How do I give my clients a portal in MONA?
Open the project, click the Portal tab, turn on the sections you want, click Preview as client, then switch on Share with client and send your client the link. No client login needed.
Quick answer: open the project and click the Portal tab. In the Client portal card, turn on the sections you want your client to see, click Preview as client to check it, then switch on Share with client, click Copy, and send the link. Your client opens it in any browser with no account and no password.
A client portal (some studios call it a client dashboard) is one page per project where your client finds everything you have shared with them: messages, approvals, proposals, renders, invoices, documents, the schedule and your Slides presentations. It replaces the pile of separate links and attachments a client otherwise has to dig through.
Before you start
- One portal per project. MONA creates it the first time you open the project’s Portal tab. The same card is also under the project’s Settings tab, in Client Dashboard.
- Private until you share it. A new portal’s link does not work until you switch on Share with client.
- Who can change it: the person who created the project, the studio owner, and admins. Other teammates can see it.
- Two switches, always. A section must be on, and each item in it must be shared on its own. Turning on Approvals never exposes an approval list you have not shared.
How do I set up the portal?
- Open the project and click Portal.
- In Client portal, switch on the sections you want. Each one shows how many items are shared into it, or a hint when it is empty.
| Section | What fills it |
|---|---|
| Messages (on by default) | Message threads you have shared with the client |
| Approvals | Approval lists you have shared, with how many items are decided |
| Proposals | Proposals once you send them, with status and total |
| Gallery | Renders you add with Add renders |
| Invoices | Invoices once you send them |
| Documents | Files you upload in the card |
| Schedule | Your project schedule, once you share it from the Schedule tab |
| Presentations | Slides decks you add with Add presentations |
| Sites | Client websites you mark Show in portal under Client websites |
- Add renders: click Add renders under Gallery renders, pick them, and confirm. MONA turns on the Gallery section and they show to your client right away. Removing one takes it off the portal only; it stays in your Library.
- Add decks: click Add presentations, tick your agreement, fee proposal or budget deck, and click Add to portal. MONA turns on each deck’s share link and the Presentations section for you. You can also open a deck, click Share, and turn on the switch to show it in that project’s client portal.
- Add files: under Documents, click Upload and choose a PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PNG or JPG up to 100 MB.
- Click Preview as client. A new tab opens with a Preview. banner and the exact page your client will see, whether or not the portal is shared yet.
- Switch on Share with client, click Copy, and send the link to your client yourself. Open shows the live page.
How do I make the portal look like my studio?
The portal picks up your studio brand automatically: the logo, colors and fonts you set in Settings, then Brand, including your own uploaded fonts. See brand settings. In the project’s Client portal card you can also set:
- Header image. Click Upload header image for a PNG or JPG across the top of the page. With none set, the project’s cover photo is used.
- Welcome note. A short hello at the top of the page, up to 2,000 characters.
- Link preview. What your client sees when the link lands in a text or email. Fill in Description shown when you send the link (up to 300 characters; leave it blank to use your welcome note), and Upload preview image for a PNG or JPG under 4 MB. With no preview image, the header image is used, and with neither, your studio name and brand colors.
To restyle one portal differently from your brand, ask MONA in chat: it can set a main color, a background color, a font from its list, and whether your logo shows. You can also drop your website or a brand PDF in chat and ask MONA to match it. There are no color or font pickers in the card itself.
What does my client see?
Your client opens the link on a phone or computer and sees:
- Your header image, logo and studio name, a line saying who they are working with, and your welcome note.
- Each section you turned on that has something in it. Messages, approvals, proposals, presentations and the gallery each open their own page, where the client replies, approves or declines items, signs a proposal, flips through a deck, or comments on renders.
- Invoices with their number, date, status (due or paid) and total. View & pay → opens the invoice’s pay page. See How do clients pay me online through MONA, and when does the money land?.
- Documents with a Download button, and the schedule as read-only lines.
If nothing is shared yet, the page says Your designer will share updates here soon. If you switch off Share with client, the link shows a message asking your client for an updated link.
How do clients log in?
They do not. There is no client account, password or code. The link itself is the key, so treat it like a private document link: send it only to the people on the project, and switch off Share with client if it goes somewhere it should not.
Can MONA set it up for me?
Yes. In any chat, try "share the Henderson portal with approvals and invoices on", "add the fee proposal deck to the Henderson portal", "style my client portal in my brand colors", or "make my portal link preview say Kitchen Refresh". MONA changes the same settings as the Client portal card, and it only ever shows items that are shared on their own.
What it does not do (yet)
- The portal sends no email or notification of its own. You send the link.
- There is no client login, so there is no per-person access list. Everyone with the link sees the same page.
- Color and font changes for a single portal go through MONA in chat, not a picker in the card.
Want a hand?
If you want to walk through a portal with a real project before you send it to a client, book 30 minutes at calendly.com/mona-justin/30min.
Related articles
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- How do I send a design proposal for my client to sign in MONA?
- How do clients pay me online through MONA, and when does the money land?
- How do I track clients and leads in MONA?
- How do I build an FF&E schedule in MONA?
Frequently asked questions
Do my clients need a MONA account or password?
No. The portal is a private link with no login. Anyone who has the link can open it while Share with client is on, so send it only to the people on the project.
Does MONA email the portal to my client?
No. The portal sends no email of its own. Copy the link and send it yourself. Proposals, approvals and invoices still send their own emails when you send them.
Why is a section empty even though it is turned on?
A section shows only items you have also shared one by one. A private message thread, an unshared approval list or a draft proposal never appears. The card shows a hint under an empty section telling you what to share.
Can my clients pay invoices from the portal?
Yes. With Invoices on, each sent invoice shows its number, date, status and total, and View & pay opens the invoice’s pay page, where the client pays by bank transfer or card.
How do I stop a client from seeing the portal?
Switch off Share with client. The link stops working right away and shows a message asking them to contact you for an updated link. Switch it back on and the same link works again.
What can I upload to the portal?
Under Documents, PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PNG and JPG files up to 100 MB each. For a large Slides deck such as an agreement or budget, add it under Presentations instead, which has no file size limit.
Who on my team can change a portal?
The person who created the project, the studio owner, and admins. Other teammates who can open the project see the portal but get a message naming who to ask if they try to change it.
Can I ask MONA to set up the portal for me?
Yes. In chat, try share the Henderson portal with approvals on, add the fee proposal deck to the Henderson portal, or make my portal link preview say Kitchen Refresh. MONA changes the same settings as the Client portal card.