Your first week with a new client: one shared onboarding checklist

Why the first week sets the tone

Clients judge your agency by how organised the start feels. Most early delays have the same few causes: missing access, unclear goals, and nobody who can say yes to a post. All three can be settled in the first week, before the real work begins.

Before the kickoff: collect access, not passwords

• List every account you will touch: website platform, Google Business Profile, Search Console, analytics, ad accounts and social pages.
• Ask to be added as a user on each one. Avoid taking shared passwords, so access can be removed later and each action traces back to a person.
• Ask for the lowest level of access that lets you do the job.
• Note who owns each account. The client should stay the owner.
• Write down which accounts do not exist yet, and who will create them.
• Record the contact for the domain registrar and the web host.

The kickoff call: five questions

Write the answers in the shared checklist on the same day, then ask the client to confirm them. This small step prevents many arguments later.

• What would a good month look like for the business?
• Who are your best customers, and what do they ask before they buy?
• What have you already tried, and what did not work?
• What must never be said, shown or promised?
• Who approves our work, and how quickly can they reply?

Brand assets and approved facts

Collect the logo, colours, fonts, photos with their usage rights, and a few examples of the tone the client likes. Ask the client to confirm in writing any offer, price line or promise that you may repeat in public.

In AI Marketing Master, the Business Profile holds those approved claims, and the AI may only use approved ones, so it cannot invent an offer.

Approvals: one person and one route

Name one person who approves content, and agree how: in the app, from an email link, or by a tap in WhatsApp once that is set up. Agree what needs approval (at first, everything) and what happens if nobody replies.

In the app nothing is published or spent without approval, you can add the client as a reviewer, and your staff see only the clients they are assigned to. Whatever tool you use, write the approver and the route into the checklist.

First goals and the reporting rhythm

• Choose two or three goals for the first month that you can measure with the access you have.
• Agree the report format, who receives it and when it arrives each month.
• Agree when you will talk, and when a short note is enough.
• Put the first report date in both calendars before the week ends.

The checklist itself

• Access granted and logged, with the owner of each account named.
• Kickoff notes written and confirmed by the client.
• Brand assets and approved claims received.
• Approver and approval route named.
• Reporting rhythm agreed and first date set.
• First month's plan agreed in writing.