# The 7-step client onboarding process — one-pager

From "yes" to "working" with nothing missing. Done well, within a few days the
client is **signed, paid, informed, and scheduled**.

## The sequence

1. **Send the agreement the same day they say yes.** Momentum decays fast —
   template the contract so sending takes minutes.
2. **Invoice the deposit immediately after signing.** Contract → money → work,
   no gaps. Chain them so the payment request appears the moment the
   signature lands.
3. **Send the intake questionnaire.** Only questions whose answers change what
   you do. Say how long it takes; let them save and return.
4. **Collect files and access in the same flow.** Ask for everything the last
   three projects eventually needed — once, not as a drip of "oh, also…"
   emails.
5. **Book the kickoff before onboarding is "done".** Put the scheduling link
   inside the flow; a booked call makes every other step feel urgent.
6. **Do your internal setup in parallel.** Project folder, board, billing,
   team briefing — on an internal checklist, out of the client's view.
7. **Run the kickoff and confirm in writing.** Confirm what the form told
   you, agree communication rules, send a same-day summary.

## The one-afternoon setup plan

- **Hour 1 — write the sequence down.** The seven steps and what the client
  receives at each one.
- **Hour 2 — template the words.** Welcome email, contract, intake questions,
  file/access request list, kickoff agenda.
- **Hour 3 — wire up the tools.** One link or one document; the client should
  experience one sequence, not five tools.
- **Hour 4 — run yourself through it.** On your phone, as the client. Fix
  everything that makes you sigh.

## Rules of thumb

- Signed + paid = client. Everything before that is a warm lead.
- 5–9 client-facing steps. Fewer means reactive collection; more means
  drop-off.
- Same process every client. Consistency is what lets you find and fix the
  step where people stall.

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From the Onvoy blog: https://onvoy.app/blog/client-onboarding-process
Run this process as one branded link: https://onvoy.app