Worth sharing

  • Project progress and upcoming milestones
  • Final documents, reports and certificates
  • The status of their support requests and your replies
  • Quotes awaiting their review

Keep internal

  • Internal notes and team discussion
  • Costs, margins and supplier pricing
  • Draft documents not yet reviewed
  • Information about other customers

Share deliberately

The safest portals share nothing by default. Each update, document or ticket is published to the customer on purpose. That way an internal note can never leak just because it was attached to the same job.

Introducing a portal to customers

Tell customers what the portal is for and what they will find there. A short email with a sign-in link and three bullet points works well: check project progress, download your documents, see updates on your requests. Mention that you will still answer the phone. Some customers will use the portal every day; others never will, and that’s fine.

Keeping the portal useful

  • Update progress when milestones change, not just at the end.
  • Upload final documents promptly.
  • Reply to requests in the portal so the history stays together.
  • Remove people who have left the customer’s business.

A portal that is out of date does more harm than no portal at all, because customers stop trusting it.

A quick sharing checklist

Before you share anything, ask: Is this final? Is it only about this customer? Would I be comfortable if they forwarded it? If the answer to all three is yes, share it.

Portals for different kinds of business

Trades and construction

Share milestone updates, compliance certificates and final invoices.

Professional services

Share reports, deliverables and the status of requests.

IT and managed services

Share ticket status, knowledge articles and device information you have chosen to make visible.

In each case, the portal answers the questions customers would otherwise call or email about.

Setting up a portal step by step

  1. Decide what you will share as standard: project updates, final documents, ticket status.
  2. Invite one or two contacts at a trusted customer first.
  3. Share a few items and ask for feedback.
  4. Refine what you share and how you describe it.
  5. Roll it out to other customers with a short introduction email.

Quick checklist

  • Share nothing by default; publish items on purpose.
  • Share progress, final documents, ticket updates and quotes awaiting review.
  • Keep internal notes, costs and drafts internal.
  • Give every customer contact their own sign-in.
  • Remove access when someone leaves the customer’s business.
  • Keep shared information current.

Manage access

Invite named people at each client, and remove access when someone leaves their company. Make sure each person only sees their own organisation’s information.

NovaSoft One’s customer portal uses separate sign-ins for customers and shows only what you have chosen to share with that contact. It is included from the Starter plan.

Common questions

Do customers need their own login?

Yes. Each person should have their own sign-in so you can control and remove access individually.

What if a customer shares their login?

Explain that access is personal and invite the extra person properly. Shared logins make it impossible to know who saw what.

Is a portal secure enough for documents?

A portal that requires sign-in and only shows what you share is far safer than emailing attachments.

This guide is general information for Australian businesses, not legal, tax or financial advice. Check anything specific to your situation with a qualified adviser or the relevant government agency.