Client Links, the Portal, and What Clients Can See
How client-facing links work, what a client sees on an estimate, portal, or invoice link, and what to do when a client says the link won't open.
Clients & Client ExperienceOwnerAdminProject ManagerOffice / BookkeeperLast verified September 14, 2026
Availability
- Client Portal — On for most companies. Contact SiteView if portal links aren't available.
- Who can use this
- Anyone who can send documents to clients.
- What the client sees
- Clients only ever see the document or portal you shared: approved scope, published schedule, selections, and their own invoices. Costs, margin, vendor pricing, and internal notes are never included.
Before you start
- A client with a valid email address
How links work
- Every estimate, change order, invoice, and portal has its own unique link.
- Clients do not need an account or password — the link is the access.
- Links are per-document, so sharing one doesn't expose anything else.
Preview exactly what the client sees
- Open the estimate, change order, invoice, or project.
- Use the Preview as client action to open the real client-facing page in a safe internal wrapper.
- Confirm the scope, branding, and totals look right before sending.
What is on the project portal page
- The approved scope and contract amount, plus approved change orders.
- The published schedule, when you have published one for the project.
- Selections you asked them to make, and their own invoices and payments.
- Photos and files only when they are tagged for the client.
- Never included: your costs, expenses, vendor or subcontractor pricing, markup, margin, or internal notes.
Sharing a project portal link
- Open the project and choose Client Portal.
- Generate the link the first time — it is one long, unguessable address for that project only.
- Preview as client and check the branding and content.
- Copy the link and email or text it to your client.
Controlling access
- Portal sharing off means visitors see a Not Found page; nothing is deleted and you can switch it back on.
- Set an auto-expire date so the link stops working after close-out, or leave it empty for a link that never expires.
- Rotate issues a new link and kills the old one — use it when a link reached the wrong inbox.
- Revoke shuts access off entirely, and access can be restored later with a fresh link.
Publishing a project schedule
- Only published schedule items are visible to clients.
- Internal dates keep moving without touching what the client last saw until you publish again.
- See the client schedule guide for how to build and publish one.
Troubleshooting
The client can't open the link.
Most often the email client mangled the URL or they opened it inside a preview pane. Resend, and ask them to tap the link in their phone's browser. You can also copy the link and text it to them.
The client sees an older version.
Their browser cached the page — have them reload. Publishing again always refreshes what they see.
Wrong logo or colors on the client page.
Check Settings → Company branding; the client page uses your saved brand assets.
Related guides
Still stuck?
Our team usually responds within one business day.
Verified against the shipped product on September 14, 2026.