Incorporate your clients into your workflow by assigning them requests and schedule automatic reminders for these requests to be completed. With Client Requests, your team will never spend time chasing clients again.

Incorporate your clients into your workflow by assigning these requests and scheduling automatic reminders for them to be completed.
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Each client request has a title, description, and due date. You are also able to upload documents to these tasks. When you send Client Requests to your client, they will receive an email from your team that will give them access to their Client Requests as well as their own unique Client Portal. There, your clients will know exactly what they need to complete and by when.

Once a client request is completed, you will receive a notification in Triage, and the work item will be updated. If they uploaded files for you, those will appear on the task list of the work items automatically.

This guide will help your company set up and get started with Client Requests in 10 easy steps:

When your clients access their unique Karbon Client Portal, you can display your company logo. So firstly, add your logo so that it’s ready to go. Do this from Settings > Client Portal > upload a new logo under Theming.

You can add Client Requests to any work item, but for the purpose of this guide, we are going to outline adding Client Requests to a template, which you can then create work from.

Go to Settings > Work Templates and select an existing template to which you like to add Client Requests to. If you don’t have an existing template, you can create a new one.

When you’re in your template, you can create tasks for your clients. At the bottom of your existing tasks, click 'Add Client Section'.

You will then be able to give the new Client Request section a name, which will also appear and add context or your client when they receive these.

A new Client Request section will be created. The tasks you set for a client will be grouped together here. You can add as many tasks as you like, and reorder them with drag and drop, just like you would with your normal.

You can also move the Client Request group around your task list by collapsing it, and then dragging the group to where you want it - at the very top, bottom or in the middle of a section.

If you would like to separate Client Requests across your task list, you can add multiple groups. To create a new group rather than adding a new task to an existing group, go to the bottom of your task list and click 'Add Client Section'. If your existing Client Request group is already at the bottom, you should first create a new section to separate the groups.

Client Requests work very similarly to other tasks in Karbon - you have the option to add a task name and description. You also have the ability to add documents that you want to share with your clients.

For the reminder functionality to work, the Client Request needs a due date. Here, you can decide if it’s due before or after the work start date. You can schedule Clients Requests to be sent, so it may be useful in some scenarios for the tasks to be completed by your client before your team begins work.

If you would like your Client Requests to automatically send to a client, you can set sending rules.

As this is a template, you can select a date before or after the work start date, just like the due dates. If you would like to manually send the tasks from your work, do not schedule any auto-sending rules.
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After clicking 'Next', you will have the option to schedule automatic reminders to send to your clients. You can choose to have your clients reminded gently, urgently or customize to your needs

Create a new work item from the template that contains your new Client Requests.

If you have set up your Client Requests to send automatically, you will be prompted to pick to whom you wish to send the Client Requests to. Remember, this needs to be a Karbon contact with an email address.

If you happen to have two Client Request groups in the same template, you can choose to send them to the same person or to a different person.

If you have chosen to manually send your Client Requests, you can do this by clicking 'Send to client'. Once sent, the Client Request group will update to show you that the tasks have been sent and when.

If you’ve set your Client Requests to send automatically, they will send on the day you specified. You can always edit this via the options menu '...' and 'Send Client Request'.

Once Client Requests have been sent, you can resend them at any time by clicking on the options menu '...' and 'Resend Client Requests'.
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If you have set the Client Requests to send automatically, the email containing the tasks will be sent from the team member who is assigned the Work.

If you manually send the tasks, the email will come from the team member who clicks 'Send'.

As the email comes from your own email address, it will appear as a sent email on the related Work and Contact timelines.

Once the Client Requests have been sent, your client will receive an email. When they click on the email link, they will be taken to their unique Karbon Client Portal that exists for the related Work.

The Karbon Client Portal is accessed through a magic link, this is a unique URL generated every time Client Requests are sent.

When your client accesses the tasks sent to them, the link in the email is then associated with that device. This means that Client Requests are only accessible from that device.

Important Note: If you have multiple groups of Client Requests with your piece of work, you can choose to send them to different people. Each person will receive their own email, be able to access their own Client Portal, and have their own client view that no other client can see.

If you are on the Business or Enterprise Plan, your clients will have access to log in to their Client Portal and get a full view and history of their requests, documents and communication.

They will see up to 100 work items that have open requests for them to complete as well as view the last 100 completed work items they had Client Requests on. The list of the work items will be titled by either the work item title or the external name.

Your clients can access their login via the magic link in the email sent to them, once on that Client Portal they can click on log in on the left-hand side, or, you can share the URL provided in your Client Portal settings.

Clients can bookmark that link or if you’d prefer, you can add it to your website for frictionless access.

Your client can then create an account using the email address that the Client Requests were sent to and their preferred password.

The staff member who sends the Client Requests and the assignee of the work item that the Client Requests are a part of (if that person is different from the sender) will both be notified in Triage whenever the client completes a task. The task on the piece of work will also be marked as completed.

If you have turned on reminders for the Client Requests, your client will receive reminders until they complete their tasks.

A limit is applied to the number of reminders that will auto-send for a single Client Request. After the fifth reminder to your client, they will stop.

This is implemented to reduce the likelihood of your emails to clients being blocked. Identical emails that are sent over and over again can sometimes be flagged by SPAM filters. If you want to override this limit, you can re-send the Client Requests and the count will start again.

To ensure that you do not lose track of the Client Requests that have gone over the limit, use the Global Automator that changes the status of the work.

Reminder emails are always based on the current due date of the task item and the reminder dates will be recalculated if the task item is updated, regardless of if the initial client task has been sent.

If the reminder type is Gentle, and the task group has any completed task with a due date, we won't send any reminders. Reminder emails will be sent if and only if:

Once the work is completed, your client will no longer be able to access their tasks. If you wish to reopen the work to let your client access the tasks, you can. We recommend changing the work status and then resending the Client Requests.

For security reasons, the Client Request will expire 30 days from when the initial email is sent. If reminder emails are sent, it's extended for 60 days from when the reminder email is sent. Manually resending a Client Request will update the link's expiration date.

Help your clients get a feel for Client Requests with this email template to introduce them to a new way of collaborating with your team.

To help you introduce Client Requests to your clients, you may wish to use the following email and video:

Feel free to edit this email to suit your practice and your own clients.

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Dear client,
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From time to time, you will start receiving emails from myself or our team containing a checklist of items. This checklist is sent to you via Karbon's Client Requests, the system we use to manage our jobs.
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When you receive an email containing a checklist, you will be able to click a link that will take you to a unique Client Portal, listing all of your items that need to be completed. The first time you access this checklist, it will remember your device, which ensures only yourself and our team have access.
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If you attempt to access your Client Portal from another device, it will not be recognized and will require that you send a new access link. When you click on 'Send Access Link', this will send a new link to the email address it is associated with.
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Your Client Portal will provide you with a personal checklist that requires completing. We will provide detailed instructions and requirements for each item. If the item requires, you will be able to upload documents as well. On completion, please mark the item as complete to instantly notify us.
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Our objectives of collaborating with you in this way are to help you know exactly what you need to provide, and automatically remind you if there is any outstanding information we are waiting on. It will make our communication together smoother, and enable our team to serve you more efficiently.

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

When you introduce Client Requests to your clients, they may have some questions. Here are answers to some of the more common ones you may wish to share these with them.

You have received a link to these tasks because the person who sent them to you uses Karbon to manage jobs in their company and they have some tasks they would like you to complete.

Karbon is used by organizations and teams to manage their jobs, email, and collaborate with their clients. You can learn more here.

When you have completed the tasks simply tick the box and it will be marked as completed. Before doing this, you can attach any files you'd like to send through this task.

What is a magic link and how does it work?

Karbon Client Portal is accessed through a magic link, which is a unique URL generated every time Client Requests are sent and removes the need for a PIN, but more importantly, improves security.

When a client accesses the tasks sent to them, the link in the email is then associated with that device. This means that Client Requests are only accessible from that device.

What if my client wants to access the Client Request from a different device?

Your client will be presented with a screen that has one call to action “Send Access Link”. This will send a newly generated magic link to the original email sent that will allow them to access the Client Requests from the computer. The Client Requests will now be associated with the new device. If they want to access it from another device, they will need to follow the same process.

What happens if the client opens the magic link on a phone and then wants to complete the Client Requests on a computer?

It’s the same process as above.

Does the Magic Link Expire?

Yes. The magic link is valid for 30 days. If your client attempts to access the link after 30 days, they will need to generate a new magic link. The 30 days will recommence.

What happens to Client Requests already sent?

There is no change for Client Requests that were sent before the new Client Portal was enabled for you. If your clients open Client Requests that have already been sent, they will need to use their PIN to log in from the email or they can log in via the Client Portal screen.

What happens if I resend my Client Requests?

Resent Client Requests will now be accessed through the magic link and be hosted on the new Client Portal. Your client will no longer require a PIN to access the Client Requests.

What can my client see when they log in?

Karbon’s Client Portal provides clients with a full view and history of their requests, documents and communication. They will see up to 100 work items that have open requests for them to complete as well as view the last 100 completed work items they had Client Requests on.

What if my client needs to make changes to a completed work item/request?

They can see the requests, comments, and files which they can download. They cannot comment or change the status of the Client Request (completed > uncompleted). If you want your clients to make changes, you’ll need to change the status from completed to another status.

What if my client doesn’t want a Login?

They can continue to use the magic link and complete individual requests if they don’t want to create a login, however, the login provides greater flexibility for you and your client. The login enables your client to access everything sent to them including completed requests, as well as copies of documents and files uploaded—so they can keep track and easily find what’s been sent.

How can my client Login?

From the magic link by clicking log in on the left-hand side, or, you can share the URL provided in Settings. Clients can bookmark that link or if you’d prefer, you can add it to your website for frictionless access.

Can anyone make a Login for my account?

No. Only clients who are a contact in your Karbon account will be able to create a log in.

What if I delete a contact?

Their account will be deactivated and they will no longer be able to log in. However, if restored, they will be able to log in again.

Suggested articles:

Client Request Settings and Security

Send Client Requests

Comment on Client Requests

Add Client Requests to templates and work

See your client’s experience of Client Requests