---
title: "Onboarding a Local Business Client for Social Media"
description: "Access, voice, facts, consent and approvals: the checklist for the first week with a new local client, including a Meta access set-up that never uses passwords."
url: "https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/social-media-client-onboarding-checklist/"
image: "https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/images/blog/social-media-client-onboarding-checklist.webp"
published: "2026-11-10"
updated: "2026-11-10"
category: "Playbooks"
---

# Onboarding a Local Business Client for Social Media

*Playbooks · Published 2026-11-10 · Updated 2026-11-10 · 9 min read · KeepsPosted editorial team*

Access, voice, facts, consent and approvals: the checklist for the first week with a new local client, including a Meta access set-up that never uses passwords.

In the first week with a local client, you need seven things: access that does not use their password, the facts you must never get wrong, a sense of their voice, any rules for their trade, a photo and consent routine, a named approver with a deadline, and a first two weeks of posts agreed.

This checklist and a 12-question intake form cover them. We give no standard timeline, because the onboarding durations we found are vendor claims, not measurements. Yours will depend on how quickly the client answers.

## The short answer

**First-week checklist**

- [ ] Agreement signed: scope, price, approvals, revisions, who owns the accounts.
- [ ] Client has added you as a partner or given task access. No passwords shared.
- [ ] A client admin has two-factor authentication turned on.
- [ ] Intake form returned (below), with hours, prices and offers confirmed.
- [ ] You have read the client's last 30 posts and agreed which to ignore.
- [ ] Regulatory profile written down, with claims to never make.
- [ ] Photo and consent routine agreed, and a place for photos to go.
- [ ] Approver named, with a backup and a weekly deadline.
- [ ] First two weeks of posts agreed on a simple calendar.
- [ ] First scheduled post checked live on both Instagram and Facebook.

## Before the call

Prepare, so the call is for decisions and not for logistics. Send these ahead:

- A short agreement or proposal (scope, price, approvals, revisions). For pricing, see [How to price social media management for local clients](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/social-media-management-pricing-for-freelancers/).
- The intake form below, so the client can think before the call.
- A request for the names of the Facebook Page, the Instagram handle and who has admin on each today.
- A short explanation of what you will need from them each week: photos, facts, approvals.

Look at their accounts first. Note the last post date, the posting rhythm, whether the accounts are connected, and anything that looks stale. You will ask about it on the call.

## Access without passwords

Never ask for a client's Instagram or Facebook password. Meta's business portfolio lets a client give you access to a Page and an Instagram account without sharing a login. Menu names change, so check them against what you see.

1. **Find your own business portfolio ID**: You need a business portfolio of your own. Its ID is in Meta Business Suite settings. Send it to the client.
2. **Client gives partner access**: Meta's help says someone with full control of the client's portfolio adds you in Settings, under Partners, enters your ID, picks the assets (Page, Instagram account) and an access level, and assigns them. Someone else with full control may need to approve. See [Meta: give a partner access to business assets](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1717412048538897).
3. **Choose the least access that works**: Partners can get full control of an asset or partial, task-based access. Ask for the tasks you need, such as creating and scheduling posts.
4. **Check the Instagram account is connected correctly**: Meta's help says the professional Instagram account must be in the same business portfolio as the Page it connects to, and that an Instagram account can sit in only one portfolio at a time. If the client already has Instagram in a different portfolio, sort that out first. Our [setup guide](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/set-up-instagram-facebook-scheduling/) shows the steps.
5. **Protect the client's side**: Make sure at least one client admin has two-factor authentication on and knows how to remove your access. Note who the admins are.
6. **Test**: Open the Page and the Instagram account in your tool, and confirm you can see both. Do not post yet.

> **Wording may have changed:** We read Meta's partner-access help through search-result summaries on 10 November 2026, because its pages load with JavaScript. Confirm the steps in your own Business Suite before you rely on them.

## Voice and facts

Two separate things. Facts must be right. Voice only needs to be recognizable.

### Facts: one source of truth

- Opening hours, including holiday changes.
- Address or service area, phone, booking link.
- Prices, offers, menu or service list, with the date they last changed.
- Staff names and qualifications you may mention.
- Words the client uses and words they never use.

Agree where each fact lives and who updates it. A shared document works. Every post should be checkable against it.

### Voice: read before you write

Read the last 30 posts and ask the client which to ignore. Some will be old, off-brand or written by someone who left. Then write a short voice note: three adjectives with "but not", words to use and avoid, emoji and hashtag habits. Our guide [Write captions that sound like your business](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/write-social-media-captions-in-your-own-voice/) has a template. Tools that read past posts can build a first draft of this, but the client should still correct it.

## Regulatory profile

Write one paragraph that states the client's country, trade, and the rules that shape what they can post. Ask the client who their regulator is, if any.

| Question | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Which country and regulator? | Advertising and testimonial rules differ. Some regulated health professions cannot use patient testimonials in some countries. |
| Do they offer prescription-only or restricted treatments? | Advertising some of them to the public is restricted in some countries. |
| Are before-and-after photos allowed, and with what consent? | Rules and consent needs differ. |
| Do they serve food? | Allergen and "gluten-free" wording must match what the kitchen can promise. |
| Do they sell housing or financial products? | Fair housing and financial promotion rules can apply to captions. |
| Do they pay or gift influencers? | Disclosure is required in many places. |

> **General information, not legal advice:** You are not the client's lawyer. Record the rules the client tells you, point them to their regulator, and keep risky claims out of drafts. Our posts on [AI captions and disclosure](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/ai-captions-disclosure-small-business/) and [reposting reviews](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/repost-customer-reviews-and-photos-rules/) give a starting point.

## Photo and consent routine

Decide before the first post how photos arrive and how permission is recorded.

- **Where photos go:** a shared folder, a messaging thread, or a tool. One place only.
- **Who takes them:** the client, staff, or you on a scheduled visit.
- **Consent for staff:** a written yes from each person who may be featured.
- **Consent for customers:** a short message or form, saved with the photo. Children need a parent or guardian.
- **Reposted customer content and reviews:** ask first. The FTC treats a review reposted on a business's social account as a testimonial ([FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers)).
- **Ownership:** say who owns the photos you take, and what happens to them if you part ways.

If clients struggle to send photos, see [Getting usable photos and facts from a busy client](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/get-photos-and-facts-from-clients/).

## Approver and deadline

Name one approver and a backup. Agree a weekly deadline, and what you do if it passes. For anything with prices, offers, claims, customer photos or reviews, do not publish without a yes. Our posts on [approval workflows](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/social-media-approval-workflow-for-teams/) and [getting clients to approve on time](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/get-clients-to-approve-social-posts-on-time/) give the rules and messages.

A client approval link makes the step easy, because the approver does not need an account. KeepsPosted lets a client approve through a link with no login (see the [pricing page](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/pricing/) for which plans) and keeps a record of what was approved and when. A shared document and email work as well if the rules are clear.

## The 12-question intake form

**Client intake form**

Send it as a document or a form. Keep answers in one place.

- **1. Accounts and access:** Which Facebook Page, which Instagram handle, who is admin today, and is two-factor authentication on?
- **2. Business in one line:** What do you do, who for, and where?
- **3. Source of truth for hours:** Where are your current opening hours kept, and who updates them?
- **4. Prices and offers:** What can we mention? What must never be mentioned? When do they change?
- **5. Past posts to ignore:** Which of your older posts should we not copy, and why?
- **6. Claims never to make:** Which words or promises must never appear (for example "best", "guaranteed", health or result claims)?
- **7. Rules for your trade:** Who is your regulator, and what do they restrict in advertising?
- **8. Photos:** Who takes photos, where do they go, how often?
- **9. Consent:** Which staff and customers have agreed to appear? How is it recorded?
- **10. Reviews:** May we reuse customer reviews? If so, how do you get permission?
- **11. Approver:** Who approves posts, who is the backup, and what deadline works each week?
- **12. Dates and events:** Which events, closures, deliveries and busy periods are coming in the next three months?

## First two weeks

| When | Do |
| --- | --- |
| Days 1 to 2 | Agreement, access, intake form out. Audit the existing feed (see [Audit your last 30 posts](https://keepsposted.buildverse.dev/blog/audit-your-past-posts-to-find-your-voice/)). |
| Days 3 to 4 | Call. Confirm the facts, the voice note, the regulatory profile and the consent routine. |
| Days 5 to 7 | Draft the first week of posts from the client's photos and facts. Send for approval. |
| Week 2 | Schedule the first posts. Check each went live on both networks. Send the client a short note of what published. |
| End of week 2 | Ten-minute review: what to change in the voice note, the facts sheet and the weekly deadline. |

We do not give a typical onboarding length. Vendor guides quote a few weeks, but those are claims, not measurements. Move at the client's pace, and note what slowed you down so the next onboarding is faster.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should clients give me their Instagram and Facebook passwords?

No. Meta's business portfolio lets a client give you partner access to a Page and an Instagram account without sharing a login. Ask for the least access that lets you do the job.

### What do I need from a new social media client in the first week?

Access, confirmed facts (hours, prices, offers), past posts to ignore, claims never to make, photo and consent routine, a named approver with a deadline, and a first two weeks of posts agreed.

### How long does onboarding take?

It depends on how fast the client answers. Quoted durations are vendor claims, not measurements, so we do not give one.

## Sources

- [Meta Business Help: give a partner access to business assets in your business portfolio](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/1717412048538897) (checked 10 Nov 2026)
- [Meta Business Help: connect or disconnect an Instagram account and a Page](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/898752960195806) (checked 10 Nov 2026)
- [FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, questions and answers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) (checked 10 Nov 2026)
- [Connexify: Facebook Business Manager access, client onboarding checklist (partner access practice)](https://www.connexify.io/blog/facebook-business-manager-access-client-onboarding-checklist) (checked 10 Nov 2026)

## How this article was made

Written by the KeepsPosted editorial team with AI assistance for drafting and a person reviewing every claim. Meta's help text was read through search-result summaries on 10 November 2026; menu names change, so confirm each step in your own account. The checklist and form are our recommendations, not a measured standard. This is general information, not legal advice.

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