Overview/Roles/The client portal

The client portal

Your clients get a deliberately narrow view of Slate. They see their own work, the decisions that need them, and nothing else. This page explains that experience so you can support it confidently — and so you know what your client is looking at when they call.

How your client signs in

Your clients do not have a username and password, and there is nothing for them to remember or reset. Each client is given a portal link — one link, specific to that client. They open it and land straight in their own portal.

You create the link
Open the client, choose the Portal tab, and create a link. Give it a label if you like — one per contact is a good habit — and optionally an expiry.
You send it however suits the relationship
WhatsApp, email, or a QR code at the kick-off meeting. The link is shown to you once, at the moment you create it. Copy it then.
The client opens it and is in
No account to create, no password to choose. They land on their own home screen, scoped to their own work.

Treat a link like a key Anyone holding the link can see that client's work, so send it the way you would send a key — to the person, not to a group. If a link is lost, or a contact leaves, revoke it. Revoking stops the link working immediately and ends any session it opened, so there is no window where someone keeps browsing after you have revoked them. Then create a fresh link for whoever needs it.

If you lose a link before sending it You cannot recover it — Slate stores only a scrambled version, so not even an administrator can read it back. That is deliberate: it means a copy of the database is not a copy of your clients' access. Just revoke it and create another.

Adding the portal to their phone

Clients can add their portal to their phone's home screen so it behaves like an app. This is also what lets them receive notifications. On Android, the browser offers to install it. On an iPhone or iPad they must open the link in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen — Apple only delivers notifications to an app installed this way, and that is a rule of the platform rather than a limitation of Slate.

What the client sees

A client opening their link lands on their own home screen. It is scoped to them at the deepest level of the system: they cannot see another client's projects, and they cannot see internal notes, internal versions, or internal conversations.

They can	They cannot
See their own projects and their status	See any other client's work
Watch videos released to them and leave timestamped comments	See internal QC versions or internal-only comments
Approve a video, or request changes	See revision classification or internal quality metrics
Approve the monthly content plan	See the internal plan drafts before release
See their own invoices, payments, and receipts	See the agency's margins, expenses, or other clients' finances
Add the portal to their phone and receive notifications	See or act on any other client's work
Start a conversation with the agency	Reach internal project management or production screens

Lean on this when a client complains about visibility Clients who previously waited on WhatsApp updates now have a live view of where their work stands. The single most effective support answer is usually “log in and look at the cycle — it tells you exactly what stage each video is at and what is waiting on you”.

Two levels of client access Each client has a portal setting. Full portal gives them their work and their invoices, payments and receipts. Review only gives them their work but no financials. It is one setting per client, so it applies to every link you create for them — change it on the client record and it changes everywhere.

The four moments that involve the client

Everything else stays internal. This restraint is the point — a client who is asked to make four decisions a month experiences the agency as organised; a client asked to make twenty experiences it as chaotic.

1. Approving the content plan

Once a month, the client receives the plan for the upcoming cycle and a 48-hour window to approve it. Until they approve, no shoot is scheduled. The client's decision here is what unblocks the whole month, which is why it is worth a personal nudge if the window is running out.

2. Reviewing each video

Each finished video arrives with a 48-hour window. The client can watch it in the browser, leave comments at exact moments in the timeline, then approve it or request changes. Revision eligibility is shown in plain language so nobody has to remember the policy.

3. Receiving the monthly report

At the end of the cycle, the client gets performance: views, reach, enquiries, engagement, top and least performing content, and what the agency recommends changing next round. This is the proof that the retainer produced something.

4. Making contact

Clients can raise a question and it becomes a visible record against their engagement, rather than a message someone forgets. They can also be routed to the right person rather than into a general inbox.

Each of these arrives as a notification in their portal, and — if they have installed it — on their phone. That is usually what turns “I never saw it” into a decision made on time.

The review window, from the client's side

This is the mechanic clients interact with most, and the one that generates the most questions. Here is what happens, in order.

The window opens
The client receives the version with a clear countdown of 48 hours and their current revision entitlement stated plainly.
They watch and comment
Comments can be left at exact points in the video. They see their own comments and the agency's replies; internal notes remain internal.
A reminder arrives before expiry
They are nudged before the window closes, so nobody runs out of time by accident — and so a missed window is a genuine choice rather than an oversight.
They decide, or the window expires
They can approve, request changes, or let the window lapse and allow auto-approval.
The version locks
Once approved, the version is locked and becomes the asset that will be posted. It cannot be silently changed afterwards.

Auto-approval is real, and it is contractual If a client does not respond within 48 hours, the version auto-approves. This is accepted practice and protects production from stalling indefinitely. The audit trail always distinguishes a client's own approval from an automatic one, which matters if entitlement is ever questioned.

Explaining revisions to a client

The two-revision rule is the most frequent source of friction, and it is almost always a communication problem rather than a policy problem. Say this early and plainly:

A script that works “Every video includes two rounds of changes. If something is wrong because of us — a mistake against the brief, an audio problem, the wrong logo — that is ours to fix and does not count against your two. The two rounds are for changes of mind: different music, a different take, a reordered sequence. If you want something that was never in the plan, we will quote it separately rather than quietly absorbing it.”

This framing reframes the limit from a restriction into a guarantee, and it is why classification matters. A client who understands it stops arguing about counts and starts describing what they actually want.

Supporting clients through the portal

What the client says	What is usually happening	What to do
“I can't see the video”	It has not been released to them yet, or they are looking at a different project.	Check the version's state — internal QC is not client-visible by design.
“My changes were ignored”	Their comment was received but not yet actioned, or the classification is disputed.	Check the comment and its classification, and confirm which rounds remain.
“When is the next shoot?”	They have not looked at the cycle, or the plan is not yet approved.	Point them to the cycle view. If the plan is unapproved, that is the real answer.
“I never got the invoice”	It may still be awaiting approval, or sent but unfound.	Check the invoice state. Only approval releases it for sending.
“It approved itself?”	The 48-hour window expired.	Explain the window, and note that a change can still be raised as a revision if entitlement allows.
“My link doesn't work”	It expired, or it was revoked and replaced.	Create a fresh link from the client's Portal tab and send it. Revoked links cannot be re-enabled.
“I'm not getting notifications”	The portal has not been added to their phone, or permission was declined.	Walk them through adding it to the Home Screen, then enabling notifications from Settings.

Where WhatsApp fits

Clients often prefer WhatsApp for quick conversation, and that is a reasonable comfort to preserve. What matters is that decisions do not live only there.

Fine on WhatsApp

Rapport, quick questions, scheduling logistics, nudges, and sending them their portal link. A friendly channel is an asset.

Must be recorded in Slate

Approvals, revision requests, changes of date or scope — anything that changes money, timing, or deliverables. Record it in Slate the same working day.

Never over WhatsApp Credentials and payment details, in either direction. Client logins belong in the vault; payment evidence belongs against the invoice. This rule exists to protect the client, not just the agency.

The reason this matters is mechanical: the 48-hour windows and the revision counters run on what Slate can see. An approval sitting in a chat thread either wrongly auto-approves content or wrongly exhausts someone's revision entitlement. Logging decisions is what keeps the automation trustworthy.

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