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Apps & portals

Client document portal for accountants

A client document portal shows each client a checklist of the paperwork you still need for their work and lets them upload it from a phone or computer. Uploads are filed in the right Google Drive folder automatically, and your team checks each one before it is ticked off.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a list of missing paperwork to everything filed and ticked off.

  1. Step 01

    Checklist created

    When work is opened in Airtable, the portal builds the client’s checklist from a template for that service, such as a self assessment return.

  2. Step 02

    Client signs in

    The client signs in with a secure link or a passkey and sees only their own checklist and files.

  3. Step 03

    Documents uploaded

    They upload each document against its item, or photograph paper statements, from a phone or computer.

  4. Step 04

    Upload filed

    Each upload is renamed and saved to the client’s Google Drive folder, and the item is marked as received in Airtable.

  5. Step 05

    Team checks

    Your team checks each document and marks it accepted, or asks for something else with a note the client can see.

The result

Less chasing for paperwork, on both sides.

Clients only ever see their own checklist and files, and every upload is logged. An item is only ticked off after a person has checked the document.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for accountants, bookkeepers, mortgage brokers and other firms that spend weeks each year chasing clients for documents by email. A sensible first version is a web portal for one type of work, such as self assessment returns, with a reminder email when items are still outstanding.

What we need to connect

  1. 01A list of the documents each type of work needs, kept as templates in Airtable or your practice software.
  2. 02A Google Drive folder structure for clients, with a service account that can save files only to those folders.
  3. 03How clients should sign in, how long files are kept and the wording of reminders, which a person approves.

What needs careful handling

Clients sometimes upload the wrong document, a blurry photo or a password-protected PDF, so an item stays open until a person accepts it. Several people may need access to one client’s portal, such as a couple or a company’s directors, so access is set per person and recorded. Uploaded files are sensitive, so they are checked for malware, stored in your own Google Drive and not kept in the portal itself any longer than needed.

Questions people ask.

Doesn’t our practice software already include a portal?

Many do, and if yours works well for clients, it is usually the better choice. A custom portal suits practices whose clients find the built-in one confusing, or who want it shaped around the way they already work in Google Drive and Airtable.

Does it need to be an app in the App Store?

Usually not. A web portal that clients can save to their home screen covers most needs and avoids app store reviews and updates. A native app on iOS and Android makes sense if clients use it often, for example to photograph receipts through the year.

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