Client onboarding checklist for freelancers

The short answer

Before any work starts, get four things settled: the agreement is signed, the deposit is paid, you know exactly how and to whom to invoice, and you know who approves the work. Then collect access and files, and run a short kickoff. The checklist below is in the order I ask, split so the client gets one short email per stage instead of a long questionnaire.

Stage 1: before you send the agreement

1. The client's legal name and registered address. The company that pays is not always the brand you have been talking to. Ask for the name exactly as it should appear on the contract and invoice.
2. The person who signs. Someone with authority to commit the company. Ask early, so the agreement is addressed to them and does not sit in a forwarding chain.
3. The person who approves the work. Often not the same person as the signer, and often not your day-to-day contact either. Name them in the scope, because "approved" only means something if you know whose approval counts.
4. Budget owner and procurement. In a larger company, ask whether you need to be set up as a supplier before they can pay you. Supplier onboarding can take weeks, and it is much better to start it on day one than to find out when the first invoice bounces.

Stage 2: the agreement and the deposit

1. The signed agreement or statement of work. Scope, revisions, payment terms, cancellation and rights, signed by both sides. My guides on writing a statement of work and what to include in a freelance contract cover what goes in.
2. The deposit invoice, sent the day the agreement is signed. Work starts when it arrives. The deposit invoice guide has the wording.

Stage 3: billing details

This is the part people skip and regret. Ask for all of it in one email, before the first invoice:

1. Billing address and the email invoices go to. Usually an accounts payable address, not your contact. Copy your contact when you send.
2. Purchase order number. Many companies cannot pay an invoice without one. Ask whether one is needed, get it before you invoice, and put it on every invoice.
3. Tax details. The client's VAT or tax number if you are invoicing a business in the UK, EU or anywhere else with VAT or GST, especially across borders, where it can decide whether you charge tax at all. My guide on invoicing international clients explains why.
4. Tax forms the client needs from you. A US client paying a US freelancer will usually ask for a Form W-9 with your taxpayer identification number, and may send you a Form 1099-NEC after the year ends: the reporting threshold is $2,000 for payments made after 31 December 2025, up from $600 before, per the IRS. A US client paying a freelancer outside the US will usually ask for a Form W-8BEN instead. Send the right form promptly, because some clients will not release payment without it.
5. Payment method and currency. Bank transfer details, the currency they will pay in, and who pays the transfer fees. Agree this before you invoice, not after the first payment arrives short.
6. Their payment run. Ask when they pay suppliers. If they pay on the 15th and the last day of each month, invoice a few days before the run, not just after.
7. Any invoice requirements of their own: a portal to upload to, a reference to quote, a specific format. Find out now, while it costs nothing.

Stage 4: access and inputs

1. Logins and access you need: their brand drive, CMS, staging site, ticketing tool, Slack or Teams channel. Ask for your own account, not a shared password.
2. Files and references: brand guidelines, fonts, CAD or source files, reference images, previous work they liked and did not like. For 3D work, the CAD freeze date matters as much as the files themselves.
3. Dates and dependencies: when each input will arrive, and who is responsible for it. Put these in writing, because your timeline depends on them.

Stage 5: kickoff

1. The kickoff call or email. Confirm the scope, the dates, the approver, how feedback will be given (one consolidated list per round works best), and the channel for questions. The kickoff email templates have a version you can send if a call is too much for a small job.
2. Where things live. Tell the client where to find files, drafts and invoices, so they do not search old email threads in month three.

How to ask without sounding like a form

Nobody likes a 30-question onboarding questionnaire from a freelancer they have just hired. Spread it out and make each request short:

Subject: Northwind renders: invoicing details

Hi Sarah,

Before I send the deposit invoice, could you confirm:

1. The company name and address for the invoice
2. The email address for invoices (accounts, or you?)
3. Whether you need a PO number on it
4. Your VAT number

Thanks. As soon as the deposit is in I'll start on the
CAD files.

Alex

Four questions, one reason, one next step. It gets answered the same day far more often than a link to a long form.

When a client will not give you the details

Sometimes the answers do not come. The contact is busy, finance is slow, the PO is "in progress". Do not start the work on a promise that the paperwork will follow. In my experience the paperwork follows the work by about the same delay as the payment does.

A simple rule: no billing details and no deposit, no start date. Say it politely and early, in the agreement and again in the email: "I'll book the start date as soon as the deposit and the invoicing details are in." Most clients respect it, because their other suppliers ask for the same. The ones who push back hard on a deposit and a billing address before a project are telling you something about how the last invoice will go.

If a large client's supplier setup really will take weeks, agree in writing that the first invoice can be issued on the agreed date and will be paid on their next run after setup completes, and keep the deposit or first milestone small enough that you can afford the wait.

Keep it in one place

Write the answers down where you will look when you invoice: the billing name, PO number, tax ID, invoice email and payment terms belong on the client record, not in an email from six weeks ago. If you are making invoices by hand, the invoice generator has fields for the client's address and tax ID, and the PO number can go in the notes. Do the checklist again when a client's company changes ownership, moves to a new finance system or sends you a new contact: those are the moments invoices go missing.

Tax forms and thresholds change. Check the IRS, HMRC or your own tax authority for the current rules, and ask an accountant if a client asks for a form you have not seen before. This is general information, not tax advice.

Questions