Description
A template for a consistent client onboarding process, covering the welcome email, working agreement, project brief format, and the first two weeks of a new engagement. It is a structure to adapt, not a script to follow.
What’s included
- CSV template file (opens in Google Sheets or Excel)
- Full onboarding pack template: welcome email, project brief, working agreement
- Client responsibilities and communication preferences sections
- Feedback and revision process documentation
Who it’s for
Useful if you want new client relationships to start more professionally, or if the first two weeks of projects are consistently chaotic. Not useful if your clients have their own onboarding processes they expect suppliers to follow, in that case you need to work within theirs rather than introducing your own.
If it works
If you send the onboarding pack within 24 hours of a project being confirmed, clients arrive at the first call already knowing how you work and what you need from them. The working agreement is the most important section: it is the one that prevents the misunderstandings that generate most of the friction in the first few weeks.
A good onboarding process sets the tone but does not guarantee a good project. It removes some common sources of early friction; whether the project goes well depends on many other factors.
Before you download
- This is a CSV file. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel. It will not work as a document or a PDF.
- After downloading, you will find the file in your account under My Downloads.
- You are getting a licence to use and adapt this for your own work. You cannot sell, redistribute, or share it with others.
