Client Onboarding & Intake

Overview

Client onboarding and intake is the end-to-end process by which TheKey converts prospective clients into active care recipients — from the first inbound contact through assessment scheduling, agreement execution, and payment setup. This process is operationally critical because it directly affects revenue ramp, referral source attribution, compliance documentation, and client experience. Intake is handled across multiple regional offices (Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, Vancouver, West Chester, St. Louis, and others) and is supported by a dedicated Finance Onboarding function. Errors at intake — misattributed referral sources, incorrect payment data, or wrong client tier classification — create downstream billing, scheduling, and reporting problems.

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Key People

• Sandra Daoust — Early architect of the client intake form; reworked the intake sheet in 2016.
• Tim Thomas (Timothy Thomas) — Client Care Manager (Montreal); long-standing involvement in intake process, sales training, and policy decisions; signatory on onboarding calendar.
• Cheryl Cartwright — Forwards "Immediate Web Start" new client notifications to regional intake inboxes.
• Laurie Simpson — Finance Onboarding, TheKey; handles welcome calls, payment authorization forms (PAF), and VersaPay setup.
• Kristal Parris — Receives and resolves finance onboarding escalations.
• Kiana Prudhont — Schedules assessments and logs intake call notes (Midwest/St. Louis).
• Rebbecca Foulon — Sends new client assessment scheduled notifications (St. Louis).
• Meighen Fitzpatrick — Defined Salesforce intake tracking fields including RIM intake flags and Lifeguard program discussion logging.
• Cristal Munoz — Manages opportunity type corrections in Salesforce; involved in Canada Zoom Contact Center (ZCC) intake chat setup.
• Matt Albano / Matthew Albano — Co-lead on Canada ZCC intake transition.
• Joey Taylor — Manages intakes for Montreal/Vancouver; handles referral source corrections in Salesforce.
• Maria (intake) — Intake staff member involved in a tier classification error (Tier 1 entered instead of Tier 3/4) flagged in October 2025.
• Dennis Fancy — GM overseeing Winnipeg growth; flagged new client hourly rate discrepancy at intake.

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Processes & Policies

Lead Sources & Routing

• Leads arrive via web form, phone, referral partners (hospitals, senior living, GCM/ALCP, wealth management), and word of mouth.
• "Immediate Web Start" notifications are auto-generated and emailed to regional intake inboxes (e.g., calgaryintake@thekey.com) when a web lead is fully processed and cleared to start care. [Fwd: Immediate Web Start — 2024-06-07 — Cheryl Cartwright]
• Referral source must be correctly attributed in Salesforce at intake; errors (e.g., "Google Search" entered instead of "Amica West Vancouver") require manual correction. [Amica W. Van Referral — 2023-04-17 — Dennis Fancy]

Intake Call

• Conducted by a Care Advisor or Client Care Manager following TheKey's 5-Step Sales Process: Build a Relationship → [assess needs] → present services → handle objections → close. [TheKey_Sales_Process_Final.txt]
• Gating requirements apply: consumer leads require a 4+ hour shift minimum and $2,500 minimum monthly commitment. [Care_Advisor_Playbook_v1.txt]
• Intake staff must flag during the call whether the Lifeguard program was discussed; this is tracked as a Salesforce field. [Data to Track in SalesForce — 2025-04-23 — Meighen Fitzpatrick]
• On weekends, 5–10 intakes per day are typical; 1–2 may require immediate care start. [Re: Questions pertaining to job — 2023-08-15 — Joey Taylor]

Fast Start of Care (FSOC)

• Expedited intake pathway reserved for qualified long-term clients (20+ hours/week).
• Intake responsibilities under FSOC include client qualification, real-time coordination, and compliance verification. [Fast_Start_SOP.txt]

Assessment Scheduling

• After the intake call, an assessment is scheduled and logged in Salesforce with status "Pending Scheduled," date/time, compliance classification, and referral account. [Assessment Scheduled — 2026-03-14 — Kiana Prudhont]
• The local care team is notified and must confirm the assessment date with the client.

Agreement & Financial Onboarding

• A Client Consent Agreement (CCA) and Payment Authorization Form (PAF) are required before care starts. [Onboarding Guide Final Version.pptx]
• Payment information is entered into VersaPay by Finance Onboarding; incorrect transit numbers block setup and require follow-up with the local team. [Fwd: Atulesh Nandi — 2025-08-29 — Laurie Simpson]
• New clients should not be onboarded with e-transfer as a payment method. [Re: Etransfer clients — 2023-02-20 — Ali Malik]
• New client hourly rate at onboarding must meet the current minimum (e.g., $35/hour in Winnipeg as of 2025). [Winnipeg Growth Commentary — 2025-05-22 — Dennis Fancy]

Salesforce & CRM

• All new clients are onboarded into Salesforce; opportunity type must be set correctly ("New Client"). [Re: Google Ads Transition — 2022-08-25]; [Fwd: New Client Opportunities — 2025-11-10 — Cristal Munoz]
• Intake owner (CSM) is tracked on each opportunity; tied to incentive payouts.

Tier Classification

• Clients must be assigned the correct care tier at intake. Misclassification (e.g., Tier 1 vs. Tier 3/4) creates care delivery and billing issues. [Diane Mockenhaupt post — 2025-10-12]

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Timeline & Key Events

| Date | Event |

|---|---|

| 2015-08 | Referral marketing webinar series launched, focused on hospital discharge planners. [FW: August Referral Marketing Call — 2015-08-13] |

| 2016-03 | Sandra Daoust reworks the new client intake form. [RE: New client intake sheet — 2016-03-14] |

| 2016-08 | Hospital-to-Home Care strategy webinar introduced; intake call and assessment roles formalized. [August Focus Strategy — 2016-08-01] |

| 2018-09 | Cohort discussion raises need for new client onboarding efficiency improvements. [Cohort Group One — 2018-09-13] |

| 2019-10 | Discussion on how to log intake calls and track initial call ownership in the system. [Re: How to Enter Intake Call — 2019-10-31] |

| 2022-08 | Toronto/Mavencare transition confirms all new clients being onboarded into Salesforce. |

| 2023-02 | E-transfer banned as a new client payment method at Montreal. |

| 2025-04 | Salesforce intake tracking fields expanded (Lifeguard program flag, Pro Care potential). |

| 2025-10 | Kansas City office closure; intake team directed to refer new inquiries to 3 alternate providers. [Kansas City Office Closure — 2025-10-27] |

| 2026-03 | Canada Zoom Contact Center (ZCC) intake chat created; English intake ring group deleted following revised rollout plan. [Re: Canada ZCC Meeting Follow Up — 2026-03-16] |

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Key Decisions

• E-transfer prohibited for new client onboarding (Montreal, 2023): Tim Thomas confirmed no new clients would be onboarded using e-transfer due to collection issues.
• Salesforce as the single CRM for all new client onboarding (confirmed by 2022): All markets, including Mavencare Toronto, standardized on Salesforce.
• Minimum hourly rate enforced at intake: Winnipeg GMs identified a gap where data showed $26.83/hour actuals against a $35/hour minimum; rate floor must be applied during onboarding.
• FSOC pathway restricted to 20+ hours/week clients: Fast Start of Care is not available to all prospects; qualification gatekeeping is an intake responsibility.
• Intake owner incentivized for conversions: A $75 incentive per converted client was introduced in March 2026 for the CSM listed as Intake Owner. [New Incentive — 2026-03-06 — Audra Williams]
• Canada ZCC intake chat replaces English ring group: The original Zoom Contact Center intake ring group for English was deleted; a new intake chat configuration was selected instead.

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Open Questions & Gaps

• Tier classification errors at intake: The October 2025 incident (Tier 1 entered instead of Tier 3/4 for a hospice-discharge client) suggests intake staff may need additional training or a validation checkpoint for tier assignment.
• Referral source attribution accuracy: Multiple instances of incorrect referral sources entered in Salesforce indicate this remains an ongoing data quality problem with no documented correction workflow.
• Canada ZCC intake rollout completion: As of March 2026, training for Desiree was scheduled for March 30–31 and the SOP was pending Tim's approval (March 18 target). Completion status is unconfirmed.
• Finance onboarding PAF/CCA delays: The Atulesh Nandi case (August–September 2025) showed a multi-week loop caused by an incorrect transit number with no clear SLA for resolution.
• Billing notification to finance post-onboarding: Jay Bradley (Vancouver, March 2023) requested an email notification upon new client onboarding with name and payment method — it is unclear whether this was systematically implemented.

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Related Topics

1. Referral Source Management & Marketing

2. Salesforce CRM Usage & Data Quality

3. Assessment Scheduling & Care Planning

4. Finance Onboarding & Payment Setup (VersaPay/PAF)

5. Hospital Discharge Planning & Transition Care