Client Onboarding Process template for Google Docs and Word

The first pages of the Client Onboarding Process template

Every page (8)

Overview

Agencies and service firms lose days at the start of a client relationship because nobody can say who does what next. This eight-page template documents the whole route from signed contract to first accepted delivery: the rules, the welcome stage, system access, key dates, an improvement plan, quality checks and a working checklist.

The sample follows a fictional agency, Wrenfield Group, where onboarding takes 12 working days and a redesign aims for 8, saving about £99,000 a year. Replace the process name, owners, systems, dates and figures with a count from your own last three months of onboardings.

Useful for

Writing down how a new client moves from signature to first delivery so every account lead works the same way
Showing a sponsor the before-and-after case for shortening onboarding lead time
Training new account coordinators with one document of steps, checks, owners and dates

What's included

Numbered rules for starting work, with scope, definitions and responsibilities
Welcome stage page with headline figures and three numbered moves
Access and systems diagram with a request flow and data stores
Key dates timeline with a November calendar for the sample client
Twelve-month roadmap with a Gantt chart, owners and milestones
Quality checks, an escalation flow and a grouped checklist with owners

How to use it

1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
2
Name your process, owner, trigger and end point in the rules and welcome pages, keeping the scope to one start and one finish.
3
Redraw the access diagram and key dates from a walk-through with the people who do the work, including the exception route.
4
Replace the cycle-time, first-pass and cost figures with a count from the last three months, then update the roadmap owners and dates.
5
Delete the Make it yours page, then share the document or export it as a PDF.

What you need

Requirements

A Google account with access to Google Drive

Works with

Google Docs
Microsoft Word (download the .docx)

Questions

What should a client onboarding process document include?

State the trigger and end point, the steps with owners, the systems clients touch, key dates, the checks that prove each step happened and what to do when one fails.

Are the company, people and figures real?

No. Wrenfield Group, its people, systems and every figure are fictional sample content. Replace all of it with measurements from your own onboardings.

How many steps should onboarding have?

Between 8 and 14 steps with three to six roles is typical. If you need more, split the work into two processes with a clear hand-off and a named owner for each.

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