Every Client Onboarding Template You’ll Ever Need (Free Examples)

Client onboarding is a crucial part of customer retention, but it can be difficult to know which method works best for your organization. That’s where a client onboarding template can come in handy.

At Process Street, we know a thing or two about client onboarding. Over the years, we have onboarded a wide variety of clients, and we’ve become fascinated with this process.

We’ve put a lot of time and effort into understanding the who, when, why, and how of client onboarding.

That’s why we have created 10 client onboarding workflow templates for every type of business. These templates will help you save time, stay organized, and deliver a personalized onboarding experience for every new client.

Our client onboarding templates include:

• The ultimate client onboarding template
• For customer success onboarding
• For enterprise client onboarding
• Remote client onboarding template
• For financial planners
• Client onboarding template for software development
• Accounting firm client onboarding
• Client onboarding template for real estate agencies
• Client onboarding template for landlords

The ultimate client onboarding template

This onboarding template is designed to work for any type of organization. It’s a general guide to thorough client onboarding for customer success managers who want an easy and better-organized system to help drive client retention.

Whoever is running the client onboarding will be able to launch the workflow from the second a new client signs up. 

From there, they can run through the workflow using the designed tasks and timeline. The right information is sent to the right people directly from the workflow without the need for manual data entry. 

This template’s biggest advantage is potentially also its biggest bottleneck. The versatility you get with the Ultimate Client Onboarding template wouldn’t work well for hyper-specific needs, such as medical client onboarding. But fear not, if that’s what you’re looking for, we already have a template for it, which you can find here. 

For customer success onboarding

The work customer success managers do is integral to any company, and they are usually the first point of contact after sales. One study found that improving first interactions with new clients reduced churn by 67%. This is significant when you consider that reducing or avoiding churn can increase profits by anywhere from 25% to 95%. 

That’s pretty telling. So to create this template, we asked Process Street’s very own Director of Customer Success what his perfect template would look like. He told us that the template should be ready-to-use with plenty of opportunities for automation to make life easier and more efficient.

Customer success managers can use this template right away. You can further customize it by adding specific automations for your needs.

With this template, you can automate things like:

• Data entry and storage
• Sending personalized emails to customers
• Scheduling calls
• Receiving customer feedback

All of which will make your life easier!

For enterprise client onboarding

Enterprise clients are very different from other types of clients. They can be powerful advocates for products and services that they like, which ultimately creates more business for your company. (And by that, I mean money. I was just being polite.)

A special type of client needs a special type of onboarding.

For enterprise clients, the focus needs to be on communication. This template is less about fancy workflow features and more about keeping that communication clear and steady.

Within this workflow template are several tasks just for initiating contact so your enterprise client never feels ignored or abandoned. There are also pre-written emails ready to send as-is that will be automatically populated with your client’s details.

Just about any type of organization can use this template, and it can be run by HR and customer success managers alike. It is ready to go and free to use!

Remote client onboarding template

Since the pandemic (you know which one, I don’t wanna say the name), remote work has become the new norm. More companies are partially or fully remote than ever, and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

As more aspects of business become digital, certain processes need to change with it. As Process Street is a fully remote company, we have first-hand experience with remotely onboarding our clients. Not to brag, but we are kind of experts on the subject.

So we’ve used our collective knowledge to create the Remote Onboarding Workflow Template. The cool thing about remote onboarding is that it really isn’t all that different from regular onboarding. Meetings are just online instead of in person.

This template allows HR and customer success managers to automatically schedule calls with new clients. You can also send emails and export data directly from the workflow without having to lift a finger. Unless you count clicking as lifting a finger, that is. 

When this workflow takes you through the entire process. It goes through client questionnaires, the kickoff call, check-in points, and milestone measurements. Basically, everything needed to ensure the client doesn’t even feel like the onboarding is remote!

5. The Best Client Onboarding Template for SaaS

We know the struggle of deciding between a high-touch or low-touch onboarding approach. For SaaS clients, the answer is always high-touch.

With plenty of training opportunities and contact points, this template allows you to build a relationship with your client and help the client realize your product’s value. It also gives the client plenty of time to realize the value the product brings them.

This template features such as: 

• Subtask checklists to make sure nothing gets forgotten
• Pre-written email widgets that are ready to be sent right from the workflow
• Conditional logic so you don’t waste time on things that don’t pertain to the client 
• Automations to streamline your process and reduce human error

Once the high-touch onboarding process is complete, you can then move to a more low-touch method for communicating with the client if necessary. It’s all about striking the right balance.

While this template isn’t specifically designed for low-touch onboarding, all Process Street templates are completely customizable.

Essentially, if you are onboarding clients for your SaaS company, this workflow can and will work for you one way or another.

6. The Best Client Onboarding Template for Financial Planners

Onboarding clients for financial planners is a process brimming with complex regulations to follow. 

Establishing a solid onboarding process can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

We’ve designed a client onboarding template that streamlines the whole process from signing a new client to receiving that client’s feedback. 

The workflow template includes a number of features to make the onboarding even easier. For example, you can pull information already entered into the workflow, such as your client’s name or company, and automatically populate a pre-written email with them. You can relax with the knowledge that you won’t be sending out any “Hi, [Insert Name Here]” emails again. 

The great thing about this template is that you can edit it to include any specific documents your client needs – from tax forms to industry contracts. 

7. The Best Client Onboarding Template for Software Development

So you’re a software development company looking to improve your client onboarding, huh? You’ve come to the right place!

When it comes to software development, clients often get confused. That’s where this onboarding template comes in.

The onboarding workflow starts with gathering basic information about the client and moves through welcome emails, team introductions, sending the contract, setting up calls, declaring project roles, creating and sending project briefs, receiving client feedback, and more. 

Throughout, this workflow makes great use of the Process Street specialty: Conditional logic. It creates specific tasks for specific scenarios, so your clients are always getting the most curated onboarding experience possible.

There is really no downside to this template unless you count on setting up automations. Which, yeah, those can be annoying, but they’re optional, and since you’re a software development company, we figure you’ve got what it takes to do it even better than us.

8. The Best Client Onboarding Template for Accounting Firms

Onboarding clients in accounting firms can be a real pain in the . With all the compliance that needs to be met, it’s no wonder that accounting firms don’t always have the best track record with client onboarding.

That’s a huge mistake that can cost your firm to miss out on a lot of potential value.That’s where we come in. 

The Client Onboarding Workflow for an Accounting Firm template takes care of everything for you. It starts with gathering all of the initial documents needed and then moves on to the more personal aspects, including: 

• Calls
• Determining the client’s needs and goals
• Gathering other required documents 
• Performing an analysis
• Forming a strategy
• And more!

The template features stop tasks, document uploads, embedded videos, and guest users so your clients can interact with the workflow directly. The template is also editable and, thus, you can add any of Process Street’s form fields for a completely customized workflow.

9. The Best Client Onboarding Template for Real Estate Agencies 

Maintaining client relationships is difficult in the real estate industry. But that doesn’t mean agents shouldn’t do their best – and those relationships start with onboarding. 

The tasks in this template have been put together using a combination of best practices and Process Street’s unique features so your client gets the most individualized experience possible.

The workflow template covers the entire onboarding process. It begins with gathering the client’s basic information and moves through:

• Requesting necessary documents
• Preparing and sending marketing packages
• Arranging viewings
• Conducting market analysis
• Preparing and sending the listing agreement
• Listing the property
• And more!

You will be able to keep all of the documentation, photos, and notes in one place. The template can even be automated to make the workflow even easier. There really is no con, so get started today!

10. The Best Client Onboarding Template for Landlords

Onboarding new tenants is a well-established process. Onboarding landlords is a whole different ball game. 

So we’ve evened the playing field.

This onboarding workflow template starts after the screening process is complete. It walks the agent and landlords through signing the contract, gathering relevant documents, offering guidance on pricing, advertising the properties, and establishing payment records.

It’s all in one place and done in under 20 tasks. 

And if anything is missing, you can edit it to make it more personalized to your organization, or even to your client. The only con to this workflow is that you didn’t find it sooner.

Let us know if you use any of these templates, how they help you, or how they can be improved. We’re always looking for new ways to make ourselves better!