Client portal and client onboarding software for agencies and consultants
CrmLeaf is client onboarding and client portal software that takes a won client from proposal and e-signature to a client record, a templated project, portal access and the first invoice, in one account. It is part of CrmLeaf's professional services automation (PSA) platform, from $9/user/month.
- Core features, no add-on
- Free trial
- From $9/user/month
- Built for
- agencies, consultants and service firms onboarding new clients
- Covers
- proposals, estimates, e-signed contracts, client records and contacts, project templates, client portal, milestone invoices
- Portal
- a client is a real user account that sees its own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts; signed links need no login
- Handover
- creating the client from a won deal is a deliberate step, not automatic
- Price
- from $9/user/month, free trial
The checklist
What does a client onboarding checklist look like in CrmLeaf?
| Onboarding step | CrmLeaf feature | Email, shared drive and spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
| 1Propose | Proposals and estimates from templates | Word or PDF attached to an email thread |
| 2Sign | E-signature on proposals, estimates and contracts | Print, sign, scan, or a separate signing tool |
| 3Client record | Client profile with several contacts, documents, notes | Contacts in a spreadsheet, files in a folder |
| 4Kick off | Project from a template with milestones and tasks | Checklist copied by hand each time |
| 5Portal access | Client login or public signed links | Shared-drive permissions and forwarded files |
| 6First invoice | Milestone invoice from approved billable work | Invoice typed from a spreadsheet |
How it works
What is the difference between a client portal and onboarding?
A client portal is where an existing client looks at their documents and work. Onboarding is everything before that: winning, signing, setting up the record and project, and sending the first bill. Most firms buy a portal and still onboard through email;CrmLeaf keeps both in the same account so the record you create at onboarding is the same one the client logs into.
One caution: CrmLeaf does not convert a won deal into a client by itself. You create the client record and the project, and the deal history stays in the same account.
How do you get a new client to agree and sign?
Onboarding starts before the client exists. A deal carries the value and history; an estimate takes line items, discounts and taxes, expires on a date and is accepted by public e-signature, which creates an unpaid invoice automatically. A proposal uses a proposal template plus a design template for a richer document.
Contracts are built from reusable templates, sent as a public signable link, signed by the client and then countersigned by your company. Renewals preserve the original values, and each contract has threaded discussions and files.
In CrmLeaf
- Estimates with line items, tax and expiry
- Design-led proposals from templates
- Contract templates with client and company e-signature
- Renewals and threaded discussions
Where does the client record and its contacts live?
Once the work is won, you create the client. The client record holds the company profile (address, tax and GST details, e-invoicing fields, logo), a category and sub-category, documents and notes. A client can have several contacts, so the buyer, the accounts contact and the day-to-day contact are held separately.
Creating the client from a won deal is a deliberate step, not an automatic conversion. That is a feature for some firms: you confirm legal name, billing address and tax details before the first invoice goes out.
In CrmLeaf
- Company profile with tax, GST and e-invoicing fields
- Multiple contacts per client
- Documents and internal notes on the record
- Categories for segmentation and reporting
How do you kick off the project from a template?
Attach the client to a project and start it from a project template: a reusable blueprint carrying members, milestones, tasks and subtasks. Templates can be built from a project you have already run or imported from an Excel work-breakdown, and CrmLeaf ships templates for IT Services, Marketing Agency, Creative Agency and Legal Services.
Every new client then starts with the same complete structure instead of one rebuilt from memory. Step by step, see the proposal to project tutorial.
In CrmLeaf
- Reusable project templates
- Members, milestones, tasks and subtasks
- Excel work-breakdown import
- Client attached to the project
What does the client portal give the client?
Because a client is a real user account, it can be given a portal login to see its own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts. The default client role gives access to the client's own tasks and projects, not your internal records. Confirm which contact should hold the login before you send it.
Where a contact will never use a portal, share documents as public signed links instead: they view, sign and pay without logging in. For client-facing task visibility and notifications, follow the client portal tutorial.
In CrmLeaf
- Portal login for invoices, estimates, proposals, contracts
- Own tasks and projects under the default client role
- Public signed links with no login
- Client-facing visibility and notifications via tutorial setup
How do you bill the first milestone?
Break the project into milestones. When a milestone is marked complete,CrmLeaf gathers its approved but unbilled billable work into a preview, then creates the client invoice and stamps the source records so nothing is billed twice. The project must have a client attached.
The invoice then appears with the client's other documents, so the first bill lands in the same place as the contract they signed. See invoices.
In CrmLeaf
- Milestone invoice from approved billable time
- Source records stamped to prevent double billing
- Each milestone carries its own cost and currency
One account
Is this client management software, or a portal add-on?
It is both, because it is one platform. The CRM, contracts, client records, projects, time and invoices share one database, so the client portal shows real documents rather than copies. That is the PSA idea: sell, onboard, deliver and bill without moving data between tools.
See the CRM- CRMLeads, deals and follow-ups
- ContractsTemplates and e-signature
- ProjectsTemplates and milestones
- InvoicesMilestone and recurring billing
FAQ
Common questions about client onboarding and portal software
Client onboarding software is the system that takes a newly won client from signed agreement to first delivery and first invoice. In CrmLeaf that means a proposal or estimate, e-signature, a client record with contacts, a project started from a template, portal access, and the first milestone invoice, all in one account.
Related
Explore further
Onboard your next client in one place
Try the full flow from proposal to first invoice inside your free trial. Plans from $9/user/month.