What clients see in the portal
Every project has a client portal at a unique secret URL. When you send a quote, update, or invoice, the email includes a link straight to the relevant portal section. The client clicks and they're in — no password, no app install.
What the portal shows
- Header — your logo, business name, brand colour
- Timeline — every quote, update, variation, invoice, and payment in chronological order
- Quotes — the current version with an Accept button
- Invoices — with a Pay button when Stripe is connected
- Variations — decide to approve or decline, with reasoning
- Updates — photos, voice notes, written progress from the job
- Completion event — when the job finishes, the client sees the summary
Security
The URL contains a long random access token unique to this project. Without it, nobody can reach the portal — not even you, without going through the app. The token is generated when you first send something to the client and is stable for the life of the project.
No Surfacely branding visible
Clients see your brand on the portal — not Surfacely's. Logo, brand colour, your business name, your contact details. The client's impression is that this is your system.
Why it matters: painters who use paper or email chains lose conversion because clients have to hunt for the quote, the update, the invoice. Portal clients see everything in one place — which drives faster acceptance, faster variation approvals, and faster payment.
Tip: the portal URL can be bookmarked. Encourage clients to bookmark it at the start of a job — they'll come back to it naturally when they want to see progress, approve a variation, or pay an invoice.