How to Manage Clients and the Client Portal in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. The e-invoicing fields on a client are used by the E-Invoice add-on module, which an Administrator must enable.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required. The e-invoicing fields on a client are used by the E-Invoice add-on module, which an Administrator must enable.
Overview
A client is a won prospect turned into a managed customer account. The client record holds the company profile, including address, tax and e-invoicing details, a logo and a category, along with multiple client contacts, documents and notes. A client in CrmLeaf is also a real user account, which means the client can sign in to a portal and see their own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts. Clients are where the CRM hands over to billing and delivery.
How It Works
You create the client company profile, add the people you deal with as client contacts, attach documents, and give the client portal access. Sales and finance documents then appear to the client in their portal.
Create the client → Complete tax and billing details → Add contacts and documents → Give portal access → Send documents
- The client company profile holds the address, tax and GST details, e-invoicing fields, logo and category.
- A client can have several client contacts, so you can hold the buyer, the accounts contact and the site contact separately.
- A client is a real user account. Because of that, the client can sign in to a portal for invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts.
- The default client role gives access to their own tasks and projects, not to your internal records.
- Documents can also be shared as public signed links, which need no login at all.
- Clients can be segmented with categories and sub-categories for reporting.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Configure client categories and sub-categories.
- Manage portal access and the client role.
- Maintain tax, GST and e-invoicing configuration used on client records.
- Set the Client permission scope per role.
User
- Create and edit client records within your permitted scope.
- Add client contacts, documents and notes.
- Raise estimates, proposals, contracts and invoices against the client.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- Access to the Sales area with permission to add client records.
- Tax rates and your base currency configured, so client documents calculate correctly.
- The client's legal name, billing address and tax registration details.
- A working outgoing mail configuration, if the client is to receive portal access or documents by email.
- The E-Invoice module enabled, if you intend to use the e-invoicing fields.
For Administrators
Step 1: Prepare tax and localisation first
What to do: Configure your named tax rates, and confirm your currencies. Do this before creating clients, because tax and currency are applied on the documents you will raise against them.
What to verify: A draft invoice for a test client offers the correct tax rates and currency.
Step 2: Define client categories
What to do: Set up the categories and sub-categories you will segment clients by, such as industry, size or service line. Agree one scheme before your team starts creating records, because retrofitting categories across an existing client list is slow work.
What to verify: The categories appear as options on the client record.
Step 3: Decide what clients may see
What to do: Review the client role. By default a client has access to their own tasks and projects. Confirm this matches what you are willing to expose before you invite clients into the portal.
What to verify: Sign in as a test client, or ask a trusted client, to confirm only their own records are visible.
For Users
Step 1: Open the client list
Use Search to check whether the organisation already exists as a client before creating a new record.
Step 2: Create the client company profile
Select Add and complete the client record. Enter the company name and billing address, upload the logo, select the category, and complete the tax and GST details. Complete the e-invoicing fields where your account uses electronic invoicing, because these values are used when the document is generated rather than being editable later at the point of sending.
Step 3: Add the client contacts
Add each person you deal with as a client contact, including the accounts contact who will receive invoices. Holding them separately means a change of buyer does not cost you the billing relationship.
Step 4: Attach documents and notes
Upload the documents that belong to the relationship, such as signed agreements or purchase orders, and record notes for context. Where a document must be shared with someone who has no login, use a public signed link rather than sending portal credentials.
Step 5: Give the client portal access
Because a client is a real user account, the client can be given a login to the portal, where they see their own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts. Confirm which contact should hold the login before you send it.
Step 6: Work the client
Raise estimates, proposals, contracts and invoices against the client. Documents you send appear to the client in their portal, and can also be sent as signed public links they can view, sign or pay without logging in.
Field and Option Reference
| Field / Option | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | The client organisation's name, used on all client-facing documents. | Yes |
| Address | The client's address, used for billing and on documents. | No |
| Tax and GST details | The client's tax registration information, used for tax treatment on documents. | No |
| E-invoicing fields | The values required for electronic invoicing where the E-Invoice module is in use. | Varies |
| Logo | The client's logo, held on the client profile. | No |
| Category and sub-category | Segmentation used for grouping and reporting on clients. | No |
| Client contacts | The individual people at the client organisation. A client can have several. | No |
| Documents | Files attached to the client record. | No |
| Notes | Internal context recorded against the client. | No |
Expected Result
The client is saved and appears in Clients with its company profile, contacts and documents. Where portal access has been given, the client can sign in and see their own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
Once an engagement is won, the client becomes a party to the delivery. They want to know what has been invoiced, what they signed and what is outstanding — and a service firm wants to answer that without giving them sight of internal costs or other clients. The Client record is where that boundary is drawn.
How It Supports Professional Services
- A Client is a real user account with portal access to their own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts, which is how a service organisation gives a client visibility without granting internal access.
- Several client contacts can sit under one Client, so the engagement sponsor, the accounts contact who receives invoices and the site or day-to-day contact are each held separately.
- The Client is attached to the project the engagement is delivered under, which is what connects the commercial relationship to delivery, timelogs and billing.
- A client rating captured at project close gives a firm a repeat-business signal held with the record rather than in someone's memory.
- Categories and sub-categories segment the client base by service line, sector or size for reporting.
- Documents can be shared as public signed links needing no login, for a client contact who will never use a portal.
Typical Service Workflow
Deal → Client → Project → Delivery → Time → Billing
The Client sits at the hinge between selling and delivering. Documents raised against the client appear in their portal automatically; creating the Client from a won deal and attaching it to a delivery project are documented steps the organisation performs, not conversions the product carries out on its own.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
The same record and portal serve a manufacturer's trade customers, a solar or construction customer following a site's payment schedule, and any business that invoices named customers rather than anonymous buyers.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Create and Manage Projects — the delivery record the client is attached to.
- How to Create and Send Invoices — including invoices raised from billable time and expenses.
- How to Create and E-Sign Contracts — the signed basis of the engagement.
- How to Create and Manage Tickets — how client requests during delivery are logged against the client and project.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- A client is a real user account in CrmLeaf, not just a data record. Treat granting portal access with the same care as inviting any other user.
- Complete tax, GST and e-invoicing details before you raise the first invoice. Correcting them after documents are issued means reissuing documents.
- A client is not a Lead Company. Lead Companies hold prospects; clients hold customers with portal access.
- Public signed document links need no login. Use them when a person outside the portal must view, sign or pay a document.
- The E-Invoice capability is an add-on module. Confirm it is included in your plan before relying on the e-invoicing fields.
Common Scenarios
Example: separating the buyer from accounts. A client's operations manager signs the contract but a shared accounts mailbox pays the invoices. The user records both as client contacts, so proposals go to the manager and invoices reach accounts without either being re-entered each time.
Example: a client who will not log in. A small customer never uses the portal. The team sends each invoice as a signed public link the customer can open and pay directly, while the portal account remains available if they change their mind.
Example: GST-registered customer. An India-based client requires GST-compliant invoices. The tax and GST details are completed on the client profile, and the e-invoicing fields are filled before the first invoice is raised.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The client cannot sign in to the portal. | Portal access has not been given, or the login was sent to a different contact. | Confirm which contact holds the login and re-issue access to that person. |
| The client cannot see an invoice in the portal. | The document was not raised against that client, or is still a draft. | Check the client on the document and its status before asking the client to look again. |
| Tax is wrong on a client invoice. | The tax rates or the client's tax details are incomplete. | Complete the tax configuration and the client's tax and GST details, then reissue the document. |
| E-invoicing fields are not available. | The E-Invoice module is not enabled for the account. | Ask an Administrator to enable it, and confirm it is part of your plan. |
| A colleague cannot see a client record. | Their permission scope limits them to records they own or were added to. | Ask the Administrator to widen the scope or to add them to the record. |
| The same customer exists twice. | The record was created twice under different spellings. | Standardise on one client record and move documents and contacts to it according to your internal process. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a client see in the portal?
Their own invoices, estimates, proposals and contracts. The default client role also gives access to their own tasks and projects.
Does a client have to log in to view a document?
No. Documents can be shared as public signed links that need no login, which is how clients view, sign and pay without portal access.
What is the difference between a client and a Lead Company?
A Lead Company is a prospect organisation in the CRM. A client is a customer account, and is also a real user account with portal access.
Can a client have more than one contact?
Yes. A client can have several client contacts, which is the recommended way to separate the buyer from the accounts contact.
Is a won deal converted into a client automatically?
Automatic conversion is not documented. Create the client record when the prospect becomes a customer.
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