The client portal

Overview

The link is the only thing between a stranger and a client's billing history, so it is 32 bytes of random data, not a number anyone can count up. It stays the same across every email, so an older email still opens. The invoice email's Pay button deep-links to the invoice's own page inside the portal, which is where the payment actually starts — a Stripe checkout session is minted only when the client presses Pay, so a link in an inbox never goes stale.

What the client sees

• Your logo and company name, then Account for Jane Smith.
• Balance owing, first thing on the page, with Across 2 invoices. — or Nothing outstanding. Thank you.
• Invoices: number, total, $1,200 paid, due 30 Sep 2026, and a Pay $2,260 button next to what is owed — or Paid.
• Quotes: each one with a pill in the client's own words — Awaiting your reply, Approved, Declined — and a Review link to the approval page.
• Questions about any of this? Contact Acme Painting at 613-555-0100 · hello@acme.ca at the foot.

An invoice's own page shows the line items, Due or Was due, any requested stage amounts, and the same Pay button; once settled it reads Paid in full. When you are not connected to Stripe, the Pay button is replaced by your offline payment instructions.

How the link reaches the client

1. Send an invoice, or press Chase payment on one — the email's Pay button opens the invoice in the portal. See Send an invoice.
2. Automatic overdue reminders from your follow-up rules carry the same link.
3. A service plan's invoices and receipts link to the portal too, and the plan's authorisation terms tell the client “every payment raises an invoice, which you can see in your client account”.

What is deliberately not there

• Draft invoices. Only issued invoices are listed — sent, or marked paid in person — so a client is never shown money owed on a bill nobody sent.
• Draft quotes and unreviewed instant estimates. A figure nobody at your company has priced does not appear as yours.
• Jobs, visits, technicians, notes. The portal shows quotes and invoices, nothing else — the AI review notes on a quote never reach a client-facing surface.
• Your Stripe details. Whether Pay works is decided on the server; the client sees a button or your offline instructions, never the account.

Language and branding

The portal is written in the client's language, falling back to your company's default — the same rule as every email. Each document keeps the language it was created in, so a French quote listed on an English portal still opens in French. Colours come from your one brand colour, with the text on the Pay button measured for contrast rather than assumed.

Who can see it

Anyone holding the link. Nobody in your team opens the portal from the app; staff read the same invoice on Invoices. If a link has reached the wrong person, contact support — rotating a client's link is not a button in the app today.

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