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Free agency template

A practical client onboarding checklist for agency delivery

Use this checklist to structure a new-client handoff before your team begins delivery. It is intentionally service-based: customize the requests for the work sold, make ownership clear, and turn every missing input into a visible readiness item rather than an email follow-up.

Go to the working template

The complete template is available below. No signup or email is needed.

Before you begin

Use the document as a working handoff

  1. Duplicate or print one copy for each new client service.

  2. Assign every incomplete item to the client or agency with a due date.

  3. Review the final section with the delivery lead before work begins.

Printable working document

Complete each section with the people who own the answer

Mark completed items, write the missing details beside each prompt, and record an owner and date for anything that remains open.

MarketingLokam resource

Client onboarding readiness checklist

Client
Service or project
Prepared by
Date

Service selection

Mark each service included in the signed scope and add the accountable delivery lead.

  • SEO or content marketing
  • Paid media or advertising
  • Creative, brand, or social media
  • Website design or development
  • Other service, scope boundary, and delivery lead

Business information

Record the client context the account and delivery teams need to work from the same facts.

  • Legal and trading name, address, and website domain
  • Primary contact, billing contact, and preferred communication channel
  • Products, services, markets, locations, and customer segments
  • Relevant business constraints, regulated topics, or seasonal periods

Brand assets

Confirm that the agency has current, usable versions rather than links to an unknown folder.

  • Logo files in the formats required for delivery
  • Brand guidelines, fonts, colours, and image library
  • Approved product descriptions, biographies, and boilerplate copy
  • Usage rights, licensing limits, and expiry dates where relevant

Website

Capture the current website state and the technical owners who can support delivery.

  • Primary domain, staging domain, and content management system
  • Hosting, domain, analytics, and development contacts
  • Known releases, migrations, tracking changes, or site constraints
  • Backup or rollback responsibility for planned website work

Access

List only the platforms needed for the selected service and use the client's approved access method.

  • Required platform and account name
  • Permission level and person granting access
  • Access received, tested, and recorded as working
  • Missing access owner and follow-up date

Goals

Translate the sold outcome into a delivery reference without inventing a guaranteed result.

  • Primary business goal and the client reason for starting now
  • Baseline information supplied by the client
  • Measures the client plans to review and the source of each measure
  • Scope exclusions, assumptions, and external dependencies

Approval contact

Name the people who review work and the one person who can make the final decision.

  • Day-to-day reviewer and contact details
  • Final decision owner and backup contact
  • Expected response window and unavailable dates
  • Required legal, compliance, brand, or leadership review

Readiness classification

Give every prerequisite one honest status so the delivery lead can see what controls the start date.

  • Ready: received, checked, and usable
  • Waiting on client: owner and due date recorded
  • Waiting on agency: owner and next action recorded
  • Not applicable: reason documented for this service

Agency setup actions

Turn the approved scope and collected inputs into the internal system the team will operate.

  • Create the client workspace, service, project, and delivery cadence
  • Assign account, strategy, production, and specialist owners
  • Translate scope into milestones, tasks, requests, and approval gates
  • Attach source files and handoff notes to the relevant work

Final review

Complete this review with the account owner and delivery lead before declaring the service ready.

  • Selected service and signed scope match the planned work
  • Blocking inputs have an owner, status, and next date
  • Delivery lead has reviewed goals, access, assets, and constraints
  • Kickoff decisions and first client actions are recorded
  • Readiness decision, reviewer names, and review date are complete

Using and adapting the resource

Frequently asked questions

Can this checklist work for different agency services?
Yes. Start with the shared categories, then add service-specific requests for SEO, paid media, creative, social, or web work.
Should clients complete every item at once?
Group requests into a clear sequence so clients understand which inputs are needed first and why.
How can I operationalize this checklist?
MarketingLokam can turn onboarding requests and blockers into a connected client delivery workflow.

Carry the completed template into delivery

Turn the working document into owned requests, tasks, and review decisions.

Start a MarketingLokam workspace when you are ready to connect the template to the client delivery path.