A new client just said yes to your coaching package, and you’re over the moon.
Now, how can you make sure your client has a positive experience throughout their entire coaching journey with you?
One of the most important steps in coaching your clients is the onboarding process. This sets the tone for the entire relationship, and it can make or break your coaching business.
That’s why every coach should have a client onboarding checklist to simplify this process. But what needs to be included on this checklist? Where do you even start?
Right here. Keep reading for a client onboarding checklist template you can customize for your own business, plus what to include at each step and which tools can run most of it for you.
What Is Client Onboarding?
Client onboarding is a set of processes every coach should follow when welcoming new coaching clients into their practice.
For example, how do you collect their information? What happens right after they’ve signed your coaching contract? Who handles the booking of sessions?
A client onboarding checklist, on the other hand, is a documented version of that process. It outlines each step that should happen in the right order.
In practice, client onboarding is everything that happens between a client saying yes and the end of their first session: the contract, the payment, the intake form, the welcome email, portal access and the first booking.
Pro tip: Use Paperbell to automate the admin steps of your onboarding process. Set it up once, and it runs for every client who buys a package.
Your checklist takes on the responsibility of remembering each step, so you don’t have to spend any mental energy doing so.
New Client Onboarding Checklist Template
Want a TL;DR version of your coaching client onboarding checklist?
Here’s a template you can use for every new client. It works just as well on one coaching platform as it does on a handful of separate apps:
- Contract and payment process
- Send proposal or coaching package landing page
- Send payment link
- Send contract
- Countersign the contract if your process requires it
- Share intake survey
- Send digital resources and the welcome email (if applicable)
- Share the link to the client portal (if applicable)
- Share tech logistics
- Slack
- Voxer
- Zoom link
- Other (if applicable)
- Share tech logistics
- Book the first coaching session
- Share your coaching process on the call
- Ask for a testimonial
- Ask for a referral
What to Include in Your Client Onboarding Checklist
Don’t know where to start with your onboarding checklist? A client onboarding checklist for coaches has seven steps: contract and payment, intake survey, welcome email and digital resources, portal access, first booking, setting expectations, and a testimonial or referral ask. Here’s how each one works!
1. Contract and payment process
The first step in any client onboarding process should be the proposal, contract, and payment. It’s best to complete all of these in a single step when possible!
If you close your clients directly on a discovery call, you won’t need to send them a proposal. But if you don’t, you’ll need to share at least some information and benefits about your coaching program.
With Paperbell, the signing happens inside the checkout.
For example, let’s say you discussed your Amazing Monthly Coaching Package on a discovery call with a potential client. Once the call is complete, you can send them an email with a link to that package’s landing page.
The landing page can contain all of the necessary information your prospect needs to know to make a decision, exactly like a proposal! But instead of recreating the proposal from scratch every time, you can reuse the same landing page.
When a prospect buys a package, they pay you upfront through Stripe or PayPal, whichever one you’ve connected. (Still deciding how to get paid? Our guide to taking payments as a coach walks through the options.)
If you’ve attached a coaching contract to the package, signing it is part of that same checkout. Your client signs before the purchase goes through, and the first session is booked as a part of the checkout flow, so you aren’t left chasing signatures afterwards.
2. Share the coaching intake survey
No matter your coaching niche, it always helps to know as much as possible about your clients before you begin coaching them.
That’s where a client intake form comes in handy.
Keep in mind that you should have two separate forms for your free discovery sessions and your paid coaching programs. Some coaches prefer to have no intake forms at all for free sessions!
Intake forms for discovery sessions should be used to qualify potential clients and help you ask the right questions on the call. On the other hand, your intake survey will give you everything you need to tailor the entire coaching process for each client.
By sending your clients an onboarding questionnaire, you’ll save valuable time on the first coaching session. You can prepare yourself using the info your clients provide on that form, which can help you make the session much more transformative.
Without a coaching intake survey, you’ll likely need to dedicate the entire first session to asking those questions.
Guess what? You don’t need a separate survey builder if you’re already using Paperbell for Step one. Instead, you can build your forms inside Paperbell and attach a different survey to each coaching package.
You can also decide exactly when your client should receive your survey. For an onboarding survey, you can choose the Purchase Trigger and set it to send Immediately:
However, you can also send one several days later if you wish.
3. Send digital resources
Your welcome email is the one message that ties the first half of this checklist together. Send it the same day your client buys if you can, and put everything they need in that single email instead of spreading it over three.
Here’s what goes in it:
- A link to your intake survey, or a line saying it’s on its way if your tool sends it separately
- How to get your digital resources (more on that below)
- The link to your client portal, plus your walkthrough video if you’ve recorded one (see step 4)
- Your logistics: the Zoom link, and if you offer Voxer coaching, the days and times you reply
- How to book the first session, or what happens next if you book it for them
Paperbell users can write it once as an automated email with the Purchase trigger on each package. It then goes out the moment someone buys.
If your coaching package includes digital products, the welcome email is where you hand them over. You don’t have to include the files directly in your email, but you should provide instructions for how they can access the files.
For instance, you can share a download link directly in your email. Or you can let them know they’ll receive a separate email that grants them access.
If clients unlock your digital products only later in the coaching process, let them know what to expect. This can avoid frustration and confusion for both of you!
4. Provide access to the client portal
Don’t forget to share the link to your client portal if you offer one. One is included with your subscription to Paperbell. You can include this in your welcome email along with the intake survey and digital resources.
In Paperbell’s client portal, your client can see their upcoming appointments, book or change sessions, fill in their surveys, download their signed contract and open any files you’ve shared with them. They log in with a single-use code sent to their email address.
Even better, host your digital resources in your client portal if possible. That gives your client one place to find everything they need relating to your coaching services. In Paperbell, you add the files to the package once, and every client who buys it finds them in their portal. Most file types work, apart from zip files and videos, so share a video as a link instead.
To make it even easier for your coaching clients to make use of your client portal, you can record yourself giving a walkthrough of every feature. Don’t say anyone’s name in the recording, and you can reuse the same video for every client!
Use a tool like Loom to record yourself quickly. Alternatively, you can record yourself in a solo Zoom meeting and use the replay. Then drop the link to the video in your welcome email or your portal.
In this step, you should also provide your client with access to the logistics they need to get your support.
For example, will you host coaching sessions on Zoom? If so, make sure they have easy access to your Zoom link. If you connect Zoom or Google Meet to Paperbell, it creates a unique meeting link for each appointment and puts it in the calendar invite, so that’s one thing you never have to send by hand.
Will you also provide Voxer coaching in between sessions? Remember to add them on Voxer and let them know which days and times you’ll be available to respond.
5. Book the first coaching session
When your client has completed their onboarding intake form, it’s time for them to book their first session with you.
It’s up to every coach to decide how their clients can book their sessions. But if you want to save yourself some time while also providing the best possible experience for your client, consider letting clients book themselves into your calendar.
Yes, letting clients book themselves can lead to a bunch of scheduling issues when it’s not handled properly. But you can proactively solve these issues by setting up your calendar with the schedule of your choice!
Don’t want to give coaching sessions on Fridays? Block it off.
Want to save Mondays for free discovery calls only? Remove your availability for other types of coaching sessions on those days.
Not every calendar booking tool lets you set up different availability for each appointment type. But Paperbell does 🙂 You can also connect your Google, Outlook or iCloud calendar, and events marked busy there block out your Paperbell availability.
You can even let your clients book themselves straight into your calendar as part of buying the package, without leaving their browser!
6. Share your coaching process to set expectations
During your first coaching session with your new client, you should dedicate a few minutes to going over your coaching process.
For instance, will you expect them to do homework in between sessions? If so, where can they submit their homework?
Your goal should be for your client to have realistic expectations of what it will be like to work with you over the period they’ve chosen.
Ask your client if they have any questions before you move on to the next part of the session. Collect all questions in your files and periodically check where you can improve your onboarding process to answer said questions proactively.
7. Ask for a testimonial and/or referral
Once you’ve completed a few sessions with your new client, you can send them an email asking for a testimonial.
The best time to do this will depend on your coaching program. Choose a time during which you expect clients to make breakthroughs or achieve their first transformations.
In addition to a testimonial, you can also ask for a referral. Just imagine: if every client sent you a referral, you’d have to spend much less time marketing your coaching business!
Worried you’ll forget to send that email? Paperbell has a Final Appointment trigger. It sends an automated email within 48 hours of a client’s last session in a package, and it comes with a testimonial request template you can edit.
What should I use to automate coaching client onboarding?
Automating client onboarding means one purchase sets off the contract, the payment, the intake survey, the welcome email and the first booking, with nothing sent by hand. If you sell coaching packages, a coaching platform like Paperbell has that whole flow built in. General client-management tools like Dubsado and HoneyBook give you the parts to design your own version, and a Calendly plus Zapier stack suits coaches who already own the separate pieces and want to connect them.
So, do you want the process ready-made, or would you like to build it yourself? Here are the four routes, with the catch for each one.
Paperbell
Paperbell is built around coaching packages, and onboarding is wired into each one. Every package gets its own landing page, which does the job of a proposal. When a client buys, they sign your contract inside the checkout, pay through Stripe or PayPal (you connect one or the other), and can book their first session before they leave the page.
Your intake survey can show up the moment the purchase goes through and your welcome email can go out automatically upon purchase. From there, the client portal holds their appointments, surveys, signed contract and files, and the Final Appointment email takes care of the testimonial ask at the end.
Best for: Solo coaches selling packages who want the checkout, contract, intake survey and first booking to run as one flow, without stitching apps together.
The catch: There are no invoices (clients buy through a package link) and no proposals, because it’s made for selling sessions and packages rather than general admin. Payment plans need Stripe. Each package carries one PDF contract that only the client signs, and automated emails are set up per package, not as one account-wide sequence.
Dubsado
Dubsado is client-management software for creative and service businesses, and it names coaches among its users. It covers proposals, contracts with e-signing, invoices and payment plans, questionnaires and forms, discovery call scheduling and a branded client portal. For onboarding, look at its automated workflows: map out your process once, and Dubsado runs it on its own.
Best for: Building a multi-step onboarding workflow from your own forms and emails, especially if proposals and invoices are part of how you work.
The catch: It’s a general client-management tool, so you start from building blocks and set up each workflow yourself. That setup time is what you pay for the flexibility.
HoneyBook
HoneyBook also serves service businesses in general, coaches included. Proposals, contracts, invoices and payments run as one flow, with a scheduler, questionnaires and a client portal alongside. Its automations can start when a contract is signed or a payment comes in, then send timed follow-ups with conditions and waits in between, which is what turns a sale into an onboarding sequence.
Best for: Coaching that always starts with a proposal. HoneyBook keeps the proposal, contract and invoice in one place.
The catch: It’s built for service businesses in general rather than coaching packages, so the coaching side is left to you. Automations also aren’t on every HoneyBook plan. Check which plan has them before you count on them.
A Calendly plus Zapier stack
Already paying for a scheduling tool, a form tool and a signing tool you like? Then connecting them may beat switching. Calendly handles the booking, with built-in payment tools and automated reminders and follow-ups, and Zapier connects it to more than 9,000 other apps. A new Calendly booking can trigger a Zap that sends a Gmail message or drops a file into Google Drive, for instance. (Paperbell has a Zapier integration too, if you ever want to pass booking data to another app.)
Best for: A stack you already own and like. You link the pieces up instead of moving everything into one new system.
The catch: Every link between the tools is one you build and maintain, and each step lives in a separate account, so there’s no single record of a client’s contract, payments and bookings. Calendly’s own feature page covers scheduling, payments and reminders, so you’d add a signing tool and a form tool on top.
| Tool | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Paperbell | Coaches selling packages who want contract, payment, intake survey and booking handled by one package | No invoices or proposals, one client-signed contract per package |
| Dubsado | Designing your own multi-step workflow, plus proposals and invoices | You build and maintain every workflow yourself |
| HoneyBook | Proposal, contract and invoice in one place | Coaching specifics are yours to set up, and automations aren’t on every plan |
| Calendly plus Zapier | Linking tools you already own | Separate accounts, no single client record, signing and forms added separately |
Want a closer look at the signing step on its own? Our roundup of e-signature tools for coaches compares the options.
For the ready-made route, set up a package in Paperbell, and one package covers the contract, payment, survey, welcome email and booking. Try Paperbell for free.
How Often Should You Update Your Client Onboarding Checklist?
In the beginning, you’ll have to create your first client onboarding checklist and set up all your automations. You can rely on this checklist for a long time.
However, there will come a time when you’ll need to update your client onboarding checklist.
There’s no specific timeframe coaches should rely on. If your onboarding checklist still works and helps you support your clients, don’t change it!
On the other hand, consider updating your checklist if you notice gaps in your process, or if your coaching program has changed significantly over time.
What are the Most Common Client Onboarding Mistakes?
Your client onboarding checklist will help you mitigate some common mistakes, including:
- Tech nightmare: Your client arrives late to their first coaching call with you because they can’t find the Zoom link. This is one of many tech issues that plague coaches and their clients. Make sure to share all important tech credentials and information during your onboarding process.
- Lack of communication: Your client signs your contract, pays your coaching fees, and then hears nothing but crickets. Make sure your clients feel well taken care of by communicating with them as soon as possible after they’ve booked a package with you.
- Not setting expectations: What’s next in the coaching process? When can clients communicate with you? Part of the role of onboarding a new client is to provide clear expectations. Not doing so can lead to confusion and disappointment.
Frequently Asked Questions About Client Onboarding
Which tool should I use to onboard new coaching clients?
Start with one question: how much of the process do you want pre-built? Dubsado and HoneyBook suit coaches who want to design their own workflow and also send proposals, and a Calendly plus Zapier stack works if you want to connect tools you already own. If you sell coaching packages and want the flow ready-made, Paperbell runs the contract, payment, intake survey, welcome email and first booking from one package, with the catch that it’s built for packages rather than invoices or proposals.
What should be in a coaching welcome email?
One message, sent the same day your client buys. Include a link to your intake survey (or a note that it’s coming separately), how to get your digital resources, the link to your client portal, your logistics such as the Zoom link and your Voxer reply hours, and how to book the first session. If you’ve recorded a portal walkthrough video, link that too.
How long should client onboarding take?
There’s no magic number, but the welcome email should go out the same day a client buys, and the contract, payment and intake survey should all be done before your first session. Onboarding wraps up at the end of that first session, once you’ve walked your client through how you work and what happens next.
Should clients sign the contract before the first session?
Yes. The contract needs to be signed before any paid session, ideally in the same step as the payment so nobody has to chase a signature afterwards. Your free discovery call is the exception, since you’re both still deciding whether to work together at that point.
Which onboarding steps should stay personal instead of automated?
Automate the admin: the contract, payment, intake survey and booking are the same for every client, so let your tools handle them. Keep the human parts human. Add a personal line to the welcome email, walk through your process live in the first session, and if you automate the testimonial ask, time it for when a client has had a real win rather than the day they sign up.
Nail the Client Onboarding Process
Do you feel more confident about onboarding your new clients? Once you nail this process, you’ll be able to warmly welcome every client and grow your business through referrals and social proof!
Paperbell handles the admin side of this checklist for you. Once a package is set up, every new client signs your contract, pays, fills in your survey, gets your welcome email and books their first session without you needing to send a thing. Try Paperbell for free.
