Build a practical onboarding checklist for a new client

Begin with the result your client wants

Client onboarding prepares how you will work together. A checklist helps a Moroccan SME avoid gaps between an initial agreement and the actual start of delivery. Keep it connected to the service or product requested rather than treating every client as the same administrative file. Begin by restating the client’s need, its context and the result they expect to receive.

Check expressions that may mean different things to different people. When a client asks for regular follow-up, do they expect a message when work progresses, a summary document or a contact for questions? Ask rather than assuming your usual practice fits. Record confirmed points and questions still needing discussion separately, so the team does not treat an unanswered question as an agreed arrangement.

Identify working contacts and communication channels

Name the person following the assignment in your business and the main client contact. Clarify who provides practical information and who can confirm choices concerning the requested work. You do not need a complete organisation chart. You need to know where a question should go so the work can move forward without a chain of messages to people who cannot answer it.

Agree suitable channels for conversations and document sharing with the client. An important detail received through messaging can also be recorded in the working folder so it remains retrievable. Explain where your team should preserve these exchanges. If several colleagues participate, decide how they can see that an answer has already been given or that a question is still waiting for attention.

Request information that is useful for starting work

Separate information needed at the start from details that can be clarified later. For a service assignment, useful material might include a description of the need, an example of the desired result and working documents already available. Explain why each requested item matters. This helps the client respond appropriately and tell you when something does not exist or cannot yet be supplied.

Avoid gathering personal information or sensitive documents merely because another onboarding checklist asks for them. If a particular item appears necessary, check with the person coordinating the assignment how to request and share it appropriately. A checklist can contain a question to resolve instead of an automatic request. Its purpose is to prepare the work without quietly expanding the information collected from the client.

Confirm the start and improve the checklist through experience

Before starting, send a readable summary of the agreed request, working contacts, material received, open questions and next action. Invite the client to correct misunderstandings. This provides a common reference for both sides. It also avoids treating a received document as approval when its author was still expecting a response or wanted you to consider it as an example.

After the opening exchanges, ask colleagues what was missing when they began the work. Add a checklist item when it addresses an actual omission or makes the experience clearer. Use welcoming language instead of a sequence of impersonal instructions. Felexia can help you structure this beginning of the relationship and adapt the checklist to the activities, communication habits and practical needs of your small business.

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