Giving a client portal access turns a stack of “where is my order?” emails into a screen they can check themselves. Once you grant access, your customer signs in to a read-only view scoped to exactly their own data: their stock, their jobs, their invoices, and nothing belonging to anyone else. This guide walks through what a client can actually see and do once they are in. For how access works and why it is safe to offer, see The client portal explained.
The portal at a glance
A client’s portal is organised into a handful of sections down the left: Dashboard, Inventory, Orders, Requests, Shipments, Invoices, and Reports. A top bar carries a notification bell and the client’s account menu in the top-right corner. Everything the client sees is the same live data your team works from, so they are never looking at a stale export.
Dashboard
The dashboard is the client’s landing page: a branded header with summary cards for pallets in storage, open orders, active shipments, and outstanding invoices, plus trend charts and quick links into the main sections. It answers the “is everything moving?” question in one glance.
Stock and storage costs
The Inventory page shows what you are holding for the client: total pallets, the equivalent pallet space their stock occupies, total units, and an estimated storage cost. Product thumbnails appear alongside the stock, with a clear placeholder where no image is set, and each pallet can be expanded to show its items with SKU, batch, expiry, and quantity.
If the client stores goods on behalf of several of their own customers, the page also breaks storage down by customer: each customer’s rate, pallet count, and estimated monthly cost, with the option to sort by name, pallets, or estimated cost. Rates set in different frequencies (daily, weekly, monthly) are projected to a monthly basis so the figures are comparable. These are estimates for guidance; the client’s invoice still bills each rate by the exact time stored.
Tracking jobs and downloading proof of delivery
The Shipments page lists the client’s transport jobs with their status, origin and destination, driver, and scheduled pickup and delivery dates. Where a delivery is complete, the proof of delivery, the photos and signature captured by the driver, is available to view and download. Because the portal shows live data, proof of delivery appears shortly after the driver captures it (see Transport jobs and proof of delivery), which makes a completed delivery self-evidencing and shortens disputes. Clients can also see the estimated arrival time for an active shipment when the dispatcher has set one.
Orders
The Orders page covers the client’s fulfilment work: each order with its status (from pending through picking and packing to complete), its priority, and progress such as picked against packed quantities. A status overview bar summarises where the client’s orders sit so they can see the shape of their pipeline at a glance.
Invoices and payment status
The Invoices page shows the client’s storage and transport invoices with their amount, date, due date, and status, plus headline figures for the total outstanding, paid this month, and how many are overdue. Each invoice can be downloaded as a PDF. Amounts are shown in pounds sterling and formatted to UK conventions so they read consistently across the portal.
Raising service requests
Requests are the one thing a client can send back to you. From the Requests page they raise a new request, choosing a type such as pick and pack, delivery, collection, installation, or return, picking from their actual products and available quantities, and adding any instructions. The request arrives in your system for approval, so the portal stays read-only in spirit: nothing changes in your operation until your team acts on the request. A request can even be set up to create a warehouse goods-in receipt on approval when it represents stock arriving into storage.
Notifications
The notification bell in the top-right shows a badge when there is something new since the client last looked, for events such as a shipment going in transit or being delivered, an invoice being raised or going overdue, or goods being received. Clicking a notification takes the client straight to the relevant page, so the portal nudges them rather than waiting to be checked.
Their own reports
The Reports page lets a client answer their own reporting questions. Tabs cover storage, orders, shipments, delivery performance, and financial spend, each with monthly figures, charts, and a CSV export. The storage tab includes the sortable Storage by customer table, and the performance tab rolls up exceptions such as late or failed deliveries and quality holds. Every amount shows in pounds sterling to match the summary cards.
Currency and timezone
Money in the portal is presented in pounds sterling throughout, and dates use UK formatting, so the client sees figures the way they expect them. Scheduled shipment times are shown in the relevant carrier company timezone, so the times a client reads line up with how the work is actually scheduled and run.
Frequently asked questions
Can a client change anything in the portal?
No. The portal is read-only. A client can see their stock, jobs, orders, shipments, invoices, and proof of delivery, and they can raise a service request for you to action, but they cannot edit jobs, move stock, or reach into your operation. Raising a request is the one outbound action, and it still comes to your team for approval.
Will one client ever see another client's data?
No. Each portal user belongs to a single client and sees only that client's data. The portal is scoped per client, so a customer can never see another customer's stock, orders, or invoices.
What can a client see about their stock and storage costs?
The Inventory page shows total pallets, pallet equivalents for oversized items, total units, and an estimated monthly storage cost. If you store goods for several of the client's own customers, it also shows a Storage by customer breakdown with each customer's rate, pallet count, and estimated monthly cost. These figures are estimates for guidance; the actual invoice still bills each rate by the exact time stored.
Can a client download proof of delivery?
Yes. On the Shipments page each delivered job shows its proof of delivery, including the photos and signature the driver captured, and the client can download it. Because it is the same live data your team works from, proof of delivery appears for the client shortly after the driver captures it, with no extra step from you.
What currency and timezone does the client see?
Amounts in the portal are shown in pounds sterling and formatted to UK conventions, so figures read consistently across the dashboard, invoices, and reports. Scheduled shipment times are shown in the relevant carrier company timezone, so dates and times line up with how the work is actually run.
How does a client raise a request?
The Requests page has a New Request action. The client picks a request type (for example pick and pack, delivery, collection, installation, or return), chooses from their actual products with available quantities, and adds any instructions. The request arrives in your system for approval, so nothing happens to stock or jobs until your team acts on it.
What reports can a client run themselves?
The Reports page offers tabs covering storage, orders, shipments, delivery performance, and financial spend, with monthly figures, charts, and a CSV export. The storage tab includes a sortable Storage by customer table. This lets a client answer their own reporting questions without asking you to pull an export.
How does a client know when something happens?
A notification bell in the top-right shows a badge when there is something new since the client last looked, for events such as a shipment going in transit or delivered, an invoice raised or overdue, or goods received. Clicking a notification takes the client to the relevant page.
Where to go next
- The client portal explained covers how access is scoped and why read-only visibility is safe to offer.
- Transport jobs and proof of delivery covers how the proof of delivery a client downloads is captured.