A person approves every engagement letter
The AI drafts from your approved templates and fee schedule and never sets scope or fees on its own. Nothing goes for signature until the person you name approves it.
Client Onboarding Automation From “yes” to ready to start, without the chasing.
When a client says yes, the AI runs the steps your team does by hand today: intake form, conflict-check prep, document requests, engagement letter, e-signature, welcome email and first tasks. Each step runs in your order and is logged, and a person approves the letter before it goes out.
Free · 20 minutes · You talk to Syed · Scoped before anything is built
How it runs
Client Onboarding Running
Ready to start, with sign-off
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A client says yes
A deal marked won in your CRM, a retained consult or a signed proposal.
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The AI works through your checklist
Intake form, conflict-search prep, document requests and polite reminders, in your order.
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Your practice software updates
Client or matter, documents and signature status kept current in Clio, Karbon or your CRM.
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Ready to start, with sign-off
A partner approves the letter, the client e-signs, and the welcome email and first tasks go out.
See it work
Watch it handle one.
A scripted walk-through of a typical client onboarding conversation — press play.
Simulated demo
New client, from “retained” to ready to start
Harrow & Vale Law · new client onboarding Matter 2026-0418 · Mon Oct 19 – Thu Oct 22
- Event
Mon 10:20 am · consult marked “Retained” by Maya Chen · new clients Daniel and Ama Osei · condo purchase · closing Fri Dec 11
- Sending the residential purchase intake form… Intake form sent with a secure link · completed by Daniel at 11:48 am Clio
- Running the conflict search from the intake answers… 5 names searched · 2 buyers, 2 sellers, seller’s lawyer · no matches · sent to Maya to clear Clio
- Maya · partner
Checked the results. No conflict. Cleared.
- Documents requested · secure upload link
- Photo ID × 2
- Agreement of purchase and sale
- Mortgage commitment
- Deposit receipt
- Home insurance binder
- Following up on what’s still missing… Reminders Wed and Thu list only what’s missing · 4 of 5 filed to the matter · insurance binder reminder set for Tue Dec 1 Outlook
- Engagement letter · Osei purchase Needs approval
- Template
- Residential purchase · v4
- Scope
- Purchase of Unit 1207, 88 Linden Ave · closing Dec 11
- Fees
- Flat fee plus disbursements, from your fee schedule
- Signers
- Daniel and Ama Osei · e-signature
- AI assistant
The Osei engagement letter is drafted from your residential purchase template, with every field taken from the intake. Approve it to send for e-signature?
- Maya · partner
Read it. Approved, send it.
- Sending for e-signature… Signed by Daniel and Ama · Thu 4:12 pm · signed PDF and audit trail filed to the matter DocuSign
- Ready to start · Osei purchase Done
- Welcome email
- Sent 4:13 pm · what happens next and who to call
- Matter
- Opened in Clio · 5 documents filed
- Tasks
- Title search · review agreement · requisition letter · book signing
- Log
- Every step timed · conflict clearance and letter approval by Maya
From “retained” to ready to start with about 3 minutes of staff time. Both sign-offs logged.
Set this up for my business What it replaces
Off your plate.
- Emailing the same intake form and document checklist to every new client
- Writing “just following up” emails about missing documents
- Copying client details into the engagement letter template by hand
- Re-entering each new client into the practice software, task list and billing
How it works
Step by step.
- 01
We map your onboarding from “yes” to “ready”
Every form, document, approval and email, in your order, for each type of client you take on. There’s usually a step that only lives in one person’s head. We write it down and turn it into the AI’s checklist.
- 02
Intake and document requests go out on their own
The client gets one tidy intake form and a document checklist for their type of file, with a secure upload link. Reminders list only what’s still missing and stop the moment it arrives.
- 03
A person clears conflicts and approves the letter
Where your profession requires a conflict check, the AI runs the search on the names from the intake and drafts the engagement letter from your template and fee schedule. A lawyer, partner or account lead reviews both. Nothing goes for e-signature until they approve.
- 04
Signed, welcomed and set up
Once the client e-signs, the copy is filed, the welcome email explains what happens next, and the client or matter is opened with its first tasks assigned.
Works with the tools you already use
- Clio
- Karbon
- HubSpot
- DocuSign
- Dropbox Sign
- Adobe Acrobat Sign
- Outlook / Microsoft 365
- Gmail / Google Workspace
- SharePoint / Google Drive
- Asana / ClickUp
- n8n, Make or Zapier
Connected through official APIs where available. Names and logos are trademarks of their owners; no affiliation implied.
Guardrails
You stay in control.
Conflict checks are prepared, not decided
The AI gathers the names and runs the search. A lawyer or designated staff member clears the conflict, in line with law society guidance that lawyers supervise AI as they would staff.
Confidential from the first form
Documents arrive through a secure upload link, not loose attachments, and access follows your team’s roles. We use AI providers that don’t train on your data, designed around PIPEDA in Canada. For clinics, we act as your agent under PHIPA and sign a business associate agreement for HIPAA.
Messages that respect consent
Onboarding messages relate to work the client asked for. Each identifies your firm and includes an unsubscribe where CASL requires one, and texts to US clients follow TCPA consent rules.
Where it fits
Where it fits best.
Professional Services Law, accounting and agency onboarding: conflict-search prep, engagement letters for partner approval and kickoff tasks. See professional plays Real Estate & Mortgage Application forms and lender document checklists, chased until complete. A person verifies every ID. See real estate plays Health, Dental & Med Spa New-patient and consent forms sent before the first visit. Clinical review stays with your staff. See clinics plays
In practice
What it looks like.
A seven-person accounting firm
Two partners, four staff and an office manager. About 3 new clients a week, more in tax season. The office manager sends forms, chases documents and sets up each client by hand. Partner review of each letter stays the same, so it isn’t counted.
About 2–3 hours a week back for the office manager (estimate)
The math
- Intake and setup: ~3 new clients a week × ~30 min saved (forms, keying details, filling the letter) ≈ 90 min/week
- Document chasing: ~3 new clients × ~4 reminders × ~6 min each ≈ 72 min/week
- Welcome email and first tasks: ~3 new clients × ~10 min ≈ 30 min/week
- Total ≈ 192 min/week ≈ 3.2 h/week
- Less 20% for overlap and ramp-up ≈ 2.6 h/week
Estimates use typical volumes and include a 20% allowance for overlap and ramp-up. Your audit measures the real numbers.
Why it matters
Onboarding is where new clients wait
A client says yes on Tuesday. Then someone has to send the intake form, run the conflict check, work out which documents this client needs, draft the engagement letter, send it for signature, chase the paperwork, set the client up and tell the team. Each step is small. Together they take hours, and they usually live in one person’s inbox and memory.
When that person is busy, the new client waits. Documents arrive in pieces, reminders go out late, and the real work starts a week later than it should. Steps get missed too: a letter sent before the conflict is cleared, or a file opened without a signed engagement.
What changes with automated client onboarding
The moment a client is marked as retained, the AI works through your checklist in your order. The intake form goes out first. Where you need one, names go into a conflict search for a person to clear. A document checklist for that type of client follows, with a secure upload link and polite reminders that list only what’s still missing. Documents that arrive can be read, checked and filed by AI document processing.
The engagement letter is drafted from your template and waits for a partner to approve it. Once the client signs, the welcome email goes out, the client or matter is opened and the first tasks land with the right people. Every step is logged with a time and a name.
Start with one client type
We start with your most common kind of new client and run the first few onboardings alongside your team, adjusting the wording and timing before adding the next type. If enquiries need sorting before anyone says yes, lead qualification handles that part. Anything specific to your stack is connected with custom workflows that you own.
How we roll it out
Audit. Build. Run.
Every engagement is scoped on a call. You’ll know the cost before anything is built.
- 01
Audit
- Onboarding map: every step from “yes” to “ready”, who does it and where it stalls
- Document checklists by client type, with reminder timing
- Approval points: who clears conflicts and who signs off engagement letters
- 02
Build
- Intake form and secure upload link connected to your practice software or CRM
- Engagement letter templates tied to your fee schedule, with approval and e-signature
- Reminders, welcome emails and starter tasks switched on, with a full step log
- 03
Run & Optimize
- Monthly review of stalled onboardings
- Template and checklist updates as your services or terms change
- Plain-English report: clients onboarded, days to ready, documents outstanding
FAQ
Questions owners ask about Client Onboarding
Last updated October 7, 2026
Will the AI send an engagement letter without a partner seeing it?
No. It drafts each letter from your approved template, then waits. A partner or the person you name reviews it, edits it if needed and approves it before it goes for e-signature, and that approval is logged.
Can the AI run our conflict check?
It does the legwork: collecting client, related and opposing party names and running the search in Clio or your practice software. A lawyer or designated staff member reviews the results and clears the conflict. The AI never decides whether one exists.
How does it chase clients for missing documents without being pushy?
It sends a short checklist with a secure upload link, then two or three polite reminders on the schedule you set, each listing only what’s still missing. If something is still outstanding after the last one, a person on your team takes over.
Which e-signature and practice management tools does onboarding automation connect to?
Usually DocuSign, Dropbox Sign or Adobe Acrobat Sign, with Clio, Karbon, HubSpot or a well-organized shared drive. Where a tool has no API, the AI prepares everything and your team finishes the last click.
What does automated client onboarding cost to run?
It depends on how many client types, templates and tools are involved, and how many new clients you take on. We scope it on a short call and give you a fixed build price and a clear monthly running cost before anything is built.
Pairs well with
Often built alongside.
Let’s map Client Onboarding to your workflow.
Bring your call volume, your tools and the part that annoys you most. In 20 minutes you’ll know what it would take — and whether it’s worth doing.
Free · 20 minutes · You talk to Syed · Prefer email? muhammad@sadaat.ca