In Clio Manage, you can share documents, folders, invoices, trust requests, and calendar events with clients through Clio for Clients. Clients open everything your firm shares from one secure portal on the matter, instead of searching through email attachments. Your firm keeps control of what each client can access and can stop sharing at any time.
Share documents and folders
You can share documents and folders from the firm's Documents page or from a matter's Documents subtab. When the matter has no client portal yet, sharing creates one, and the matter's contacts receive an email invitation to Clio for Clients. Your client receives a notification for each share. To share a document as part of a message, attach it in the client portal conversation. Documents you add to a shared folder later are automatically shared with your client, so your client always has access to every document in the folder.
- Go to Documents, or open a matter and select the Documents subtab.
- Select the checkbox next to each document or folder to share.
- In the toolbar, click the share icon. You can also click the arrow next to Open and select Share > Share externally.
- In the Share window, on the Share options tab, select Client portal.
- Under Select participants, add or remove participants.
- Optional: Under Add a message, type a message to your client.
- Click Share.
Note: To share through the client portal, a document must sit in a matter folder. To share a firm document, first move it into the matter's folder.
Tip: To keep track of the documents your client sends you, create and share a folder for client uploads, such as "Client uploads". When you share the folder, add a message that explains its purpose.
Stop sharing documents
When you stop sharing a document, your client loses access to it in the portal. The Shared resources subtab lists every document, folder, invoice, calendar event, and task shared in the portal, with who shared it and when. You can stop sharing from there or from the document's Share window.
- Open the matter, select the Communications subtab, then select Client portal.
- Select the Shared resources subtab. To find an item, type in Find by name.
- Next to the item, click Unshare.
- Go to Documents, or open a matter and select the Documents subtab.
- Click the arrow next to Open and select Share > Manage sharing. You can also select the checkbox next to the document, click the share icon in the toolbar, and select the Manage sharing tab.
- On the Manage sharing tab, find the share for the matter's client portal, then click Stop sharing.
Send invoices and trust requests
You can send invoices and matter trust requests by email, through Clio for Clients, or both, one at a time or in bulk. Your client receives an email notification about each invoice. A shared invoice stays current in the portal, so changes you make to the invoice reach your client without sending it again. In the portal, your client finds invoices under Bills. With Clio Payments, your client can pay via email or from the portal.
Unpaid invoices are ready to send. A draft invoice or trust request needs approval first: in the Actions column, click the arrow next to it and select Approve trust request, or select Submit for approval.
Note: The option to send an invoice through the client portal requires a client portal on the matter before you send the invoice. Learn how to set up Clio for Clients.
Important: Multi-matter invoices, which include activities from several matters for one contact, and client trust requests are sent by email only. When you send invoices in bulk, supported invoices and matter-level trust requests go through the client portal, and the rest go by email.
- Go to Invoices, or open a matter and select the Invoices subtab.
- Find the unpaid invoice and click Send in the Actions column.
- Toggle on Send to client portal.
- Optional: Add a message. Your client receives this message in the email notification.
- Optional: To also send the invoice by email, toggle on Send via email.
- Click Send invoice.
- Go to Invoices, or open a matter and select the Invoices subtab.
- Select the checkboxes for the invoices to send, then click Send.
- On the Send items page, toggle on Send to client portal.
- Optional: In Message in Clio for Clients, type a message.
- Optional: To also send the invoices another way, toggle on Send by text message or Send by email.
- To check what each contact receives, select Client Portal or Email in the preview, and use the arrows to move between items.
- Click Send items.
Share calendar events
When you invite a client with a client portal to a calendar event, you can notify them through Clio for Clients. The event and an email notification reach your client, and the event joins the portal's Events page. Learn how clients view shared events, including the difference between My events and Case events.
Important: Keep private events out of portals with more than one client. Every client in the portal receives the events you share, including clients who are not invited attendees. Invited attendees receive the full event details, while other clients receive limited details.
- Create or edit a calendar event on the matter.
- Under Invite attendees, add the client.
- In the client's Notify via dropdown, select Clio for Clients.
- Click Save event.
Up next
- Assign Tasks to Clients: Assign tasks to clients and track when they complete them.
- Send Bills to Clients: Send, personalise, and resend invoices.