UniLink Agency Onboarding Checklist (Set Up a New Client in 30 Minutes)
UniLink Agency Onboarding Checklist (Set Up a New Client in 30 Minutes)
A repeatable step-by-step process for creating, configuring, and handing off a new client sub-account on UniLink Agency.
- A structured onboarding checklist lets you set up any new client in under 30 minutes while keeping quality consistent across all accounts.
- The process covers sub-account creation, white-label branding, custom domain, template page, integrations, roles, and client handoff.
- Saving the checklist as a repeatable process means you can delegate onboarding to junior team members without quality dropping.
Every agency that scales past its first few clients eventually hits the same wall: onboarding a new client takes longer than it should, steps get missed, and each account ends up slightly different. A documented checklist fixes all three problems at once. The checklist below is designed for UniLink Agency accounts and covers everything from creating the sub-account to handing the client their login — in a single 30-minute session.
What the Agency Onboarding Process Does
The UniLink Agency onboarding process groups everything a new client needs into one sequential workflow. Instead of jumping between different parts of the dashboard and hoping you remember each step, you follow a fixed order that mirrors how UniLink layers its settings: account first, branding second, domain third, content fourth. Each step depends on the one before it, so the order matters.
The process is designed to be delegatable. Once you have run through it yourself a few times, a project manager or account coordinator can own it entirely. The only step that typically needs a senior decision is setting the client's pricing tier — everything else is mechanical. Building a standard operating procedure from this checklist is what lets agencies move from five clients to fifty without the founders doing every setup personally.
At the end of the checklist, the client receives login credentials for their own sub-account where they can see their live page, manage their content, and track analytics. The agency retains full admin access and can make changes at any time without needing to ask the client for their password. This clean separation of access is what makes the agency model work on UniLink.
How to Get Started
- Log into your Agency dashboard. Go to app.unilink.us and sign in with your agency admin credentials. Confirm you are on an Agency plan by checking the account badge in the top-left corner. Sub-account creation is not available on Starter, Pro, or Business plans.
- Open the Sub-accounts panel. In the left sidebar, click Agency → Sub-accounts. This is the central hub for all client accounts under your agency umbrella. You can see existing clients, their status, their plan tier, and their domain from here.
- Gather client information before you start. Have the following ready before creating the sub-account: client's business name, primary email address for their login, their custom domain (or confirm they don't have one yet), and any brand assets (logo, colors, fonts). Starting without these means stopping halfway through and losing momentum.
- Block 30 uninterrupted minutes. Each step is quick on its own, but constant context-switching between tabs and tools extends the process. Doing it in one focused session is faster than spreading it across a morning.
- Clone or prepare the template page you'll use. If your agency has a standard starter template (more on this in step 7 of the next section), identify which template applies to this client before you begin. Having the template picked saves a decision mid-flow.
How to Use the Onboarding Checklist
- Create the sub-account. In Sub-accounts, click Add Sub-account. Enter the client's business name and their email address. Select the plan tier you have configured for them. Click Create. UniLink provisions the sub-account and sends the client a welcome email with a temporary password.
- Apply white-label branding. Open the new sub-account, go to Settings → White Label. Upload the client's logo, set their brand colors, and set the sender name for system emails. This ensures every email the client receives (order confirmations, booking alerts) shows their brand, not UniLink's.
- Set the custom domain. Go to Settings → Domain → Add Domain. Enter the client's domain, copy the DNS records shown, and share them with the client (or their web host). While waiting for DNS propagation, continue with the remaining steps — you can verify the domain later. SSL is provisioned automatically once DNS resolves.
- Clone the template page and configure integrations. From the Agency Templates panel (or the client's Pages section), clone the relevant template into this sub-account. Rename it to match the client's business. Then connect any integrations the client needs: email service provider, payment processor (Stripe), booking tool, or analytics. Each integration takes 2–5 minutes with credentials on hand.
- Set team roles and hand off access. In the sub-account's Team settings, invite any agency staff who will manage this client and assign appropriate roles (Editor, Viewer). Then confirm the client's own access — their welcome email link should be active. Walk the client through logging in on a video call, or send a short Loom showing them around their dashboard. Mark the sub-account as Active in your Agency panel and publish the page.
Key Settings
| Setting | What It Does | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-account Plan Tier | Determines which UniLink features the client can access and what you bill them | Match to the client's contracted package |
| White Label — Sender Name | Sets the "From" name on all transactional emails sent to the client's audience | Client's business name, never "UniLink" |
| Custom Domain | Maps the client's own domain to their UniLink page | Required for any client with a professional web presence |
| Team Roles | Controls what agency staff and the client can edit, publish, or view | Client = Editor; agency account manager = Admin |
| Page Status | Draft vs Published state of the client's page | Keep as Draft until client approves content; publish together on the handoff call |
Get the Most Out Of the Onboarding Process
The biggest time sink in client onboarding is waiting on the client for assets — logo files, domain access, Stripe credentials. Fix this before the onboarding session by sending the client a pre-onboarding intake form (a simple Google Form works) that asks for everything you need. When you sit down for the 30-minute session, you have everything in one place and never need to stop and wait.
White-labeling is easy to skip when you're in a hurry, but clients notice immediately if they receive a "UniLink" branded email instead of their own. Set white-label branding as step two in the checklist — right after account creation — so it is never an afterthought. The three fields (logo, color, sender name) take less than two minutes and make every downstream touchpoint feel professional.
The custom domain step is the one most likely to cause delays because DNS propagation takes time and requires action from the client or their host. Kick this step off early — ideally in the same email thread where you share login credentials — and give the client a clear two-step instruction: here are the DNS records, here is how to add them in [their registrar]. Most clients can do this themselves in 10 minutes with a short guide. If not, offer to join a 15-minute call with their web host.
After you have completed five or six onboardings, review the checklist and note where you consistently had to backtrack, what questions came up repeatedly, and which steps took longer than expected. Update your internal SOP accordingly. A checklist that improves with each client is one of the most valuable operational assets an agency can have — it compounds over time and directly impacts how fast you can grow your client base.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Client didn't receive the welcome email | Email landed in spam or wrong address entered at creation | Sub-accounts → select client → Resend Welcome Email; verify the email address is correct |
| Custom domain shows "Verification Pending" after 24 hours | Client hasn't added DNS records, or records were entered incorrectly | Ask client to screenshot their DNS panel; compare against the records shown in UniLink Domain settings |
| Template page clone didn't include all blocks | Some block types require integration credentials that aren't present in the target sub-account | Connect the required integration in the new sub-account first, then re-clone or manually add the missing blocks |
| Sub-account creation option is greyed out | Agency account has reached its sub-account limit for the current plan | Go to Agency → Billing and upgrade to a higher Agency tier or purchase additional sub-account seats |
- Standardized process means consistent quality across every client, regardless of who does the onboarding
- 30-minute target is achievable with assets prepared in advance via an intake form
- White-label and custom domain steps ensure the client's brand is front and center from day one
- Fully delegatable to junior team members once documented as an internal SOP
- DNS propagation for custom domains is outside your control and can delay the final step by hours
- Requires Agency plan — not available on lower tiers
- Initial checklist setup takes time to customize for your agency's specific templates and billing tiers
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a sub-account without an email address for the client yet?
No — an email address is required to create a sub-account because UniLink uses it to send login credentials. If the client hasn't provided an email yet, use a placeholder agency email (like client-name@youragency.com) and update it to the client's real email in sub-account settings before sending the welcome email.
How many sub-accounts can I create on the Agency plan?
The Agency plan includes a base number of sub-accounts and allows you to purchase additional seats. Check your current limit and usage at Agency → Billing. Each seat is priced per sub-account per month, so you only pay for active clients.
Can the client see my agency's other clients or billing information?
No. Each client has access only to their own sub-account. They cannot see other sub-accounts, your agency billing, your templates, or any other client's data. The isolation is enforced at the platform level.
What happens if I need to offboard a client?
You can deactivate a sub-account at any time from the Sub-accounts panel. Deactivated accounts stop billing but retain all data for 30 days. You can also export the client's page data before deactivation if they need a copy.
Can I use this checklist for upgrading an existing client to a new plan?
Most steps apply only to initial setup. For a plan upgrade, focus on steps 1 (change the plan tier in sub-account settings) and 4 (connect any integrations that are now available on the new plan). White-label, domain, and page setup should already be in place.
- Use a pre-onboarding intake form to collect assets before the session so you never stop and wait for the client.
- Follow the order: sub-account → white-label → domain → template page → integrations → roles → publish → handoff.
- White-label branding takes two minutes but makes every client touchpoint feel professional — never skip it.
- Kick off the DNS step early; it's the only part you can't control and can take hours to propagate.
- Document your internal version of this checklist with your specific templates and billing tiers to make it fully delegatable.
Ready to streamline your client onboarding? Sign in to your UniLink Agency account at app.unilink.us, open the Sub-accounts panel, and work through this checklist for your next client. The first time takes 30 minutes — after that, it gets faster every time.
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