Agency kickoff email template, with the access step built in

A kickoff email sets the tone for the whole project. Clients read it closely, and it's often where your first request for access appears. The trick is to make that request feel like one small, clear task rather than a list of chores. This template does it in three parts: what's happening, what we need from you this week, and how long it takes. Below it are two short variants, one for a website project and one for an app.

Three parts, in this order

• What's happening. Start with the plan, not the paperwork. When the client can see what the first week produces, the request has a reason.
• What we need from you this week. Only this week's asks. Access to everything at once looks like a lot of work. Access to what unblocks Friday looks like progress.
• How long it takes. An honest estimate turns "I'll look at it later" into "I'll do it now".

One link per client, with every step checked. Reserve a founding place

The kickoff email template

Subject: [Project name] kickoff: what happens this week

Hi [Client name],

Great to get started. Here's what the next few days look like, so you know what's happening and what we need from you.

What's happening
This week we'll [set up the project and share the first designs on Friday]. [Name] is your main contact, at [email].

What we need from you this week
Access to [number] accounts, so we can start building:
- [Platform]: please invite [your work email] as [role]
- [Platform]: please invite [your work email] as [role]
- [Platform]: please invite [your work email] as [role]
Each one is an invite from your own account, so you never send us a password and you can remove us whenever you like. [The exact steps are below.]

How long it takes
About [time] in one sitting. Could you do it by [day, date]? If a screen doesn't match what we've described, reply with a screenshot and we'll help.

What happens next
[Our next touchpoint, for example a design review on Thursday at 2pm.]

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Agency name]

A few notes on filling it in:

• Keep "What's happening" to one sentence about what the week produces. The full timeline belongs in the project plan.
• Three access lines is comfortable. If the project needs more, send next week's asks next week, and put anything slow, like a new developer account, first.
• Use one email address for every invite, the work address of the person who will accept them.
• Give a real number for the time. Each invite is a short form in the client's own account, so count the steps and round up. Anything that needs a new account, such as an Apple Developer enrollment, takes days, so give it its own line and date.

Variant: website project

Swap this in for the middle of the template on a site build. It covers the domain, hosting, the site itself and payments, and the clicks match each platform's help pages at the time of writing.

What we need from you this week
Access to four accounts, so we can start on the new site:
- GoDaddy (your domain): on your Delegate Access page, select Invite to Access, enter [Agency name] and [your work email], choose Domains Only and select Invite.
- WP Engine (hosting): in the User Portal, open Users, then Account Users, click Invite account user, enter [your work email], choose Partial (no billing), tick the [site name] environments and click Invite user.
- WordPress (the site): go to Users, then Add User, enter a username and [your work email], tick Send User Notification, choose the Administrator role and click Add User.
- Stripe (payments): in Settings, open the Team tab, click Add member, enter [your work email], choose Developer and click Send invites.

How long it takes
Four short forms, about [time] in all. GoDaddy's invite expires within 48 to 72 hours if we don't accept it, so a weekday is best.

Why these four, and these roles:

• Hosting and WordPress are separate invites. WP Engine says adding someone to the User Portal doesn't automatically add them to the WordPress admin of your sites (WP Engine). Ask for both at once.
• Send User Notification makes WordPress email the new user a link to set their own password, so nobody picks one for you.
• Editor is enough for content-only work. Editors publish and manage posts and pages, while plugins, themes, settings and users stay with Administrators (WordPress).
• Developer is Stripe's role for building the integration. It can create API keys, but it can't invite team members or edit bank details (Stripe).

Variant: app project

App projects start with the client's own developer accounts, and those take longer than any invite. Put them first.

What we need from you this week
Two things to start today, because Apple and Google check your company's details first:
- Apple Developer Program: enroll [Company] as an organization. You'll need a D-U-N-S Number, which is free from Dun & Bradstreet, and the person enrolling must be able to sign agreements for the company. The membership is 99 USD a year, or the local price shown when you enroll.
- Google Play: create a developer account as an organization. It also needs your D-U-N-S Number, and there's a US$25 one-time registration fee.

Then, once each account is active:
- App Store Connect: in Users and Access, invite [your work email] as App Manager, with access to Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles.
- Play Console: in Users and permissions, invite [your work email] with permissions for [App name] only.

How long it takes
The two invites are short forms. The enrollments take longer: a new D-U-N-S Number can take up to 5 business days to arrive, and Apple then needs up to 2 business days to receive it. If [Company] already has one, you can skip that wait, and Apple's enrollment page lets you check.

What to know before you send it:

• Apple wants a real organization. It must be a legal entity that can sign contracts (no DBAs, trade names or branches), with a work email on the company's domain and a public, working website. A page showing a domain registrar's message won't pass, so if you're building the client's first site, plan for that (Apple).
• The person who enrolls becomes the Account Holder, so it should be someone at the client with authority to sign, never you.
• Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles is only for members of an organization's team, and it's what lets an App Manager upload builds (Apple).
• Play invites need a Google Account on the invited address, and an invitation not accepted within 30 days expires (Play Console Help).

More detail: Apple organization enrollment and Google Play access for agencies.

What to leave out

• Passwords and sign-in codes. Never ask for either, even as a fallback.
• The whole project's access list. Next week's asks can wait for next week.
• Jargon. "Your domain settings" reads better than "DNS", and "where the code lives" better than "repo".
• A separate attachment of instructions. Keep the steps in the email, or on one link.

Need to chase later? The access request templates include a friendly follow-up and a last nudge.

Sending this to a client? Send one link instead

Doing this for every client?

Get Set Keys gives each client one link that walks them through these steps and checks each one as it's done, so the access part of your kickoff email becomes a single line. Porter, the setup helper on every link, answers your client's questions straight away and passes anything it can't answer to you. Get Set Keys launches in November 2026, and you can reserve a founding place before launch.