Freelancers & agencies: how do you onboard clients today?
Trying to validate an idea around automating client onboarding (forms, docs, timelines).
From convos so far, it’s mostly email + Google Docs chaos.
Does that sound familiar, or is it just a few folks?
flowentahq.com (WIP)
I usually only onboard a few clients a year, so it's never been an issue for me. I primarily use email and Trello for communication and Invoice Ninja for invoices.
Appreciate you sharing that - makes a lot of sense if you're only onboarding a few a year and have a solid flow setup.
The unlock for us was converting onboarding from a conversation into a product. Meaning: a standardized welcome packet the client fills out, a kickoff checklist on our end, and a defined revision-request process from day one.
Before templates: 3-5 hours per new client getting alignment.
After: about 45 minutes. Same quality, way less stress.
The other thing nobody talks about: a formal 'close-out SOP.' An offboarding checklist that gets you the testimonial, the referral ask, and the case study data in one clean workflow - instead of leaving all three to chance after the project ends.
We packaged these (onboarding template, close-out SOP, revision request form, scope doc, + 5 more) into a bundle for anyone who wants a starting point rather than building from scratch: liorscribe.gumroad.com/l/hcyqo
Curious what others use for the post-project follow-up - do you have a system or is it ad hoc?