Free template
The 27-question client intake form
Everything you need to collect before a client kickoff — organized into 6 categories. Copy into Typeform, Tally, Google Forms, or Notion. No email required.
When to send: Immediately after the contract is signed or invoice is paid. Aim to have responses back 48 hours before the kickoff call. Use the answers to run the kickoff — not to gather info you should have collected before it.
1
Business Context
5 questions
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Q1. Company overview — tell us about your business in 2–3 sentences.Gives your team instant context for internal briefs and kickoff prep.Long text
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Q2. What industry are you in, and who are your top 3 competitors?Competitor awareness shapes strategy from day one.Short text
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Q3. How many employees does your company have?Company size affects communication expectations, approval layers, and project complexity.Dropdown: 1–5 / 6–15 / 16–50 / 51–200 / 200+
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Q4. Approximate annual revenue? optionalPrevents recommending strategies the client can't fund.Dropdown
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Q5. Have you worked with an agency before? What worked and what didn't?This is gold — tells you what not to do and what the client already values.Long text
2
Goals & KPIs
5 questions
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Q6. What is the #1 thing you want to achieve by working with us?Forces the client to prioritize. If they list 7 things, follow up before kickoff.Long text
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Q7. Six months from now, how will you know this engagement was successful?This becomes your north star metric — quote it back in reports.Long text
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Q8. What are your current baseline numbers? (traffic, revenue, leads, conversion rate…)You need a baseline. Without it, you can't prove impact.Long text
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Q9. Is there a specific deadline or event driving this project?Urgency changes prioritization. Identify it early.Short text + date
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Q10. Do you have a monthly budget for paid channels or tools beyond our fee?Prevents the "I assumed organic-only" surprise at week 3.Short text
3
Brand & Assets
5 questions
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Q11. Do you have brand guidelines? Share or upload them.Saves 1–2 weeks of back-and-forth in the first sprint.File upload + short text
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Q12. Do you have existing content, photos, videos, or case studies? Where are they stored?Prevents recreating things that already exist.Long text + file upload
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Q13. Website URL and all social media profiles.Your team needs these on day one for audits and access setup.Long text
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Q14. Are there any brand rules, sensitivities, or things you absolutely don't want us to do?Identifies landmines before you step on them.Long text
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Q15. Do you have an existing content calendar or publishing schedule?Prevents collision with planned campaigns or announcements.Short text + file upload
4
Access & Tools
5 questions
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Q16. What tools and platforms does your team currently use? AIYour team uses this to generate a full access request list — no guessing.Long text (e.g. "HubSpot, Google Analytics, Shopify, Slack")
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Q17. Who on your team manages platform access and logins?Routes access requests to the right person immediately.Short text (name + email)
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Q18. What is your preferred communication channel and response SLA expectation?Sets mutual expectations before the first async friction.Dropdown: Email / Slack / WhatsApp / Teams + Short text
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Q19. What is your approval process for deliverables?Prevents a 2-day turnaround getting stuck in a 2-week approval chain.Long text
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Q20. Are there any tools or platforms you specifically want us NOT to use?Some clients have security policies, vendor restrictions, or strong preferences.Short text
5
Stakeholders & Decision-Making
4 questions
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Q21. Who is the primary point of contact on your side?Every project needs one named person. Document them now.Name + email + phone
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Q22. Who else will be involved in reviewing or approving our work?Identifies hidden stakeholders before they appear in week 4 with veto power.Long text
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Q23. Who has final decision-making authority for this project?Prevents approval loops that go nowhere.Short text
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Q24. How does your team prefer to receive reports and updates?Some clients want a weekly Slack message. Others want a monthly PDF. Know before you build the wrong thing.Long text
6
Constraints & Context
3 questions
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Q25. Are there any upcoming events, launches, or business changes we should plan around?Prevents recommending work that will be disrupted by something you didn't know about.Long text
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Q26. What has been tried before that didn't work?Saves time and credibility. Repeating a failed approach in week 2 is avoidable.Long text
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Q27. Is there anything else we should know before we start?Gives clients a chance to share what didn't fit elsewhere. You'll be surprised what comes up.Long text
AI tip: Paste the client's completed intake into ChatGPT or Claude with the prompt: "Based on these intake answers, flag any vague responses, missing critical information, and likely friction points before kickoff." Takes 30 seconds and prevents a wasted hour during the call.
More free templates in this set:
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