend same-day ACH or integrated direct deposit.
Transferring balances? Suggest sweep accounts or ZBAs for visibility and control.
Worried about fraud during the transition? Enable positive pay or ACH filters.

A Framework for Treasury Engagement During Onboarding

Observe Switching Behavior

Track what’s being migrated: AP systems, payroll tools, number of accounts, etc. Friction points signal opportunities.
Ask Contextual Questions

Avoid generic discovery. Instead ask:
- “How are you managing liquidity across accounts today?”
- “What’s your approval process for outgoing wires and ACH?”
- “Are there any fraud concerns with your current setup?”
Recommend with Relevance

Tailor your suggestions using industry examples, e.g., “Our healthcare clients often use dual control on ACH to reduce errors — it might be a fit given your transaction volume.”
Activate Immediately

Don’t wait. Guide clients through activation during onboarding while urgency and engagement are high.

Example Triggers for Treasury Conversations

Switching Action	Treasury Opportunity	When to Engage
AP System Migration	ACH Origination	During vendor setup
Payroll Provider Change	Same-day ACH / Direct Deposit	Before first payroll run
Opening Multiple Accounts	ZBAs / Sweeps	At initial account structure setup
High Inbound Check Volume	Lockbox / Remote Deposit Capture	During customer invoicing migration
Fraud Concerns During Switching	Positive Pay / ACH Filter / Dual Control	Before funds are moved

A New Approach: Embedding Treasury Into the Onboarding Flow

Rather than waiting for treasury needs to surface months later, some banks are adopting a more consultative, data-informed approach. By embedding treasury logic directly into onboarding workflows and tracking events like payroll migration or vendor connection, teams can identify key treasury moments early and engage with relevant recommendations — not reactive product pushing.

Platforms like Onsetto bring this approach to life. By surfacing treasury signals in real-time, Onsetto helps teams engage at the right moments and guide clients into activation during onboarding.

Final Thought: Treasury Should Lead, Not Follow

The first 30 days aren’t just a window for operational setup — they’re your best opportunity to define how deeply your bank becomes part of the business’s financial ecosystem.

By engaging treasury early, you set the tone for a relationship that’s not just about transactions — but about transformation.