Client intake form template (free)
A free client intake form for freelancers and agencies. Ask about scope, budget, timeline and past experience before the first call.
11 questions on one page
Project brief template (free)
A signed contract tells you the price. It rarely tells you what the client pictures, who has the final say or where the logo files live. This project brief template collects all of that in one link you send the day the work is agreed. Page one covers the project itself: a name, what you're building and why now, what success looks like, the deliverables, the audience and an example the client likes. Page two covers the practical side: a main contact and their email, the person who signs off on the final work, a target launch date, a budget and an upload for brand assets. You start the job with one complete brief instead of a week of follow-up emails. Sign up for free, open the template and swap the deliverables for the work you sell.
Free plan, free forever. Sign up and the template opens in your workspace.
What's in this form
13 questions on 2 pages. Every question, in order:
Page 1: The project
| No. | Question | Answer type | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project nameShort answer, Required | Short answer | Required |
| 2 | What are we building, and why now?Long answer, Required | Long answer | Required |
| 3 | What does success look like?Long answer, Optional | Long answer | Optional |
| 4 | DeliverablesCheckboxes, RequiredSelect all that apply.Choices: Brand identity, Website design, Website build, Copywriting, Illustration, Photography, Ad creative | Checkboxes | Required |
| 5 | Who is the audience?Long answer, Optional | Long answer | Optional |
| 6 | An example you likeLink, Optional | Link | Optional |
Page 2: Practicalities
| No. | Question | Answer type | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Main point of contactShort answer, Required | Short answer | Required |
| 8 | Email for sign-offEmail, Required | Required | |
| 9 | Who signs off on the final work?Short answer, Required | Short answer | Required |
| 10 | Target launch dateDate, Required | Date | Required |
| 11 | Budget (USD)Number, Optional | Number | Optional |
| 12 | Brand assets and contentFile upload, OptionalLogos, fonts, copy, photos. Attach files that help us understand the project. | File upload | Optional |
| 13 | Anything else I should know?Long answer, Optional | Long answer | Optional |
What people see after sending
Brief received!
I'll review it and come back with a plan and any open questions.
Built in
- Multiple pages
- File upload
Who it's for
- Design and web studios that start work the week a client signs
- Freelance designers, writers and photographers running several client jobs at once
- Agencies that hand a new account from the person who sold it to the people who deliver it
- Consultants who want the goal, the deadline and the budget in writing before day one
When to use it
- Right after the quote is accepted, once the discovery questions are behind you
- Before the kickoff call, so the call starts from answers instead of a blank page
- When a past client comes back with a new project and the details have changed
- When brand files, copy and examples would otherwise trickle in over several emails
Make it yours
- Send the brief before the kickoff call, not during it. When the answers to "What are we building, and why now?" and "What does success look like?" are already in, the call can go straight to the points that need a real conversation. Read the success answer twice: it is the line you will hold the finished work up against.
- Rename the Deliverables choices to the services you sell. The template lists brand identity, website design, website build, copywriting, illustration, photography and ad creative. Drop what you don't offer and add what you do, such as video or packaging, so the boxes match your contract line by line. If you quote in another currency, rename "Budget (USD)" too.
- Plan for big files before you share the link. The upload question takes up to 10 files, but on the Free plan each file can be up to 10 MB, so add a line to its help text asking for a shared folder link for big photo and video sets. Pro and Business have no plan cap on file size.
- Ask for one name in "Who signs off on the final work?" and say so in the help text. When feedback later arrives from three people, you know whose word is final. The form only records who that person is. The sign-off itself still happens your way, by email or on a call.
- Keep each brief with its project. Download any response as a PDF and save it in the client's folder next to the contract. Connect Notion so each brief becomes its own page, Google Sheets so it lands as a new row, or Slack so the team sees it the moment it arrives. All three are free on every plan.
- The thank-you screen promises a plan and any open questions. Decide when you will send them, for example within two working days, and add that to the message. Then turn on an email to yourself for each new response, so a fresh brief never sits unread while the launch date gets closer.
Print it or edit it offline
The same questions, ready to print or edit.
Where the answers go
Every response lands in your HornetForms inbox. From there, send it wherever your team already works.
- Turn on an email to yourself for each new response, on every plan
- A confirmation email to the person who filled it in, when the form asks for their email
- A new row in Google Sheets, a message in Slack or Discord, or a page in Notion, free on every plan
- Connect with Zapier, or send signed webhooks to n8n, Make or your own app
- CSV export on every plan, and Excel export on Pro and Business
Questions people ask
What is a project brief?
It is a short record of what a project should deliver, for whom, by when and for what budget. In client work it is the shared starting point you both agree on before anyone designs or writes a thing. This template collects it as a form, so the client fills it in once and you get a clean copy.
What should a project brief include?
At least the goal, the deliverables, the audience, a deadline, a budget, a main contact and the name of whoever signs off. Examples the client likes and their brand files save a round of guessing. This template asks for all of these in 13 questions over two pages, and 7 of them are required.
Is there a free project brief template in Word or Google Docs?
Yes. The downloads on this page include a Word file and printable PDFs in US Letter and A4. The Word file also opens in Google Docs once you upload it to Google Drive. Use paper for a workshop or a client who likes to write by hand, and the online form when you want answers and files in one place.
How is a project brief different from a creative brief?
A creative brief guides one piece of marketing work: the message, the tone and what the audience should do next. A project brief covers the whole job you were hired for, with deliverables, dates, budget and who signs off. A campaign often needs both, the project brief first and then a creative brief for each piece.
Who should fill in a client project brief, you or the client?
Ask the client, since they know the goals, the audience and the brand best. Then go through the answers together on the kickoff call and add your own notes. Their answers become your first draft, and you tidy them into the final brief once you both agree on the details.
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Start from a template, finish with your form
Sign up for free, pick a template and change anything you like: questions, logic and design. The Free plan stays free forever, with unlimited responses.