Portal access
The client portal is the surface your firm’s clients see — separate from the firm-side dashboard. They sign in, upload documents, sign engagement letters, view invoices, and pay bills.
A contact only sees the portal if you’ve granted them portal access. Assure Pro has five roles, from full Owner to Notify-only.
The five portal roles
| Role | Upload | Sign | Pay | Change settings | Receives notifications | Signs in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Editor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Viewer | Read-only | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Signer | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Notify-only | — | — | — | — | Yes | No |
When to pick which role
| Situation | Role |
|---|---|
| The taxpayer themselves | Owner — they can do everything on their own account. |
| MFJ spouse on a joint return | Owner or Signer — both work. Some firms restrict the non-primary spouse to Signer to keep one primary point of contact. |
| Business owner | Owner for the business client. |
| Bookkeeper or CFO | Editor — uploads documents but can’t add or remove other contacts or change billing. |
| Attorney or read-only outside reviewer | Viewer — sees the portal but can’t change anything. |
| Spouse who needs to sign 8879 but otherwise stays out of the loop | Signer. |
| Office manager who needs reminder emails but never signs in | Notify-only — gets emails, no portal sign-in. |
How to invite a contact
From the client detail page, open the Contacts tab, find the contact, and click Invite to portal.
[Screenshot: Invite to portal dialog]
- Pick the portal role.
- Optionally add a personal note (“Hi Jordan — please use this link to upload your tax documents”).
- Click Send invite.
Assure Pro emails the contact an invitation link. The link is valid for 48 hours. The contact clicks the link, sets a password, and lands on the client portal.
What the contact sees
The first email contains:
- A “You’ve been invited to [Firm name]‘s client portal” header.
- A Set your password button.
- A short explainer of what the portal is for.
After they set their password, they land on the portal home page. From there, they can:
- Upload documents (Owner, Editor, or Signer).
- View documents the firm has shared (any role).
- Sign engagement letters and 8879 forms (Owner, Editor, Signer).
- View and pay invoices (Owner, Editor, Signer).
- See the status of any engagement they’re tied to.
- Send messages to the firm through portal messaging.
How to resend an invitation
If the contact didn’t click the link within 48 hours, the invitation expires. From the contacts tab, open the three-dot menu next to the contact and pick Resend invite. Each resend creates a new link — old ones stop working.
How to change a contact’s role
From the contacts tab, click the contact and pick a new role from the Access role dropdown. The change applies immediately — the contact may need to refresh their portal page to see new options.
How to remove access
From the three-dot menu next to a contact, click Remove portal access. The contact loses portal access immediately, but their contact record stays — you can re-invite them later.
To delete the contact entirely, use Delete contact instead (see Contacts).
How Notify-only works
A Notify-only contact gets email notifications — intake reminders, invoice arrivals, signing requests routed to other signers — but doesn’t have a portal account. Use this for:
- An office manager who handles paperwork while the actual owner signs.
- A spouse who’s CC’d on everything but doesn’t interact with the portal directly.
- An accountant the firm coordinates with who isn’t the signer.
Notify-only contacts have an email address but no password. They never sign in.
Branding the portal
The portal carries your firm’s logo, accent color, and display name — configured under Settings → Branding. Your firm has its own portal address, which Assure Pro displays under Settings → Branding as well. Share that link with clients.
Next
- Contacts — add contacts before granting access.
- Client portal — the portal user’s perspective.
- Communications — sending portal messages to contacts.