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A client onboarding checklist should cover five areas: the signed agreement and first payment, the documents and files you need, access to the client's accounts, the people you'll deal with (including who approves work) plus a kickoff call. Every item needs an owner and a due date. Onboarding is complete when every required item has arrived and been checked by someone on your team. The person doing the work should also be able to start without going back to the client for anything.
Below is the checklist, a test for "done", three follow-ups for clients who stall and the fields for a tracker if you onboard several clients at once.
The checklist
Copy this into a doc or spreadsheet. Delete the rows that don't apply to your firm. Day numbers count from the day the agreement is signed.
Area | Item | Owner | Due | Done when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Agreement | Engagement letter or contract signed | You | Day 0 | Signed copy saved in the client folder |
Agreement | First invoice or deposit paid | Accounts | Day 3 | Payment shows in your accounting software |
Agreement | Scope summary sent: what's in, what's out | Lead | Day 1 | Client has replied to confirm it |
Documents | Document list sent, one line per item | Lead | Day 1 | Client has the list |
Documents | Each required document received | Client | Day 7 | File saved where your team can open it |
Documents | Each document checked: right file, readable, current | Team member | Day 8 | Marked checked, with a name and date |
Access | List of accounts you need and the role you need in each | Lead | Day 1 | List sent to the client |
Access | Invitation accepted for each account | Client | Day 7 | You've logged in with your own login |
Contacts | Day-to-day contact named | Client | Day 2 | Name, email and phone in the tracker |
Contacts | Approver named for each kind of decision | Client | Day 2 | Recorded in the tracker |
Contacts | Billing contact named | Client | Day 2 | Recorded in the tracker |
Contacts | How they want updates (channel, how often) | Lead | Kickoff | Recorded in the tracker |
Kickoff | Kickoff call booked | Lead | Day 3 | Invite accepted |
Kickoff | Agenda built from the items still open | Lead | Day before | Sent with the invite |
Kickoff | Notes and next steps sent | Lead | Same day | Client has them in writing |
Kickoff | First milestone and date agreed | Lead and client | Kickoff | Date in the tracker |
Two things make this list work. Each row is one thing you can tick off, so "brand assets" becomes separate rows for the logo files and the brand guidelines. And the "Done when" column says what proof you need. "Client said they'd send it" doesn't count.
Access: ask for an invitation to each account
Most business software lets the account owner add another person with their own login and a set role. Google Analytics, for example, adds users by email address with a chosen permission level. Ask for that.
So the access request should list the account, the role you need and the email address to invite. Don't ask clients to type passwords into a form or send them by email. If a tool can't add a second user, agree with the client how access will work and write that down in the tracker.
When is onboarding complete?
Write this test down before the next client starts. Here's a version that suits most small firms.
Onboarding is complete when:
- The agreement is signed and the first payment has cleared.
- Every required document has been received and checked by a named person. Anything marked "not applicable" has a reason next to it.
- Every account invitation has been accepted and tested.
- Contacts and approvers are recorded.
- Kickoff notes have gone out and the first milestone has a date.
- The person doing the work confirms they can start.
One person signs it off, usually whoever owns the client relationship. Until they do, the client stays in onboarding, even if some work has begun. Without a written test, "nearly done" can drag on for weeks. A missing login then turns up on the day someone needs it.
When a client stalls
Name the missing item in every follow-up. A general nudge gives the client nothing to act on. Here are three messages, spaced out.
Follow-up 1, a few working days after the due date:
Subject: {Client name}: 2 things before we start
Hi {first name},
We're nearly ready to start on {project}. We're still waiting on:
- {item 1, e.g. your logo files in the original format}
- {item 2, e.g. an invitation to your Google Analytics account as Editor, sent to {email}}
You can reply to this email with the files.
Can you send these by {date}? Then we can keep {first milestone} on {date}.
{Your name}
Follow-up 2, about a week later:
Hi {first name},
We still don't have {item}. Without it we can't {what it blocks, e.g. set up the monthly report}.
Is there someone else on your team who could send it? If so, I'll contact them directly.
{Your name}
Follow-up 3, to the approver or main sponsor:
Hi {first name},
We've paused {project} until {item} arrives. That moves {milestone} from {old date} to {new date}.
Does {new date} still work for you?
{Your name}
Stop the follow-ups as soon as the item arrives or the client replies. A person should read the reply before anything else goes out.
Tracker fields for several clients at once
One checklist per client is fine until you have three or four clients onboarding in the same month. Then you need one view across all of them. These fields work in a spreadsheet, Notion, Airtable or whatever you already use.
Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
Client | Client name |
Item | One row per item from the checklist |
Area | Agreement, Documents, Access, Contacts or Kickoff |
Waiting on | Client or us |
Owner | The person on your side who chases or does it |
Due date | When it should be done |
Status | Not started, Requested, Received, Checked, Not applicable |
Checked by | Name and date |
Last follow-up | Date of the last reminder |
Blocks | What this item holds up |
Notes | Where the file lives. Never the password or the file contents. |
Then set up three views. The first shows items waiting on the client and past their due date, across every client, oldest first. The second shows items received but not yet checked. The third is the full list for one client, which you can open during the kickoff call.
If you use Notion, database automations can send a notification or change a field when a status changes, so marking an item "Received" can alert whoever checks it. Notion's help page also says an automation that has worked before is paused when it hits an error. You may not be notified in every case. So someone should still look at the overdue view once a week.
How to set it up
- Look back at your last few new clients. Write down everything you ended up chasing. That's your first draft of the list.
- Split the list into what the client sends and what your team does.
- Write the "done" test and decide who signs it off.
- Put the tracker in a tool you already use. You don't need new software for this.
- Check the overdue view once a week. Better still, have reminders go out from it.
- After each client, delete rows nobody used and add the one you forgot.
Runnrr scopes tracking and follow-up around the software a firm already uses. If you'd like to talk through one onboarding workflow, see how Runnrr sets up a workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What should a client onboarding checklist include?
It should cover the signed agreement and first payment, the documents you need, access to the client's accounts, named contacts and approvers, plus a kickoff call with a date for the first milestone. Give every item an owner, a due date and a note on what counts as done.
How do you know when client onboarding is complete?
Onboarding is complete when every required item has been received and checked, every account invitation works, contacts and approvers are recorded and the first milestone has a date. One named person signs it off after the person doing the work confirms they can start.
How do you follow up when a client hasn't finished onboarding?
Name the exact item that's missing and say what it holds up. Send a first reminder a few working days after the due date and a second about a week later. If it's still missing, tell the approver what the delay does to the timeline. Stop as soon as the item arrives or the client replies.
Should clients send passwords during onboarding?
No. Ask the client to invite you to each account with your own login and the role you need. Most business software supports this. If a tool can't, agree a method with the client and record it.
What fields does a client onboarding tracker need?
At minimum: client, item, who it's waiting on, owner, due date, status, who checked it, date of the last follow-up and what the item blocks. Add a notes field for where the file lives, never for passwords.
