More and more businesses come to an important realization: you can’t make good decisions if you don’t have the right data.
Otherwise, it’s a quick route to being misled and misinformed. And that’s also true in the case of service providers, from graphic designers and copywriters to web developers and video editors.
After all, how can you deliver excellent results when you have a vague picture of client’s expectations? And an even more unclear understanding of their brand?
The more you know, the easier and faster it’ll be to complete the project with spectacular results. That’s why so many businesses choose to keep crucial skills in-house, knowing how important the insider knowledge is.
How can you measure up to that challenge?
By ensuring that you have the right data all along, each step of the way.
And the easiest way to do that is to start using intake forms.
What’s an Intake Form?
An intake form is a questionnaire for collecting project and client information. Its form and shape isn’t universal and may differ wildly between businesses, but at its core, it should prepare the service provider for the upcoming collaboration.
Often enough, the client intake process consists of two parts: a client intake form and a project intake form. The former focuses on collecting personal data of the client and their brand, while the latter focuses on gathering essential information in preparation for the project, such as goals, expectations, requirements, and inspiration, among others.
Client intake forms are also called client onboarding forms or client registration forms — the name you’ll use with your prospective clients should be adjusted in accordance with the industry. For example, a patient intake form could be more fitting healthcare services, while onboarding makes more sense for a longer business relationship.
In the same vein, it’s entirely up to you if you want to keep client intake and project intake forms separate; you can combine the two into one form if that better suits your needs.
Who Should Use Intake Forms?
The idea of using a client intake form isn’t restricted to a specific industry or a profession — it concerns everyone working with potential clients. But it would be critical for freelancers and small to medium businesses, while enterprise organizations would most probably use their own, custom solutions.
6 Benefits of Using Intake Forms
The core benefits of intake forms include quicker and more organized gathering of information, improved client communication, smoother team collaboration, faster project initiation, and better control over project boundaries and expectations.
To visualize the real value of using intake forms, it’s good to compare both scenarios: operating with and without intake forms. This is exactly what I provide in the table below.
| Before using intake forms | After using intake forms |
| ❌ Client information is scattered across multiple emails | ✅ All client information is organized and accessible in one place |
| ❌ Clients give vague answers due to poorly framed questions | ✅ Clients give clear, useful responses thanks to well-structured and comprehensive questions |
| ❌ Teammates constantly ask each other for project details | ✅Teammates can independently find what they need |
| ❌ Returning clients have to repeat the same information | ✅Returning clients simply review and confirm past responses |
| ❌ Project kickoff is delayed while waiting for missing details | ✅Projects start faster with all key info gathered upfront |
| ❌ Scope creep happens easily due to unclear expectations | ✅Clear expectations help keep the project on track and within scope |
5 Key Elements of Intake Form
Now, while client intake forms can differ wildly from one another, they do usually have some sections in common, including those with basic data (mostly personal details), business information, service details, consents and confirmation message. Let’s point out the most crucial elements from each of these sections.
1. Basic Information
First, you need to collect the most basic information about the client, such as full name, pronouns, honorifics, phone number, email address, and preferred contact method, among others.This ensures you can communicate clearly and respectfully, and have reliable contact details from the start.
2. Business Information
Second, gather details related to the client’s business or professional role, which may include: job title, company name, company size, industry, VAT or Tax ID. This helps you better understand their context and tailor your services or communication accordingly.
3. Service-Relevant Details
Here’s where things deviate: you need to ask everything you need to know to kickstart the project and lead it successfully. The questions will vary greatly between different industries and service types (for example, if you focus mainly on custom or productized services), but in general, you can ask about: budget, project scope, deadlines, milestones, success metrics, required deliverables, review or feedback cycles, among others.
Pro-Tip: HubSpot reports that 36% of marketers never test their forms with real users, which is quite a mistake, as iteration is key to making they work with maximum effect. The more submissions you collect, the easier it becomes to spot missing questions or unclear sections. Don’t stress out too much about this part, which can seem overwhelming — you can update your forms anytime! Preferably, based on data from previous tests.
4. Consent-Relevant details
Next, if you want to maintain a professional look, you need to have your new clients consent to data processing, agree to terms & conditions, and accept the privacy policy — this is especially important under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applicable across the EU. Your clients also want to be assured you know how to handle their sensitive data safely and responsibly.
5. Confirmation Message
Last but not least, it’s important to include a confirmation message or a thank-you page, so that your prospective clients know they’ve submitted the form correctly. Also, remember to include the information about what happens next — let them know how quickly they can expect you to follow up.
Intake Form Examples
But let’s talk practicalities — what makes an intake form a good one? Is there such a thing as a bad intake form? Let’s explore these possibilities.
A Bad Intake Form
Trouble may start the moment a client opens the email message with the attached form. If it has a strange name — like a string of random letters — a potential client might think your services are a scam.
Format also makes a world of difference. If it’s a less-known format that can be accessed only through specific programs or only on a specific device, a client might decide it’s not worth the extra effort. If they’re speaking with several service providers, they might simply switch to someone who offers a much smoother customer experience.
But even if the form is properly named and easily accessible, a lack of interactive fields to enter the answers might be troublesome. If your client can’t easily answer the questions, because they have to either print the document and fill it out manually or use a special program to do it digitally, you’ll come across as someone behind the times.
In the same vein, a low-quality file with blurry images, unusual or unsupported fonts, on top of some typos, might spell incoming trouble and disheartened clients.
Now, is there anything about the questions themselves that might make a bad impression?
Of course:
- A lack of coherent structure: a well-thought out form shouldn’t randomly jump from topic to topic, mixing personal information with project information; a good practice is to visually separate the topics as well, for example by using horizontal lines.
- Inconsistency: did you ask for the first name, but not the last one? Details, someone might say, but they might quickly add up to a confusing, unpleasant mess nobody knows how to fill out right.
- Irrelevant questions: a client shouldn’t be made to feel that they got a wrong form on accident, because the questions fit a different industry or a different type of business (for example, the client is a freelancer and not a representative of an enterprise company).
- Vague questions: to get the most precise answers, you need to pose precise questions; your clients aren’t mind-readers, and it might be unclear to them what type of information you’re after.
- No guidance: in the same vein, although not as devastating is having no tool tips or examples of the type of answers you’re looking for (it could lead to a wasted opportunity of making your form much more clear).
- Ill-fitting tone of voice: if your communication is very formal, switching to something much more conversational in a form might feel jarring and inconsistent with your brand.
An accumulation of many such issues can turn a promising deal into a failed one — after all, clients appreciate extra effort every step of the way.
A Good Intake Form
Now, let’s analyze an example of a good intake form.
While there’s nothing wrong with sending interactive, eye-pleasing PDFs, you can go one step further and invest in a Client Portal that not only generate proper forms, but also ensures smooth onboarding, easy access to exchanged files and documents, as well as a real-time communication channel.
The benefits of such an approach are:
- Professional look — nothing screams more “professional” than a modern, white-label platform that supports your brand’s voice and looks.
- Making clients feel special — ensuring your clients have their own, password-protected space to make collaboration a breeze will turn their experience from good to exceptional.
- Building trust through transparency — giving your clients an in-depth insight into the project’s process, as well as access to all the data involved, will strengthen your business relationship.
- Single source of truth — everyone involved in the project can quickly and easily find relevant information, files, and data; no more back-and-forth emails just to get one image!
On top of that, you can share your online intake form with clients with no fuss. Once you save and publish your intake form, your client will see it in their dashboard, along with other important information: state of current requests, recently exchanged documents and files, as well as pending payments.
Moreover, you can count on a Client Portal to include extra features that enhance the quality, usability, and professionalism of your documents:
- you can choose if users can submit the form unlimited times or only once,
- you can choose if only registered users can submit intake forms,
- you can choose which questions are mandatory, and which ones are optional,
- you can redirect clients to a customizable thank you page or redirect them to another URL, like your website,
- you can set up form logic, to hide or show specific fields in response to chosen answers.
Therefore, you can create a smooth intake form process consisting of the following steps:
- Your client logs in to their own Client Portal.
- They find the intake form waiting for them in their own dashboard, along with other documents.
- They fill out the questionnaire with all the necessary information.
- After submitting the form, they’re redirected to a thank-you page or to another site.
- You get notified of the new submission form — now you can proceed with the project!
If that caught your interest, you can find more detailed intake process templates in this article.
How to Create Intake Forms?
There are three approaches to creating your intake forms. You can choose one based on your budget, available time, effort, and specific needs.
1. Manually
You can, of course, Do It Yourself, using Adobe Suite, Canva, or plain old Microsoft Word. While this allows you to customize any documents to your heart’s desire, it can be rather time-consuming, especially while forced to navigate specific software’s limitations. On the upside, it gives you full control over your own resources: you can customize and copy them as you wish, ensuring consistency across projects and adapting them to each client’s unique needs.
It also helps you avoid vendor lock-in, which can happen when relying on specific platforms that limit flexibility or future migration.
2. Using Pre-Made Templates
For those on the busier side, there are plenty of free and paid templates — some of them are already tailored for specific use cases and industries, conveniently. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to adjust the template to fit your exact requirements and vision (in some cases, it can even be difficult to add fields) as well as aligning it with your brand. On the other hand, if you’re fine with more of a general feel, such a template should be the right fit.
Project management software that comes with its own pre-made template libraries are Dubsado and HoneyBook. Their advantage lies in the all-powerful editors, allowing you to get to the nitty-gritty parts of customization.
3. Ordering Custom Templates
If you want something extra but you’re not ready to commit to any software, you can order custom templates from graphic designers, who can be found on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. But there’s a catch: editing any of the files can be tricky later on, especially if you lose contact with their creator. If you’re sure, though, you’d be using these templates for a long while, it’s a good idea to start with if you want to emphasize your brand’s tone of voice and feel!
Info: In WVO’s research, adding a little extra white space around the form submit button led to a 200% increase in conversions! Make sure your form submission button stands out enough against the background.
4. Using a Client Portal or a Project Management Software
When it comes to all sorts of software, you can also use a Client Portal like Zendo. This is a great idea for those looking for a white-label solution that has other features to manage projects from top to bottom, including handling payments, having a direct line of communication with clients, allowing them to place orders on their own, and facilitating teamwork by enforcing transparency. This approach is best for growing businesses looking to optimize and simplify their internal processes, who don’t want to spend too much time on customization.
13 Questions You Should Ask in Intake Questionnaire
Let’s take a bit of practice. Suppose you run a marketing agency and are just working on your first intake form to be included on your website or client portal. Which questions should you ask your clients? What is the ideal order? And how to divide them into sections? Well, rather than flooding you with details, let’s try to create such a form!
🔍 About the Business
- Describe in one or two sentences what your business is about.
- Who is your target audience or ideal customer?
- What differentiates your business from competitors?
- Do you have existing branding materials (logo, color palette, tone of voice)?
🎯 Goals & Objectives
- What are your primary marketing goals for the next 3–6 months?
- What challenges are you currently facing in your marketing campaigns?
- What would success look like to you at the end of this project?
🌐 Digital Presence
- Do you currently have a website? If yes, please share the link.
- Are you using any marketing channels? (e.g., SEO, PPC, social media, email)
- Which platforms have performed best for your business so far?
🛠️ Project-Specific Needs
- What specific services are you interested in? (e.g., branding, SEO, content creation)
- Do you have any existing content or campaigns we should be aware of?
- Are there specific competitors or websites you admire? Why?
📅 Timeline & Budget
- Do you have a specific deadline or timeline in mind?
- What is your approximate budget for this project or campaign?
🤝 Communication & Workflow
- Who will be our main point of contact, and what’s your preferred communication method?
Of course, in other industries it may look a bit different, but I hope with the above list you at least know the right direction.
Where Do I Find the Best Project Intake Form Templates?
Where to find the aforementioned pre-made templates, that you could either use or get inspired by?
- SmartSheet: this website has free templates for different uses, such as real estate counseling, legal, and marketing, among others. They look quite formal and are a bit old-fashioned, but they can suit a specific type of target audience. Note that they’re not interactive in anyway, making them a good fit for print.
- TemplateLab: here you’ll find a more diverse variety of convenient templates, also meant for print. They’re tailored to masseurs, travel agents, hair salons, interior designers, and healthcare providers, among others.
- eSign: this library comes with online forms for event planners, estheticians, bookkeepers, HR, personal trainers, among others. You can easily change their formats, and even create your own template using eSign’s editor.
Craft Effective Intake Forms in Minutes
To this date, businesses have had to rely on ineffective, old-fashioned intake forms that made their clients scratch their heads. But now, with more resources available than ever, you can easily streamline data collection to save time, while exceeding your customers’ expectations with smooth processes. This may very well determine whether a client will want to come back one day, and you can surprise them with the high amount of information collected during previous collaborations.
While it may seem like overkill to put that much attention into simple documents, remember that the devil lies in the details; with the competition becoming increasingly sharper, you can stand out with your special approach to clients, where all their needs are met and they feel listened to.
To make that happen, investing in a Client Portal becomes a necessity. It will enable the best opportunities by taking away all your administrative tasks, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: your clients!
If you’d like to try your hand at creating your own intake forms, sign up for Zendo — it’s entirely free, no credit card required!
FAQ
What Information does the Client Intake Form Gather?
A typical client intake form includes basic information (e.g. full name, phone number, email address), business information (e.g. company name, job title, industry, VAT or Tax ID), service-relevant details (e.g. budget, availability, preferred contact method), consent-relevant details (consent to data processing, agreement to terms & conditions or privacy policy), and optional info (social media handles or open-ended questions).
Why Is It Necessary for Every Client to Fill Out a Client Intake Form?
Filling out a client intake form ensures that your agency gathers essential details upfront, saving time, preventing miscommunication, and aligning expectations. It helps streamline onboarding experience, clarify goals, and give your team a clear project direction from the start.
How to Create an Intake Form in Google Docs?
To create an intake form in Google Docs, first start a new document and add an introduction explaining the form’s purpose. Then list your questions, leaving space for responses. You can organize details using bolded headers or tables for clarity. Once finished, share the form via a viewable or editable link, or download it as a PDF to send to clients.
Side note, yet important: Google has a dedicated form-building tool, Google Forms. You can use it to create intake forms too. It allows you to add questions by choosing field types like short answer, multiple choice, or checkboxes.
How to Create an Intake Form in Asana?
To create an intake form in Asana, go to the project where you want to collect submissions and click “Customize” in the top-right corner. Select “+ Add Form”. Then, build your form by adding fields such as text, dropdowns, or multi-select options. You can customize the form name, description, and even choose which task fields are filled in. Once done, share the form link — each submission will automatically create a new task in the project.
