Clients & fittings
How to Onboard a New Atelier Client
The short answer
To onboard a new atelier client, turn the first consultation into a complete, retrievable record before the client leaves. Open a client file with their contact details, type and tier, take a full set of body measurements, capture the brief for the first order, take a deposit to confirm, and book the fitting dates. The discipline is simple: nothing about a client should live only in your head or on a loose sheet of paper.
What does onboarding a new atelier client actually mean?
Onboarding is the moment a stranger becomes a client of the house. It is not paperwork for its own sake — it is the act of turning a first conversation into a permanent, retrievable file the whole atelier can work from. Done well, the client feels seen and the house never has to ask the same question twice. Done badly, you are re-measuring at the first fitting, guessing at a budget, and chasing a deposit that was never agreed.
The first consultation carries more weight than any later appointment because everything downstream inherits from it. The fabric you order, the price you quote, the date you promise, and the fit you deliver all rest on what you captured that first hour. Treat the consultation as data collection dressed as hospitality, and the rest of the commission becomes far easier to run.
What information should the first consultation capture?
Capture three things in the first consultation: who the client is, what their body is, and what they want made. Each maps to part of the client file, and each is useless if it lives on a napkin or in your memory. The goal is that anyone in the atelier could pick up the file next week and continue the work without calling the client back.
Start with identity and how to reach them, then record how they found you and what kind of client they are, because that changes how you treat the relationship. An individual bride is not a boutique buyer, and a VIP repeat client is not a first-time walk-in. Then take the measurements and the brief — the two things that turn a conversation into an order.
- Contact: name, surname, email, phone, WhatsApp, address.
- Relationship: type (Individual, Boutique, Wholesale), tier (VIP), source, the year they became a client.
- Body: a full set of measurements in centimetres.
- Brief: the garment, the occasion, the deadline, references, and the budget.
- Owner: which salesperson holds the relationship.
How do you classify a new client by type and tier?
Classify the client before you talk numbers, because the classification shapes the terms. Type tells you the commercial relationship: an Individual orders for themselves, a Boutique buys to resell under their own name, and a Wholesale account places volume against purchase orders. Each warrants a different conversation about pricing, payment, and lead time.
Tier is reserved for clients who deserve a different standard of attention — the VIP flag marks the brides, repeat couture clients, and accounts you cannot afford to disappoint. Recording the source matters too: knowing whether a client came from a referral, an event, or social tells you, months later, which channels actually bring the house its best work.
Why take all the measurements at the very first appointment?
Take the complete measurement set at the first consultation, not piecemeal across later fittings. A couture client should be measured once, thoroughly, while they are standing in front of you and already undressed for the purpose. Going back to ask for a missing measurement reads as amateurish and costs you a fitting slot you did not have to spare.
A full record means every measurement the garment could need, grouped by part of the body so nothing is skipped — torso, drops, lengths, and the arm. Store them in centimetres against the client file so they are there for this order and every future one. When a specific garment needs a value that differs from the client standard, you adjust it on that order rather than overwriting the client record.
How do you turn the consultation into a confirmed order?
A consultation only becomes a commission when an order exists and money has changed hands. Write up the brief as the first order against the client file: the garment, the agreed price, the delivery method, references the client showed you, and the deadline that everyone is now committed to. An order without a deadline is a wish; an order without a deposit is a conversation.
Take a deposit to confirm. The deposit converts intent into obligation, covers the fabric you are about to buy, and tells the atelier this commission is real and may begin. Record it against the order with its method and date so the balance owing is always clear. Then book the fittings, because a couture order with no fitting dates is a garment with no checkpoints.
Step by step
- 1
Open the client record
Create a client file and enter their name, surname, email, phone, WhatsApp, and address. This is the spine everything else hangs from, so capture it accurately while the client is in front of you.
- 2
Classify type, tier, and source
Set the client type to Individual, Boutique, or Wholesale, flag VIP tier where it applies, and record how they found the house and the year they became a client. The classification shapes the terms you offer next.
- 3
Take the full measurement set
Measure the client thoroughly in one sitting and store every value in centimetres against their record, grouped by part of the body so none is skipped. Measure once, properly, rather than chasing missing numbers later.
- 4
Assign the relationship owner
Name the salesperson who owns the relationship so the client always has a single point of contact and the house knows who is accountable for the commission.
- 5
Write up the first order
Create the first order against the client: the garment, the total price, the delivery method (pickup or ship), reference images, notes, and the deadline. This turns the brief into a tracked commission.
- 6
Take the deposit
Record a deposit against the order with its amount, method, and date, and set the payment kind to deposit. The deposit confirms the order and leaves the balance owing visible to everyone.
- 7
Book the fitting dates
Add the fitting dates to the order so the appointments are scheduled from day one. Couture without checkpoints drifts; fittings are the checkpoints.
- 8
Confirm and hand off to production
Review the file with the client, confirm the deadline and the next appointment, then move the order into your production pipeline so the atelier can begin.
With Bomble
How Bomble helps you onboard new clients
Bomble gives the first consultation a home. Instead of a card index, a measurement sheet, and a WhatsApp thread, the whole onboarding lives in one connected client record that the rest of the atelier works from.
Open a client file with their contact details, type, tier, source, and salesperson owner; store all 22 body measurements in centimetres, grouped by anatomy; and write the brief up as the first order with its price, deposit, reference images, and fitting dates. From there the order flows straight into your production pipeline.
- Client record with name, contact, type (Individual / Boutique / Wholesale), VIP tier, source, client-since year, and salesperson owner.
- All 22 body measurements stored in centimetres, grouped by anatomy, with per-order overrides when a garment needs a different value.
- First order intake: garment, price total, delivery method, reference images, notes, and deadline.
- Deposit recorded against the order with amount, method, and date, leaving the balance owing visible.
- Fitting dates stored per order and surfaced on the dashboard and calendar.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the first thing to do when a new client arrives?
- Open a client record and capture their contact details — name, surname, email, phone, WhatsApp, and address — before anything else. Everything in the commission, from the order to the fittings, hangs off that file, so it should exist from the first minute of the consultation.
- How many measurements should I take at onboarding?
- Take a complete set covering the torso, the vertical drops, the lengths, and the arm, all stored in centimetres against the client record. Measure once and thoroughly so you never have to call the client back for a missing value, and so future orders can reuse the same record.
- Should I take a deposit during the first consultation?
- Yes. A deposit confirms the order, covers the fabric you are about to buy, and tells the atelier the commission is real. Record it against the order with its amount, method, and date so the outstanding balance stays visible until handover.
- How do I classify the client type?
- Set the type to Individual for someone ordering for themselves, Boutique for a shop buying to resell, or Wholesale for a volume account on purchase orders. The classification changes how you handle pricing, payment terms, and lead time, so set it before you quote.
- When should I book the fittings?
- Book them at onboarding, the moment the order is confirmed. Fitting dates stored against the order give the commission its checkpoints and feed your calendar, so the appointments are scheduled rather than improvised once the garment is half-made.
- What if a measurement for a specific garment differs from the client standard?
- Keep the client record as the standard and apply the difference as a per-order override. The stored measurements stay clean for every future commission, while the one garment that needs a different value carries its own adjusted figure.
- Who should own the new client relationship?
- Assign a salesperson as the owner so the client has a single point of contact and the house knows who is accountable. Clear ownership prevents the client from being passed around and keeps follow-up consistent.
- Can I onboard a client without an immediate order?
- Yes — you can open the client record and store measurements before any commission exists, then create the first order later. But the strongest onboarding ends with a confirmed order and a deposit, because that is what turns an interested visitor into a client of the house.
Keep reading
Client and Measurement Management for Ateliers
How couture ateliers build complete client records, store body measurements digitally, and run bespoke and bridal fittings without losing track of a single detail.
How to Take and Store Client Measurements
How to take a full set of body measurements accurately in centimetres and store client measurements digitally so they are searchable and never lost.
How to Collect Deposits and Balances in an Atelier
A deposit-and-balance policy for couture ateliers: take 30 to 50 percent up front, stage payments to production, collect the balance before handover, and chase late payers politely.
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