In onboarding, you start by learning about the client’s personal life—their goals, family situation, time horizon, values, and any constraints. This context shapes what kinds of financial outcomes matter and how risk should be approached. Once you have a clear picture of the person and their aims, you move into the financial life: assessing income, expenses, assets and liabilities, investments, insurance, taxes, and retirement needs. This is where you translate personal goals into concrete financial strategies and action items. Finally, you complete the process with the necessary paperwork, consent, account setup, and outlining next steps to ensure everything is in place and the client knows what to expect. This order is essential because personal context informs which financial solutions are relevant and how they should be prioritized. Starting with financial details before understanding goals and circumstances can lead to irrelevant or misaligned recommendations, and attempting to “finish” the process without proper data would be premature.