TLDR: Grab four free, industry-specific onboarding checklists built for bookkeepers, marketing agencies, MSPs, and consultants. Each one covers the 10 most critical items to collect from a new client before work begins — so you stop chasing and start delivering on day one.

Onboarding a new client should be exciting. You just won the business — now it’s time to deliver. But for most service businesses, the first few weeks look less like strategic work and more like a scavenger hunt for documents, credentials, and approvals.

The fix is simple: give every new client a clear, complete list of what you need from them on day one. No guessing, no scattered email threads, no follow-up marathons.

We built four industry-specific onboarding checklists — one each for bookkeepers, marketing agencies, MSPs, and consultants. Each covers the 10 most critical items you should collect from every new client before work begins.

The 4 Templates

1. Bookkeepers & Accountants

Covers W-9s, prior year returns, bank statements, QuickBooks access, payroll reports, entity documents, and more. Built for tax season intake and year-round bookkeeping onboarding.

What you’ll get: A 10-item checklist with descriptions and priority levels for every document a bookkeeping client needs to provide.

Get the Bookkeeper Onboarding Checklist

2. Marketing Agencies

Covers brand guidelines, logo files, social credentials, ad account access, creative briefs, competitor lists, and analytics access. Built for agency client kickoffs.

What you’ll get: A 10-item checklist covering brand assets, credentials, strategic inputs, and approvals that agencies need before project work begins.

Get the Agency Onboarding Checklist

3. MSPs & IT Service Providers

Covers device inventories, network diagrams, admin credentials, security questionnaires, compliance documentation, backup docs, and SLA expectations. Built for managed services deployments.

What you’ll get: A 10-item checklist spanning infrastructure documentation, access credentials, security requirements, and operational expectations.

Get the MSP Onboarding Checklist

4. Consultants

Covers discovery questionnaires, signed SOWs, KPI documents, stakeholder lists, dashboard access, org charts, and success metrics. Built for consulting engagement kickoffs.

What you’ll get: A 10-item checklist covering discovery, documentation, access, and alignment items for new consulting clients.

Get the Consultant Onboarding Checklist

Why These Checklists Work

Every checklist in this pack follows the same principles:

• 10 items, prioritized. Not a 50-item wish list. Just the 10 things that matter most, ranked by priority.
• Clear descriptions. Each item includes a plain-language description so clients understand exactly what to send.
• Industry-specific. Generic checklists miss the mark. These are built for how each industry actually onboards clients.
• Ready to use today. No software required. Download the checklist, customize it, and send it to your next client.

Go Beyond the Checklist

Checklists are a great starting point, but they don’t solve the tracking problem. You still need to know which clients have sent what, who’s holding things up, and when to follow up.

OnboardMap turns your checklist into an interactive client portal. Clients get a single link where they upload documents, fill intake forms, and complete each step — automatically tracked with reminders. You see real-time progress without writing a single follow-up email.

Request early access and set up your first onboarding map in 10 minutes.