Client Onboarding Process: Steps and Checklist

1. Get the scope approved in writing
2. Sign the agreement

A client onboarding process is the set of steps you run between a client saying yes and the work starting. For a service business, run seven of them in order: get the scope approved in writing, sign the agreement, invoice the deposit, collect everything you need in one request, hold a kickoff call, set up the client's record and billing, and confirm how and when you'll be in touch. Write them down as a checklist and run the same list for every new client.

This page covers the first weeks with a new client. To write the scope itself, read estimate vs quote vs proposal and how to write a winning estimate. For keeping client details in Billed, see what are clients, and for ending a client relationship, see how to fire a client professionally.

1. Get the scope approved in writing

Before anything else, put the work, the price and the timeline in an estimate or proposal and ask the client to approve it. List each deliverable, what is not included and the revisions the price allows.

Billed's features page says "your clients can approve or reject your estimates online." Billed's estimating software page also says: "Share your online estimates with your clients via shareable public link."

2. Sign the agreement

Turn the approved scope into a written agreement and have both sides sign it before work starts. Cover at least:

Scope: the deliverables from the approved estimate.
Timeline: milestones with dates, and what the client has to supply to meet them.
Payment terms: the amounts, the due dates, the deposit and what happens if a payment is late.
Changes: how you price and approve extra work.
Ending early: how either side can stop the work, and what is paid for work already done.

Have a lawyer review your agreement template once, then reuse it for each client.

3. Invoice the deposit

Send the deposit invoice with the agreement, and start work once it is paid. For a project paid in parts, put the whole plan on one invoice. Billed's help article on payment schedules says: "A payment schedule lets you add a payment plan to the invoices." The steps include: "Choose a suitable option among percentage or flat amount." and "Fill out the payment amount and due date of each payment."

4. Collect what you need in one request

Send one intake form or checklist instead of asking for things one at a time over the first weeks. What it asks for depends on the work:

Design and web projects: logins, brand files, existing content and examples the client likes.
Consulting: current figures, goals, the people involved and earlier reports.
Ongoing services such as bookkeeping: software access, past records, reporting dates and deadlines.

Put a due date on the request, and start the timeline from the date everything arrives.

5. Hold a kickoff call

Keep the first call to an agenda:

Who is involved on each side, and who approves the work.
What the client wants the project to achieve.
The deliverables and what is not included.
Milestones, dates and what each side needs to deliver first.
How you'll be in touch and how quickly each side replies.
Next steps, with a name and a date on each.

Send a written summary of the call within one working day and ask the client to reply with any corrections.

6. Set up the client's record and billing

Add the client to your invoicing tool with the billing contact, address and any purchase order number, and set up the invoices you already know about.

Billed's client management software page says: "Billed lets you save each client's company name, contact person, email, phone number, billing address, and any custom notes." For a monthly service, Billed's invoice software page says: "For clients you bill on a schedule, set up a recurring profile once." It also says: "Set a due date on each invoice so your client knows when to pay."

7. Confirm how you'll stay in touch

Write down, and send to the client:

the channel for decisions and the channel for quick questions;
your working hours and how quickly you reply;
how often you'll send a progress update;
who to contact if something is urgent.

Worked example: onboarding a website project

Sample figures, for illustration only. A web designer wins a $4,800.00 website project with three payments:

Deposit at signing: 25% × $4,800.00 = $1,200.00.
At design approval: 50% × $4,800.00 = $2,400.00.
At launch: 25% × $4,800.00 = $1,200.00.

Check: $1,200.00 + $2,400.00 + $1,200.00 = $4,800.00.

The onboarding runs over ten working days:

Day 1: the client approves the estimate; the agreement and the deposit invoice go out together.
Day 3: the agreement is signed and the deposit is paid; the intake checklist goes out, due on day 7.
Day 7: logins, brand files and content arrive.
Day 8: kickoff call; the written summary goes out on day 9.
Day 10: the design work starts, with the first progress update set for day 15.

Use your own figures and dates; these are only an illustration.

The onboarding checklist

Estimate or proposal approved
Agreement signed by both sides
Deposit invoiced and paid
Intake request sent, with a due date
Everything on the intake list received
Kickoff call held and summary sent
Client record, billing contact and invoice schedule set up
Contact channels, reply times and update schedule sent to the client
First progress update booked

Where Billed fits

Billed publishes this page, and Billed is invoicing software. The Billed features described above are quoted from Billed's own pages, checked October 31, 2026. Once the work is approved, Billed's help article on converting estimates says: "Wherever you need an estimate in the form of an invoice, you can convert it immediately."

Mistakes to avoid

Starting work before the agreement is signed and the deposit is paid.
Asking for files and logins one at a time over several weeks.
Holding the kickoff call without an agenda or a written summary afterwards.
Leaving reply times and channels unstated, then answering at all hours.
Setting up billing only when the first invoice is due.

When this guide isn't for you

If you sell products in a shop or online, you need a returns and delivery process rather than client onboarding. If your field is regulated, such as law, accounting or health care, your professional body may set rules for engagement letters and client records; follow those first.

Frequently Asked Questions

What steps belong in a client onboarding process?

An approved scope, a signed agreement, a paid deposit, one request for everything you need from the client, a kickoff call with a written summary, the client's billing set up, and a stated way of keeping in touch.

How long should client onboarding take?

Set a target for your own business and write it down. In the worked example above, a website project goes from approved estimate to the start of work in ten working days.

Should I take a deposit before starting work?

Decide that in your payment terms and put it in the agreement. If you take one, send the deposit invoice with the agreement and start the work once it is paid.

What should I send after the kickoff call?

A written summary within one working day: the decisions made, the next steps with names and dates, and the date of the first progress update. Ask the client to reply with any corrections.

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Client Onboarding Process: From Yes to the First Invoice