HEBROTECH.CO.KE STAGING DEPLOYMENT

No live deployment has been made. Obtain the actual hosting/cPanel sign-in URL; sign in securely, never send a password in chat.
1. Back up existing site and database; use a new isolated staging database and document root.
2. Confirm PHP8.2+, PDO MySQL/OpenSSL, compatible SQL and Apache access protections.
3. Create the payroll subdomain or a restricted staging subdomain, enable valid HTTPS, and upload only the application folder contents.
4. Import schema and migrations v4-v8 in order into the new staging database. For an existing database rehearse migration on a copy first; never import schema.sql over live tables.
5. Configure config/config.php locally in cPanel with a least-privilege DB account. Keep deployment_mode=trial.
6. Enable installer briefly, create owner/admin, disable installer and remove it. Do not use real payroll data for public trials.
7. Check that /config/, /database/, /includes/, /templates/ and tests are not publicly retrievable. Remove tests from the public web root after offline validation; retain protected source/test copies.
8. Reconcile synthetic/sample cases with approved worksheets and accepted portal formats. Complete every production acceptance item in RELEASE_REVIEW.md before requesting production enablement.
