Karbon Client Portal is here!

Related products: Client Communication

Today we’re introducing the new Karbon Client Portal. We know visibility and efficiency are critical to your practice, so we’ve made it easier to engage with your clients, securely share information, and communicate with ease.

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The portal allows your clients to manage and comment on specific tasks, and ask questions all in the context of the work item. Your team is immediately notified and can take action. This eliminates the need for email and keeps everything together in one place, so it can be viewed anytime.

As well as improving existing functionality, we’ve added new features to help you engage with your clients, making it easier for them to accomplish what you need them to do.

Magic links

The PIN has been replaced by a magic link. A magic link is a unique URL that clients receive via email along with their tasks. When clicked, your client will immediately (and somewhat magically) be able to view the latest requests and complete them on their desktop or mobile device. Plus, clients can easily access and download documents your team has sent at their own convenience.

Because a magic link can only be accessed from your client’s inbox—and only used once—it’s a more secure alternative to a sharable or guessable PIN. For added security, the magic link expires after 30 days. If your client attempts to access the link after 30 days, they will need to generate another one.

 

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Client login

Business plan subscribers get the added benefit of clients having their own login section, allowing greater flexibility to view everything, including a history of open and completed requests, plus the ability to upload and download documents.
 

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Renamed headings

The heading in Work > Tasks has been renamed from ‘Client Task’ to ‘Client Request’, which better aligns with terminology across the platform.

Settings

The Client Tasks tab has been renamed to ‘Client Portal’ where you can add your firm’s logo, set auto-sending options, and find a dedicated link to your Client Portal

You can add that URL to your website and/or outgoing emails for a great way to promote the feature and save you administration time, and allow your clients to access their information quickly. 

If you are a Karbon customer, register for one of our upcoming global webinars, where we’ll cover:

  • An introduction to the Client Portal

  • How to collaborate effectively with clients

  • How to empower your clients to self-serve, find information, comment, and ask questions

Session 1: Monday August 22, 9am PDT

Session 2: Wednesday August 24, 9am AEST

Session 3: Thursday August 25, 11am BST

Client Assets

Visit our help centre article for assets to introduce this to your clients including a video and email template.

Very excited about this release.  That means the ability to send a request to multiple people is close to becoming a reality.  That will be the game changer for me.😀


Excited to close work and still let clients get their documents! 😀


This is good progress.  But I’d like to see a mobile app that clients can use to get notifications, answer questions, scan and exchange documents, securely.


I wish the pop up at the bottom right that pitches “would you like to know more about how Karbon can help your accounting firm?” would not pitch my clients inside their portals


I wish the pop up at the bottom right that pitches “would you like to know more about how Karbon can help your accounting firm?” would not pitch my clients inside their portals

It popped up for me and I thought it was popping up for everyone, but it only pops up if you’ve visited the Karbon marketing pages before visiting the portal… I think it’s unlikely your clients will have visited the Karbon blog.

I was also told they are looking into blocking the message from popping in the client portal.


I wish the pop up at the bottom right that pitches “would you like to know more about how Karbon can help your accounting firm?” would not pitch my clients inside their portals

It popped up for me and I thought it was popping up for everyone, but it only pops up if you’ve visited the Karbon marketing pages before visiting the portal… I think it’s unlikely your clients will have visited the Karbon blog.

I was also told they are looking into blocking the message from popping in the client portal.

 

Thanks, @max--

 

I don’t by any means want to limit the amount of customers Karbon acquires and believe very strongly in the product, would recommend it anyone asking.

 

We do not have a ton of customers who have their own accounting firms, is all


I wish the pop up at the bottom right that pitches “would you like to know more about how Karbon can help your accounting firm?” would not pitch my clients inside their portals

Hi @Mike Richardson @max. This was reported in Beta (thank you Max) and we thought it was resolved. I will look into it again. 


How do I register for the webinar?


How do I register for the webinar?

 

Great question! Head on over here:

 

https://karbonhq.com/resources/client-portal-webinars/


Is there a way to disable comments/file uploads within the portal?

 

I already use another client portal and would like to limit random uploads in multiple locations, but still want the functionality of the checklists/automation.


 Hi - what is the ETA for this to be in IPM Powered by Karbon?


Is there a way to disable comments/file uploads within the portal?

 

I already use another client portal and would like to limit random uploads in multiple locations, but still want the functionality of the checklists/automation.

Hi Kevin. This is not currently possible but you are welcome to add a feature idea in Community! 


 Hi - what is the ETA for this to be in IPM Powered by Karbon?

Hi Ken. This will be available in the next few weeks. 


@Amelia Freeman  I just watched a webinar about the client portal.  Can you clarify something for me?

  Can a client download a document such as a tax return in a client request using just the magic link? Or will they need to create a login to download documents?  The webinar seemed to say they could only upload or comment in a client request unless they log into the portal.


@Amelia Freeman  I just watched a webinar about the client portal.  Can you clarify something for me?

  Can a client download a document such as a tax return in a client request using just the magic link? Or will they need to create a login to download documents?  The webinar seemed to say they could only upload or comment in a client request unless they log into the portal.

 

Hi @DianeK sorry for the confusion on that. There’s a few permutations and it’s easy to get crossed up.

 

If a client is accessing the requests via Magic Link they can download docs that their accountant has shared. They CANNOT download anything they themselves have imported.

 

If a client is accessing via their Portal login, they can download anything.


I don’t know if this will help, but it was one of my early confusions.

The magic link is inaccessible after the work item is completed, so the client will need to log in with user/pass to get access to documents uploaded to completed work items’ client requests.

This comes into play for us when we send completed and filed returns to clients at the end of a work item. There’s no reason to keep the work item out of completed status other than for the client to download their completed return.


Thank you @evanrnhall .  The webinar said you cannot download from the magic link.  I even asked if I sent the client’s tax return for review in a client request, would they need to create a login to download it? The response was yes.


@max  Work item is still open.  The webinar said you can only comment or upload from the magic link.  You need to log in to download documents.  I was really hoping that wasn’t the case.


Thank you @evanrnhall .  The webinar said you cannot download from the magic link.  I even asked if I sent the client’s tax return for review in a client request, would they need to create a login to download it? The response was yes.

 

@DianeK apologies, they misspoke. If you put attachments into either the task description or a task comment, your client can download them via magic link without being logged into the portal.


@max  Work item is still open.  The webinar said you can only comment or upload from the magic link.  You need to log in to download documents.  I was really hoping that wasn’t the case.

 

@DianeK the nuance is if your client uploads a document, they cannot re-download it themselves via magic link access. They need to be logged into the portal to download anything they imported.

This is a security measure to mitigate what is accessible to a hacker who breaks into your client’s email account, or otherwise accesses their desktop while logged in.   


This is all correct. For clarity: 

Magic Link: 

  • Client can download attachments uploaded by you 
  • Client can upload attachments but cannot redownload them 

Login: 

  • Client can download any attachment (uploaded by you or themselves)
  • Client can upload attacments 

For document sharing through the client portal, can a client access any document that has been added to the work/client in Karbon or only those documents that were attached to client tasks?


For document sharing through the client portal, can a client access any document that has been added to the work/client in Karbon or only those documents that were attached to client tasks?

 

Great question @Naomi Feehan Moran - your client can access documents on tasks within Client Request Sections that have been sent to them. NOT on “internal” tasks. And, if you had a scenario where there were multiple client request sections in a work that were sent to different people, those people would only see the ones sent to them, not each others (hope that makes sense).


This is going to be great for the clients, with little difference to us internally.  Here is a question/request for functionality, will WE be able to see all of a client’s Client Requests in one place?  That would be a benefit rather than going to every work item, open and closed.


This is going to be great for the clients, with little difference to us internally.  Here is a question/request for functionality, will WE be able to see all of a client’s Client Requests in one place?  That would be a benefit rather than going to every work item, open and closed.

 

Good one to log here @Rebecca Berneck ! https://community.karbonhq.com/ideas