Client Onboarding Questionnaire Template

Download a client onboarding questionnaire template covering goals, scope, approvals, and dependencies, with a worked example and practical guidance.

An onboarding questionnaire should uncover what your team needs to deliver the agreed work. This version focuses on outcomes, approvals, and dependencies for a service engagement. It is an intake document, not a replacement for a contract or a regulated identity-checking process.

When to use it

Send it after the engagement is agreed and before kickoff. Remove questions already answered during sales, allow “unknown” where necessary, and resolve gaps together. Tell the client who will see their answers and where to send them using your existing approved process.

How to use it

  1. Pre-fill the agreed scope and milestone from your sales handoff. Ask the client to correct it rather than repeat the entire discovery call.
  2. Ask for one observable success criterion and one decision-maker. If several people approve work, agree who resolves conflicting feedback.
  3. List dependencies and deadlines that could change delivery. Ask for links to relevant assets, not copies of confidential records or login credentials.
  4. Review the answers before kickoff. Turn each unresolved item into a question with an owner, and confirm any scope change separately before proceeding.

The template

Download editable text
CLIENT ONBOARDING QUESTIONNAIRE
Project: [name]
Completed by: [name and role]

1. Outcome: What should be different when the agreed work is complete?
Answer: [observable result]
2. Success: How will we decide whether the first milestone is accepted?
Answer: [criterion and who confirms it]
3. Scope: Is our summary of deliverables and exclusions accurate?
Summary: [pre-fill from agreement]
Corrections or questions: [answer]
4. People: Who provides inputs, approves work, and resolves conflicting feedback?
Answer: [names / roles]
5. Timing: Are there fixed dates or dependencies we need to plan around?
Answer: [date, dependency, owner]
6. Assets: Which existing materials are relevant to the first milestone?
Answer: [approved links; do not include passwords or sensitive personal records]
7. Communication: Which channel and review cadence work for the project?
Answer: [channel, cadence, time zone]
8. Risks: What could prevent us from starting or completing the first milestone?
Answer: [risk, current status, proposed next step]

Questions to resolve at kickoff: [list]
Confirmed next action: [action, owner, date]

Worked example

Illustrative example: a customer-support consultant learns that the client wants a draft escalation guide, approved by the support lead, before a product launch. The operations manager owns access to the existing help-center documentation. The questionnaire exposes an upcoming absence, so the team agrees who can approve the draft while the support lead is away.

Common mistake

Avoid asking for passwords, payment details, or identity documents in a general-purpose intake form. If specialized compliance checks are necessary, keep them in the appropriate approved process rather than adding them to this template.

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