This guide walks you through setting up and customizing Karbon for Clients, including firm-level branding and security settings. While you can still enable Karbon for Clients for individual clients, a new option allows you to activate it for all your clients at once, streamlining your rollout. Follow these instructions to prepare your Karbon environment for a seamless new client experience.
Step 1: Enable Karbon for Clients for Your Firm
Before your clients can access Karbon for Clients, your firm needs to have the feature enabled. For firms created before July 21st, 2025, you will need to enable it at the firm level.
Go to Account Settings
In the Settings menu, select Karbon for Clients.
Activate Karbon for Clients for Your Firm
Click on Activate to turn on Karbon for Clients for your firm.
Note: Enabling Karbon for Clients for your firm does not immediately impact the client experience for individual clients. Client requests will continue to route through the old client portal until you either:
Enable Karbon for Clients for each individual client (as described in Step 5), OR
Use the new 'Activate for All Clients' feature (see our article: Activate K4C for All Clients)
Step 2: Customize the Look and Feel of Karbon for Clients
You can brand the Karbon for Clients interface to reflect your firm's unique identity. There are two key elements you can customize: the logo and the homepage background.
Customizing the Logo
You have two options for the logo displayed in the top left corner of the Karbon for Clients interface:
Firm Name: The default setting that displays your firm’s name from the Account Settings.
Firm Logo: Displays the same logo already used for client-facing features like invoices and payments. Changes to this logo will apply across other client-facing areas.
Best Practice: Ensure your logo dimensions are optimized for the best visual quality.
Customizing the Homepage Background
The Karbon for Clients homepage features a prominent welcome section. You can select from several preset colors or upload an image to match your branding.
Step 3: Configure Your Firm-Branded Login Page
Each firm has a unique, firm-branded login page for Karbon for Clients, allowing clients to log in directly.
To find and share your firm’s login URL:
Go to Settings > Karbon for Clients.
Scroll to the Your Karbon for Clients Log In Page section.
Click Copy to Clipboard to copy your firm’s login URL.
Share the link with clients or add it to your website.
Important: Clients must be invited to Karbon for Clients before they can log in. They should create their accounts through the invitation email, as the "Create account" option on the login page cannot be removed.
When is the firm-branded login page used?
Clients will see your firm's login page when:
They click your firm-specific login link.
They access Karbon for Clients via a magic link (e.g., from a client request) and choose Log in.
Your firm’s security settings require login for client request recipients, and they click a client request reminder link.
Step 4: Set Security Policies
Karbon for Clients offers two security settings for client requests:
Allow access via emailed single-use link
Clients can interact with client requests via email links without needing to log in.
Require multi-factor authentication
Clients must log in with multi-factor authentication to view and interact with client requests.
Note: This security setting does not affect other client-facing tasks, such as approvals, e-signatures, and payments. These features are still available via single-use links.
Step 5: Enabling Karbon for Clients for Your Clients (Choose Your Method)
After enabling Karbon for Clients for your firm (Step 1), you have two options for rolling out the portal to your clients:
Option 1: Activate Karbon for Clients for All Existing and Future Clients (Recommended for a full rollout)
This option is for firms created before July 21st, 2025. If your firm joined Karbon on or after this date, Karbon for Clients is already activated for all your clients by default, and you won't see this option.
For eligible firms, activating Karbon for Clients for all clients streamlines setup and routes all new Client Tasks to the new portal. This means no more manually enabling it for each client.
👉 For detailed instructions on how to use this feature, please refer to our article: Activate K4C for All Clients
Important Note: If you choose this option, you do not need to follow the "Enable Karbon for Clients for Each Client" instructions below.
Option 2: Enable Karbon for Clients for Each Individual Client (For a phased rollout or specific clients)
If you prefer to roll out Karbon for Clients in phases or only enable it for specific clients, you can continue to enable it individually. This process can be done from two places:
From the Karbon for Clients Management Page
Go to Contacts and find the Karbon for Clients management page.
Click on a client’s name or any part of their row, then select Turn on Karbon for Clients.
Once enabled, the page will show an access list for inviting users to access the client.
Important Note: Even if no one is invited to access the client, future client requests will link recipients to Karbon for Clients.
From the Client's Contact Details
Go to the Details tab for a person or organization contact and enable Karbon for Clients from there. This method offers the same functionality as enabling via the Karbon for Clients Management Page.
Step 6: Invite People to Access Karbon for Clients
Once Karbon for Clients has been enabled for a client (either individually or by activating for all clients), the next step to unlock the full features of Karbon for Clients is to invite specific people to access that client's portal. Once invited, they can:
Log in to the mobile app
View documents shared with the firm
View collaboration history with the firm
Get task and status updates
Available Access Levels
You can grant either of the following access levels to invitees:
Limited Access: The user can only access tasks and documents specifically sent to them.
Full Access: This level grants users access to all tasks and documents related to the client. It is ideal for individuals who may oversee a team or require visibility into firm/client relations to ensure proper management and coordination.
How to Invite Your Clients
Go to the Karbon for Clients section under Contacts.
Find the client and click on their name.
In the access list, choose the contact you wish to invite and select the appropriate access level. The invitation will be sent from the user sending the invite.
Click Invite to send the invitation email. The recipient has three days to accept the invitation.
Note: After the invitation is accepted, the user can access all tasks and documents for that client. Invitations are limited to individual clients, so a person needs a separate invitation for each client.
Step 7: Managing Client Access and Invitation Status
Once Karbon for Clients is enabled, you can view the invitation status for each client. The Karbon for Clients Management Page will show:
The number and percentage of clients with Karbon for Clients enabled
The number of users invited to access each client
The status of each invitation
Further Reading 📖