Freelance client intake questions: what to ask before you say yes

Most first-client headaches start before the work does: nobody wrote down who approves, what “done” means, or how the invoice gets paid. Here are the questions worth answering first, plus a short email you can copy to ask them. Free, no signup.

The 12 questions

1. What problem are you trying to solve? The job behind the job tells you what matters most.
2. What does success look like, in your words? Write their words down, not yours.
3. What exactly should exist when we’re done? Format, count, and where it goes (a file, a live page, a shared folder).
4. Which dates are hard, and which are soft? A launch date and a “sometime next month” are very different jobs.
5. Who approves the work, and how long does approval usually take?
6. Who else will ask for changes? One extra reviewer can double the revision rounds.
7. What assets, access, or brand materials do you already have? Logins, files, style guides.
8. Any must-use tools, brand rules, or compliance constraints?
9. Have you tried this before? What worked or didn’t?
10. What budget frame are you working with? If they don’t know yet, leave it blank rather than guessing a number for them.
11. How do you usually pay freelancers? Tool, purchase order, payment terms, and who the billing contact is.
12. What has to be true before work can start? Then don’t start until it is.

Copy-paste email to send the questions

Subject: A few quick questions before we start [PROJECT]

Hi [NAME],

Thanks for thinking of me for [PROJECT]. Before I send a plan and price, a few quick questions so I get it right the first time:

1. What should exist when we're done (format, how many, where it goes)?
2. Which dates are fixed, and which are flexible?
3. Who approves the work, and who else will give feedback?
4. What files, logins, or brand materials can you share?
5. Do you have a budget range in mind?
6. How do you usually pay freelancers, and who should invoices go to?

Short answers are fine. If a quick call is easier, here are a few times that work for me: [TIMES].

Thanks,
[YOUR NAME]

Answers worth slowing down for

• “We’ll know it when we see it” with no examples. Ask for two or three things they like.
• No one can name who approves. Find out before you start, not at the final draft.
• “Can you start today?” with no files or access ready yet.
• Payment process is unknown. Ask who receives invoices before the first one is due.

None of these mean “say no.” They mean write down the answer, and put anything still unknown in your first written summary to the client.

After the answers come back

Turn them into a one-page scope summary: what’s in, what’s out, the dates, the revision rounds, and how new requests are handled. Send it, and get a written “yes” before you start. That summary isn’t a contract; if you need a binding agreement, get one separately.

Want the worksheets?