First impressions matter — especially when you’re dealing with new clients.
Onboarding sets the tone for your client relationships. A poor onboarding experience can make you look unprofessional and unreliable even before your clients start working with you. But although many companies see the value of great onboarding, they still struggle to keep up with onboarding tasks on top of their existing workload.
Last year, 76% of surveyed businesses said they lost too much time to client follow-ups and reminders during onboarding. Factors like these can deter companies from implementing a strong onboarding process, especially if they’re a small or growing business with a lot on their plate already.
If you’re looking for a client onboarding software that can help you save time, boost productivity, and drive client retention, then this blog is for you.
Why invest in client onboarding software?
Half of companies surveyed by Rocketlane in 2023 used time-to-value (TTV) as a key measure of success when onboarding clients. The shorter your TTV, the more likely your clients will trust you as a long-term partner. It also leads to higher client satisfaction during that critical post-sales period — which is why 78% of those surveyed companies feel the urgency to shorten TTV for a better client experience.
What better way to double down on TTV than by using tools that reduce time spent on manual administrative tasks that prolong client onboarding? By investing in the right client onboarding software, you get the benefit of:
- Lower cost and less time spent on low-impact work: Avoid manual data entry, repetitive errors, miscommunication, and delayed approvals that easily become administrative burdens.
- Consistent onboarding across your client base: Provide all your clients with a high-quality onboarding experience that also guarantees you get the data and resources you need from them to kick off a great partnership.
- Strong data hygiene: Streamline client information into a unified system that’s easy to organize and even easier for clients to access important information when needed.
- Enhanced security compliance: Automate important document collection and compliance checks to avoid penalties and client risks.
- Scalable communication: Track all client interactions even as your business grows so you can focus on new client acquisition without worrying about missing any onboarding tasks.
Key features of client onboarding software
In reality, most businesses have unique processes and systems for managing client onboarding. To cater to these custom workflows and client needs, you might use a master spreadsheet or duplicate one-off documents for each client.
So as you evaluate client onboarding software, you want to look for capabilities that help you implement your custom onboarding processes as best as possible. Here are some top client onboarding software features that can help you do what you need to do:
- Customization and personalization: To tailor the onboarding experience with custom branding as well as workflows or UI that match a client’s preferences and nature of work.
- Automated workflows: To automate repetitive tasks throughout onboarding.
- Task management: To help clients track onboarding tasks and deadlines.
- Document management: To share and collect onboarding documents, training resources, and e-signatures.
- Forms: To collect any information or feedback that’s required to start or implement an initial project or solution.
- Communication channels: To give you and your clients easy access to primary communication channels and logs of previous interactions.
- Integrations: To ensure onboarding data is synchronized with a primary customer relationship management (CRM) system, billing platform, project management tool, and more.
Security and compliance: To ensure all collected data is compliant with industry regulations and supports audit requirements.
Best 12 free client onboarding software to use in 2024
From free trials to forever free plans, here are 12 tools that you can try out to strengthen client onboarding!
Client onboarding portals
Client portals are a self-service resource for clients to track their onboarding progress and access information in a single location. These tools are focused on helping businesses boost onboarding via a client portal solution.
1. Softr (No-code builder for onboarding portals and apps)
- G2: 4.8/5 stars (346 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 stars (60 reviews)
Softr helps small businesses and agencies onboard clients faster by turning information from spreadsheets or fragmented data sources into a customizable client portal that simplifies and centralizes all onboarding tasks. Create a branded and user-friendly interface with a simple drag-and-drop builder, over 100 pre-made widget blocks, and dozens of integrations with popular tools — including Airtable, HubSpot, and Google Sheets.
Although Softr isn’t a dedicated client onboarding platform, its customization and design flexibility help you quickly map tasks and collected data to existing databases to automate any administrative onboarding work. It also helps you invest in the specific workflows and capabilities you need instead of underutilizing features that come with a robust onboarding platform. You can use Softr’s client portal template to get started and boost your client onboarding process with easy-to-use communication channels, ticket management systems, and self-help resource centers.
Price:
- Get started with Softr’s forever free plan
- Softr’s most popular plan for small businesses starts at $139 per month
Product features:
- Document management
- Project management
- Workflow automation
- Security and permissions management
- Robust UI and brand customization
- Client communication
- Forms
Key integrations:
- Airtable
- HubSpot
- Google Sheets
- Zapier
2. Dock (Client onboarding portal)
- G2: 4.9/5 stars (110 reviews)
- Capterra: N/A
Dock’s customer onboarding platform helps companies onboarding tasks into a personalized workspace. It’s best suited for companies with more robust onboarding and implementation processes. Many sales and customer-facing teams use Dock to improve the post-sales process and activate clients within the first few weeks. Dock is also more tailored toward high-growth startups and organizations, which explains its emphasis on features like customer engagement analytics, creating custom quotes, and signing order forms.
Dock’s onboarding features include sharing personalized customer success plans and creating project timelines. This is useful if you have an onboarding plan that spans multiple weeks. Other features include sharing files, sending surveys, and embedding content.
Price:
- Get started with Dock’s free plan
Key features:
- File sharing and management
- Surveys and order forms
- Branding customizations
- Integrations with third-party tools
- Project management
- Client communication
Key integrations:
- Hubspot
- Salesforce
- Slack
3. Ahsuite (Client onboarding portal)
- G2: 4.7/5 stars (84 reviews)
- Capterra: 5/5 stars (19 reviews)
Ahsuite is a client portal for service businesses, agencies, and small businesses. Ahsuite’s client portal can streamline onboarding tasks into a single digital workspace. Guide clients through onboarding by building task lists that clearly outline deadlines and progress tracking so clients always know what they need to do next. You can also use the Ahsuite portal to share important documents and login credentials with client stakeholders.
It’s an easy-to-use platform with a clean and minimal design so clients can navigate their portal to find what they need. Although this helps you reduce the administrative hassle of file sharing and organization, it may limit your ability to customize the portal for different types of clients. Businesses must also embed codes to add content from external tools to Ahsuite pages instead of third-party integrations for bi-directional data syncing.
- Get started with Ahsuite’s free plan
- Paid plans start at $24
Key features:
- File management and sharing
- Task management
- Client messaging
- Integrations
4. Clinked (Client onboarding portal)
- G2: 4.8/5 stars (92 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 stars (80 reviews)
Clinked’s client portal allows businesses to manage onboarding within a secure cloud-based system easily. Set up onboarding tasks for new clients and use Clinked’s robust Zapier integration to create automated workflows triggered by actions by both you and your clients. The portal also helps businesses collect data, sign documents, and manage file sharing in an environment equipped with bank-grade security. This makes it especially beneficial for clients with sensitive information, like those in banking, legal, and accounting. You can also accelerate onboarding with features like document requests, automated approval workflows, calendar scheduling, and direct communication with clients from within the portal.
Clinked gives businesses the option for a quick portal setup with basic customization options or a custom solution that requires a tailored design process. The latter option can take anywhere from two weeks to under a month, making it a better choice for companies who have a complex onboarding process or who have a longer timeline for implementing a client onboarding solution.
Price:
- Try for free for 10 days
- Plans start at $119 a month
Product features:
- Task and project management
- Group chat
- File sharing and storage
- Security features
Key integrations:
- Google Workspace
- Salesforce
- Zapier
5. SuperOkay (Client onboarding portal)
- G2: 4.6/5 stars (39 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 stars (9 reviews)
Creative agencies use SuperOkay to onboard and manage clients within a portal built for managing files, sharing designs, and collaborating closely on projects. It’s a simple client onboarding solution that companies use to collect onboarding documents, provide access to shared resources, and give clients faster visibility into project timelines and tasks as soon as they’re ramped up. You can also use SuperOkay to create interactive brief questionnaires or proposal templates to align project expectations as soon as a new client is onboarded.
As a tool used by businesses in the creative field, SuperOkay integrates with popular design and collaboration software. Businesses can share Figma prototypes, Miro boards, and creative assets in Google Drive folders without any clunkiness in the user experience. Although you can customize the onboarding experience within the portal to include your client’s branding colors, fonts, and logos, personalization beyond that is limited.
Price:
- Get started with SuperOkay’s free plan
- Plans start at $9 a month
Product features:
- Project and task management
- Document management
- Branding customizations
- Interactive documents
Key integrations:
- Figma
- Airtable
- Miro
6. Copilot (All-in-one platform for professional services)
- G2: 4.8/5 stars (146 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 stars (20 reviews)
Professional services businesses use Copilot to manage client operations, including new client onboarding. It’s a robust platform that includes a customer relationship management (CRM) database and the ability to create client intake forms and branded invoices, manage contracts, and message customers directly within the tool. The foundation of this customizable platform are Copilot apps you can add to your workspace. Popular apps for onboarding include Files, Billing, Helpdesk, Forms, and Messaging.
Unlike tools like Softr, Copilot also does not have robust UI editing functionalities. To build a custom web application with Copilot apps, you’ll need developer resources to maximize Copilot’s available software development kits (SDKs) and APIs.
Price:
- Try for free for 14 days
- Plans start at $29 a month per user
Key features:
- Billing and payments
- Client messaging
- Document and contract management
- Workflow automation
- Security and permissions management
Key integrations:
- AirTable
- Google Workspace
- Calendly
More client onboarding tools
These tools do not include a client portal feature but are used by businesses to optimize different aspects of the client onboarding experience — like building familiarity with new systems, improving knowledge-sharing with new clients, and more.
7. Whatfix (Digital adoption workflows)
- G2: 4.6/5 stars (339 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 stars (77 reviews)
Whatfix is a digital adoption platform businesses use to onboard clients and customers with in-app guidance and support. If you’re onboarding customers digitally via web or mobile, you can use Whatfix to build personalized onboarding task lists and guided product workflows that pop up directly within the application experience. You can onboard clients onto new tools and systems faster by surfacing onboarding tasks and support content within the application interface. Whatfix enables self-service learning and onboarding every step of the way, saving you and your client time spent on onboarding calls and training sessions.
Onboarding flows can be customized to suit the needs of your different client groups. For example, you can deploy tailored onboarding tasks and flows for specific clients without any code. Whatfix also has robust analytics that give you visibility into whether clients are completing onboarding flows, allowing you to engage clients when needed and increase onboarding rates.
Price:
- Try Whatfix for free and contact Whatfix for custom pricing.
Key features:
- In-app guidance
- Surveys
- Content aggregation
- Knowledge base
Key integrations:
- Salesforce
- Google Sheets
- Slack
9. Rocketlane (Post-sales workflow builder)
- G2: 4.8/5 stars (715 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 stars (76 reviews)
Rocketlane is an onboarding platform for professional services businesses to boost post-sales client engagement, activation, and collaboration. With its collaborative onboarding processes, companies can accelerate onboarding success with features to kick off projects, enable real-time communication, build automated onboarding workflows, and allocate the right hours for onboarding tasks. The goal of this comprehensive platform is to help clients get all the information they need in one place, helping you shorten the onboarding cycle and get projects going faster.
With Rocketlane, you can create different kinds of onboarding templates—whether for projects, documents, or forms. This helps you quickly scale onboarding across your client base. These templates are also dynamic and easy to edit or customize with different tags and filters so you can personalize onboarding plans for different kinds of clients.
Price:
- Try Rocketlane free for 14 days and contact them for custom pricing.
Key features:
- Branding customization
- Project management
- File and document management
- Workflow automation
Key integrations:
- Zapier
- Hubspot
- Slack
10. Document360 (Self-service knowledge base)
- G2: 4.7/5 stars (413 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 stars (215 reviews)
Document360 allows companies to build powerful documentation and knowledge bases that enable self-service onboarding and accelerate information retention. Centralize your most important documents and tutorials into a user-friendly repository that’s easy to navigate. All documents built on the platform are simple to share and embed into popular tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zendesk, Intercom, and more. If you have existing documents in fragmented locations, you can also migrate them into your Document360 repository so clients have a single location for all their important resources.
The platform has tools to make the document creation process much more efficient. Document editors, reviewers, and managers can use different editors, sort content with category managers, track version history, and even build custom workflows to standardize the document creation.
Price:
- Get started with Document360’s free plan.
Key features:
- Knowledge base
- Branding customization
- AI-powered search capabilities
Key integrations:
- Freshdesk
- Zendesk
- Intercom
11. Process Street (No-code workflow builder)
- G2: 4.6/5 stars (367 reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 stars (626 reviews)
ProcessStreet is a tool that businesses use to turn complex processes into clean, automated workflows. You can break your onboarding plan down into a series of step-by-step workflows that help you ensure that clients are following the right procedures and completing necessary tasks at the right time.
ProcessStreet has robust features that make it more intuitive for you to build onboarding workflows from scratch. All workflows are dynamic and respond to conditional logic, removing the hassle of duplicating onboarding flows for different clients and manually following up on them if certain conditions are met. You can also assign roles and set up approval triggers for each workflow so that the right internal or external stakeholder is notified of an action they must take during onboarding. ProcessStreet also has a library of workflow templates you can edit and add to your onboarding plan to kick things off.
Price:
- Try Process Street for free and contact them for custom pricing.
Key features:
- Automated workflows (includes tasks, approvals, and conditional logic)
- Forms
- Knowledge base
- Team role assignments
Key integrations:
- Zapier
- Make
12. Arrows (Onboarding action plans)
- G2: 4.8/5 stars (47 reviews)
- Capterra: N/A
Arrows is an onboarding application for companies that use Hubspot to manage client relationships and collect data. The app allows you to build a personalized onboarding plan for each client that outlines all files, tasks, and forms they need to complete. You can also embed calendars and buttons into a plan to schedule future meetings and share invites easily.
With this all-in-one action plan, you can activate clients with fewer emails and client-facing project management boards. Instead, everything a client needs to do before they kick off a project with you is in a modern, intuitive, and clean client-facing experience. The biggest benefit of Arrows is that it’s completely synchronized with Hubspot data. Everything a client inputs into their action plan flows back into a Hubspot deal, ticket, or custom object in real time.
Price:
- Try Arrows for free; Paid plans start at $300 per month.
Key features:
- File management
- Task list
- Forms
- Bi-directional data sync to Hubspot properties
- Branding customizations
Key integrations:
- Hubspot
Create an impactful first impression with a free client onboarding software
The best part about the client onboarding software on this list?
You don’t have to go in blind and risk a big investment without seeing exactly how it might work for you!
With Softr’s forever-free plan, you can act quickly on client data to drive a smooth onboarding process forward — without disrupting any of your existing databases and pulling in engineering resources. Build trust with clients by giving them an onboarding experience that’s easy to follow, tailored to their brand, and complements their work style. Softr helps you build a clean, modern client-facing application that streamlines onboarding data collection, task management, and document sharing. To start building a custom onboarding experience that checks all your boxes, create a Softr account for free and get started with this client portal template.
What is Softr
Softr is the easiest way to turn your data into powerful business apps—no code required. Connect to your spreadsheet or database, customize layout and logic, and share with your team or clients.
Join 700,000+ users worldwide, building client portals, internal tools, CRMs, dashboards, project management systems, inventory management apps, and more—all without code.
Join 700,000+ users worldwide, building client portals, internal tools, CRMs, dashboards, project management systems, inventory management apps, and more—all without code.
Get started free
Winona Rajamohan
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