Send a checklist for KYC documents, account statements, and beneficiary forms. Clients upload without creating an account. You see who's done and who needs a nudge.
$7.99/month flat · unlimited clients · no client login required
Onboarding is where advisory relationships lose momentum. A prospect who agreed to move assets in week one is, by week four, a half-complete file waiting on an ID copy and a statement from an old 401(k) provider. The paperwork isn't complicated; it's just fragmented across several institutions and several requests. Consolidating it into one visible checklist compresses onboarding from weeks to days, which matters both for conversion and for how the relationship starts.
Use this as a starting template — in ClientBrief you save it once and send it to every client, rather than retyping it into a new email each time.
Send the full onboarding checklist at the moment a prospect commits, not in stages as you discover what's needed — piecemeal requests are what turn a two-day task into a four-week one. Clients upload without registering, which removes the friction of an unfamiliar portal at exactly the point where enthusiasm is highest. Automatic reminders handle the outstanding items so the relationship doesn't begin with you sending three follow-up emails, and the status view tells you when a file is actually complete enough to submit.
What documents do I need to onboard a new advisory client?
Typically government-issued ID, proof of address, SSN verification, and current statements for every account being transferred or reviewed. Depending on the engagement you may also need trust documents, existing policy documents, beneficiary forms, and a recent tax return for planning.
How do I collect KYC documents securely?
Through an encrypted upload rather than email. ID copies and account statements are among the most sensitive documents a client will ever send you, and email attachments are the weakest common handling method. A collection tool that deletes files after the engagement closes further limits how long that data sits anywhere.
How do I speed up client onboarding?
Request everything at once instead of discovering requirements in stages, and automate the follow-up. Most onboarding delay isn't client reluctance — it's the round-trip time of a request-response-discover-another-gap cycle repeated four times.
Do clients need to create a portal account?
Not with ClientBrief. Clients open a link and upload. That's a meaningful difference for advisory work, where the client may be an older individual for whom creating and remembering a portal login is a genuine barrier.
Can I use it for annual review cycles too?
Yes — build a separate annual review checklist and send it to your book on a schedule. The same reusable-template logic that helps at onboarding applies to every recurring document request afterward.
Last updated August 2026 · See all industries