Get to Know Your Customers — Create a New Client Intake Form PDF.
Obtaining information about new customers and clients is vital for any type of business or professional. When you start with a new client or customer, their information helps you to understand their needs and how you will work together.
Make it a welcoming experience that shows you care about understanding who your customers are. Use secure and trusted methods to gather their information to foster and build trust and rapport. PDF new customer forms created with Adobe Acrobat are perfect for streamlining the client intake process.
What you’ll learn
- Why you should use client intake forms and what they are
- Information to provide on a client intake form
- Information to collect on a client intake form
- How to create PDF client intake forms
- Tips for creating effective new client intake forms
What is a client intake form and why use one?
A customer intake form collects valuable information from new clients or customers. The client details you need will vary based on your industry, business activities, and legal requirements. Nonetheless, it is important to have new customer forms and client intake forms in the customer management forms you use.
New client intake forms can serve various purposes, such as —
- Providing a starting point for communication, documentation, and record-keeping in your client-provider relationship.
- Helping to establish a record of your clients' information for both legal and administrative purposes.
- Enabling you to better understand your client needs and tailor your services accordingly.
- Ensuring that your clients have given you informed consent for your services or products that they will be receiving.
Information to provide on a client intake form.
When you ask new clients questions about themselves, your client intake form should also include key details about your business and the form's purpose. For example —
- Instructions and introduction.
Provide brief instructions and make it clear about what kind of information you're collecting and why.
- Your contact details.
Include your full business, name address, registration numbers, and contact details. This will help your clients contact you if they have any questions.
- Privacy and confidentiality statements.
State how you will manage and keep your client’s information secure, stored and protected following any relevant privacy laws, such as the Privacy Act.
- Last steps.
At the end of your client intake form, thank your client for giving the information and instruct them how to submit their information to you.
Types of information to collect on a client intake form.
The content and format of your client intake form will depend on your profession and services. Tailor your form to meet the unique needs of your clients and your business, while adhering to legal and regulatory requirements for obtaining client data.
Your client intake form may include sections for —
- Contact information.
Basic contact details such as name, address, phone number, and email address are usually requested in the first section of a client intake form. This information is crucial for communication and record-keeping. Ask your clients how they prefer to be contacted — by email, phone, or text.
- Demographic information.
Client forms may ask for personal information such as birth date, gender, and other relevant details.
- Reason for seeking services.
You may want to ask your clients why they are seeking your professional or business services. This can help you to understand your client's needs and goals.
- Source of referral.
Asking your clients how they found you will help with the future marketing of your business or services. Referral sources may be things like word of mouth, online searching, advertising, social media posts, and other marketing strategies you may use.
- Other information.
Give your clients room to add any additional information they wish to provide. Also, allow your customers to request information from you about your business or services.
- Consent and authorization.
Include a section for your clients to consent to your business arrangements and the use of their information provided.
- Signature.
Include a section for your client to sign and date the document. This is for your client to confirm their information is accurate, they understand how you will use it, and your business terms and conditions.
How to create PDF client intake forms.
You can easily create and collect client information using fillable PDF client intake forms. Here’s how —
- Convert a file with Adobe Acrobat online.
Adobe Acrobat Online is our web-based platform that you can use without downloading any apps. Convert your existing files, or a client intake form template, and then customize your form fields. You can edit, share, and more, with Adobe Acrobat Online.
Check it out. It’s a simple process to —
- Download an Adobe Acrobat application.
Download Adobe Acrobat and select Prepare a Form from the Tools. Then select from options to convert an existing file, scan a document, start a new document from a blank page, or create a web form.
In your document, select from the form components menu to add distinct types of fillable fields into your document. Add features such as checkboxes, radio buttons, drop-down lists, list boxes, and text fields to make your form interactive.
Edit, share and request signatures from within your Adobe Acrobat app.
Tips for creating effective new client intake forms.
First impressions do count. New client intake forms are documents used in the initial stages of forming new client relationships. While a client intake form is a tool to collect your client’s information, it is also a document that communicates who you are to your clients. Tips for creating new client intact forms are —
- Keep it simple.
Avoid jargon and technical terms that your clients might not be familiar with. If a question is too complex or hard to understand, it might not be answered sufficiently. Similarly, lay out your client intake form so it is easy to follow.
- Collect relevant information only.
Only ask questions that are relevant to your business or profession to provide the client services.
- Organize sections logically.
Collect the most vital information in the beginning sections of your form. Group related questions together into sections and use a logical flow.
- Offer multiple response options.
Use checkboxes, radio buttons and dropdown menus with predefined answers to make it quick and easy for your clients to fill out the form.
- Test and review.
Test your client intake form to ensure it is user-friendly on different devices and to extract the data you need. Review your form regularly to ensure it is still collecting the client information you need.
Related content.
Some other articles to learn how to work with customer files and documents in PDF format include —
- PDF Security: Protect Your Sensitive Content and Information
- PDFs: The Advantages for Working Professionals when Going Paperless
- How to Create an Interactive PDF
