# Client onboarding checklist for marketing agencies A 56-task checklist from the week before signature to the 30-day review, plus the offboarding steps to agree now and run at the end. RevSmith, updated 4 November 2026. The same tasks, one per row in six phases (56 tasks), are in `client-onboarding-checklist.csv` (https://revsmith.in/templates/client-onboarding-checklist.csv); its first row is the column headings. The guide behind it is at https://revsmith.in/templates/client-onboarding-checklist. ## How to use it - Copy it once per client. Every task has an owner, a target and a test for done; a task is done when its test is true, not when someone says so. - The targets are our suggestions, not industry data: no survey we found measures agency onboarding times. Change them to suit your work, then hold your team to your own numbers. - Owners: **Sales** (whoever sold the work), **Account lead** (runs the client), **Specialists** (channel or craft leads), **Finance**, **Agency owner**, **Client approver** (signs off work and scope), **Client admin** (holds the top role on the client's accounts). - Keep three numbers per client: time to verified access per platform (signature to your team confirming it can work in the account), time to first win (signature to the first change the client can see), and questions asked twice (each one is a gap in your client record). - Pair it with the platform access matrix (`platform-access-matrix.md`) for the role to request on each platform, the intake questionnaire (`client-intake-questionnaire.md`) and the kickoff agenda (`kickoff-agenda.md`). ## The phases at a glance | Phase | Target | Done when | |---|---|---| | 1. Before signing | Proposal stage | The SOW names the approver, the scope, who owns each account and how the work ends. | | 2. Day 0 | Signature day | The client holds one email with every request and three dates: intake due, kickoff, first report. | | 3. Week 1 | Working days 1 to 5 | Every line of the access log reads 'verified', with date, role and who granted it. | | 4. Kickoff | By working day 5 | The approver has confirmed goals, targets and cadence in the recap email. | | 5. First 30 days | Days 6 to 30 | The client has seen a baseline, one shipped change and a review against the goals. | | 6. Offboarding | Written now, run at exit | The client confirms the removal list in writing. | ## 1. Before signing (Proposal stage) **Phase is done when:** the SOW names the approver, the scope, who owns each account and how the work ends. - [ ] **1.1** List every platform the client uses today: ads, analytics, tags, website or CMS, store, CRM, email, social, reporting. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: a platform list sits in the deal notes. - [ ] **1.2** For each platform, ask who at the client holds the top role (Admin, Owner, Super Admin or full control) and whose payment method pays. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: a client name and a payer next to every platform. - [ ] **1.3** Ask whether a previous agency or freelancer still has users, a manager link, a partner share or billing on any account. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: each one is listed, with billing to move before anything is unlinked. - [ ] **1.4** Name the client's approver: the one person who signs off work and scope changes, and how fast they reply. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: the approver's name and reply time are in the SOW. - [ ] **1.5** Write the scope with exclusions, revision rounds and how extra requests are priced. Owner: Account lead. Target: Proposal. Done when: the SOW lists what is included, what is not, and the price of extras. - [ ] **1.6** Add the ownership and exit clause: the client owns accounts and payment methods, the agency gets named access, and removal is confirmed in writing within a set number of days of the end. Owner: Account lead. Target: Proposal. Done when: the clause is in the signed SOW. - [ ] **1.7** Agree the reporting cadence and format that sales promised, in writing. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: cadence, format and reader are in the SOW. - [ ] **1.8** If you will process personal data of EU or UK residents for the client, agree a data processing agreement with the contract (ask your lawyer). Owner: Account lead. Target: Proposal. Done when: signed, or recorded as not needed. - [ ] **1.9** Write down what sales promised: outcomes, dates and people, so delivery inherits it. Owner: Sales. Target: Proposal. Done when: the promises are in the client record before day 0. ## 2. Day 0 (Signature day) **Phase is done when:** the client holds one email with every request and three dates: intake due, kickoff, first report. - [ ] **2.1** File the countersigned contract and SOW where the whole delivery team can read them. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: filed and linked from the client record. - [ ] **2.2** Issue (or record) the first invoice with its due date. Owner: Finance. Target: Day 0. Done when: the invoice number and due date are logged. - [ ] **2.3** Name the account lead, the specialists and a backup for each. Owner: Agency owner. Target: Day 0. Done when: names are in the client record. - [ ] **2.4** Create the client record: company, contacts, approver, scope, fee, start date, pre-filled from sales. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: one record exists; nothing lives only in an inbox. - [ ] **2.5** Send the welcome email within 24 hours: who is on the team, how to reach them, and the three dates (intake due, kickoff, first report). Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: sent, with the three dates in the first paragraph. - [ ] **2.6** Put the access request in the same message: every platform, the role, the asset IDs, and your own IDs (manager account, business portfolio, Business Center). Use the template in the platform access matrix. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: every platform on the list has a line in the request. - [ ] **2.7** Send the intake questionnaire, pre-filled with what sales learned, due by working day 3. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: sent, with a due date. - [ ] **2.8** Book the kickoff within five working days, with the approver invited. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: the approver has accepted the invite. - [ ] **2.9** Agree the channel for questions (email or a Slack Connect channel the client creates) and a client-owned shared drive for files. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: both exist and the team is in them. - [ ] **2.10** Open the access log: one row per platform with the dates asked, granted and verified. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 0. Done when: the log lists every platform with its 'asked' date. ## 3. Week 1 (Working days 1 to 5) **Phase is done when:** every line of the access log reads 'verified', with date, role and who granted it. - [ ] **3.1** Verify each grant: a named person signs in, sees the data at the role asked for, and logs the date and the granter. Owner: Specialists. Target: Days 1 to 5. Done when: each row of the access log reads 'verified'. - [ ] **3.2** Chase gaps on day 3, naming the platform, the role and the client person who can grant it. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 3. Done when: one chase message lists every gap. - [ ] **3.3** Stall rule on day 5: any platform without working access goes to the client's sponsor with an offer of a short screen share to grant it together. If it is still missing on working day 10, move the start and first-report dates in writing. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 5. Done when: sent, or not needed. - [ ] **3.4** Remove or schedule the removal of a previous agency's access, moving billing first. Owner: Client admin. Target: Days 1 to 5. Done when: no old agency link, partner or payer remains, or a date is set. - [ ] **3.5** Mark each intake answer complete, partial or missing; partial and missing answers become kickoff agenda items. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 3 to 4. Done when: the kickoff agenda lists every gap. - [ ] **3.6** Collect brand assets into the client-owned shared drive: logo files, brand guide, fonts, product images, past creative, approved claims. Owner: Account lead. Target: Days 1 to 5. Done when: files are in the client's drive, not in a personal one. - [ ] **3.7** Tracking audit: tags fire on the key pages; GA4 key events match the client's own counts (CRM or store) for the same week; ad-platform conversions map to those events; the consent banner sends what Google needs for EEA traffic. Owner: Specialists. Target: Days 2 to 5. Done when: each check is marked pass, fail or not applicable, with a note. - [ ] **3.8** Baseline snapshot: export the last 90 days (12 months for a seasonal business) from every account before the first change. Owner: Specialists. Target: Before any change. Done when: the exports are in the client's drive and linked from the record. - [ ] **3.9** Turn on two-step verification for every agency person on every platform that offers it. Owner: Specialists. Target: Days 1 to 5. Done when: done for every named user. - [ ] **3.10** Send the kickoff pre-read 24 hours before: scope summary, intake gaps, proposed targets, access status. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day before kickoff. Done when: sent to everyone invited. ## 4. Kickoff (By working day 5) **Phase is done when:** the approver has confirmed goals, targets and cadence in the recap email. - [ ] **4.1** Run the 60-minute kickoff agenda (kickoff-agenda.md). Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff. Done when: held, with the approver present. - [ ] **4.2** The approver confirms the goals, the targets and the one number the work is judged on. Owner: Client approver. Target: Kickoff. Done when: written in the recap. - [ ] **4.3** Read back scope, exclusions and how extra requests are handled. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff. Done when: no objection, or the SOW is corrected. - [ ] **4.4** Resolve each intake gap, or give it an owner and a date. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff. Done when: no gap is left without an owner. - [ ] **4.5** Agree reporting cadence, format, channel and response times on both sides. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff. Done when: written in the recap. - [ ] **4.6** Choose the first win: one visible change to ship before day 30. Owner: Specialists. Target: Kickoff. Done when: named in the recap with a date. - [ ] **4.7** Read the access log aloud, platform by platform. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff. Done when: every open grant has a client owner and a date. - [ ] **4.8** Send the recap within 24 hours; ask the approver to reply to confirm. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff + 1 day. Done when: the approver has replied. - [ ] **4.9** Update the client record with every confirmed answer; mark the old form and notes as superseded. Owner: Account lead. Target: Kickoff + 1 day. Done when: one current answer per field. ## 5. First 30 days (Days 6 to 30) **Phase is done when:** the client has seen a baseline, one shipped change and a review against the goals. - [ ] **5.1** Send the baseline report by day 10 to 15: where each target stands today, from the snapshot. Owner: Specialists. Target: Days 10 to 15. Done when: sent and acknowledged. - [ ] **5.2** Share the plan for months one to three. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 10 to 15. Done when: sent with the baseline. - [ ] **5.3** Ship the first win and show it to the client with before and after. Owner: Specialists. Target: Before day 30. Done when: shown in a check-in or a note. - [ ] **5.4** Hold a weekly check-in (15 to 30 minutes, or a written note) on the agreed channel. Owner: Account lead. Target: Weekly. Done when: four check-ins or notes by day 30. - [ ] **5.5** Log every client request and check it against scope; price extras before the work starts. Owner: Account lead. Target: Ongoing. Done when: no unlogged request; no unpriced extra. - [ ] **5.6** Keep the client record current when the approver, targets or budget change. Owner: Account lead. Target: Ongoing. Done when: the record matches what the client said last. - [ ] **5.7** Hold the 30-day review with the approver: goals against baseline, what shipped, what is blocked and on whom, scope used, cadence check. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 30. Done when: notes sent within 24 hours. - [ ] **5.8** Run an internal retro: time to verified access per platform, time to first win, questions asked twice. Owner: Account lead. Target: Day 30. Done when: three numbers logged; one change to the checklist agreed. ## 6. Offboarding (Written now, run at exit) **Phase is done when:** the client confirms the removal list in writing. - [ ] **6.1** Billing first: no account is paid by your card, payments profile, manager account or invoice; move billing to the client before any unlink. Owner: Finance. Target: Exit day. Done when: every payer is the client. - [ ] **6.2** The client holds the top role on every account, ideally two people; you are not the only verified owner in Search Console or a Business Profile's primary owner. Owner: Client admin. Target: Exit day. Done when: checked platform by platform. - [ ] **6.3** Data keeps flowing: Looker Studio data sources on a client login, reports you own transferred, files moved into the client's shared drive. Owner: Specialists. Target: Exit day. Done when: dashboards the client uses still load. - [ ] **6.4** Remove links and partner shares: Google Ads manager link, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn partners, and any other partner route. Owner: Client admin. Target: Exit day. Done when: none left. - [ ] **6.5** Remove named users and cancel pending invitations on every other platform. Owner: Client admin. Target: Exit day. Done when: none left. - [ ] **6.6** Hand back tags and keys: a client Administrator on Tag Manager; your verification tokens, API keys and connected apps removed. Owner: Specialists. Target: Exit day. Done when: done or recorded as not applicable. - [ ] **6.7** Phone numbers and domains: call-tracking numbers and domains in the client's name, or moved as agreed. Owner: Account lead. Target: Exit day. Done when: done or not applicable. - [ ] **6.8** Close shared channels: Slack Connect channels disconnected or archived by the client. Owner: Client admin. Target: Exit day. Done when: done or not applicable. - [ ] **6.9** Agency tools: client projects in your own tools unshared, and every export the contract promises sent. Owner: Account lead. Target: Exit day. Done when: exports sent. - [ ] **6.10** Send the completed list; the client replies to confirm. Close the client record with the date. Owner: Account lead. Target: Exit day. Done when: written confirmation on file. ## The access log (copy one per client) | Platform | Asset and ID | Role asked | Client person who grants | Asked | Granted | Verified by and date | Removed at exit | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Google Ads | | | | | | | | | Meta (ad account, dataset) | | | | | | | | | Meta (Page, Instagram) | | | | | | | | | Google Analytics 4 | | | | | | | | | Google Tag Manager | | | | | | | | | Search Console | | | | | | | | | Google Business Profile | | | | | | | | | [other] | | | | | | | | ## Notes - This checklist is general guidance for agencies, not legal advice. Have a lawyer check any contract clause, including the ownership and exit clause and any data processing agreement. - Platform menus and role names change often. Follow the label on screen, and re-check the access matrix each quarter.