How to Invite Clients to the Portal

Learn how to give your clients secure access to view their invoices through ClientSynq's client portal.

Overview

Client invitations allow your customers to:

• View all their invoices 24/7
• See payment history
• Download invoice PDFs
• Pay online (if you have payment processing enabled)

No account required - Clients just verify their email and they're in!

Prerequisites

Before inviting clients:

• ✅ QuickBooks must be connected to ClientSynq
• ✅ Customer must exist in your QuickBooks
• ✅ Customer must have a valid email address in QuickBooks

Step-by-Step: Inviting a Single Client

Method 1: From the Clients Page

1. Log in to ClientSynq
2. Click Clients in the left sidebar
3. Find the client you want to invite
4. Click Send Portal Invitation
5. (Optional) Customize the invitation message
6. Click Send Invitation

Done! Your client will receive an email within minutes.

Method 2: From Client Details

1. Go to Clients
2. Click on a specific client's name
3. Click Send Invitation button
4. Confirm and send

What the Client Receives

Your client gets a professional email that includes:

• From: Your company name (or ClientSynq)
• Subject: "You're invited to view your invoices"
• Contents:
  • Welcome message
  • Link to access the portal
  • Instructions for first-time access
  • Contact information

Branding (Pro plan): Email includes your logo and brand colors

Client's First-Time Experience

Step 1: Click the Link

Client clicks the secure link in the email

Step 2: Verify Email

• Enter their email address
• Receive a verification code
• Enter the code to verify

Why verify? This ensures only the actual email recipient can access the invoices.

Step 3: Access the Portal

After verification, they immediately see:

• All their unpaid invoices
• Payment history
• Total balance due
• Quick payment options (if enabled)

No password - They just need to verify their email each time they visit (secure and simple!)

Invitation Status

Check Invitation Status

In the Clients page, you'll see status indicators:

• 🟢 Active: Client has accessed the portal
• 🟡 Pending: Invitation sent but not yet accessed
• ⚪ Not Invited: No invitation sent yet

Resend an Invitation

If a client didn't receive the email:

1. Go to Clients
2. Find the client
3. Click Resend Invitation
4. New email is sent immediately

Common reasons for not receiving:

• Email in spam folder (have them check!)
• Wrong email address in QuickBooks
• Corporate email filters blocked it

Bulk Invitations (Pro Plan)

Invite multiple clients at once:

1. Go to Clients
2. Check the boxes next to multiple clients
3. Click Bulk Actions → Send Invitations
4. Confirm to send all invitations

Tip: Great for initial setup when you have many existing clients!

Customizing Invitations (Pro Plan)

Custom Message

Add a personal touch to invitation emails:

1. When sending invitation, look for "Custom Message" field
2. Add a note like:

   Hi [Client Name],
   
   To make things easier, we've set up a secure portal 
   where you can view and pay your invoices 24/7. 
   
   No password needed - just verify your email and you're in!
   
   Questions? Just reply to this email.
   
   - [Your Name]
   

Brand Customization

Make invitations match your brand (Pro plan):

1. Go to Settings → Branding
2. Upload your company logo
3. Set your brand colors
4. All future invitations use your branding

What gets branded:

• Email header with your logo
• Portal interface with your colors
• "Powered by ClientSynq" at bottom (Enterprise can remove)

Managing Client Access

Revoke Access

If you need to remove a client's portal access:

1. Go to Clients
2. Find the client
3. Click ⋮ (three dots) → Revoke Access
4. Confirm

When to revoke:

• Client account is closed
• Switched to a different billing system
• Security concern

What happens:

• Client can no longer access the portal
• Existing invoices remain in your QuickBooks
• You can re-invite them anytime

Re-invite After Revoking

To give access back:

1. Find the client
2. Click Send Portal Invitation again
3. They'll receive a new invitation

Troubleshooting

"Client doesn't have an email address"

Problem: QuickBooks customer record is missing an email

Solution:

1. Open QuickBooks Online
2. Go to Customers
3. Find the customer
4. Click Edit
5. Add their email address
6. Save
7. Go back to ClientSynq → Settings → QuickBooks
8. Click Sync Now
9. Try inviting again

"Invitation button is greyed out"

Problem: Client doesn't meet requirements

Check:

• ✅ Is QuickBooks connected?
• ✅ Does this customer have an email in QBO?
• ✅ Has the customer synced from QuickBooks?

Solution: Fix the issue above, then sync QuickBooks again.

"Client says they didn't receive the email"

Steps to troubleshoot:

1. Check spam folder (Most common!)

   • Have client check spam/junk
   • Add invitations@clientsynq.com to contacts

2. Verify email address

   • Check QuickBooks has correct email
   • Look for typos

3. Check corporate email filters

   • Some companies block external emails
   • They may need to whitelist ClientSynq

4. Resend the invitation

   • Click "Resend Invitation"
   • Wait 5 minutes

5. Still not working?

   • Contact our support team
   • We can check email delivery status

"Client accessed once but can't get back in"

Solution: Have them request a new access link

1. Client goes to your portal URL
2. Enters their email
3. Clicks "Send me a link"
4. Checks email for new verification code
5. Enters code and accesses portal

No action needed from you - This is the normal process each time they visit!

"Can I customize the portal URL?"

Custom domains available on Pro and Enterprise plans:

1. Go to Settings → Branding
2. Click Custom Domain
3. Follow setup instructions
4. Use your own URL like portal.yourbusiness.com

Basic plan: Uses clientsynq.com/portal/[your-id]

Best Practices

Timing

✅ Good times to invite clients:

• Right after first invoice
• During onboarding
• When switching from paper/email invoices
• After explaining the portal benefits

❌ Avoid:

• Before you have any invoices for them
• When client relationship is very new (might seem pushy)

Communication

Tell clients what to expect:

• "You'll get an email from ClientSynq"
• "Check spam if you don't see it in 10 minutes"
• "No password needed - just verify your email"
• "You can view invoices 24/7"

Pro tip: Call or email clients first to let them know the invitation is coming!

Follow-Up

After sending invitations:

• Check status after 1 week
• Resend to clients who haven't accessed
• Ask for feedback on the portal experience

What Clients Can Do in the Portal

All Plans

• ✅ View all invoices
• ✅ See payment history
• ✅ Download invoice PDFs
• ✅ See total balance due
• ✅ View invoice details and line items

Pro Plan Additions

• ✅ Pay invoices by credit card
• ✅ Pay invoices by ACH/bank transfer
• ✅ See your custom branding
• ✅ Receive branded email notifications

Enterprise Plan Additions

• ✅ White-labeled experience (no ClientSynq branding)
• ✅ Custom domain (portal.yourcompany.com)
• ✅ Advanced features as needed

Security & Privacy

How It's Secure

• 🔒 Bank-level encryption (TLS 1.3)
• 🔒 Email verification required for each access
• 🔒 No passwords to forget or get hacked
• 🔒 Each client sees only their data
• 🔒 Automatic timeout after inactivity
• 🔒 SOC 2 compliant infrastructure

Client Privacy

Clients can only see:

• Their own invoices
• Their own payments
• Their contact information

Clients cannot see:

• Other clients' information
• Your QuickBooks data beyond their invoices
• Other customers or internal data

Video Tutorial

[Coming Soon] We're creating a video walkthrough of the invitation process. Check back soon!

Related Articles

• Getting Started with ClientSynq
• Connecting QuickBooks
• What Clients See in the Portal
• Setting Up Payment Processing (Pro plan)
• Customizing Your Branding (Pro plan)

Still Have Questions?

Can't find what you need? Contact our support team and we'll help you get your clients set up!

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Last Updated: October 26, 2025