New clients explain everything via WhatsApp voice notes and messages. Extract a clean brief from chaotic conversations before starting work.
Feb 10, 20268 min read
A new client just sent you 14 voice notes, 23 text messages, 6 images, and a "so basically that's what I need, let me know!"
You now have to turn this chaos into a project brief. And you know that anything you miss now will come back as a "but I told you about this" later.
This is the freelancer onboarding problem. Clients do not write briefs. They talk. They send scattered thoughts across multiple messages over multiple days. They contradict themselves between Tuesday's voice note and Thursday's text. They assume you caught everything.
The first week of any freelance project is really just a translation exercise: turning unstructured WhatsApp conversations into structured requirements.
Why onboarding from WhatsApp goes wrong
The medium creates the problem:
Voice notes are unstructured. A client will bury a critical requirement in minute 2 of a 4-minute voice note, surrounded by unrelated context.
Messages arrive out of order. The client thinks of things across days and sends them as they come. Monday's requirements might contradict Friday's.
Confirmation is ambiguous. A thumbs-up emoji on a message could mean "I read it," "I agree," or "I will think about it."
Important details hide in casual language. "Oh and the logo should probably be blue" is a design requirement disguised as an afterthought.
Nothing is prioritized. Everything arrives at the same level of urgency.
The result is that you start work with an incomplete understanding, and the gaps show up later as rework, delays, and arguments about what was agreed.
What a good client brief looks like
A brief extracted from WhatsApp onboarding conversations should capture:
Project goal - What the client actually wants, distilled from all the noise
Specific requirements - Extracted from voice notes, text messages, and shared references
References and examples - Images, links, screenshots they shared, with context
Timeline expectations - Any dates or deadlines mentioned, explicit or implied
Budget and payment terms - If discussed (scope, price, payment schedule)
Open questions - Contradictions, gaps, or ambiguities that need clarification before you start
The brief does not need to be long. One page is usually enough. What matters is that it is structured and confirmable.
Extracting a brief from WhatsApp
The manual way
Read through all messages and voice notes. Take notes on requirements, deadlines, and references. Try to organize them into categories. Follow up on anything unclear.
This works but is slow and error-prone. Voice notes are especially difficult because you cannot search them or skim them.
Upload to ThreadRecap and run a Full Summary (2 credits) to get the big picture of the conversation.
Run a second analysis with Custom Prompt (3 credits) to extract specific categories:
"List all requirements the client mentioned, grouped by topic"
"What deadlines or timeline expectations were discussed?"
"Are there any contradictions in what the client requested?"
"What questions need to be answered before starting work?"
Compile the results into a one-page brief using the template below.
Send it back to the client for confirmation.
Client brief template
Project brief header
Client: [Name]
Project: [Name or description]
Brief date: [Today]
Based on: WhatsApp conversation [Date range]
Status: Draft - awaiting client confirmation
Project goal
[2-3 sentences describing what the client wants to achieve, in plain language]
Requirements
Must have:
[Requirement 1]
[Requirement 2]
[Requirement 3]
Nice to have (mentioned but not confirmed):
[Requirement 4]
[Requirement 5]
References shared
[Description of image/link/screenshot 1 and what it relates to]
[Description of image/link/screenshot 2 and what it relates to]
Timeline
[Deadline or milestone 1]
[Deadline or milestone 2]
[Overall expected completion]
Budget and payment
[Agreed price or price range]
[Payment schedule if discussed]
[Any conditions]
Open questions
[Question 1 - needs answer before starting]
[Question 2 - contradicts something else the client said]
[Question 3 - not mentioned but important for the project]
The confirmation trick
This is the most valuable step in the entire process. When you send a structured brief back to the client and they say "yes, that is right," you now have documented agreement on scope.
Send it like this:
"Hi [Name], I put together a brief based on our conversations. Please review and confirm before I start:
[Paste brief]
If anything is missing or incorrect, let me know and I will update. Once you confirm, I will use this as the project scope."
This does three things:
Catches misunderstandings early - before you start working on the wrong thing
Creates a scope anchor - if they change their mind later, you have a reference point
Signals professionalism - clients trust freelancers who clarify before executing
If the client adds requirements after confirming the brief, you can reference it: "This was not in the confirmed brief. Happy to add it. Here is the impact on timeline and cost." That is scope management, and it starts at onboarding.
Common onboarding pitfalls
Starting work before confirming the brief. The excitement to begin is real, but unconfirmed scope is the number one cause of freelancer frustration.
Ignoring voice notes. Clients who send voice notes often put their most important thoughts there because it is easier to talk than type. If you skip them, you miss context.
Not asking about budget early. If the client's budget does not match the scope they described, you need to know before you invest time in planning.
Treating "nice to have" as confirmed. If the client mentioned something casually ("maybe we could also add..."), flag it as unconfirmed. Do not include it in your estimate or timeline.
Use a scope change log to track any additions after the confirmed brief
Your next client conversation is your project brief
Let ThreadRecap extract it. Upload your WhatsApp export and get a structured summary with requirements, decisions, and open questions in minutes. 10 free credits when you sign up, no subscription. Credit packs start at $5 (pay-as-you-go, credits never expire).
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