Client onboarding checklist

• You are an agency, consultancy or service team taking on a new client.
• Different account leads onboard clients in different ways and quality varies.
• New clients wait days for access, kickoff or a first deliverable.
• An existing client starts a new project or engagement.

Fill in the blanks and replace the example rows with your own. Everything below is what the copy and download buttons give you.

1. 01

   Fill in the client details first

   Record the primary contact, who approves work on the client's side, the contract term and the services in scope, so everyone on your team works from the same facts.

2. 02

   Assign every step before day one

   Put a person's name and a target day on each row. Onboarding stalls in the gaps between people, not inside any one step.

3. 03

   Ask for access early and precisely

   Request exactly the access you need, with the reason, in the first two days. Waiting on logins is the most common reason a first deliverable slips.

4. 04

   Run the kickoff from the agenda

   Cover goals, scope, timeline, communication and approvals, and write down what was agreed. Send the notes within a day.

5. 05

   Get a quick first win

   Deliver something visible within the first two weeks. It proves the relationship is working before the big deliverables arrive.

6. 06

   Check in at 30 days and improve the checklist

   Ask the client what has worked and what has not, then update the checklist so the next client gets the better version.

Kavanah has a client side built in, so the checklist, the client's view of the work and the requests they send can all live in one workspace.

What should a client onboarding checklist include?

The contract and billing paperwork, a welcome message naming the point of contact, an intake questionnaire, access to the client's tools, setting up the project, a kickoff meeting with agreed goals, scope and ways of working, written success measures, the first deliverable and an early check-in.

How long should client onboarding take?

It depends on the service, but most teams aim to deliver a first visible piece of work within the first two weeks. The steps before kickoff, such as paperwork, intake and access, should be done in the first few days.

What questions should you ask a new client?

What they want to achieve and how they will measure it, who their audience or users are, what they have tried before and what happened, who approves work and how quickly, their deadlines and constraints, and how they prefer to communicate.

What happens in a client kickoff meeting?

Both teams meet, agree the goals and how success will be measured, confirm scope and timeline, settle how communication and approvals will work, and leave with clear next steps and owners. The notes should be sent to everyone within a day.

Who is responsible for client onboarding?

Usually an account lead or client success manager owns the process as a whole, with the project lead, finance and specialists each owning their own steps. Naming one owner for the whole checklist prevents steps falling between teams.

Should the client see the onboarding checklist?

Sharing the client-facing steps, such as access requests, the questionnaire, kickoff and first delivery, helps clients see what is happening and what you need from them. Internal steps like invoicing can stay on your side.