Client onboarding checklist for web agencies: domain, DNS and registrar access
By the RenewRoster team · · 6 min read
The first weeks with a new client are when you're most likely to inherit a problem you don't know about yet: a domain renewing on an ex-employee's card, DNS in an account nobody can log in to, or a certificate renewed by a server that's about to be switched off. A short onboarding checklist finds those before they become your 9 AM phone call.
This is the companion to our client offboarding checklist. Onboarding sets up everything offboarding will need later.
1. List every domain the client uses
Ask for more than "the website domain". You're looking for:
- The main domain and any others that redirect to it (old brand names, typo domains, country versions)
- Campaign or landing-page domains
- Domains used only for email
Then look each one up. A bulk domain expiry lookup shows the registrar and expiry date for the whole list in one go, and our guide to finding which registrar a domain is with covers the edge cases.
2. Confirm who legally owns each domain
The registrant on the domain record is its legal owner. It should be the client's business, not a former web designer, an employee's personal name, or your agency.
- If the registrant is wrong, fix it now, while everyone is cooperative. Note that under ICANN's current Transfer Policy for generic TLDs, a change of registrant usually triggers a 60-day lock on moving the domain to another registrar, so if it also needs to change registrar, do that first.
- Make sure the registrant email is an address someone at the client actually reads. Renewal and transfer notices go there.
3. Get access to the registrar account, without taking ownership
You need to see renewal dates and fix DNS, but the account should stay the client's. Options, best first:
- Shared or delegated access, if the registrar offers it: the client invites your agency's login, and can remove it later.
- A dedicated login the client creates for you, if the registrar supports multiple users.
- Moving the domain into your agency's account only if your contract says you register and manage domains on the client's behalf. If you do, record it in writing (see our renewal clauses for agency contracts).
Avoid working from the client's own username and password. It's hard to revoke and leaves no record of who changed what.
4. Find where DNS actually lives
DNS is often not at the registrar. Check the domain's nameservers to see who hosts the zone (the registrar, Cloudflare, the hosting company, or a previous agency's account).
- Get access to that DNS account too, or plan to move the zone into one the client owns.
- Export a copy of the current zone before you change anything, so you can roll back.
- Note the email records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and any verification TXT records. Website projects break email more often than they break websites.
5. Record expiry dates and who pays each renewal
For every domain, write down:
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Expiry date | Your reminders work back from it |
| Registrar and account owner | Who can actually renew it |
| Auto-renew on or off | And whether the card on file is still valid |
| Who pays | Client direct, or your agency billing it back |
| Renewal cost | So a renewal never arrives as a surprise invoice |
Our free domain and SSL renewal checklist (CSV) has these columns ready to fill in. If auto-renew is off, our auto-renew guide shows where to switch it on at GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare and Spaceship.
6. Check every hostname's SSL certificate
List each hostname that serves HTTPS (www, the bare domain, shop., portal., mail.) and check what certificate it actually serves with the SSL certificate expiry checker.
- Note who issued it and what renews it: the host, a CDN, or a certificate bought on someone's account.
- If you're about to move hosting, remember the old server's automatic renewals stop when it's switched off.
7. Agree the reminder plan in writing
Decide who gets renewal reminders and when, for example 60, 30, 14 and 3 days before expiry, and who approves the cost. Our reminder email templates and the free reminder email generator give you the wording.
8. Store it where your whole team can see it
Onboarding notes in one person's inbox don't help when that person is on holiday the week a domain expires. Keep the list somewhere shared, and update it whenever a domain or certificate changes.
The short version
- List every domain, including redirects and email-only domains
- Confirm the client's business is the registrant
- Get your own access to the registrar, without taking ownership
- Find where DNS lives and export the zone
- Record expiry dates, auto-renew, card and who pays
- Check each hostname's SSL certificate and what renews it
- Agree reminders and approvals in writing
- Keep it all in one shared place
When the client eventually leaves, the offboarding checklist uses the same inventory in reverse.
Let RenewRoster watch every renewal for you
RenewRoster tracks every client's domain and SSL expiry dates, sends reminders at 60, 30, 14 and 3 days (under your agency's brand if you like) and gives you a monthly renewals report. Free for 5 domains, no card needed.