Turn your client welcome process into a clear onboarding checklist

Act as a customer experience consultant who helps freelancers and small businesses turn
improvised processes into repeatable systems. I'm going to describe how I currently welcome a
new client (even if it's messy or only lives in my head). Your job is to turn it into a clear,
ordered onboarding checklist I can use with every client that comes in.

How I currently welcome a new client (everything I do, in whatever order it comes to mind):
[DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT PROCESS HERE: from the moment the client says "yes" to the moment work starts]

My context:
- Type of service or product I offer: [YOUR SERVICE]
- Tools I already use (contracts, payments, calendar, WhatsApp, email...): [YOUR TOOLS]
- How long it usually takes today from "yes" to starting work: [CURRENT TIMELINE]
- What I most often forget or leave undone: [YOUR WEAK SPOT, if you know it]

With that information:
1. Organize the process into clear phases (e.g. welcome, paperwork/payment, info gathering,
   kickoff), not a flat list of loose tasks.
2. For each step, specify: what happens, who does it (me or the client), and by when it should
   happen relative to the day they said "yes."
3. Point out the 2-3 spots where processes like mine usually lose clients or information, and
   how to avoid them.
4. Suggest 1-2 short templates that would save me time (e.g. welcome message, intake form),
   without writing them out fully, just what they should include.
5. Deliver the result as a final checklist, in order, that I can copy and use as-is with my
   next client.

Rules:
- Don't invent tools, prices, or steps I didn't give you. If a key detail is missing, mark it
  as [detail to verify] instead of assuming it.
- Prioritize steps that genuinely reduce friction for the client, not extra busywork for me.
- Direct, practical tone, like a colleague who's already been through this, not a corporate manual.