12 Client Onboarding Checklist Templates That Stop You From Losing New Clients

Losing a potential client because your intake process was too slow and clunky is a preventable—and expensive—mistake. The time between a client's "yes" and their signed retainer is where good leads go to die, buried under follow-up emails, phone tag, and scattered documents. A powerful client onboarding checklist template fixes this broken workflow, ensuring you look professional and get paid fast.

This isn't just about getting organized. It's about building a repeatable, automated system that makes your firm look sharp from the very first interaction. Remember, 67% of clients choose the first firm that responds professionally. A standardized process eliminates guesswork, prevents critical steps like conflict checks from being missed, and ensures every new client gets the same seamless experience. For a deeper dive into structuring your intake, our /blog/intake/complete-guide-law-firm-client-intake provides a robust framework.

This guide is a practical toolkit, not a theoretical overview. We've compiled 12 actionable templates from platforms like intake.link, HubSpot, and Asana, complete with screenshots and direct links. You'll find ready-to-use checklists for every stage, from initial intake and conflict checks to retainer signing and payment collection. We’ll show you exactly how to adapt and implement them to streamline your intake, get retainers signed faster, and automate the administrative work that's holding your firm back.

1. intake.link

Intake.link stands out by solving the core problem of a disjointed onboarding process. Instead of forcing prospects through separate steps for intake forms, e-signatures, and payments, it consolidates the entire sequence into a single, mobile-friendly link. This unified approach provides a superior client onboarding checklist template by turning it into an interactive, automated workflow that dramatically reduces the friction causing leads to drop off.

The platform is engineered to convert prospects into retained clients in minutes. You create tailored retainer agreements and intake forms, then send a unique link via SMS or email. Your potential client opens it, signs a legally binding agreement, submits their payment via Stripe, and completes their intake form in one seamless session. This efficiency is a game-changer for a small firm where every minute counts.

Why It Excels for Client Onboarding

What makes intake.link a top-tier choice is its laser focus on eliminating the administrative delays that cost you new business. The goal is to secure commitment while the client's intent is highest, moving them from prospect to paying client before they can call another firm.

Its power lies in a few key areas:

• True "One-Link" Workflow: By combining ESIGN-compliant e-signatures, PCI-compliant payments, and custom forms, you remove the common failure points where clients get confused or delayed.
• Built-in Automation: Completed intakes can instantly sync with your practice management software, trigger follow-up campaigns, and populate matter details without manual data entry.
• Professional Branding: The platform maintains your firm's brand identity with custom logos, colors, and a branded subdomain, ensuring a polished and trustworthy client experience from the very first interaction.

Pricing and Access

Intake.link offers a tiered pricing structure suitable for firms at different growth stages.

• Free Forever: Includes unlimited intakes, payment collection, and 5 e-signatures per month (25 if you connect Stripe). A 1% platform fee applies (with a $25 minimum).
• Pro Plan ($99/month): Adds the core one-link intake workflow, 50 e-signatures, webhooks, and lower platform fees (0.5% with a $5 minimum and $50 cap).
• Enterprise Plan (from $299/month): Delivers white-labeling, custom domains, SMS delivery, full CRM integrations, and the lowest fees (a flat $5 per transaction).

Note that standard Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30) are separate. While the platform fees on the free tier can be high for small retainers, the Pro and Enterprise plans offer significant value for firms handling a consistent volume of new clients. This structure makes it an accessible yet powerful tool for streamlining your client onboarding checklist template into a modern, revenue-generating system.

Visit intake.link

2. Smartsheet

If you prefer a traditional document you can download and print, Smartsheet offers an excellent, no-cost starting point. They provide a comprehensive client onboarding checklist template available for immediate download in both Microsoft Word and Google Docs formats. This makes it incredibly easy to get a structured checklist in your hands within seconds, without needing to create an account or sign up for a trial.

The best part about Smartsheet's template is its dual purpose. You can use the downloaded file as a standalone manual checklist forever. Alternatively, if your firm grows and needs more robust project management, you can import that same template directly into the Smartsheet platform. This provides a clear upgrade path from a simple document to a powerful, automated workflow with assignments and deadlines.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Law firms wanting a free, downloadable checklist now with the option to adopt a more advanced project management system later using the same framework.
• Format: Instantly downloadable Word (.docx) and Google Docs files.
• Cost: The templates themselves are genuinely free to download and use. Advanced automation features require a paid Smartsheet subscription.
• Limitation: While the template is a great start, it's still a manual document. You are responsible for every check-off, update, and notification. A static document cannot match the speed and accuracy of an automated system.

Website: Smartsheet Client Management Templates

3. HubSpot

For firms looking for more than a single checklist, HubSpot offers a comprehensive "Customer Onboarding Templates" bundle. This free pack, which requires your email to download, is designed for businesses that view onboarding as a complete client success workflow. It includes not just a client onboarding checklist template, but also an intake form, project timelines, call agendas, and a welcome packet template.

This resource is unique because of its scope. It covers both the internal tasks your team needs to complete and the client-facing documents required to create a professional first impression. While designed to complement the HubSpot CRM, the documents are fully adaptable to any office suite. This bundle treats onboarding not as a to-do list, but as a structured client relationship management strategy from day one, helping you set clear expectations and build trust immediately.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Law firms wanting a complete set of coordinated documents to manage both internal tasks and client-facing communication during the onboarding process.
• Format: A bundle of downloadable files (likely Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) gated behind an email submission form.
• Cost: The template bundle is free to download and use. Using HubSpot's CRM or other marketing tools involves paid subscriptions.
• Limitation: The templates are not legal-specific, so you will need to customize them significantly to fit law firm compliance, terminology, and workflow requirements. The process is also entirely manual, requiring you to update and manage multiple static documents for each new client.

Website: HubSpot Customer Onboarding Templates

4. ClickUp

If your law firm is already using a project management tool or is ready to move beyond static documents, ClickUp offers a powerful, native template designed for this exact purpose. Instead of a downloadable file, ClickUp provides a pre-built customer onboarding template that you can instantly add to your workspace. This transforms your client onboarding checklist from a passive list into an active, collaborative workflow.

The template’s strength lies in its built-in functionality. It comes with custom statuses like "Onboarding Call" and "Questionnaire Sent," alongside different views such as an intake form and a getting-started guide. This level of organization allows your team to track progress visually, assign tasks to specific staff members, and set automated reminders to ensure no client falls through the cracks. It's an ideal system for firms aiming to standardize their entire client intake process.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Firms that want a dynamic, all-in-one project management solution for client onboarding, especially those already using or considering ClickUp for other operational tasks.
• Format: A native, interactive template within the ClickUp platform. It is not a downloadable file for external use.
• Cost: The template works on ClickUp’s free-forever plan. Access to more advanced automations and features requires a paid subscription.
• Limitation: This solution locks you into the ClickUp ecosystem. Exporting your checklist to a static document is clunky and limited. To truly leverage its power, your entire team needs to adopt and actively use the platform.

Website: ClickUp Customer Onboarding Template

5. Asana

For firms ready to move beyond static documents into a dynamic project management environment, Asana provides a powerful client onboarding checklist template. Instead of just a list, Asana turns your onboarding process into a collaborative project with clear timelines, ownership, and automated steps. This is ideal for teams that need to coordinate kickoff calls, document collection, and follow-ups across multiple staff members.

What makes Asana stand out is its ability to scale. You can start with their pre-built template and customize it with your firm's specific steps. As you grow, you can leverage features like Rules to automate recurring tasks, such as assigning a welcome email task to a paralegal once a client is moved to the "Retainer Signed" stage. Its integrations with tools like Salesforce and Gmail also help centralize communication and client data.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Firms with multiple team members involved in onboarding who need strong visibility into task ownership, deadlines, and overall project status.
• Format: A customizable project template within the Asana web and mobile platform.
• Cost: The template is usable on Asana's free "Basic" plan. Advanced features like Timeline view, Rules, and most integrations require a paid subscription.
• Limitation: The system requires an Asana account for everyone involved, and its strength is in internal task management, not client-facing interactions like form completion or payments. You will need to use it alongside other tools to manage the full client journey from first contact to signed retainer.

Website: Asana Client Onboarding Process Template

6. monday.com

For firms that thrive on visual project management, monday.com offers a powerful and highly customizable customer onboarding template. This isn't a static document; it's a dynamic, collaborative board designed to manage the entire client journey from kickoff to final handoff. It’s built to track progress visually, manage timelines, and centralize all client-related communication and files in one place.

What sets monday.com apart is its focus on workflow and team collaboration. The pre-built template comes with columns for each stage of onboarding, allowing you to track time, monitor progress, and assign tasks to team members. Each new client gets a duplicated board, ensuring a consistent process every time while keeping individual client details separate and organized. This approach is ideal for managing the handoff from your intake team to the assigned attorney or paralegal.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Law firms that need a collaborative, visual system to manage multiple client onboardings simultaneously and want to integrate the process with broader firm project management.
• Format: Interactive, cloud-based project board.
• Cost: The template requires a monday.com account. While a free plan exists, most business features needed to fully leverage this client onboarding checklist template are on paid tiers.
• Limitation: The platform's extensive customization can present a learning curve. Setting up the board perfectly for your firm’s specific workflow requires an initial time investment. It is also a project management tool first, not a dedicated legal intake solution, so it lacks native e-signature or payment collection features.

Website: monday.com Customer Onboarding Template

7. Teamwork

For firms that manage client onboarding as a multi-step project with various team members, Teamwork provides a robust, collaborative platform. Their client onboarding template isn't just a static list; it's a dynamic project framework designed to take a new client from a signed agreement to being fully integrated into your firm’s systems. It excels at centralizing communication, files, and critical notes in one shared space.

What makes Teamwork stand out is its emphasis on project visibility and clear role assignment. You can assign specific tasks like "Send Welcome Packet" to your paralegal and "Schedule Initial Strategy Call" to an associate attorney, each with its own deadline. This transforms the onboarding checklist from a passive document into an active management tool, ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities and nothing falls through the cracks. It's a powerful way to standardize your firm's onboarding process.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Law firms with 2+ staff members who need to collaborate on client onboarding and want a single source of truth for tasks, files, and deadlines.
• Format: A pre-built project template within the Teamwork software platform.
• Cost: The template is free to use, but requires a paid Teamwork subscription after the initial 30-day free trial.
• Limitation: This system is most effective for teams already committed to or willing to adopt the Teamwork ecosystem for project management. For a solo attorney simply needing a printable list, the platform might feel like overkill and introduce unnecessary complexity.

Website: Teamwork Client Onboarding Checklist

8. Formstack

If your firm's process relies on structured data collection, Formstack offers a compelling client onboarding checklist template built around its powerful form builder. Instead of a static document, you create an interactive, web-based checklist that guides your team through each step. This approach is excellent for ensuring no detail is missed during the critical initial phases of client engagement.

What sets Formstack apart is its integration with its own suite of products like Docs, Sign, and Workflows. You can trigger automated actions directly from the checklist, such as generating a retainer agreement in Docs or sending it for signature with Sign. This creates a cohesive, end-to-end onboarding system that moves beyond a simple checklist into a fully automated workflow, reducing manual data entry and potential errors.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Firms that want to build a highly structured, data-driven onboarding process and automate subsequent steps like document generation and e-signatures within a single ecosystem.
• Format: Web-based, customizable forms.
• Cost: Requires a paid subscription after a 14-day free trial. Plans vary based on features and user count.
• Limitation: The platform is inherently form-centric rather than a dedicated project management tool. While excellent for data capture and routing, it may feel less intuitive for complex, multi-person task management compared to specialized project software.

Website: Formstack Client Onboarding Checklist

9. Dock

If your firm wants to elevate the client onboarding experience beyond a simple checklist, Dock offers a modern, client-facing workspace. Instead of a static document, you create a shared, personalized hub where clients can track milestones, access key documents, and see exactly what's next. This collaborative approach turns your client onboarding checklist template into an interactive guide, reducing confusion and the endless email back-and-forth.

What makes Dock unique is its focus on the client's perspective. You build reusable templates that function like a mini-portal for each new client, providing a central, professional space for all onboarding activities. This is a significant step up from emailing Word documents, as it gives clients clarity and confidence from day one, reinforcing your firm’s professionalism and organization.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Modern law firms that want to provide a high-touch, guided onboarding experience and centralize communication outside of email.
• Format: Web-based collaborative workspace that can be shared via a link.
• Cost: A free plan is available that includes up to five active client workspaces. Paid plans offer unlimited workspaces and advanced features like analytics.
• Limitation: The platform is less of a traditional, internal-facing checklist and more of a shared project space. This client-centric model may require a shift in your internal workflow if your team is accustomed to spreadsheet-style task management. The free tier's limit of five workspaces means growing firms will need to upgrade.

Website: Dock Customer Onboarding Templates

10. Craft

If your firm values clean design and a minimalist, document-style interface, Craft offers an elegant client onboarding checklist template. It functions like a sophisticated digital document, allowing you to plan every task from the initial client contact through final account setup in a simple, aesthetically pleasing format that’s easy to duplicate for every new matter.

Craft’s strength lies in its simplicity and shareability. It’s not a full-blown project management system, but rather a beautiful, focused tool for creating and sharing structured documents. This makes it perfect for solo attorneys or small teams who need a straightforward checklist that can be shared with team members or even the client to provide transparency on the onboarding process. The clean interface removes distractions, helping you focus on completing the essential steps.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Solo attorneys and small firms who prioritize a clean, minimalist design and need a simple, shareable document-style checklist over a complex project management tool.
• Format: A web-based, duplicatable document template accessible within the Craft platform.
• Cost: Craft has a free plan that includes the ability to use templates. Paid plans offer more advanced features and collaboration options.
• Limitation: It's a self-contained ecosystem. Exporting the checklist to other formats might require extra steps, and it lacks the advanced automation, integrations, and robust task management features found in dedicated project management software. You'll still be responsible for manual updates and follow-ups.

Website: Craft Client Onboarding Checklist Template

11. Notion

For law firms that value ultimate flexibility and want a single hub for tasks, documents, and client data, Notion is a powerful contender. Its template marketplace is filled with community-created client onboarding checklist templates, many of which are free. These templates transform a static checklist into a dynamic, database-driven system right within your Notion workspace.

What makes Notion unique is its building-block approach. You can start with a basic checklist template and then endlessly customize it with different properties like due dates, assigned staff, and priority levels. You can also switch between views, turning your checklist into a Kanban board to visually track progress or a calendar to see key deadlines. This adaptability allows you to centralize client documents, communications, and onboarding tasks in one interconnected place.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Tech-savvy solo attorneys or small firms who want a highly customizable, all-in-one workspace and are comfortable with a slight learning curve.
• Format: Digital, interactive templates used within the Notion platform.
• Cost: Many community templates are free. A Notion account is required, which has a free personal plan and paid team plans starting around $8 per user/month.
• Limitation: The quality and thoroughness of community-made templates can vary significantly. You will likely need to invest time upfront to customize a template to fit your firm’s specific workflow, and it lacks the dedicated, automated legal-specific features of a purpose-built tool.

Website: Notion Client Onboarding Templates

12. Miro

If your law firm's onboarding process involves multiple team members or distinct phases, a visual approach can clarify who does what and when. Miro delivers this with its collaborative whiteboard-style Onboarding Checklist template, moving beyond simple lists to create a dynamic, shared workspace. This is less about a printable document and more about a live, collaborative map of the client's journey into your firm.

Miro's strength lies in its visualization. You can map out stages, assign ownership of specific cards to different team members (like a paralegal for document collection and an attorney for the welcome call), and see the entire workflow at a glance. For firms that need cross-departmental coordination, this visual client onboarding checklist template offers a level of clarity that traditional documents can't match. Each client's board can be quickly duplicated from the master template, ensuring a consistent process every time.

Key Details & Use Case

• Best For: Firms that need to coordinate onboarding across multiple staff members (intake specialist, paralegal, attorney) and prefer a visual, high-level overview of the entire process.
• Format: Interactive digital whiteboard template that can be copied and customized for each new client.
• Cost: The template is free to use on Miro's free plan, which has limits on the number of editable boards. Paid tiers are required for larger teams and more advanced features.
• Limitation: It is less structured for granular, compliance-heavy task tracking compared to dedicated project management tools. Its open-ended nature might be overwhelming for firms seeking a rigid, list-based checklist.

Website: Miro Onboarding Checklist Template

Client Onboarding Checklist: 12-Tool Comparison

Product	Core features / characteristics	UX / Quality (★)	Value & Pricing (💰)	Target audience (👥)	Unique selling points (✨)
🏆 intake.link	One-link flow: DocuSeal e-sign, Stripe payments, custom intake forms, CRM & webhook sync	★★★★★ (mobile-first, <10min)	💰 Free tier; Pro $99/mo; Enterprise $299+/mo (platform + Stripe fees)	👥 Solo → mid-size law firms, intake coordinators	✨ Single branded URL, instant CRM sync, SMS delivery, staff-only fields
Smartsheet	Downloadable Word/Google onboarding checklists; optional import to Smartsheet	★★★☆☆ (clear, doc-based)	💰 Free downloads; paid Smartsheet for automations	👥 Services teams, firms preferring docs	✨ Ready-to-download structured templates
HubSpot	Multi-file bundle: intake form, checklist, timelines, welcome packet	★★★★☆ (comprehensive bundle)	💰 Free with email gate; integrates with HubSpot CRM	👥 Agencies, CS teams, CRM users	✨ Internal + client-facing templates aligned to CRM
ClickUp	Native list template with forms, statuses, automations & dashboards	★★★★☆ (interactive, multiple views)	💰 Free tier; paid for advanced automations	👥 Teams using ClickUp, PM-focused teams	✨ Built-in automations, multiple views & dashboards
Asana	Forms, timeline/Gantt, rules/automations, integrations	★★★★☆ (strong visibility & planning)	💰 Free with account; paid for advanced features	👥 Agencies, customer success teams	✨ Timeline/Gantt + rules for repeatable onboarding
monday.com	Visual boards, time/progress tracking, centralized communication	★★★★☆ (very visual & customizable)	💰 Requires account; paid plans for business use	👥 Sales-to-CS handoffs, implementation teams	✨ Visual boards with time tracking & automations
Teamwork	Shared project templates with tasks, owners and timelines	★★★☆☆ (project-centric visibility)	💰 Trial then subscription	👥 Agencies & services teams	✨ Centralized assets, clear role assignments
Formstack	Drag-and-drop form builder, automations, integrates with Docs/Sign	★★★☆☆ (form-first, structured)	💰 14-day trial then subscription	👥 Teams needing structured intake/forms	✨ End-to-end form + sign + workflow automation
Dock	Client-facing workspace with milestones, reusable templates	★★★☆☆ (presentation-friendly)	💰 Free tier (limits); paid for more workspaces	👥 Small teams wanting client-facing onboarding	✨ Collaborative, presentation-style client workspace
Craft	Clean doc-style checklist, easy duplication & sharing	★★★☆☆ (simple, minimal UI)	💰 Free/paid tiers; requires Craft account	👥 Solo consultants & small teams	✨ Lightweight document-first checklist
Notion	Database-style checklists with custom properties and views	★★★★☆ (highly customizable)	💰 Many free community templates; paid for teams	👥 Teams valuing docs + tasks in one place	✨ Flexible DB views, reusable per-client pages
Miro	Visual boards/cards with tags, ownership & real-time collaboration	★★★☆☆ (visual & collaborative)	💰 Free tier; best value on paid plans	👥 Cross-functional teams & visual planners	✨ Real-time visual mapping of onboarding stages

From Checklist to Automated System: Your Next Step

A robust client onboarding checklist template is the foundation of an efficient law firm. It ensures nothing slips through the cracks, from conflict checks to fee agreements. But a static checklist, whether in a spreadsheet or a document, is still a manual tool. It relies on you or your staff to physically check boxes, send separate emails, and chase down information. This is where the real bottleneck occurs, creating delays that cost you clients.

The true goal isn't just to have a checklist; it's to transform that checklist into an automated, self-driving system. We’ve explored a dozen tools, from project management giants like Asana and ClickUp to flexible platforms like Notion and Smartsheet. Each offers a way to digitize your process, but they often solve only one piece of the puzzle. You might track tasks in one app, send forms with another, and chase signatures with a third. This creates a fragmented experience for both your firm and your potential new client.

Moving From Manual Steps to Automated Wins

The critical shift in thinking is moving from tracking onboarding to automating it. A checklist tells you to send the retainer. An automated system sends it for you, reminds the client, and notifies you the moment it’s signed. This isn't just a minor convenience; it's a fundamental operational upgrade that directly impacts your bottom line.

Remember, attorneys spend nearly half their time on non-billable administrative tasks. Manual client onboarding is a primary contributor to that lost time. Every moment spent copying and pasting data, generating documents, or following up on unsigned agreements is a moment you aren't working on a case or bringing in new business.

Choosing the Right Tool for Your Firm's Bottleneck

So, how do you choose? Your decision should hinge on one question: where is the biggest point of friction in your current process?

• If your primary challenge is internal task management, tools like ClickUp, monday.com, or Asana are excellent for organizing your team’s workflow after a client has already signed on. They bring clarity to who is responsible for what.
• If you need a central knowledge base and flexible documentation, platforms like Notion or Craft allow you to build beautiful, customized client portals and internal wikis, turning your checklists into dynamic resources.
• If your biggest problem is the gap between initial contact and a signed retainer, then you need a specialized intake and conversion tool. This is where generic project managers fall short. They don’t combine forms, signatures, and payments into a single, seamless step.

The most significant leverage for a small firm comes from closing that initial gap. That’s where you stop losing leads to faster competitors. For firms focused on growth, a system like intake.link is designed specifically to solve this problem by unifying the most critical conversion steps. To further enhance your efficiency, explore these valuable workflow automation tips.

Ultimately, your client onboarding checklist template is more than a to-do list; it’s a blueprint for your client’s first impression. By embedding it into an automated system, you transform it from a guide into a powerful engine for growth, consistency, and client satisfaction. You deliver a professional, modern experience that proves you’re the right choice before the legal work even begins.

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See how intake.link consolidates your entire intake process. It combines your intake form, retainer agreement, and payment request into a single link you can text or email. Stop chasing paperwork and get signatures and payment before a potential client has time to call another firm.