Free template
The 27-question client intake form
Everything you need to collect before a client kickoff — organized into 6 categories. Copy into Typeform, Tally, Google Forms, or Notion. No email required.
When to send: Immediately after the contract is signed or invoice is paid. Aim to have responses back 48 hours before the kickoff call. Use the answers to run the kickoff — not to gather info you should have collected before it.
1
Business Context
5 questions
-
Q1. Company overview — tell us about your business in 2–3 sentences.Gives your team instant context for internal briefs and kickoff prep.Long text
-
Q2. What industry are you in, and who are your top 3 competitors?Competitor awareness shapes strategy from day one.Short text
-
Q3. How many employees does your company have?Company size affects communication expectations, approval layers, and project complexity.Dropdown: 1–5 / 6–15 / 16–50 / 51–200 / 200+
-
Q4. Approximate annual revenue? optionalPrevents recommending strategies the client can't fund.Dropdown
-
Q5. Have you worked with an agency before? What worked and what didn't?This is gold — tells you what not to do and what the client already values.Long text
2
Goals & KPIs
5 questions
-
Q6. What is the #1 thing you want to achieve by working with us?Forces the client to prioritize. If they list 7 things, follow up before kickoff.Long text
-
Q7. Six months from now, how will you know this engagement was successful?This becomes your north star metric — quote it back in reports.Long text
-
Q8. What are your current baseline numbers? (traffic, revenue, leads, conversion rate…)You need a baseline. Without it, you can't prove impact.Long text
-
Q9. Is there a specific deadline or event driving this project?Urgency changes prioritization. Identify it early.Short text + date
-
Q10. Do you have a monthly budget for paid channels or tools beyond our fee?Prevents the "I assumed organic-only" surprise at week 3.Short text
3
Brand & Assets
5 questions
-
Q11. Do you have brand guidelines? Share or upload them.Saves 1–2 weeks of back-and-forth in the first sprint.File upload + short text
-
Q12. Do you have existing content, photos, videos, or case studies? Where are they stored?Prevents recreating things that already exist.Long text + file upload
-
Q13. Website URL and all social media profiles.Your team needs these on day one for audits and access setup.Long text
-
Q14. Are there any brand rules, sensitivities, or things you absolutely don't want us to do?Identifies landmines before you step on them.Long text
-
Q15. Do you have an existing content calendar or publishing schedule?Prevents collision with planned campaigns or announcements.Short text + file upload
4
Access & Tools
5 questions
-
Q16. What tools and platforms does your team currently use? AIYour team uses this to generate a full access request list — no guessing.Long text (e.g. "HubSpot, Google Analytics, Shopify, Slack")
-
Q17. Who on your team manages platform access and logins?Routes access requests to the right person immediately.Short text (name + email)
-
Q18. What is your preferred communication channel and response SLA expectation?Sets mutual expectations before the first async friction.Dropdown: Email / Slack / WhatsApp / Teams + Short text
-
Q19. What is your approval process for deliverables?Prevents a 2-day turnaround getting stuck in a 2-week approval chain.Long text
-
Q20. Are there any tools or platforms you specifically want us NOT to use?Some clients have security policies, vendor restrictions, or strong preferences.Short text
5
Stakeholders & Decision-Making
4 questions
-
Q21. Who is the primary point of contact on your side?Every project needs one named person. Document them now.Name + email + phone
-
Q22. Who else will be involved in reviewing or approving our work?Identifies hidden stakeholders before they appear in week 4 with veto power.Long text
-
Q23. Who has final decision-making authority for this project?Prevents approval loops that go nowhere.Short text
-
Q24. How does your team prefer to receive reports and updates?Some clients want a weekly Slack message. Others want a monthly PDF. Know before you build the wrong thing.Long text
6
Constraints & Context
3 questions
-
Q25. Are there any upcoming events, launches, or business changes we should plan around?Prevents recommending work that will be disrupted by something you didn't know about.Long text
-
Q26. What has been tried before that didn't work?Saves time and credibility. Repeating a failed approach in week 2 is avoidable.Long text
-
Q27. Is there anything else we should know before we start?Gives clients a chance to share what didn't fit elsewhere. You'll be surprised what comes up.Long text
AI tip: Paste the client's completed intake into ChatGPT or Claude with the prompt: "Based on these intake answers, flag any vague responses, missing critical information, and likely friction points before kickoff." Takes 30 seconds and prevents a wasted hour during the call.
More free templates in this set:
Want the complete onboarding system?
This intake form is the starting point for an Onboarding Sprint. Lisa customizes it with your welcome email sequence, kickoff checklist, and SOP, then delivers the finished system within 24 hours.
- AI-native setup guide: Quick Start (30 min) + Full Setup (afternoon)
- Sales → delivery handoff template
- Access tracker + consolidated request emails
- Welcome email + 3 access follow-up sequences
- Stakeholder mapping + success metrics worksheets
- 6 no-code automation recipes (Zapier + Make)
- 5 LLM prompt workflows (kickoff prep, missing-input detector, status updates)
- 4 agency variants: marketing, SEO, web design, freelance
- Internal SOP + client offboarding SOP
€99 first system. Optional €199 monthly upkeep after month one.