New Customer Onboarding Checklist

Before you start

Onboarding goes wrong when the salesperson is keen and the paperwork is an afterthought. Decide up front who owns the process and what a customer must provide before they can place an order. Gather your standard pack so you are not chasing details later.

• A blank credit application and a copy of your written trading terms ready to send.
• Access to ABN Lookup, the ASIC register and the PPSR so you can verify and protect.
• A clear internal rule on the maximum credit a salesperson can approve without sign-off.
• A folder or CRM record where every document for this customer will live.

Step 1 — Capture and verify identity

1. Get the customer's full legal name, trading name, ABN and business structure (sole trader, partnership, company or trust).
2. Confirm the ABN on ABN Lookup and check the GST registration status matches what they told you.
3. For companies, confirm the ACN and current directors on the ASIC register.
4. Record a billing address, delivery address and the name, email and phone of the person who approves payments.
5. Note any difference between the entity that orders and the entity that pays — invoice the one legally liable for the debt.

Step 2 — Decide credit or prepaid

1. Ask for an estimated monthly spend so you can size any credit limit sensibly.
2. If they want credit, send the credit application and run a credit check before approving an amount.
3. If the risk is unclear or the history is thin, start on prepaid or cash-on-delivery and review after a few clean cycles.
4. Record the approved limit, the approver and the date in the customer file.
5. For higher limits, take security — a personal guarantee, a deposit or a PPSR registration — before releasing goods.

Step 3 — Set up the account and terms

1. Create the customer in your accounting system using the verified legal name, not the trading name.
2. Load the billing email, payment terms, credit limit and any tax settings.
3. Send your trading terms and get them accepted in writing before the first order ships.
4. Set up the agreed payment method so the customer can pay the moment an invoice lands.
5. Send a short welcome note that confirms terms, the due date rule and who to contact about accounts.

Common mistakes

• Trading first and verifying identity later, so you cannot prove who owes the money.
• Setting a credit limit on a gut feel instead of a credit check.
• Using the trading name on the invoice when a different legal entity is liable.
• Skipping written acceptance of terms, then having nothing to enforce when payment is late.
• Leaving the file half-finished so the next person has to redo the work.

Tighten the weak links and you cut disputes and slow payment off at the source. If an onboarded account later stops paying, a free debt appraisal tells you what is recoverable. This is general information, not legal or financial advice — confirm credit decisions against your own policy.