Client intake questionnaire template

The questions to ask before you quote or start a project, grouped so clients can answer them in ten minutes and you can tell quickly whether the work is a fit.

Free to copy15 questionsPaste into any form tool

Good intake questions do two jobs: they help you write a proposal that fits, and they tell you early when a project is not right for you. Remove any question you would not act on.

New project questionnaire

Thanks for getting in touch. These questions help us understand your project before we talk. Answer as much as you can; “not sure yet” is a fine answer.

About you

  1. Your name, role and company.
  2. Your website and the country or countries you operate in.
  3. Who else will be involved in decisions about this project?

The project

  1. In one or two sentences, what do you want to achieve?
  2. Why now? What has changed, or what happens if you do nothing?
  3. How will you know the project has worked? (For example more enquiries, faster processes, a launch date met.)
  4. What do you already have in place? (Existing website, brand guidelines, content, tools.)
  5. Have you tried to solve this before? What worked and what did not?

Scope and timing

  1. Which of these do you think you need? [List your services, e.g. strategy, design, development, content, ongoing support.]
  2. Is there a deadline, and is it fixed? (For example an event, a product launch, a funding round.)
  3. What is your budget range? [e.g. under 5,000 · 5,000–15,000 · 15,000–40,000 · over 40,000 · not sure]

Practical details

  1. Who will give feedback and approve the work?
  2. Are there legal, compliance or accessibility requirements we should know about?
  3. How do you prefer to communicate, and how often would you like updates?
  4. Anything else we should know?

We will reply within [two working days]. Your answers are used only to prepare for this project. [Link to privacy notice.]

Replace everything in [square brackets] with your own details.

Why these questions

  • “Why now?” tells you the urgency and the real reason behind the project, which is what the proposal should speak to.
  • “How will you know it worked?” gives you the success measures for the proposal and the project report.
  • Budget ranges stop you writing a detailed proposal for a budget that cannot fund it.
  • Decision-makers reveal who must be on the proposal call, and who will approve the work later.

Adapting it to your service

Replace question 9 with your own service list, and add two or three questions specific to your work. A web studio might ask about the CMS and hosting; a marketing agency about current channels and ad spend; a consultant about the team and the current process. Keep the total short. You can collect the detail later in a project brief.

When you are ready to quote, the answers map straight onto the proposal template: goals into “what success looks like”, scope into deliverables, and timing into the timeline.

Frequently asked questions

What is a client intake questionnaire?

A set of questions a new or prospective client answers before you quote or start work. It captures goals, scope, budget, timeline, decision-makers and practical details, so your proposal fits and the project starts with everything you need.

When should I send it?

Before a discovery call for new enquiries, so the call can go deeper, or straight after a client agrees to work with you, to collect the details you need to start.

How many questions should it have?

As few as you need to decide whether to quote and how. Ten to fifteen questions is usually enough. Ask the rest on the call, or in a later project brief.

Should I ask about budget?

Yes. A range is enough. Without it you can spend hours on a proposal that is far outside what the client can spend. Offering ranges makes the question easier to answer.

How do I collect answers?

Paste the questions into an online form, a shared document or an email. In Arpixa you can build an intake form that saves answers to the client record, and clients can fill in a structured brief from their portal.

What about privacy?

Only ask for information you need, say how you will use it, and store it securely. If you work with clients in the UK, EU or other regions with data protection laws, link to your privacy notice on the form.

More free tools

Proposal templateA client proposal structure with example wording for each section.Statement of work templateScope, deliverables, timeline, acceptance and change control.Estimate generatorJob and project estimates with hours, materials and stated assumptions.Service agreement templateA plain-English agreement for freelancers and agencies.

Updated September 2026. General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Check the rules where you work.