Client onboarding emails are the sequence a service business sends between a signed agreement and the start of work. There are usually ten of them, they get rewritten badly from scratch for every client, and two of them, the document chase and the no-response follow-up, are the ones that actually determine whether onboarding takes three days or three weeks.
All ten are below, written to be pasted and edited. Merge fields are marked in [square brackets]. They are deliberately short: onboarding emails are read on a phone between meetings, and every additional paragraph lowers the chance the client does the thing you are asking for.
Three rules that make these work
One ask per email. An email with three requests gets one response, addressing whichever request was easiest. If you need four things, either send one email with a single link that contains all four, or accept that you are going to chase.
Put the ask in the first two lines. Not after the context, not after the pleasantries. Clients decide whether to action an email in the preview pane.
Give every request a date, not a duration. "By Friday 8 August" gets done. "Within the next week" does not, because it never becomes today's problem.
When to send each one
The sequence assumes a standard agency engagement. Emails 1 to 4 all go out on day one, deliberately: everything you need from the client should be requested at the same time, not discovered in sequence over a fortnight.
1. Welcome and confirmation
Within 1 hour of the signed agreement
Subject: You're all set, [Client company] — here's what happens next
Hi [First name],
Thanks for signing — we're glad this is going ahead.
Three things happen this week:
1. I've sent the deposit invoice separately. Work starts once that clears.
2. There's a short onboarding form to complete, linked below, plus a few files and logins we'll need. Everything is in one place: [link]
3. Our kickoff call is [day, date, time, timezone]. Invite to follow.
Your day-to-day contact is me, [Your name]. My working hours are [hours, timezone] and I aim to reply within [X] working hours.
If anything above looks wrong, tell me now rather than later.
[Your name]
2. Deposit invoice
Day 1, immediately after the welcome email
Subject: Invoice [number] — [Client company] deposit
Hi [First name],
Invoice [number] for [amount] is attached, covering the [X]% deposit on [project name].
Payment terms are [terms]. We can take [payment methods].
Due: [date].
We'll hold your start date of [date] once this clears. If your finance process needs a PO or a different billing contact, send those over and I'll reissue.
[Your name]
3. Intake, assets, and access request
Day 1, alongside the welcome email
Subject: The bits we need from you before [start date]
Hi [First name],
Everything we need to start is in one place here: [link]
It covers:
- A short questionnaire about goals, audience, and what's been tried before
- Brand files: logo (vector if you have it), fonts, colour values
- Access to [platform], [platform], and [platform]
It takes about [X] minutes and saves itself as you go, so you can stop and come back.
Deadline: [date]. That date is what protects your [delivery date] — if it slips, the timeline moves with it.
Anything in there that doesn't apply, just skip it and tell me why.
[Your name]
4. Kickoff invitation and agenda
Day 1 to 2, at least 24 hours before the call
Subject: Kickoff agenda — [day, date]
Hi [First name],
Agenda for [day, date] at [time, timezone], [duration]:
1. Introductions — who does what on both sides
2. Scope recap, including what's not included
3. Timeline and the dates that depend on you
4. How we'll work: channels, response times, approvals
5. Risks and anything you're worried about
Please have with you: who has final sign-off, your realistic turnaround on feedback, and any absences or freezes in [month] to [month].
If [name] should be on this call, forward the invite.
[Your name]
5. Document and access chase (first nudge)
Day 3 if items are outstanding
Subject: Two things still outstanding
Hi [First name],
Quick one. Still waiting on:
- [Item]
- [Item]
Same link as before: [link]
If they land by [date] we're still on track for [delivery date]. Happy to jump on a 10-minute call and do it together if that's faster.
[Your name]
6. Document chase (second nudge, with consequence)
Day 7 if still outstanding
Subject: [Project name] — timeline decision needed
Hi [First name],
We're still missing [item] and [item], which means [specific thing] can't start.
Two options:
1. They reach us by [date] and [delivery date] holds.
2. They don't, and we move delivery to [new date].
I'd rather not move it, so tell me if something is blocking on your side — if it's sitting with [other team], I'm happy to chase them directly.
[Your name]
7. Kickoff follow-up
Within 24 hours of the kickoff call
Subject: Kickoff notes and actions — [project name]
Hi [First name],
Good call, thanks. Confirming what we agreed:
Scope: [one line]
Delivery: [date]
Meeting rhythm: [cadence, day, time]
Approvals: [name] signs off, [X] working days to respond
Your actions:
- [Action] by [date]
- [Action] by [date]
Ours:
- [Action] by [date]
- [Action] by [date]
First thing you'll see from us is [deliverable] on [date].
Anything I've got wrong, correct me today while it's fresh.
[Your name]
8. First deliverable, week one
Within the first 5 working days
Subject: First look — [deliverable]
Hi [First name],
Here's [deliverable]: [link]
It's [early / final] and I'm specifically after your view on [one specific question]. You don't need to review everything else yet.
Could I have your thoughts by [date]? If there are several people reviewing, please send one consolidated set — conflicting feedback is what slows this stage down.
[Your name]
9. No-response follow-up
After 2 unanswered emails, roughly day 10
Subject: Should we pause [project name]?
Hi [First name],
I haven't heard back on [item], so I want to check I'm not chasing the wrong person or at the wrong moment.
If things have changed on your side, that's completely fine — just say and we'll pause properly rather than drift.
If it's still on, the fastest way through is 10 minutes on a call: [booking link].
[Your name]
10. Onboarding complete, handoff to delivery
Once every onboarding step is finished
Subject: You're fully onboarded — here's who you'll hear from now
Hi [First name],
Onboarding is done. Agreement signed, deposit received, access granted, everything we needed is in.
From here, [delivery contact] runs your day to day — [email], [hours]. I'm still around and still your escalation point if you need one.
Next up: [milestone] on [date].
One favour: reply with a line on how onboarding felt. We change it based on what clients say, and the honest version is more useful than the polite one.
[Your name]
The two emails that matter most
Emails 6 and 9 are the ones that separate agencies who onboard in days from agencies who onboard in weeks.
Email 6 works because it contains a consequence. Not a threat, a fact: here are two dates, one of them happens. Most chase emails repeat the request in a politer tone, which reads as "this was not actually urgent last time either."
Email 9 works because it offers the client an exit. Counterintuitively, "should we pause?" gets a faster reply than a fourth reminder, because silence is usually embarrassment rather than disinterest, and you have just made it easy to respond without an apology.
Why chasing exists at all
Every email above between 3 and 6 exists for one reason: the client has to visit several different places to finish onboarding. A form here, an e-sign tool there, a file upload somewhere else, an invoice in a fourth. Each destination is a place to stall, and you cannot see which one they stalled at, so you chase everything.
OnboardHive removes the chase by removing the destinations: one magic link per client carrying the proposal, the agreement, the deposit, the intake questions, and the uploads, with no account for the client to create. Because you can see exactly which step is unfinished, email 5 stops being "here's the list again" and becomes one specific sentence. The free plan runs a whole client through it.