Client onboarding template generator

A client onboarding template is a reusable checklist that carries a new client from a signed agreement to active work. It names each phase, the tasks inside it, who owns each task, and when it is due. The tool above assembles one from your choices, so you start from a structured checklist rather than a blank page.

A workable template has a consistent spine and the phases you actually run. Pick your industry and the generator loads the documents and access steps your field needs. Toggle the optional phases to match your process:

• Welcome and expectations. A message within 2 hours of signing that sets the timeline and names the first things the client owes you.
• Proposal and contract. Sending, signing, and filing the engagement letter before any other work begins.
• Payment setup. The deposit or first invoice, paid and recorded before the work starts.
• Document collection. A request list with formats and tiered deadlines, reviewed item by item.
• Portal and system access. Invites and credentials, each login tested before you rely on it.
• Industry-specific records. The engagement letter and bank access for bookkeeping, brand assets and ad accounts for agencies, conflict checks and KYC for legal and advisory work.
• Kickoff call and 30-day check-in. The meeting that confirms scope, and the follow-up that confirms the first deliverable landed.

A worked example

The defaults show a common case: a bookkeeping firm onboarding a new client with the proposal, payment, document-collection, and access phases switched on. The generator produces a checklist that starts with the welcome email, collects the signed engagement letter and W-9 by day 2, grants read-only bank access and accounting-software login by day 3, gathers three months of statements and the prior-year return by day 7, and closes with opening balances entered and the first monthly-close date confirmed. Switch the industry to marketing agency and the core tasks rewrite themselves to brand guidelines, logo files, ad-account access, and the content approval workflow, on a tighter 3-to-5-day timeline.

Once the checklist reads the way you work, copy it into your project tool or download it as Markdown or plain text. Every task already carries an owner and a target day, so the template is ready to run rather than ready to edit. For the long-form templates behind this tool, including welcome-email copy and kickoff agendas by industry, read the client onboarding template guide.

From checklist to a flow that runs itself

A checklist only helps if the tasks actually happen. Portico turns a template like this one into a live onboarding flow: it sends the intake form, collects the documents and signatures, takes the first payment, and sends specific reminders when a task stalls, all through a branded client portal on one link. The client completes every step in one place without creating an account, and the signed agreement, the records, and the payment stay together instead of scattered across email, a signing tool, and a shared drive.