Practical workflow guides
How to onboard every new client without the chasing
How do you onboard a new client? The steps, a checklist and the questions to ask first, and how an AI employee drafts each step for you to approve.
Client onboarding is everything between a client's yes and the first real work. Nothing starts until the agreement is signed and the first payment is in. Then send a welcome, an intake form and your document list.
An AI employee drafts the welcome, the intake follow-ups, the document reminders and the kickoff agenda. Someone you name approves each draft before it goes out.
How the workflow can work
- The client signs and pays
The AI employee watches for the signed agreement and the first payment. When both are in, it opens the client's file and starts.
- The welcome gets drafted
It drafts a welcome email with the intake form and the list of documents this client needs. Someone you name checks it and sends it.
- Missing items get reminders
It tracks each missing document and drafts a short reminder. A person approves each one. If a client goes quiet, it flags the file for you.
- The kickoff gets an agenda
When the documents are in, it drafts the kickoff agenda from the client's intake answers. Your team checks it and runs the call.
Questions to answer before implementation
How did your last three new clients go, from yes to kickoff?
Where do new clients stall, and what do they forget to send?
What must be signed and paid before any work starts?
Which documents and logins do you need from each client?
Who owns each step today, and who is the client's main contact?
How many new clients start each month, and how alike are they?
How does each client want updates, and how fast do you reply?
What did you promise each client on scope and timing, and where is it written down?
What to define in the implementation scope
A welcome, an intake form and a document list for every new client, drafted for your approval
No work before the agreement is signed and the first payment is in
A drafted reminder for each missing document, so nobody chases from memory
A kickoff agenda built from each client's intake answers
Your time from yes to kickoff, measured against where you started in the Diagnostic
These are proposed workflow outputs, not a promise of results or a fixed monthly deliverable.
Map the work before implementing it.
The free Snapshot helps choose one workflow. The paid Diagnostic documents the current process, baseline, ownership, decisions and proposed scope. Nothing is built during the Diagnostic. Implementation requires a separate written scope.
AI Operations Snapshot: Free. AI Operations Diagnostic: $1,000 once for 1 week, documents only; no implementation is included. Partnership Tiers: Direct Advisory at $2,500/month with 4 engineering hours a month; Strategic Partner at $4,500/month with 8 engineering hours a month; Fractional Product Lead at $7,500/month with 15 engineering hours a month. Each tier has a 3-month commitment and no onboarding fee. Sprint Add-Ons cost extra and require an active Partnership Tier.
It renews for another 3 months at the same price unless you give 30 days' notice before it ends. Renewal reminders and written notice follow the agreement. Licenses, hosting and AI usage are billed separately by the relevant vendors.
Questions owners ask first
- How do you onboard a new client?
Get the agreement signed and the first payment in. Then send a welcome and an intake form, and collect logins and documents. Brief your team. Hold a kickoff call that sets the scope and your reply times.
- What should a client onboarding checklist include?
Start with the signed agreement and payment terms. Name one owner on your team. Add a welcome, an intake form, your document list and reply times. Tax preparers also need a written security program, under the FTC Safeguards Rule.
- What questions should you ask a new client?
Ask what they want to achieve, how they like updates and what could get in the way. Some tax pros want two years of returns and access to the books before they quote.
- How do you stop chasing clients for documents?
List each document as its own step, and collect them in a secure portal, not by email. Ask for read-only access where you can. An AI employee drafts the reminders, and someone you name approves each one.
- Do you need a signed agreement before you start work?
Yes. Put the scope, fees and payment terms in writing, and get it signed. Take the first payment before any work starts, too. Then a client who stalls costs you a reminder, not unpaid work.
- Can you automate client onboarding with AI?
Yes, the routine parts. An AI employee drafts the welcome, the intake follow-ups, the reminders and the kickoff agenda. Someone you name approves each one. Unusual requests and judgment calls stay with a person.