Resources · Web Apps & Portals
Client Portal Requirements Checklist (Before You Brief a Developer)
Last Updated: December 13, 2025
A good client portal can pull a lot of chaos out of email: updates, files, approvals, support, invoices, and more. A bad portal becomes “another login nobody uses.”
This checklist is designed to help you clarify what you actually need before you brief a developer or agency. You can use it internally or send it directly to a partner like Alison Prime.
You don’t need perfect answers to every item. The goal is to show your developer how your business really works so they can propose the right solution.
1. What Outcomes Do You Want?
Before talking about features, decide what success looks like.
Ask yourself:
- What are the top 2–3 problems you want the portal to solve?
- Too many email threads?
- Clients asking “Can you resend that file?” every week?
- No simple place for clients to see project status or invoices?
- Who benefits the most?
- Clients?
- Your internal team?
- Both?
Write down your top outcomes in plain language, for example:
- “Our clients should always know where their project stands without emailing us.”
- “Our team should spend less time digging through email for files and approvals.”
- “We want to look more professional and organized during and after projects.”
These outcomes will drive good decisions later when you have to prioritize.
2. Who Will Use the Portal?
Different users need different experiences.
2.1 Client-Side Users
- Who will log in from the client side?
- Owners / decision makers
- Day-to-day contacts
- Finance or accounting contacts
- Do different client roles need different levels of access?
- Some only see invoices
- Others see project details and messages
2.2 Internal Users
- Which of your team members will use the portal?
- Project managers
- Account managers
- Developers or delivery team
- Finance or admin staff
- Do they need:
- Internal-only notes?
- Ability to impersonate or preview client view for support?
Make a simple list of user roles and what each should be able to see and do.
3. Core Features and Use Cases
You don’t have to build everything at once. Start with the core.
Below is a menu of common portal features. Tick what applies and note any specifics:
- Project overview
- High-level project summary and status
- Milestones, phases, or sprints
- Due dates and key deadlines
- Messages and updates
- Threaded conversations per project
- Ability to tag or notify specific people
- Email notifications when something changes
- File sharing
- Upload and download files by project
- Basic folder structure or tagging
- Versioning or “latest file” clearly visible
- Approvals
- Simple “approve / request changes” flows for deliverables
- Record of who approved what, and when
- Tasks or tickets
- Optional, if you want clients to open requests directly
- Simple status: open, in progress, done
- Clearly defined scope so it doesn’t become a full project management tool by accident
- Billing and documents
- View invoices or payment statuses (even if actual payment happens via another system)
- Access to contracts, SOWs, or key documents
- Self-service actions
- Update contact details
- Change notification preferences
- Request additional services or upgrades
Pick the features that truly support your outcomes. You can always add more later.
4. Data and Integrations
A portal rarely lives in isolation. It almost always needs to talk to other systems.
4.1 Systems You Already Use
List the tools your business uses today, for example:
- CRM (e.g., HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce)
- Project management (e.g., Asana, ClickUp, Jira, Trello)
- Billing and invoicing (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe, Paddle)
- Helpdesk or ticketing (e.g., Zendesk, Help Scout)
- File storage (e.g., Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox)
For each, ask:
- Does data need to flow into the portal (e.g., project status)?
- Does data need to flow out of the portal (e.g., client requests creating tickets)?
4.2 Integration Depth
Not every integration has to be “real-time” or complex.
Your options include:
- Manual sync:
- Staff uploads key documents or updates status manually.
- One-way sync:
- Data from an external system is shown in the portal (e.g., read-only status from a project tool).
- Two-way sync:
- Actions in the portal update external systems and vice versa.
Be realistic about what you need now versus what can wait until later phases.
5. Security, Privacy, and Access Control
Because you’re centralizing client information, you need to think about security early.
5.1 Authentication
- How will clients log in?
- Email + password?
- SSO (e.g., Google/Microsoft) – if your client base supports it?
- Will you invite clients manually or allow self-signup with approval?
5.2 Permissions and Data Isolation
- Ensure that:
- Clients can only see their own data.
- Users at one client company cannot see another client’s information.
- Decide if:
- Client admins (at your customer) can manage their own users.
5.3 Compliance Considerations
- Do you operate in regions with strict privacy rules (e.g., GDPR)?
- Will the portal contain:
- Personally identifiable information (PII)?
- Any sensitive or regulated data?
Share these constraints with your developer so they can pick appropriate hosting, logging, and data handling patterns.
6. User Experience and Design
A portal that is “technically correct” but confusing will not get adopted.
Consider:
- Do you want:
- A very minimal, functional interface?
- Or a branded experience that matches your main site closely?
- What are the top 3 things a user should see immediately after logging in?
- E.g., current projects, recent messages, open approvals.
Checklist:
- Clear navigation labels (“Projects”, “Messages”, “Invoices”) instead of internal jargon.
- Mobile-friendly layouts for clients who may check on phones.
- Simple, consistent button styles for actions (e.g., “Upload file”, “Request change”, “Approve”).
7. Launch, Adoption, and Training
A portal only works if people actually use it.
7.1 Internal Rollout
- Who on your team will champion the portal?
- How will you train team members?
- Short loom videos?
- Quick reference doc?
- What internal rule will you set?
- For example: “All project updates live in the portal; email is only for external notices.”
7.2 Client Rollout
- How will you introduce the portal to clients?
- Onboarding emails
- Live walkthrough on a call
- Short help articles or FAQ
- Will you:
- Start with a few pilot clients?
- Or roll it out to everyone at once?
7.3 Support and Feedback
- How can clients report issues or suggest improvements?
- Who is responsible for answering “How do I…?” questions about the portal?
Plan for a small period of extra support immediately after launch.
8. Maintenance and Ownership
Once the portal exists, it becomes another system that needs care.
Decide:
- Who owns:
- Technical maintenance (updates, monitoring, backups)?
- UX improvements and roadmap?
- How often will you:
- Review usage (logins, active clients)?
- Review feedback and fix rough edges?
If you already have a maintenance partner for your main site, consider whether they should own portal maintenance as well, or if it needs its own plan.
9. Turning This Checklist into a Project Brief
You don’t have to write a formal specification if that’s not your style. A simple, structured document works fine.
At minimum, share with your developer:
- Your top 2–3 business outcomes.
- The main user roles and what they can see/do.
- The core features you want in version 1.
- Any must-have integrations or security requirements.
- Any rough constraints (budget, timeline, internal deadlines).
From there, a good partner will:
- Ask follow-up questions.
- Suggest simplifications or phased approaches.
- Propose a technical approach that matches your risk tolerance and budget.
If you’d like Alison Prime to help design and build a client portal that fits your real workflows, we can start with a short requirements workshop and turn this checklist into a concrete, scoped plan.