Shaping a client portal experience around your firm

Think through what a typical client does in a month. They might raise invoices, enter or approve bills, check whether customers have paid, answer a question from your team and read a monthly report. Write those steps down in order, then note which tool or channel each one currently uses.

Most firms find the answer is scattered: some tasks happen in software, some over email, some through file-sharing links. Every switch between channels adds friction and a chance for something to go missing. The goal of a portal experience is to bring as many of those steps as possible into one place.

The sign-in page and the first screen after it set the tone. A branded sign-in page with your logo and colours tells clients they are in the right place. With HelloBooks, clients sign in to the firm’s software at the firm web address, which runs on a hellobooks.ai subdomain until your own domain arrives at full launch.

After signing in, clients should immediately see what matters to them. Consider which details you want front and centre, and shape your onboarding walkthrough around finding them. Ask a few clients what they check first when they sign in, because their answers rarely match what the firm assumes. Elements clients typically look for first include:

• Cash position across bank accounts
• Invoices outstanding and overdue
• Bills awaiting approval or payment
• Questions waiting on the client
• The latest monthly report

Nothing frustrates clients more than answering a question and hearing nothing back. When a client responds to a query, acknowledge it and show that it has been resolved. Visible progress builds confidence that the firm is on top of their books without them needing to chase.

Review the experience periodically with a few trusted clients. Ask where they get stuck, what they still do by email and what they wish they could see. Their answers point to the next improvement, and involving them signals that the portal exists for their benefit, not just the firm’s convenience.

One flat license covers your brand, unlimited staff and the firm console. Your clients stay on published HelloBooks plans, and your firm gets 20% off each one. Founding firms go live first on a firm subdomain; your own domain and email from your domain follow at full launch.