Client Onboarding Checklist

Client

{{CLIENT_NAME}}

Project

{{PROJECT_NAME}}

Start date

{{START_DATE}}

Primary contact

{{CLIENT_CONTACT}}

Approver

{{APPROVER_NAME}}

Work through this before delivery work starts. The first three sections block everything else: an unsigned agreement, an uncleared deposit and an unnamed approver are the three reasons a first week disappears.

1. Agreement

• ☐Proposal or estimate accepted in writing
• ☐Contract signed by both parties
• ☐Scope of work attached and agreed
• ☐Revision allowance confirmed
• ☐Start date and target completion date agreed

2. Payment

• ☐Deposit invoice sent
• ☐Deposit received and cleared
• ☐Billing entity and billing address confirmed
• ☐Billing contact and email for invoices confirmed
• ☐Client tax / VAT number obtained where required
• ☐Purchase order number obtained, if the client uses them
• ☐Payment terms and payment method confirmed

3. Contacts

• ☐Primary day-to-day contact confirmed
• ☐Named approver identified — the person who can sign things off
• ☐Other stakeholders identified, with what each one approves
• ☐Out-of-hours or emergency contact, if the work needs one
• ☐Time zones noted for everyone involved

4. Project information

• ☐Project goals confirmed in writing
• ☐Success criteria agreed
• ☐Known constraints and non-negotiables captured
• ☐Existing research, analytics or prior work received
• ☐Competitors or reference examples discussed

5. Access

• ☐Required accounts identified, with the permission level each one needs
• ☐Credentials received, or access granted to your own account
• ☐Access confirmed working — actually logged in, not just received
• ☐Shared drive or repository access granted
• ☐Staging or test environment available
• ☐Security requirements understood (MFA, VPN, device policy)

6. Assets

• ☐Brand guidelines received, or confirmed not to exist
• ☐Logo files received in usable formats
• ☐Fonts received, with licences that cover this use
• ☐Photography and imagery received
• ☐Existing copy or content received
• ☐Source files for anything being reworked received

7. Communication

• ☐Main channel agreed (email, Slack, Teams, portal)
• ☐Update frequency and format agreed
• ☐Feedback process agreed — consolidated, from the named approver
• ☐Feedback turnaround time agreed
• ☐Meeting cadence set, with invitations sent
• ☐Working hours and expected response times stated

8. Timeline

• ☐Milestones confirmed and dated
• ☐First deliverable date confirmed
• ☐Client-side deadlines and fixed dates captured
• ☐Known absences on both sides noted
• ☐Dependencies and who owns each one agreed

9. Technical setup

• ☐Tools and file formats agreed
• ☐File naming and version conventions agreed
• ☐Where deliverables will be handed over decided
• ☐Backup and source-file arrangement understood
• ☐Any required integrations or third-party services identified

10. Kickoff

• ☐Kickoff meeting booked, with the approver attending
• ☐Agenda sent in advance
• ☐Scope, milestones and responsibilities walked through
• ☐Questions and assumptions logged
• ☐Notes and agreed actions sent afterwards in writing

11. Internal setup (for you, not the client)

• ☐Project created in your own system, with the estimate attached
• ☐Time tracking set up against this project
• ☐Capacity checked — this project fits alongside your existing commitments
• ☐Recurring invoice or milestone invoice dates scheduled
• ☐Client folder created, with the contract and scope filed
• ☐Key dates in your calendar, including the client-side ones

12. Client confirmation

• ☐Scope and exclusions confirmed in writing
• ☐Approver and approval process confirmed in writing
• ☐Feedback turnaround confirmed in writing
• ☐Payment schedule confirmed in writing
• ☐What happens to out-of-scope requests explained and acknowledged

Freshlance Template · version 1.0 · freshlance.app/templates/freelance-client-onboarding-checklist