Guide

Client onboarding workflow for agencies

A practical client onboarding workflow: from won deal to portal access, kickoff artifacts, and first invoice — using Trellis as the operating system.

Onboarding is where agencies either build trust or create chaos. The goal is simple: within days of a won deal, the client has a branded place to see work, the team has a shared task list, and billing is not an afterthought. This workflow assumes Trellis as the agency operating system.

Why a workflow beats a checklist in email

Email checklists disappear. A portal-backed workflow keeps artifacts (SOW, brand assets, access lists) and next actions visible to both sides. Automations can later send invites and reminders; start with a reliable manual path first.

Steps

Mark the deal won in CRM / pipeline. Close the lead or opportunity so the handoff starts from a shared record, not a Slack ping.
Create the client space. Provision a dedicated space with a clear name. Attach the internal owner and delivery lead.
Seed kickoff artifacts. Add the project, initial tasks (kickoff call, brand assets, access list), and upload the SOW or kickoff deck.
Invite the client stakeholders. Send portal invitations to the decision-maker and day-to-day contact with client roles only.
Confirm branding and login path. Share the subdomain or custom domain URL. Verify clients can sign in before the kickoff call.
Schedule kickoff and capture next actions. Use tasks for owners and due dates so status is visible in the portal after the call.
Issue the first invoice when contractually due. Create the invoice in Trellis and send Stripe Checkout so billing is not a separate chase channel.

A realistic first-week timeline

Day 0 (deal won): mark the deal won, create the space, assign the internal owner.
Day 1: seed the project, add kickoff tasks, upload the SOW, send portal invitations.
Day 2–3: kickoff call; capture decisions as tasks with owners and due dates while still on the call.
Day 4–5: confirm the client has logged in, issue the first invoice if contractually due, and agree where status lives going forward.

The goal of week one is not to finish work — it is to make the engagement legible to both sides so week two does not start with questions about access.

Who owns what

Account owner: commercial relationship, scope changes, invoice timing.
Delivery lead: tasks, deadlines, what gets published to the space.
Ops or admin: user invitations, roles, branding, and access removal when people leave.

Writing this down matters more than the tool. Unowned onboarding steps are the reason clients wait three days for a login.

SLA-friendly habits

Invite clients before the kickoff call — not after
Keep internal ops notes out of client-visible documents
One space per client (or per major engagement if you truly need separation)
Align invoice timing with the SOW; use Trellis invoicing + Stripe Checkout