Managing client communications effectively is crucial but can be challenging. While it’s exciting to onboard new clients, determining the right level of project visibility and information sharing can become tedious.
ClickUp’s features allow you to create streamlined client portals that provide a central place for clients to track their projects while maintaining your internal workflow privacy. This guide will walk you through creating professional client portals to enhance collaboration.
Why Create a Client Portal in ClickUp?
Before exploring the setup process, let’s examine how this transforms your client relationships:
Streamlined Project Journey:
Replace scattered communications with an intuitive space where clients can follow their project’s evolution, access files, and track milestones – all without needing multiple platforms or endless email threads. When everything flows through one organized channel, projects move forward smoothly.
Effortless Collaboration:
Create a space where feedback, approvals, and discussions happen naturally, making clients feel more engaged and valued in the project process. This direct line of communication eliminates delays and keeps everyone in sync.
Lower Business Risk:
Keep projects on track and compliant by having everything documented in one place. This organized approach helps prevent misunderstandings, missed deadlines, and compliance issues. It’s particularly valuable for regulated industries where documentation and process tracking are crucial.
Show Your Impact:
Let your work speak for itself through real-time metrics and updates. Instead of waiting for monthly reports, clients can see project progress, performance metrics, and achieved milestones as they happen. This visibility builds trust and makes it easier for clients to see the value you deliver.
Better Client Experience:
Stand out by offering a modern way to work together. While others rely on scattered emails and periodic updates, you provide a professional, organized space where clients feel in control and informed. This level of service can justify premium pricing and attract quality clients.
Future-Proof Your Growth:
As you take on more clients, having a standardized system prevents chaos. Your team spends less time on status updates and more time on actual work. Plus, by analyzing how clients use their portals, you can spot trends and opportunities to improve your services.
Set Up Client Portals Using Click Up Dashboards – The Most Common Approach
ClickUp dashboards serve as powerful visualization tools, allowing you to create personalized client portals that showcase real-time project progress. This is the most user-friendly approach for clients who need a high-level overview.
Setup Process:
1. Create a Dedicated Dashboard
- Navigate to Dashboards in your left sidebar
- Click the + button to create a new dashboard
- You can create one using a template or from scratch. When choosing a template, ‘Client Portal’ is a good one to start with and customize.
- In this blog, we will create a Dashboard from Scratch. Choose “Start from Scratch”:
- You will be prompted to choose a Card (Widget) to be added to your Dashboard.
- Choose ‘Text’:
2. Essential Dashboard Components
- Text Card: Add text to provide a Welcome Message to your client. You can also add a header image to give it more personalisation and increase it to Full Width to work as the banner for your Dashboard:
- Text Card: Add another text card to provide a Welcome Video or a Detailed Welcome Message. This adds personalisation for your clients to give them a better understanding of what the Dashboard provides and how they can benefit from it:
- Progress Bar: Add Battery Chart from the Cards:
- Text Card: Add text to provide a Welcome Message to your client. You can also add a header image to give it more personalisation and increase it to Full Width to work as the banner for your Dashboard:
- Adjust the Settings to choose the list that you want to show progress from:
At IT Visionists, we usually name the chart as Progress Bar as it depicts the overall progress of the project. Note that the progress will only be visible, if the client has access to those tasks.
- Embed or Add Task lists:
If your client has access to the List from where you are showing the data, then adding a card for “Task Lists” will show the tasks to your client. However, if you want to only give access to the Dashboard, then first create a View in your Space where your client project is. Customize it to show only the fields you want to and Share it for Public:
Copy that link. Use the card “Custom Embed” from Embed & Apps under Add Card.
In the Embed URL, provide the public url of the View and this will show it to your client without sharing access of the list.
You can Add more cards for Task Lists and filter them out as: This Week’s Tasks, Next Week’s Tasks, Tasks Completed etc. to have more visibility through these categories.
- Resource Hub: Create a Text card to share important files with your client. This should serve as a Resource Hub for all documents.
- Talk to The Team: Add a Discussion widget for direct communication:
- Change Request: You can also create a form to intake any change requests and embed it in the Dashboard where your client can just come in and submit the request which will automatically be added to your list to move to next steps.
- Rename Dashboard: Rename your dashboard to something more meaningful like [name of client] Portal.
3. Configure Guest Access
- Invite your client as a Guest to your ClickUp Dashboard. Make sure that if you are sharing tasks from the Task List card, your client has access to the task list as well.
- It’s always good to create a Test Guest account and view it to make sure what you see and want your client to see as well.
Key Benefits:
- Real-time visibility into project progress
- Reduced email communication
- Centralized file and resource sharing
- Professional presentation of deliverables
- Streamlined feedback collection
- Automated status updates
Important Limitations to Consider:
- Guests must be invited to your workspace (no public access).
- Task visibility requires specific permission settings.
- Custom field access may be limited for guests.
- Some widgets may require additional setup for guest viewing.
- Dashboard sharing permissions can’t be granularly controlled.
Pro Tips for Success:
- Create a template dashboard to replicate for future clients.
- Use custom views for sensitive information control.
- Implement clear naming conventions for easy navigation.
- Regular dashboard reviews to ensure relevant information.
List or Folder-Based Portal For More Granular Details
Perfect for clients who need more detailed access to specific project components.
Setup Steps:
- Create a dedicated client folder.
- Choose your preferred method for managing client-visible tasks:
Option A – Use “Tasks in Multiple Lists” feature:
- Create tasks in your internal list
- Add the same tasks to the client-shared list
- Tasks will sync between both lists
Option B – Create separate client-facing tasks:
- Manually create new tasks in the shared list
- Keep these separate from your internal tasks
- Place them alongside your actual work items
- Add your clients as guests to this specific list:
- Navigate to the list settings
- Find the sharing or guest access options
- Enter your client’s email to invite them as a guest
- Review and manage access permissions:
- Ensure only appropriate content is visible
- Check that internal processes remain private
- Verify client access is limited to intended areas
- Begin collaborating with clients:
- Communicate directly within the platform
- Share relevant documents and updates
- Track progress on shared tasks
Challenges:
Increased Manual Workload:
- Constantly moving tasks between lists or creating duplicate tasks.
- Need to regularly review shared content to ensure sensitive information isn’t exposed.
- Extra time spent managing permissions and access levels.
Risk of Information Exposure:
- Higher chance of accidentally sharing internal communications or processes.
- Possibility of clients seeing task comments or updates meant for internal teams.
- Risk of revealing pricing, margins, or other sensitive business data.
Limited Control Over Client Experience:
- Clients see the full ClickUp interface, which can be overwhelming for non-power users.
- No ability to create a simplified, branded client portal.
Fragmented Task Management:
- Having tasks in multiple lists can lead to confusion.
- Risk of missing updates if not monitoring both internal and client-facing lists.
Important Tips to Consider:
- Use folder permissions to restrict access to internal communications for team members only and private tasks while maintaining transparency for client-facing deliverables.
- Provide access at List level to clients for the dedicated list only.
- Use automations to sync relevant information.
Public Document Based Portal with No Guest Access Required
The public portal approach by creating a document in ClickUp with necessary information works well when you do not want your client to have a guest account with ClickUp. Set up Process
1. Document Creation
Navigate to your client’s folder and create a new ClickUp document titled “[Client Name] Portal.” This will serve as your main portal interface. Begin with a cover image to appear as your portal’s banner.
Add Badges using / command to highlight different sections of the portal. Provide a quick video on How the Portal Works or a Welcome Message Video to have more personalized experience:
2. View Configuration
Create and configure these essential views in the list of projects that you want to show:
- Active Projects Table: Display current work with status indicators
- Completed Deliverables Overview: Showcase finished projects
You can create more and set sharing Permissions to Public. Copy the link and use Embed Website in the Portal Document to embed that View:
3. Resource Links Section:
Provide quick access to important tools and documents.
4. Portal Content Structure
Organize your portal into these key sections:
- Welcome and Navigation
- Resource Hub
- Progress Tracking
- Completed Projects
You can always customize as you need.
5. Access Management
Generate a public link for the portal document and share it with your client.
Key Benefits
Enhanced Client Experience
- Self-service access to project information
- Real-time progress visibility
- Easy access to important resources
Operational Efficiency
- Reduced back-and-forth communications
- Streamlined project updates
- Automated progress tracking
- Centralized resource management
Professional Presentation
- Branded client interface
- Organized project documentation
- Clear progress visualization
Important Limitations To Consider
Communication Constraints
- Direct messaging within ClickUp isn’t available through public portals
- Comments and discussions require alternative communication channels
2. Update Management
- Manual updates needed for certain portal sections
- Regular maintenance required to keep information current
- Limited automation capabilities for public documents
For advanced automation capabilities, check out our guide on 7 Ways to Automate ClickUp with Make.com.
Pro-Tips for Success
Template Optimization
Create a master portal template that includes:
- Pre-formatted sections
- Standard welcome messages
- Common resource links
- Default view configurations
This saves significant setup time for new clients.
Strategic View Configuration
- Use views strategically to protect internal task details
- Create filtered views that automatically update based on task status
Implement clear naming conventions for all views and sections
Client Experience Enhancement
- Record welcome videos for a personal touch
- Create intuitive navigation with a sticky table of contents
- Use consistent branding elements throughout
- Include clear instructions for accessing different portal sections
Maintenance Efficiency
- Schedule regular portal audits
- Create standard operating procedures for portal updates
- Use ClickUp’s native features for automatic progress tracking
Integration Optimization
- Embed relevant analytics tools
- Include calendar booking links
- Add form submissions for new requests
- Integrate other essential client collaboration tools
For complex portal setups or custom configurations, you can hire a ClickUp Expert to help optimize your client portal strategy.
Conclusion
Creating effective client portals in ClickUp transforms how you manage client relationships and showcase your work. Whether you choose dashboard-based portals for high-level overviews, list-based portals for detailed project management, or public document portals for seamless access, ClickUp provides the flexibility to match your specific needs.
By following this guide and implementing the approach that best suits your workflow, you’ll create professional, efficient, and client-friendly portals that elevate your service delivery.
Remember to regularly review and optimize your portal setup based on client feedback and usage patterns to ensure it continues to serve both your team and clients effectively. With these strategies in place, you’ll not only streamline client communications but also position your business as a modern, organized, and client-focused operation.