How To Use Dubsado’s Client Portal For Easy Organization
You and your clients will love Dubsado’s client portal feature!
Have you heard of Dubsado’s client portal?
Maybe you’re too busy organizing your proposals to even think about your client portal. Or maybe it feels like a mysterious, confusing, and unnecessary feature of Dubsado. After all, you (and your clients) are fine managing Notion, Clickup, Asana, and good old-fashioned emails, right?
The truth is, not setting up or optimizing the client portal is one of the most common Dubsado mistakes I see business owners make.
So today, we’re going to talk about how to set up your client portal and all the ways you can use it to help you and your clients stay on track during products.
But first…we need to know exactly what Dubsado’s client portal is.
The client portal is an online space where all your client’s important documents and information lives. Think of Dubsado’s client portal as your client’s one-stop shop to access everything they need during your work together. We’re talking emails, invoices, questionnaires, calendars, meetings, contracts, and any additional documents.
Before setting up her Dubsado and client portal, web designer Samara said she “felt overwhelmed managing all the different client-facing platforms (Calendly, Asana, Google, and Dubsado). I wanted to create a client experience where all communications and deliverables were centered in one handy spot!”
With the client portal set up, you can ditch most (if not all) of your other client-facing platforms for easy organization, communication, and project management.
Now, let’s take a closer look at Dubsado’s client portal and how it helps your business.
How To Set Up Your Dubsado Client Portal
The first step in using your client portal is to buy a paid plan from Dubsado. I’ve talked about the differences between Dubsado’s paid plans before, but luckily you can set up client portals on both the Starter and the Premium plants.
Next, you’ll want to customize your client portal in the settings tab. Add your portal banner, brand colors, and welcome message so your entire client portal matches your business.
Finally, when you’re ready to activate your client’s portal, you’ll need to open the project and scroll down to the ‘portal’ section on the left-hand side of your screen. From there:
- Activate your portal and create a custom password for your client.
- Send a link to the client portal and the password to your clients. Both of these are available as Smart Fields when you write your email.
It’s important to know that the Client Portal needs to be activated for each client who uses it. This is where workflows come in handy because we can activate or deactivate the portal automatically in a workflow. However, you will need to manually create a password for each client.
Everything Inside The Dubsado Client Portal
Your client portal contains all project-related information Dubsado creates and any additional information you manually add. Here is a list of the different documents your clients can access through the portal:
- Contact information for your business
- Contact information for the client
- Emails sent and received through Dubsado
- Project information sent and received through Dubsado
- Proposals
- Contracts
- Invoices
- Questionnaires
- Appointment Schedulers
- Past and Upcoming Appointments
- Welcome packages
- Client portal guides
- One-time forms
- Access to external platforms (like a shared Google Drive) using one-time links.
What Your Portal Does For You And Your Clients
So now you know how to set up your client portal and what’s inside, it’s time to discuss how your portal makes a difference for your business and your clients.
Before setting up Dubsado’s client portals, many of my past clients were using and paying for multiple project management tools. Once they set up their portal though, they had one central place for all their important project documents and could cancel those other subscriptions. They’re not only saving energy by only managing one system, but they’re also saving money on their business tools!
The client portal also becomes the go-to resource for their clients where they have access to everything they need for the project – from questionnaires to invoices. So instead of digging through past emails or DMing you for help, your clients know exactly where their documents live. Plus, return clients can easily sort through multiple projects to keep track of their work with you!
‘The client portal is the one-stop-shop for clients during the design process. Instead of logging into Asana, checking emails, checking Google Drive, and messaging me when they can’t remember where something is – they just check their portal!’ – Samara, web designer
Finally, the client portal is an accessible place to provide your clients with extra resources and forms. Some entrepreneurs include Client Portal Guides or Expectations Guides to set boundaries with their clients while others create a memorable offboarding process with feedback requests, additional support, or referral information in their portal.
In the end, Dubsado’s client portals save you and your clients time and energy because everything you need to complete your project is in one handy location instead of scattered across emails, links, and platforms.
How To Use Your Client Portal
Convinced the client portal is worth it? Trust me, once you have a grasp on it, you’ll be amazed at how it streamlines your projects.
The one piece we haven’t touched on yet though is getting your clients onboard and comfortable with the portal. After all, introducing a new system to your clients may feel overwhelming.
So, here are a few of my top tips for incorporating Dubsado’s client portal into your work processes:
- Create a simple PDF guide with information about the portal and include it in every client portal. Pssst – did you know Dubsado has a free Client Portal Guide template you can upload and use?
- Link external resources (like a shared Google Drive) to your client’s portal using a one-time link.
- Introduce the client portal to your client in your onboarding phase with a simple email linking the portal and sharing your client’s password.
- Suggest that your client bookmark the portal for easy access in the future.
- Explain that the client portal is their go-to spot for everything important, including invoices, emails, forms, and upcoming meetings.
Dubsado’s client portal may feel a little confusing for you and your client the first time you access it. But it’s the Dubsado feature that makes the biggest difference in my client’s work day.
With the client portal, past clients are no longer wasting time responding to repetitive emails, wasting money on countless platforms, and wasting energy on tasks their portal takes care of.
So if you’re ready to set up, brand, and optimize your client portal (plus your entire Dubsado system), then reach out today. Book a free Discovery Call and we’ll chat about your business, your goals, and the best next step for you.
