A client onboarding questionnaire is a helpful tool to gather information at the start of every project. Learn some best practices for creating one and download our free template to get started!
The notification triggers an adrenaline rush: proposal accepted, contract signed—you’re in.
But booking the work is just the first step on a long road to a happy relationship. The real goal is making the experience feel organized, personal, and easy from day one.
A lot rests on the processes and tools you use during this time, such as the client onboarding questionnaire and how you design it. In fact, 90% of clients feel that companies could stand to improve their onboarding process.
A solid client onboarding questionnaire helps you get aligned early on scope, timelines, decision-makers, communication preferences, and all the essential details that keep projects on track.
Jump To:
- The client onboarding process and the all-important questionnaire
- Best practices for client background questions and questionnaire design
- Types of questionnaires and when to use them
- Key elements of a well-designed onboarding questionnaire
- How to create a client questionnaire form
The client onboarding process and the all-important questionnaire
The client onboarding workflow for many companies consists of welcoming the new client to the business with a client welcome packet, asking more specific questions than what was gathered during the initial inquiry, and then outlining the next steps for project work. Of course, the details within each step are generally more nuanced and customized for the business.
The questionnaire comes early in the process when you onboard new clients because it is a singular tool that collects invaluable information regarding:
- Client information, like background, technical details, and compliance requirements, which depend on the geographic location and industry (think data protection law in the EU or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for healthcare-related businesses in the US)
- Client objectives and needs
- Supporting documents like brand profiles, company processes, reports, and more
Depending on the business and project, a client onboarding questionnaire can perform all of this in one go. It should also be easy to use and should fully represent your brand to continue establishing an excellent client experience.
Best practices for client background questions and questionnaire design
Obviously, the questions themselves are key. Your questionnaire design and its ease of use, however, will dictate how successful it will be in serving its purpose and representing your brand. It only takes three negative experiences with a customer service department for 92% of clients to find a new company.
Sending PDFs to be updated back and forth is a huge no-no—there are a variety of ways to create better experiences. HoneyBook, for instance, lets members create interactive questionnaires that clients can fill out immediately.
In terms of maximizing questionnaire usability, always remember to:
- Add context even when you don’t think it’s needed. It’s faster if everything is spelled out. Be sure to drop in instructions or examples inside your questionnaire to help guide clients. You’re asking the questions– not the other way around.
- Remind clients to be brief and succinct. Avoid overly long responses and make the experience quick and easy for your clients. Design the questionnaire with the appropriate answer options (multiple choice, multiple select, or short fields). Try to avoid open-answer questions unless it’s relevant.
- Add convenient options where possible. Allow them to enter answers, add a link, or attach files all in one question, if applicable.
- Design questions so they don’t take much time to answer. Some open-ended questions may cause clients to overthink when formulated incorrectly. Provide guidance by quantifying (“What are the three to five…?”) or qualifying (“What’s the most…?”) questions.
- Send the questionnaire to someone who can answer all the questions. Don’t send it to a contact person who needs to go through several people across multiple departments to answer it.
- Add a clear due date in your communications and the questionnaire itself. It ensures the client’s time is not wasted.
- Make sure everything in the questionnaire is accessible and readable. Avoid accidentally sending a form that doesn’t grant users access or a draft version instead of a final copy. Also, be sure that the design includes contrasting colors and readable font size.
As for the actual questions, below is a template to get you started.
Types of questionnaires and when to use them
Depending on what you offer and where a client is in your workflow, the questions you need will change. Below, we’ll break down HoneyBook’s questionnaire types and show how to use each one at the right time.
Contract client onboarding questionnaires
Send this right after the contract is signed to gather the basics before work begins. It helps you confirm scope, timelines, key contacts, and expectations early, so there’s no confusion about what’s included and what’s not once the work is underway.
Invoice and digital payment questionnaires
These are best used before sending an invoice or setting up payments. They help you collect billing details, payment preferences, and approval contacts upfront, so you’re not waiting on payments later.
Ready-to-use copy questionnaires
If you offer copy, messaging, or content services, this questionnaire sets you up to get inside your client’s brand before the writing begins. Collect voice and tone guidelines, persona descriptions, goals, and existing examples so you can deliver copy that feels right the first time.
Scheduler questionnaires
Use these when a client books a call or a session. A few quick questions before the meeting will give you context on their goals, challenges, or questions, preventing you from spending the first 15 minutes playing catch-up.
Services questionnaires
These questionnaires are tied to the services you offer, like design, coaching, or consulting. They help you gather service-specific details at the start of each engagement and keep your workflow consistent even as your offerings evolve.
Manually sorting client inquiries is tiresome. Discover how HoneyBook standardizes your initial project scopes with customizable questionnaire templates that turn fresh leads into revenue-gathering projects. Start automating client intake
Key elements of a well-designed onboarding questionnaire
What sets a good questionnaire apart from a great one is minimal friction: fewer revisions, less scope creep, zero confusion.
Here are some of the key elements of a well-designed new client onboarding questionnaire.
Collects core client information
Information like primary and secondary contacts, business name, website URL, and relevant social media handles are details you need to have on file. Use this part of the questionnaire to fill in the gaps before onboarding the client, so you have a better understanding of what they need
Includes project details and objectives
When expectations are vague and boundaries are fuzzy, it will ultimately be you—the independent creative—who pays the price. Asking your client questions about what the project entails and what success looks like will keep everyone accountable and on task.
Communicates process preferences
Every great “get to know your client” questionnaire includes questions on preferred communication types and channels, desired update frequency, approver names, and which tools or platforms you’ll need access to during the project.
Details brand, inspiration, and assets
Not every client is glued to their inbox or Slack. And when you factor in different time zones, delays are almost always guaranteed. By asking about brand and asset details upfront, you won’t be stuck chasing the client down for font types or primary brand colors when they’re out of the office.
Gives space for additional questions and optional fields
Make sure to include a few open-ended prompts to capture context you can’t predict in predefined questions. Optional fields give clients room to share nuances, preferences, or concerns that don’t fit neatly into a form, helping you spot potential gaps early and tailor your approach before the work begins.
How to create a client questionnaire form
Once you’ve identified which questions to ask when onboarding a new client, you’re ready to put your questionnaire together.
You could design everything from scratch, which gives you full control over the look and structure. But this route takes time and requires ongoing tweaks.
The other option is using a tool that simplifies the process, automates the client intake, and delivers a consistent experience without spending hours fine-tuning every detail.
Here are four tips that will help put your best foot forward.
1. Choose the right question types
Clients hire you to get results without having to overthink the process. That’s why it’s important to be intentional about the questions you include.
Aim for the shortest questionnaire possible (the longer the questionnaire is, the more likely the client will be to get bored—or worse, frustrated), and focus on questions that give you the most useful insights.
A mix of multiple-choice questions, checkboxes, and short text fields keeps things quick, structured, and easy to complete.
2. Decide on branding and customization
You’ll find no shortage of client onboarding questionnaire templates on the internet. What really matters is whether these templates and tools let you customize the experience and keep your branding consistent.
Can you add a welcome message to make it feel personal? Trigger the questionnaire at the exact moment it makes sense in your workflow? Paying attention to these kinds of details helps your business come across as polished, intentional, and professional.
3. Set automations that trigger next steps
Building an onboarding questionnaire is the first step in the project, not the last. Even after a client has shared everything you need to get started, the work shouldn’t happen in isolation.
Keep clients in the loop, send mockups and drafts, and use automations to trigger next steps like contracts, scheduling, or invoices, so expectations stay clear and everyone remains accountable.
4. Write clear, client-friendly prompts
Few things push clients away faster than an overwrought questionnaire filled with industry-specific jargon that they can’t keep up with. Stick to plain language, avoid offering too many options that might lead to misinterpretation, and only ask for information that’s truly necessary to get the project started.
Build your questionnaire once, use for every client
Now put all of that together, and top it off with a few finishing touches:
- Provide additional context for each question
- Remind users to be brief where applicable
- Add notes that they can instead add links (with reminders to open access) or attach files if they like
Remember: keep providing excellent user experiences by following an onboarding checklist! And if you need a little help, HoneyBook can get you sorted.
Using HoneyBook, you can create a custom onboarding questionnaire template for all of your clients that you’re able to quickly personalize and send with each project. Templatizing the process will help you save time, and using HoneyBook’s interactive questionnaires can make the experience much quicker for your clients as well.
FAQs
What’s the most important component for client onboarding?
Clear expectations are the most important component of an effective client onboarding process. Aligning early on scope, timelines, responsibilities, and success criteria prevents confusion, reduces revisions, and sets the working relationship up for long-term success.
Can questionnaire templates be customized for branding?
Yes, strong onboarding tools allow you to customize questionnaire templates with your logo, brand colors, tone of voice, and welcome messaging. Branded questionnaires create a cohesive, professional experience that builds trust from the first interaction.
What should be included in a new client onboarding questionnaire?
A new client onboarding questionnaire should include project goals, scope details, timeline checklists, key stakeholders, brand guidelines, assets, and communication preferences. These essentials give you the clarity needed to start work confidently and avoid delays or scope creep.
What are the 3 characteristics of a good questionnaire?
A good questionnaire is clear, concise, and intentional. It uses plain language, has a variety of question types, and focuses on gathering only the information needed to move the project forward efficiently.
