A client intake form is a structured questionnaire you send to new clients before the project begins. It replaces the back-and-forth email chain and gives you everything you need to scope, price, and start the work.
Done well, it also qualifies clients early — the answers reveal whether the budget is realistic, whether the timeline makes sense, and whether the client has thought carefully enough about the project to be ready to move forward.
Here's what to include.
Section 1: Contact and Business Information
Start with the basics, but go beyond a name and email.
Full legal name — the name that will appear on the contract.
Business name (if different from personal name) — important for the invoice and contract.
Website — review it before you reply. Seeing their current site tells you more than any answer they'll give you.
Industry and business type — helps you understand their audience and frame your work correctly.
Primary point of contact — who you'll be communicating with, and whether they're the decision-maker.
Who has final approval? — critical to know before you start. If your contact needs to run everything by a founder or committee, that affects your timeline and revision process.
Section 2: Project Scope and Goals
This is the most important section. Vague answers here are a warning sign.
What problem are you trying to solve?
This is better than "what do you need?" The answer reveals whether the client understands their own situation or is just pattern-matching to a deliverable they've heard about.
What does success look like for this project?
Concrete answers ("we want 20% more leads from the website within 90 days") are better than vague ones ("we want it to look more professional"). Concrete goals let you build toward something measurable and protect you from "I don't know, it just doesn't feel right" at the revision stage.
What are the deliverables you're expecting?
Let them answer this before you define scope. You'll often find they expect more than you quoted for, or less than you were planning to include.
Do you have existing brand guidelines, assets, or previous work to share?
Knowing what already exists saves time and avoids duplicating work they've already paid for.
Who is the target audience?
Brief description is enough. This shapes every creative decision.
Section 3: Timeline and Budget
This section eliminates the time-wasters.
When do you need this completed?
"As soon as possible" is not a timeline. If they can't give a date, probe further: "Is there an event, launch, or deadline driving this?"
Is there a hard deadline, and what's driving it?
Understanding the constraint helps you prioritize and gives you grounds to push back if the scope grows. A client with a product launch date on October 1 is motivated to make decisions quickly. A client with no fixed deadline may drag indefinitely.
What is your budget range for this project?
Offer multiple-choice brackets if you want honest answers:
Under $1,000
$1,000–3,000
$3,000–7,500
$7,500–15,000
Over $15,000
Clients often don't know what their project should cost. Giving them a range forces them to indicate their ceiling without feeling like they're negotiating.
Budget mismatches are far easier to address before a proposal than after.
Section 4: Communication and Working Style
How do you prefer to communicate? (Email, Slack, phone, video)
How often do you expect updates?
Who handles final approvals, and what's the typical turnaround time for feedback?
The last question matters most. A client who takes two weeks to respond to a revision request will extend your project timeline significantly. Knowing this upfront helps you build realistic milestones.
Section 5: Project-Specific Questions
Add questions tailored to your service. Examples:
Web design:
What websites do you admire? (Share 2–3 links)
What's broken about your current site?
Will you be providing copy, or do you need copywriting?
Graphic design:
What emotions should the design evoke?
Are there colors or styles to avoid?
Where will this be used — print, digital, both?
Writing/content:
What's the target keyword or topic focus?
What's the publication/platform?
What's the word count and tone?
Photography/videography:
What's the location?
Who are the subjects?
What will the content be used for?
Where to Build Your Intake Form
Typeform — the most polished experience for clients. Conversational format, one question at a time. Paid plans from $25/month.
Google Forms — free and functional. Less polished, but the data goes directly into a Google Sheet.
Tally — free, clean design, highly customizable. A strong middle ground between Google Forms and Typeform.
Notion — if you use Notion for client management, you can embed a form or use a template that clients fill out directly.
FileCurrent — FileCurrent's client-facing flow includes intake questionnaires alongside contracts and invoices, so the client completes everything in one place without switching tools. 7-day free trial, no card required.
What to Do With the Answers
The intake form is only useful if you act on it before the project begins.
Before writing the proposal: Review the budget, timeline, and scope answers. If there's a mismatch, address it before you write a proposal they can't afford.
Before the kickoff call: Read every answer. A 20-minute review means you spend the call asking follow-up questions rather than covering basics they already answered.
During the project: Keep the intake form accessible. When a client requests something outside the agreed scope, the original answer to "what deliverables are you expecting?" is your reference point.
At project end: Compare the completed project to the stated success criteria. This is useful for case studies, testimonials, and your own retrospective.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I send the intake form?
After the initial inquiry but before a proposal or detailed call. The form qualifies the client and gathers the information you need to write an accurate proposal. Sending it too early (before any conversation) can feel impersonal; too late (after a lengthy call) means you're gathering information twice.
How long should a client intake form be?
Long enough to get what you need, short enough that clients complete it. 8–12 questions is usually right. Anything over 20 questions starts to feel like an application for a mortgage.
Should I require budget information?
Yes. Without a budget signal, you may spend hours on a proposal for a client who can't afford you. Use brackets rather than an open field — clients are more likely to select a range than to type a number.
What if a client refuses to fill out the form?
That's a signal. Clients who won't spend 10 minutes on a form before the project rarely invest the engagement and feedback required during it. You can proceed without it, but adjust your expectations accordingly.
Can I use the intake form answers as part of the contract?
Reference them in the contract's scope section, yes. Include a brief scope description based on the intake answers — it locks in what was discussed and prevents "but I thought this included X" disputes later.
The Bottom Line
A client intake form saves you from scoping projects blind, writing proposals for clients who can't afford you, and starting work without understanding what success means to the client.
Build a template, refine it with each project, and make it a non-negotiable step in your onboarding process.
Once the form is complete, the next step is the contract and deposit. FileCurrent handles both — send a contract with e-signature and an invoice in one flow. 7-day trial, no card required.
For the full onboarding sequence after the form, see our client onboarding checklist.