How to Set Up Online Intake, E-Signature & Payments in an Afternoon
Short answer: you can turn a prospect into a signed, paid client entirely online in three steps — publish an intake form on your website, send your engagement letter for e-signature, and send a tap-to-pay link for the retainer. With Case Tempo each step takes minutes, not an IT project, and they connect into one flow.
Most small firms lose clients in the gap between "interested" and "signed." The prospect calls, you play phone tag, you mail a paper agreement, you wait for a check. Every step adds days, and days lose clients. Here's how to close that gap this afternoon.
Step 1 — Publish an online intake form (about 10 minutes)
The goal is simple: let a prospect become a populated matter without a phone call. In Case Tempo you create an intake form per case type, then embed it on your website or share it as a link in an ad or text. When someone submits it, the case and client details are captured automatically — no transcription.
- Pick the case type and the fields you actually need — keep it short.
- Embed the form on your site, or use the shareable link in ads, email and SMS.
- Turn on lead-source tracking so you can see which channels convert.
Step 2 — Send the engagement letter for e-signature (about 5 minutes)
Don't mail paper. Build your engagement letter once as a Microsoft Word template with merge fields, generate it from the new matter with the client's details already filled in, and send it for signature over email or text. The client signs from their phone, and the signed copy is stored on the matter automatically.
Do it once, reuse it forever
The work here is front-loaded: build the template a single time. Every future client gets the same document in seconds, with no retyping and no formatting drift. This is the core idea behind a "10-minute firm" — invest minutes once, save hours on every matter after.
Step 3 — Collect the retainer with a tap-to-pay link (about 5 minutes)
Set your flat fee (or retainer amount) on the matter and send a payment link by email or text. The client taps and pays through LawPay, Stripe or PayPal. The payment posts to the matter, and you can automate the receipt and any follow-up reminders with templated messages.
Put the three together into one flow
Once each piece exists, the sequence runs itself: a prospect submits your intake form → the matter is created → you send the engagement letter to e-sign and the payment link to pay → both come back and post to the file. A client who called this morning can be signed and paid by lunch, without a single piece of paper.
You don't need a developer, a CRM, or a week of onboarding to do this. You need three small setups, done once. Block out an afternoon and you'll never run the slow paper version again.
Frequently asked questions
How do I create an online client intake form for my law firm?
Create an intake form per case type in your practice management software, choose the fields you need, then embed it on your website or share it as a link. In Case Tempo, a submitted form automatically becomes a populated matter, so you skip manual data entry. Setup takes about ten minutes.
Can clients sign and pay online without coming to the office?
Yes. With Case Tempo you send the engagement letter for electronic signature over email or text, and send a separate tap-to-pay link for the retainer through LawPay, Stripe or PayPal. The client completes both from their phone, and the signed document and payment post to the matter automatically.
How long does it take to set this up?
About an afternoon. The intake form takes roughly ten minutes, building the reusable engagement-letter template a few minutes, and configuring payment collection a few more. After the one-time setup, each new client runs through the flow in minutes.