How to Set Up a Client Workflow

As a small business service provider or freelance creative worker, managing clients is an important part of your work. Integrating the right processes and tools into your client workflow will make it easier on you and your client to get everything done on time. 

Having a client workflow gives your business a clear framework for managing client onboarding, deadlines, feedback, and eventual payment for your work. A good workflow can create time for you to take on other tasks or determine whether someone books with you again.

Read on to understand the key steps in a client workflow, the tools you may need, and the best practices to make the most out of your client management and build loyalty for future business. 

What is a client workflow?

A client workflow is a process for businesses, entrepreneurs, or freelancers to manage their clients from inquiry all the way through to tracking tasks to final delivery and payment. You probably have a workflow already, to help manage multiple projects and inquiries. 

For example, you might have one client for a single campaign, and another for ongoing work on retainer. What if, during all of that current work, another potential client reaches out and wants to learn more to book you for a project? A strong workflow will help you keep track of each task and delivery dates. 

Critical to the success of a client workflow are the tools you use. These tools may include automated functions for tasks such as communication, like email marketing or follow-up surveys, or schedulers like booking calendars for service-based businesses like hair salons or online counselling. 

Why does having a client workflow matter? 

A client workflow creates infrastructure for working with clients that ensures your work gets done, clients are satisfied, and you leave a good, professional impression. Not every workflow will have the same deliverables, meeting cadence, or time it takes to finish a project or complete a service. The right workflow will help you adapt to each of those variables with ease.

A smooth, repeatable client workflow has broader benefits for your business too: 

• Improves the client experience

• Showcases your professionalism

• Saves time with automated tasks

• Ensures clear roles and responsibilities 

• Builds trust and positive recommendations to grow your business 

How to set up 7 parts of your client workflow 

The actual steps in your client management workflow will likely differ depending on your industry, the work you do, and the types of clients you have or acquire. The following components cast a wide net for what goes into a typical workflow. They can provide a good foundation for the custom process you create.

1. Client inquiry

Think about how new clients reach you, and what method would save you the most time or manual outreach. 

On your website, you can include a contact form where clients can submit details of a project for review. This gets sent to your email of choice, which can trigger an automated message confirming receipt. This gives you an opportunity to pre-screen potential clients based on their needs or budget, and collect details to prepare you for your first interaction. This could work well for  a professional event photographer, for example.

Or you could use a scheduling tool. If your usual workflow starts with a consultation or you offer one-off services, let clients self-schedule based on your availability. You can build an intake form into the booking flow, so you still get details about them or their project upfront. For example, an astrologer may use a calendar for clients to book future appointments of different lengths. Make sure your business website includes all essential pages for client acquisition.

2. Proposal or contract

A proposal or a contract often follows an initial meeting or email. A proposal isn’t a confirmed statement of work, but outlines and sells the client on essentially everything involved in the project, from the services provided, associated costs broken down by task or hourly rate, and examples of past work. Create a template to ensure key details are included, then tailor the rest to your client. 

A contract outlines the services a client is requesting with a final date for any deliverables or tasks to be completed. This is also a good place to call out limitations to revisions or the scope of revisions. For example, an editor working on revisions with an author for their book may have a contract that states when the first round of revisions are due and confirmed rate for the work.

Having repeatable sections and templates for both of these will save you time and keep your documents accurate, consistent, and professional.

3. Client onboarding

Onboarding your client involves clear communication about roles and responsibilities for the project, expected deliverables and deadlines, and a progress tracker to manage the project.  You can onboard your clients with a simple email, PDF guide, or a kick-off meeting or alignment call before getting into the actual work. 

For example, an online fitness coach may need to receive forms about client health and goals. Once accepted as a client, they might trigger an automatic email with the forms needed before the first session. Then, they could schedule another email a few days before their first session detailing what to expect and how to prepare.  

4. Task and project management

Outlining and tracking all of the tasks in a client project is an important part of the workflow. In the client inquiry stage, you’ll likely have a general outline of the tasks required to provide a rate or delivery date. If you’re finding this step in the process slows you down, it might be helpful to create a checklist to track progress as you move through each task and note where you get stuck. 

A more detailed tracker with the specific dates, progress updates, and final deadlines will help a lot, particularly if you’re managing multiple clients and projects at the same time. You can use your own project management software or track milestones in your Squarespace account.

5. Service delivery 

Once tasks for the client’s project are complete, the next step is delivery. This step will look different based on the service provider. You might schedule time for a live review or final session, if you’re working on a project or something goal based. Others might simply share the link for final deliverables by email or messaging.

Think about where you can save the most time at this stage. If you tend to go back-and-forth finding time to have a review session, set up appointment booking for that. If clients often give unstructured feedback, provide a form with specific questions. If this is the last step of your project work, share a heads up about wrap-up steps and payment.  

6. Invoicing and payment

Your early client communications should already outline rates and payment timelines for your client, so that when you get to this step, invoicing and payment will run smoothly. 

A clear invoicing and payment system will keep everyone on the same page and save time. Create and use customized invoices to send to your clients. For clients you have on retainer, you can create a recurring invoice that goes out on a schedule each month, so you don’t miss a payment. 

This is another place where having repeatable templates for both your invoices and payment terms will help you look professional, save time, and avoid errors.

7. Offboarding and client follow-up

Once the project is complete or a service has been provided, your client is ready to be offboarded. Offboarding a client can include sending follow-up surveys requesting their feedback or a testimonial you can put on your website. 

As a special touch, you might schedule future check-ins for clients. For example, a wedding photographer might pre-schedule an email for a couple’s one-year anniversary, or a travel advisor might send a message on a repeat client’s birthday. This stage of the client management workflow is an opportunity to keep the communication path warm for any future bookings or business.

Best practices for smooth client relationships

Not every client will have the same needs or expectations of you. Returning clients, for example, may have different requirements than brand new ones. But following some guiding principles can help you build systems that work for you and your clients. 

• Set clear expectations with clients. From the start of your client relationship, discuss how you work, your availability, and anything else you or they should know to build a good working relationship. 

• Prioritize clear communication. Have a plan and end goal for every call or email. Use tools like AI notetakers or follow-up with emails to your client with clear next steps or action items to keep everyone in sync. 

• Manage project scope. Put boundaries around tasks to keep everyone on track, up-to-date, and aware of progress. If a client request starts to go out of scope, you can point to what’s in the workflow as a way to manage expectations and timelines.  

• Build and reward client loyalty. Offer ongoing support after a project is finished. Follow-up with check-ins or send emails to see if they need any help or if they’re satisfied with the work.  

• Evolve your workflow as business grows. Carve out time in your schedule to reassess what’s working in your client workflow and what’s not. As your business grows, you may need to adjust how you connect with or onboard your clients.