How to Create a Client Onboarding Workflow in Karbon

Learn how to use initial client details from Microsoft Teams Planner to generate a standardized onboarding workflow from a template in Karbon.

August 5, 2026 By Daniel Mladjen

This guide walks you through extracting initial client details from Microsoft Teams Planner and using them to spin up a standardized onboarding workflow in Karbon. Completing this process ensures that all setup tasks for a new client are properly tracked and assigned automatically.

This workflow is intended for onboarding specialists, project managers, or administrative staff responsible for initiating a new client's integration into the company's tracking systems.

Review the Client Details in Planner

Before creating the workflow, retrieve the incoming client information provided by your team.

Step #1: Open Microsoft Teams and click Planner in the left-hand navigation sidebar. — Open Microsoft Teams and click **Planner** in the left-hand navigation sidebar.

Step #2: Click on the Client Onboarding plan from your pinned or recent plans list. — Click on the **Client Onboarding** plan from your pinned or recent plans list.

Step #3: Select the newly submitted client task to review the notes, ensuring you have the client's business name and expected start date. — Select the newly submitted client task to review the notes, ensuring you have the client's business name and expected start date.

Create the Workflow in Karbon

Once you have the necessary details from Planner, move over to Karbon to initialize the project.

Step #4: Open Karbon and click the search icon in the top right to locate the appropriate client or internal service record. — Open Karbon and click the search icon in the top right to locate the appropriate client or internal service record.

Step #5: Select the correct client record from the search results to open their dashboard. — Select the correct client record from the search results to open their dashboard.

Step #6: Click on the Work tab in the main navigation menu. — Click on the **Work** tab in the main navigation menu.

Step #7: Click the Add Work button to initiate a new project. — Click the **Add Work** button to initiate a new project.

Creating work from a template automatically populates the required tasks so you don't have to build the checklist manually.

Step #8: In the Create Work modal, click Use a Template. — In the Create Work modal, click **Use a Template**.

Step #9: Open the Work Template dropdown and select New Client Onboarding Process. — Open the Work Template dropdown and select **New Client Onboarding Process**.

Update the Work Title by typing the business name of the new client you found in Planner.

Step #11: Click the Start date field and select the desired start date for the onboarding process. — Click the **Start** date field and select the desired start date for the onboarding process.

Step #12: Click Create at the bottom of the modal to finalize the setup. — Click **Create** at the bottom of the modal to finalize the setup.

Step #13: Navigate to the Tasks tab within the newly created work item to view the step-by-step checklist required to fully onboard the client. — Navigate to the **Tasks** tab within the newly created work item to view the step-by-step checklist required to fully onboard the client.

Q: Where does the initial client data come from?

A: The client data, such as billing dates and contact info, is submitted into Microsoft Teams Planner as a to-do list task by the team member handling the initial intake.

Q: Do I need to build the Karbon onboarding workflow from scratch?

A: No, the step-by-step workflow is populated automatically by selecting a pre-built template named "New Client Onboarding Process" when you create the work item in Karbon.

Term	Definition
Karbon	A practice management platform used by firms to track work, manage clients, and streamline communications.
Microsoft Teams Planner	A task management tool within Microsoft Teams used to organize teamwork, create lists, and track project notes.
Work Template	A pre-configured checklist and timeline of tasks used in Karbon to standardize recurring processes.