Client intake / onboarding 1-pager

• ~18 intake questions in clear sections
• One welcome/kickoff email (subject + body)
• Kickoff checklist + red-flag notes for you
• [Your trading name] placeholders — OpsKit Digital branding only

# Client Intake / Onboarding 1-Pager (free slice)

**OpsKit Digital** — screening questions for UK freelancers & sole traders  
*Not legal advice. Adapt to your trading terms; seek professional advice for contracts or disputes.*

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## When to use this

Send **after the client says yes and before kickoff** — the first week after agreement, not a discovery sales call and not a mid-project change order.

This is **not** Scope Guard (extra work mid-project), **not** Revision-Cap (round limits), **not** Rate-Raise (price updates), and **not** a full invoice/proposal pack.

Aim: one short form (or reply email) that locks goal, deliverables, out-of-scope, budget/timeline, assets, and how you communicate — so unpaid “quick clarifies” do not eat week one.

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## Welcome / kickoff email (send with the questions)

**Subject:** Welcome — intake questions before we start ([project short name])

> Hi [Name],  
>  
> Thanks again for confirming. Before kickoff on **[start date]**, please reply to the short intake below (or fill the shared form) by **[deadline date]**.  
>  
> Once I have your answers I’ll confirm scope, what’s out of scope, timeline, and how we’ll work — then we start.  
>  
> If anything is unclear, reply to this email.  
>  
> Looking forward to it,  
> [Your trading name]

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## Intake questions (copy / adapt)

### A — Business & contact
1. Legal / trading name and website (if any)?  
2. Primary contact name, email, and phone for day-to-day?  
3. Who signs off work and invoices (name + role) if different from primary contact?  
4. One-line description of what the business does and who it serves?

### B — Goals & success
5. What is the **single most important outcome** of this project?  
6. How will you know it worked in **30–90 days** (a number, behaviour, or deliverable — not adjectives)?  
7. What have you already tried, and what must we **not** repeat?

### C — Deliverables & out of scope
8. In your words, what should be **delivered** (list items)?  
9. What is **explicitly out of scope** / not included?  
10. Any must-have references (links you like) and any styles/approaches to avoid?

### D — Budget & timeline
11. Confirmed budget / fee and payment schedule (deposit %, milestones)?  
12. Ideal completion date, and what is **immovable** about it?  
13. How many revision rounds are included before extra work is quoted?

### E — Assets, access & communications
14. What assets will you provide by kickoff (brand files, copy, data, prior work)? List and target date.  
15. What access do we need (named systems only — **do not** paste passwords here; use your usual secure handoff)?  
16. Preferred channel, meeting cadence, and expected reply window (e.g. email within 2 working days)?  
17. How should finished work be handed over (format, folder, naming)?

### F — Red-flag notes (freelancer use — optional internal)
18. Anything else we should know before starting (constraints, stakeholders, past vendor issues)?  
- *Internal check (do not send to client): unclear decision-maker · no deposit · scope still “TBC” · deadline without budget · password requests in email — pause and clarify before kickoff.*

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## Quick checklist before you start work

- [ ] Deposit / first invoice terms confirmed in writing  
- [ ] Intake returned by the deadline (or chase once)  
- [ ] Deliverables **and** out-of-scope written down  
- [ ] Revision rounds and change path agreed  
- [ ] Assets/access path set without passwords in email  
- [ ] Kickoff date and first delivery milestone in the diary  

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## Related OpsKit free slices

- Scope Guard change-order checklist — mid-project extra work  
- Revision-cap emails — when free rounds are used up  
- Rate-raise emails — announcing a price update  

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*OpsKit Digital · free experiment slice · faceless digital · not a Live store claim · not legal advice*