HoneyBook has amazing project management tools and client management features. You can communicate with new clients, collaborate on projects, and generally run your business better with HoneyBook.
But…what does HoneyBook look like from your client’s perspective? Does the client portal make collaboration and project management easier for them, too? (Spoiler alert: Yes, it does!)
We’ve gotten a lot of questions about the HoneyBook client portal, so we figured it would help to have a walkthrough video and blog to show you what it looks like!
First, let’s go over how to set up a HoneyBook client portal.
After you log in, hover over your profile picture at the top right of your screen. Click on Company Settings > Domain & Client Portal. Here, you’ll see that you can customize all the links that are sent to your client. You can use your company subdomain in a URL, for example.
Then, you’ll see how to customize the client portal design. You can change the login screen for your desktop site and mobile site based on your brand colors and/or your logo. This is a nice touch because it keeps your branding and business name consistent from the beginning.
Note: When a client inquires, HoneyBook will automatically create a client portal and add them to it.
You might be wondering how many client portals you should have per client. Our rule of thumb is to have one portal per project. Here’s why.
Some people might create multiple portals for one client, which can get messy. You have files and messages and documents strewn across multiple portals. With one client portal per client project, it’s all streamlined.
The only reason we’d suggest having multiple portals for one client is for separate projects. If you’re a photographer who just booked a new client for an engagement session, you’d create a client portal for that project. When it’s time to shoot their wedding, you’d create a new, separate portal for that project.
Let’s talk about what a HoneyBook client portal looks like from your client’s point of view, and talk about what you can do with the portal on your end.
You’ll notice at the top of the page, there’s a large photo banner behind your client’s name and project details. You can customize this image by hovering over Tools, then clicking on Library. Simply Star an image in your Library, and that’ll be the banner image.
Under the banner image, there are photos and names of everyone who has access to this portal. If you need to add someone else, like a collaborator or one of your team members, you can do so by clicking the plus sign next to Add. You can even add another client, like if you’re photographing an engaged couple and both of them want access to the project.
Scrolling down the portal, you’ll see that you can add Additional Team Members to the project and assign them a role, whether they’re a workspace participant, project owner, or lead recipient. If you hover over Tools and click Contact Form>Settings>Invite Team Members, you can add more team members that way.
Oh, and above that Additional Team Members section, you’ll see that you can always send your client a link to the portal, either by copying the URL or emailing the link to their email address on file.
What’s great about the HoneyBook client portal is that it stores everything under the Activity tab.
The inquiry form, any emails sent, files shared, calls booked — the client portal logs it all. Click on the Files tab, and it’ll show all the active files for your client, like invoices, proposals, and brochures. Once you send a client a file, it activates the portal on their end.
You can even check the status of emails in the portal, like when it was sent or when it was opened. HoneyBook now has SMS as well so you can check when your emails were delivered.
Can your client see everything in their portal that you see on your end? No; some details are kept private. Anything grayed out in the client portal or marked as Private is only visible to you and your internal team. File drafts, automations, tasks, all of these are visible to you only.
Here’s what a new client sees when you invite them to their HoneyBook client portal for the first time.
When they click on the client portal URL, they’ll navigate to the login screen that you’ve customized for your company. They’ll be prompted to create and confirm their password, then log in.
Your client will be able to see all of your communication in their portal, plus sent files and project details in their respective tabs. Action Required items are up at the top of the portal under the Activity tab, which is super helpful for us business owners. Clients can also upload files to the portal by drag-and-drop or choosing the file from their computer.
Organization is essential for successful client communication and collaboration, which is just one of many reasons why we love using HoneyBook for clients! The client portal contains everything you need to manage client projects, plus everything your clients need to stay updated and active in their project.
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