Client Portal for Interior Design: Show the Project Online
· 9 min read
A client portal for interior design is one link where the client sees the estimate, approves or rejects items, checks the payment schedule and follows delivery, so you stop answering the same questions in chats. To make it work, decide what the client needs at each stage, hide your internal numbers, and agree on how approvals happen. Below is a working process for planning, setting up and running a portal.
What the client needs to see online
Before you choose any tool, write down the questions clients ask you most often. In most projects they come down to four: what have I approved, how much do I pay and when, when will it arrive, and what do you need from me now. The portal should answer these without a call.
| Client question | Show in the portal | Keep internal |
|---|---|---|
| What is in my project? | Estimate by room with photos, names, quantities, client prices | Purchase prices, markup, profit |
| What have I approved? | Item statuses, approved and pending items | Internal team comments, rejected supplier options |
| How much do I pay and when? | Payment schedule, receipts for client payments | Your supplier terms and discounts |
| When will it arrive? | Order, delivery and acceptance dates | Your negotiation with the supplier about delays |
| What do you need from me? | Items waiting for approval, questions you asked | Your internal task list |
Why the portal replaces PDFs for status updates
A PDF is a snapshot. The day after you send it, a price changes, an item is replaced or a delivery moves, and the client has an outdated file. A portal shows the current state, so you send one link at the start and not a new file every week. PDFs are still useful for formal sign-off or for a part of the estimate that you send to a third party.
Plan the portal before you share it
A portal that is opened half-empty trains the client to ignore it. Spend 30-60 minutes on preparation and the first impression will be of a clear, controlled project.
- List the decisions you need. Write down which items must be approved in the next two weeks. These go first, and everything else can wait.
- Complete the item data. Every item the client will see needs a photo, a clear name, a quantity and a client price. A row without a photo or price produces a question, and a question produces a delay.
- Set statuses honestly. Only items that are ready for a decision should be marked as needing approval. If the client opens the portal and sees 80 items to approve, they will approve nothing.
- Choose the access level. Decide whether the client only views the project or also approves and rejects. For most residential projects, approving inside the portal is what saves the most time.
- Choose what is visible. Set the project-wide rules first (next section), then make exceptions for single items.
- Look at it as the client. Open the preview, read every screen, and check that no internal number or supplier detail is visible by accident.
- Send the link with a short message. Say what to look at first, how to approve, and when you expect an answer.
A short message that works
Keep it to four lines: what this link is, what you need from the client this week, how to ask a question, and when the next update is due. For example: “Here is the live estimate for your project. Please review the 12 items in the living room by Friday. Use the question button on any item if something is unclear. I will update delivery dates every Monday.”
Decide what the client sees in each item card
The item card is where most of the trust is built or lost. The client wants to confirm that the product is what they chose, and to see where it is in the process. You want to avoid opening your supplier relationships and margins. Use these defaults and change them for your studio policy.
| Data in the item card | Default recommendation | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Photo and gallery | Show | The client approves what they can see |
| Client price | Show | Approval without a price is not approval |
| SKU and dimensions | Show | Lets the client or a contractor check the fit |
| Supplier and link | Your choice | Helpful for transparency, but some clients will buy directly and bypass you |
| Receipts for client payments | Show | Removes “did you receive my payment” messages |
| Supplier invoices and supplier payment | Hide | These reveal your purchase terms |
| Acceptance photos | Show | Proof that the delivery was checked |
| Date changes | Hide or show actual dates only | The client needs the current date, not the history of supplier delays |
| Question button | Show | Keeps questions attached to the item, not scattered in chats |
Planned dates versus actual dates
Planned dates are promises, and actual dates are facts. If your suppliers are reliable, showing both helps the client plan. If delivery dates often move, show actual dates only and tell the client in person when a delay affects the schedule. Do not let the client discover a delay by seeing a planned date silently change.
Checklist before you send the link
- Every visible item has a photo, a name, a quantity and a client price.
- Only items that need a decision are marked as waiting for approval.
- Purchase prices, markup and profit are not visible anywhere.
- Supplier invoices and supplier payments are hidden, unless you decided otherwise.
- Rejected or outdated items are removed or clearly marked.
- The link has the right permission: view only, or view with approve and reject.
- You opened the preview and checked at least three item cards.
- You know who on your team receives the client’s questions.
Run approvals and questions through the portal
The portal only saves time if the client uses it as the main channel for decisions. That depends on a few habits, not on settings.
- Batch the requests. Ask for approval by room or by category, with a deadline. Ten items in one request get answered faster than ten separate messages.
- Explain the deadline. Tie it to the consequence: “If the tiles are approved by the 10th, they arrive before the tiler starts.” Order lead times from your procurement timeline make this argument concrete.
- Answer questions in the portal. If the client asks about an item in a chat, reply with a link to the item, and ask them to use the question button next time. This keeps the history in one place.
- Offer an alternative when the client rejects. A rejection without a replacement stops the schedule. Prepare a cheaper or faster option for the items that clients usually reject, such as large furniture and lighting.
- Confirm decisions in writing once. Approval in the portal is a working record. For large items or changes to the contract scope, keep your normal written agreement as well.
- Update on a fixed day. Choose one day a week for refreshing statuses and dates. Clients stop asking for status when they know when it changes.
Example of the effect on a weekly routine
This is an illustrative example, not a measured result. Imagine a studio with a 60-item living room and kitchen project. Before the portal, the designer sends a PDF every Friday and answers about 15 status messages during the week. After moving to a portal with a fixed Monday update, the designer answers only the questions attached to specific items, and sends one message per week: “12 items need your decision, total 18,500 EUR, deadline Thursday.” The time you save is not in the tool, but in the reduced number of conversations.
Common mistakes
- Opening the portal too early. An estimate full of placeholders confuses the client and invites price negotiation on unfinished items.
- Showing everything. More visible data means more questions. Show what supports a decision.
- Hiding everything. If the client cannot see statuses and dates, they will ask for them by message.
- Never closing access. When the project ends, set an expiry or revoke the link. Old links should not stay open indefinitely.
- Treating the portal as a replacement for conversation. Major changes, delays and budget overruns should be discussed first, then recorded.
How to do it in ArchiBoard
The client portal works through a link, and the client does not register. These steps follow the process above. For project setup basics, see the Projects chapter of the help center.
- Open the project and go to Client portal in the project menu.
- On the Link access tab, create a link. Choose the permission: View only or View + approve / reject. If needed, set an expiry date.
- In the block What the client sees in the item card, tick the checkboxes you want to show: Photo and gallery, Price, Supplier and link, SKU and dimensions, Receipts, Supplier invoices, Acceptance photos, Supplier payment, Date changes, Question button.
- Set the dates mode: Actual only, Actual + planned or Hide.
- Open the Client preview tab and check the portal as the client sees it: the estimate with photos and deadlines, Saved for you, the payment schedule and the timeline.
- To change one item, open it in the preview and use the block Visibility of this item at the bottom of the card. As in project returns the item to the project settings.
- Send the link to the client. Their questions from the item card reach the responsible person as a task. To close access, revoke the link.
Good to know: by default the client does not see supplier invoices, supplier payment or date changes. Hidden data is not only hidden on screen; it is never sent to the client’s browser. Documents open through a protected link and stop opening when the portal link is revoked or expires.
FAQ
Does the client need an account to use a portal?
It is better if they do not. Every registration step reduces the number of clients who actually open the portal. A link-based portal, like the one in ArchiBoard, lets the client open the project directly. Protect it with an expiry date and the option to revoke the link when the project ends.
Should I show supplier names and product links to the client?
It depends on your business model. Showing them builds transparency and helps the client check the product. The risk is that the client orders directly and you lose control of delivery, warranty and your fee. If you earn on purchases or coordinate all deliveries, hide supplier details or show only the product name.
How do I stop the client from changing approved items?
Use a link with view-only permission once the main decisions are made, and keep approval rights only for the stage where you need them. If a later change is genuinely needed, handle it as a separate conversation and update the estimate yourself, so the record stays clear.
How often should I update the portal?
Choose a fixed rhythm, usually once a week, and update statuses, delivery dates and payments on the same day. Make exceptions for events that change the client’s plans, such as a delay that affects the installation date. Tell the client about those directly, then update the portal.
Can a portal replace the contract and written agreements?
No. The portal is a working record of choices, prices and statuses, and it makes daily communication easier. The contract, scope changes and large budget decisions should still be confirmed in the written form that your studio normally uses. Treat the portal as the place where everyday decisions are visible and easy to find.