Objective
Understand what the Client Portal is, what your clients can see in it, and which of your everyday actions in EnviroAutomate change what they see.
What the Client Portal Is
The Client Portal is a separate, read-only website where your clients can view the work you do for them. It runs on the same system as EnviroAutomate, so there is no separate "send to portal" step: the portal always reflects the current data, filtered to what each client is allowed to see.
Each client user sees only the information belonging to the client (company) they have been granted access to. This set of information is called their portfolio. Access is granted by an Administrator (see the article "Giving a Client Access to the Client Portal").
How Clients Sign In
Clients sign in on the normal EnviroAutomate login page, using their own account.
After signing in, they land in the Client Portal automatically. Team members who also hold portal access see a Client Portfolio entry in the main app's top menu bar that opens the portal.
A client user granted access to more than one client sees a portfolio switcher inside the portal to move between them.
What Your Client Can See
The portal has seven areas in its sidebar:
Portfolio (home): a map showing all of the client's sites. Clicking a site pin opens that site's map.
Action Items: items you have flagged for the client, with a message thread on each one.
Consulting Firms: the firms working for the client, with a detail page per firm.
Sites: the locations being monitored, with a detail page per site and the ability to drill into individual assessment locations.
Projects: the jobs being run for the client, with a detail page per project.
Fieldwork Tasks: read-only records of site visits, including what was collected in the field.
Client Reports: the client's reports, with a detail page where approved report files can be viewed and downloaded.
What Your Clients Can Do
The portal is read-only, with one exception: Action Items. On an action item's detail page a client can:
Post a message in the item's message thread.
Request an update on the item.
Both come back to your team inside EnviroAutomate, so an action item's thread is the conversation record between you and the client.
What Stays Internal
Clients can see that work exists, but files are only downloadable once they are ready for the client:
Client reports are listed with their current status, but the report files can only be downloaded once the report is Approved.
Figures only appear once a figure revision has been published.
Downloadable files are limited to: approved report files, published figures, management plans, calibration certificates and field photos attached to fieldwork tasks, and site and aerial photos.
Draft documents, laboratory certificates, fieldsheets and other internal attachments are never downloadable through the portal.
Cautionary Notes
Approving a client report is the moment its files become downloadable to the client. Only approve a report when it is ready to be seen.
Publishing a figure revision makes that figure visible in the portal straight away.
Everything belonging to a granted client is visible in the portal, including fieldwork task details, project information and report statuses. Keep names and notes on these records client-appropriate.
Tips for Efficiency
If you want to see exactly what a client sees, ask an Administrator to grant your own account access to that client's portfolio, then open the portal yourself.
Use action item message threads for client questions about a specific piece of work, so the conversation stays attached to the item it is about.