Book the kickoff call as soon as onboarding is done
The onboarding form a new client fills in books their kickoff session in Acuity Scheduling, with no scheduling email thread.
New submission on your post-signup onboarding form
Add a new appointment in Acuity Scheduling for a kickoff or onboarding call
One-directional. A submission triggers the action — nothing is written back into your form.
The week between signing up and the first session is where new clients cool off. Most of it goes on swapping times by email, while the coach is with someone else and the client is at work.
Sending the onboarding form the moment somebody signs up collapses that week. The client answers the questions the first session needs anyway, and the kickoff appears in Acuity Scheduling as they hit submit. Coaches, consultants and small agencies all run the same shape of flow.
Setting it up
- 1
Publish the Life Coaching Intake Form in formformform and make it the first link a new client gets after signing up, as an email link or a slide-in on the thank-you page.
- 2
Rename the Primary Life Area to Focus On options so they line up with the coaching appointment types you already have in Acuity Scheduling.
- 3
Set the Zap's formformform "New Submission" trigger to that form, then complete it once yourself so Zapier has a real record to map from.
- 4
Add Acuity Scheduling as the action app, choose "Add New Appointment", and select the kickoff appointment type.
- 5
Split Full Name into first and last with a Formatter step before it reaches Acuity's two separate name fields.
- 6
Decide the kickoff time inside the Zap. A Formatter date step landing on your next open kickoff slot is more reliable than asking the client to name one and then finding it taken.
- 7
Map the answers that shape the session — the focus area, and what the client has already tried — into the appointment notes, and leave the longer reflective answers in formformform responses.
- 8
Run the form end to end, check the kickoff on the Acuity Scheduling calendar, then turn the Zap on.
What maps where
Using the Life Coaching Intake Form as the starting point. These are its real fields — swap in your own and the mapping works the same way.
| Form field | Acuity Scheduling |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Split into client first and last name on the Acuity Scheduling appointment |
| Email Address | Client email, used for Acuity Scheduling's confirmation and reminder |
| Phone Number | Client phone on the appointment record |
| Primary Life Area to Focus On | Selects the Acuity Scheduling appointment type for the kickoff |
| What Have You Already Tried? | Appointment notes, so the first session does not go over old ground |
| Commitment Level to Coaching | Appointment notes, setting the tone for how the kickoff is run |
Variations worth knowing
"Have You Worked with a Life Coach Before?" splits the intake neatly. Use a Zapier paths step on that answer to route experienced clients to a thirty-minute kickoff appointment type and first-timers to a full hour.
Chain a second Acuity Scheduling action onto the same Zap that books a check-in three weeks out. Both sessions sit on the calendar from day one, and the client gets two confirmations instead of a promise to sort the next one later.
If something isn't arriving
Acuity Scheduling only emails a confirmation when a valid client email is on the appointment. If Email Address is missing from the mapping, or that appointment type has confirmations switched off, the booking exists in silence. Check both before assuming the Zap failed.
Onboarding links get opened twice, once on a phone and once on a laptop. Add a Zapier filter or a deduplication step keyed on Email Address, so a second submission on the same day is dropped rather than creating a second kickoff.
Frequently asked questions
When should the onboarding form go out?
Immediately after signup, while intent is at its highest. Share it as a link in the welcome email or a popup on the confirmation page. The longer the gap, the more likely the kickoff booking is chasing a client who has already drifted.
Can I ask the client for their availability and use that?
You can collect it, but Acuity Scheduling needs a specific free slot rather than a preference. Most people book into a standing kickoff slot from the Zap, then let the client move it using the reschedule link in Acuity's confirmation email.
What happens to the answers I do not map across?
They stay in formformform responses, where you can filter, search and export them. Nothing is deleted by the automation, and nothing is written back from Acuity Scheduling into the submission — the flow only ever runs in one direction.
Related automations
- Book a new patient's first visit from their intake form
A finished intake form books the patient's first visit in Acuity Scheduling and carries their contact details into the appointment.
- Book consultation calls from your enquiry form
Every consultation request becomes an appointment in Acuity Scheduling, filed under the service type the prospect asked about.
- Create a discount code when someone refers a friend
Every referral submission creates a coupon code in Acuity Scheduling so the discount is waiting at the client's next booking.
- Reserve a site visit slot when a quote request comes in
Quote requests reserve time on the right Acuity Scheduling calendar so two site visits never overlap.
- Turn class signups into bookings on the right calendar
Each registration is added to the right class or appointment type in Acuity Scheduling, keeping headcounts accurate as signups arrive.
- Add service appointments to the dispatch calendar
A booking arrives and lands on the dispatch calendar with the address as a map pin and the job in the title.
Build the form first
The automation needs somewhere to fire from. Publish a form, connect it once, and every submission from then on runs this flow.
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