A portal instead of attachments

Email attachments are the habit nobody chose. A contract goes out as a PDF, comes back with a different file name, and a month later no one is sure which version was agreed. Sensitive documents sit in inboxes on several devices. A shared link with a clear purpose and an end date is a quieter way to work.

What a portal link is#

In Nabcloud a portal link is a page for one client. It shows what you decide it shows, and it shares the files you choose. Each link has a validity, which you can change, and it can be revoked at any moment, after which it stops working. You can see when a link was last opened.

Creating and changing portal links is the work of an owner or an admin. A member can read them. The secret part of a link is shown once, to the person who creates it, and is never shown again. Your assistant can prepare the content and list the links, but it does not hand out the secret.

Signatures#

A signature request asks a named person to sign a PDF. You can follow its state: whether the link was opened and whether it was signed. The record of a request includes its own audit trail and the evidence of the signature. When the document is signed, the signed PDF returns to Files with a certificate page. As with portal links, an owner or admin makes the signing link, or drafts the email that carries it and approves it. A link can be revoked, or kept valid for more days.

An illustration#

The practice, the client and the document below are made up.

A small consultancy agrees terms with a new client. The consultant asks her assistant to prepare the engagement letter from a template, using the client's details from Contacts. The assistant produces the PDF and drafts the email with the signing link. The email waits in Approvals. The consultant approves it, and the client signs on Thursday. The signed copy, with its certificate page, is filed next to the matter.

Later the client needs the signed letter and the first invoice. Instead of attaching them to another email, the consultant shares both files through the client's portal link, valid for thirty days. When the project ends, she revokes the link.

Why this is calmer#

• One current copy of each document, in one place, rather than five attachments.
• A deliberate end date on every link.
• A record of when a link was opened and a document was signed.
• A clear point of responsibility: the owner or admin who made the link.

What to be careful about#

Do not share more than the client needs. A portal link shows what you choose, so choose narrowly. Prefer short validity periods and revoke links when the work is done. Remember that anyone who receives the link can use it, so send it to the right address, and keep the approval step in place for the email that carries it.

You will find the practical steps in client portal and documents and signatures, and an overview under clients and portal.