In Clio Manage, you can assign tasks to clients through Clio for Clients and track when they complete them. Clients receive each task in their portal with its due date and reminders, so requests for documents, signatures, and information stay attached to the matter. Every completion posts to the portal conversation, which gives your firm a dated record of when the client acted.
Understand client task visibility
A task reaches a client's portal when all of the conditions below are true. The conditions apply at all times, so a task leaves the portal when one of them changes.
- The task belongs to a matter.
- The matter has a client portal.
- The task is assigned to one client. Each task holds one client assignee.
- That client is a participant in the matter's client portal.
- The task is not saved as a draft.
The tasks you assign to a portal participant are private. Other portal participants cannot access them, and internal firm tasks remain internal.
Note: Client tasks are available on select plans. Learn more about your plan's features. If you need to upgrade your firm's plan, ask a firm administrator.
Assign tasks to clients
Any firm user with access to the matter can assign a task to a portal participant from the task form. You can open the task form from the Tasks page, the matter's Tasks subtab, the matter dashboard, or the create menu. The client needs a valid email address in Clio Manage. Notifications are automatic. The client receives an email with a View tasks in the portal button and a push notification when you assign the task and again on each reminder date. When the client completes the task, you receive an email.
- Go to Tasks, or open a matter and select the Tasks subtab.
- Click New task.
- Enter a task name.
- Select the matter. When you start from a matter, the Matter field fills in and locks.
- Under Assign to, in Type, select External.
- In Select an external contact, select the client. For a portal participant, the form confirms that the client can complete the task in the portal.
- Optional: Set a due date. To remind the client, click Add a reminder and select Assignee (via Clio for Clients).
- Click Save task.
- If saving returns the message "Sharing this task was unsuccessful," edit the contact to add a valid email address, then save the task again.
Note: To assign a task to a client, create the task from the task form. Task lists, task templates, matter templates, workflow automations, and bulk reassign can only be assigned to firm users.
Tip: Use client tasks for requests with a deadline, such as returning a signed document or sending financial records. Each completion posts a timestamped message in the portal, so the matter holds a record of when your client responded to each request.
Track client tasks
Each assigned task posts in the client portal conversation as Assigned task, followed by the task name. When a client completes a task, a message posts in the client portal conversation, and the task status changes to complete in Clio Manage. A client can also mark a completed task as outstanding again. Learn how clients complete tasks in Clio for Clients. Shared tasks display a client portal icon in your task lists and are listed under the portal's Shared resources subtab.
When you change an assigned task, the task updates in the client's portal right away. Reassigning the task to someone else removes it from the first client's portal. Deleting the task removes it from the portal without notifying the client.
To return a task the client completed to pending:
- Open the task and click Edit.
- In Task status, select Pending.
- Click Save task.
Up next
- Manage Tasks in Clio Manage: Create, edit, reassign, and complete tasks for your firm.
- Work With Your Law Firm in Clio for Clients: Share the client instructions for completing tasks, sharing documents, and paying bills.