My client or contractor can't see something
Find out why an item, invoice, file or drawing isn't showing in a portal, and what to switch on or share.
Not everything reaches a portal in the same way, so first see what they see. Open the project and use Quick login on their card: see See the portal as your client or contractor sees it. Look, but don't act: anything you do there is recorded as theirs.
If they can't sign in at all, see My client can't log in.
The whole section is missing
A page saying, for example, "Procurement is turned off" means the section is switched off for this project.
- Open the project and go to Settings, then Preferences.
- Turn on the section under Client portal or Contractor portal, and click Save changes. See Choose what the portals show.
For your client's schedule, use Client access on the Procurement tab instead. See the next section.
Also check they have the right project open. People on more than one project can switch: clients in Settings, contractors in Profile.
Your client can't see
| What's missing | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Every item on the schedule | Client access is off | On the Procurement tab, turn on Client access. See Share the schedule with your client. Turning on Show procurement in Preferences isn't enough, because existing items stay unshared. |
| One item | It is archived | Switch on Show archived in Filters, select it and choose Actions > Unarchive. |
| An invoice | It is still a draft | Use Send to Client. See Email an invoice to your client. |
| An invoice | It was issued with Send invoice, which only records it as sent | Use Send to Client, which also makes it visible. It emails your client a copy. See Send invoice or Send to Client. |
| An invoice | It has no schedule items on it, such as a fee or a deposit | It can't appear in their Finances. Send to Client still emails it to them with the PDF. |
| A document | It hasn't been sent, or you sent a folder and not the files in it | Send the files to the client. |
| Every document | Show shared files is off | Turn it on in Preferences. |
| A drawing package | It hasn't been sent, or it isn't ready | Send the package to the client. If the button is greyed out, the package lists what's in the way. |
| A drawing package, for a client added later | The package only went to the clients on the project at the time | On the package's Access tab, click Re-share with all. |
| Messages | Allow portal messaging is off | Turn it on in Preferences. |
A contractor can't see
Contractors see nothing from the schedule or Files until you share it with that person.
| What's missing | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A schedule item | It hasn't been shared with them | Share schedule items with a contractor. |
| A schedule item that was there before | It went back to Review, or was rejected or archived | Items stop showing in those states. Only Approved and Client to purchase items can be shared. |
| A file | It hasn't been shared with them | Share files with a contractor. |
| A drawing package | It hasn't been issued to them | Issue a drawing package to a contractor. They aren't told when you issue one, so tell them in Messages. |
| An older version of a drawing | Only the current version can be downloaded | Send it to them another way. |
| Everything | The portal is off, or they were removed from the project | Check Enable contractor portal in Preferences, and that they're on the Contractors tab. |
It's the other way round: they can see too much
- Remove a client's or contractor's access to a package
- Change or remove what a contractor can see
- Add markup or hide prices
Still stuck? Contact Techstyles support with the project name and what's missing.