The guide
Why a client portal when you're a freelancer
On every project, part of your time goes into collecting what you need: information, files, logins, approvals. Most of that time comes from client communication being scattered across several tools.
Five channels for a single project
On a typical project, communication with your client goes through:
- Email: the quote, the brief, approvals and some of the feedback
- WeTransfer: large files, with a link that expires after seven days
- WhatsApp or text: quick questions, photos and voice messages
- Google Drive: shared documents, with access rights to sort out every time
- Bank transfer: the deposit and the balance, which you have to request and then check
Each of these tools works well, but none of them are connected. The brief is in an email, the correction in a voice message, the file behind a link that has expired. To know where the project stands, you have to reread everything.
What it costs you
Unbilled time. Chasing a logo, finding the latest version, copying an instruction from one tool to another. Over a year and a dozen clients, that adds up to several days.
Projects that start late. Your schedule assumes everything is ready on kickoff day. In practice, you're still waiting on copy, logins or files, and you're the one who has to make up the delay.
Extra back-and-forth. With no clear record of what was approved, points already settled come back in later versions.
A less professional image. Your work is polished, but your client only sees a string of emails and links. That experience is also what they judge you on when they recommend you.
What is a client portal?
A client portal is an online page dedicated to a project, which you open to your client. They find everything about their project there and upload what you ask for. Information no longer travels by email: it's gathered in one place that you can both see.
A useful client portal rests on four principles.
One place per project
The brief, your client's files, your deliverables, messages and progress all live in one place. When a question comes up again, the answer is already there.
Nothing for your clients to install
Your client didn't choose your tool. If they have to create an account, they may never open their space. A simple link is enough.
Ask before you start
Most delays come from missing pieces: some copy, a logo, a login. By getting the brief filled in and the files uploaded before kickoff, you have everything when you start.
Written approval
An agreement given by email is hard to find a few versions later. When your client approves a specific file, the approval is dated and the stage is closed.
Why not Notion, Drive or Trello?
Those tools are built to organize your work or your team's, not for your clients. Sharing a Notion page forces your client to find their way around your system. A Drive folder holds files, but neither the brief nor the project's progress.
A client portal only shows your client what they need to see and do. There's nothing for them to learn.
How inbord does it
With inbord, you open a space for each client project. You choose your brief questions and the files you expect, then your client gets a link. They open it with no account and no password.
In that space, your client fills in the brief, uploads their files (up to 50 GB each) and their logins into an encrypted vault, follows the progress and approves your deliverables one by one. If they don't open their space or a file is missing, inbord follows up for you. Optionally, they can pay the deposit by card: the payment is held until they approve.
It's free for one active client, with no time limit. The Pro plan, at €14.99 a month, unlocks unlimited clients and puts your brand on the spaces.
And for your profession?
Every profession has its own needs. Here's how inbord adapts to yours:
