# Client onboarding checklist

Everything that has to be true before work starts, in the order it has to be true. Most onboarding goes wrong in the gap between "they signed" and "we have what we need" — this list closes it.

## Before kickoff

- [ ] Contract or SOW signed; scope, deliverables, revision limits and timeline agreed
- [ ] First invoice or deposit sent and paid
- [ ] Main contact, decision-maker and billing contact recorded
- [ ] Client added to the portal or project tool; welcome email sent
- [ ] Kickoff call scheduled; kickoff questionnaire sent

## Access and assets

- [ ] Brand assets: logo files, fonts, colours, guidelines
- [ ] Logins and access shared through a password manager or an invite — never plain email
- [ ] Analytics, CMS, ad accounts, hosting and domain or DNS access, as relevant
- [ ] Previous work, reports and research

## Kickoff

- [ ] Goals and success metrics confirmed
- [ ] Communication channel, response times and meeting cadence agreed
- [ ] Approval process agreed, and who signs off named
- [ ] Project plan and first milestones shared

## First 30 days

- [ ] First deliverable or quick win delivered
- [ ] Check-in on satisfaction and on the process itself
- [ ] Recurring reporting set up

> Two lines carry most of the value: naming the decision-maker, and agreeing the approval process before the first deliverable. An approval nobody owns is the most common reason a project sits still.

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Free to use, change and republish: released under CC0 1.0 (public domain).
From https://huelab-byte.github.io/tryclientos/templates/ — a free resource from the
ClientOS team. ClientOS is a self-hosted, white-label client portal for service
agencies: https://getclientos.com