---
title: "Turn on the portal for a client"
description: "Turn on the client portal for one client, find its address, and invite the client's first owner."
url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/client-portal/turn-on/"
product: "depot"
type: "how-to"
status: "draft"
ai_summary: "MSP plan. Clients > Record > Client portal tab > Overview: turn on Client portal is on for this client (clientportal:manage). The portal URL is shown with Copy. Invite the first person from Users > Invite user; with no role chosen the first person invited becomes the owner. Invitations last 7 days by default. Turning the portal off keeps every user and setting."
availability:
  plans: ["msp"]
  permission: "clientportal:manage"
  preview: false
source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/client-portal/turn-on.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Turn on the portal for a client

The portal is off for every client until you turn it on. This page shows how
to turn it on for one client and invite the person who will run it on the
client's side. Once they have accepted, they can invite their own colleagues,
or you can do it for them.

## Before you begin

- Turning the portal on needs `clientportal:manage`. Inviting people needs
  `clientportal:users`.
- Decide what the client's people may do before you invite anyone. The
  defaults allow every portal permission except remote access, which is off
  until you turn it on. See
  [Set portal roles, groups, and the permission ceiling](/client-portal/roles-and-ceiling/).
- To show your own branding from the first email, set it up first. See
  [Brand the client portal](/client-portal/branding/).

## Turn the portal on

1. Select **Clients**, then **Record** on the client's row.
2. Select the **Client portal** tab. It opens on **Overview**, and the tab
   shows **Portal off**.
3. Turn on **Client portal is on for this client**.

The tab now shows **Portal on**. **Overview** shows the portal's address with
a **Copy** button. Invitations, invoices, and ticket emails link to it. When a
custom domain becomes active, it replaces this address. See
[Serve the portal on your own domain](/client-portal/custom-domains/).

## Invite the client's first owner

1. On the **Client portal** tab, select **Users**.
2. Select **Invite user**.
3. In **Email**, enter the person's work email. In **Name**, optionally enter
   their name. They can change it after signing in.
4. Leave the roles clear to make them the owner. With no role chosen, the
   first person invited to a client becomes its owner. Everyone invited after
   that needs at least one role to see anything.
5. Select **Send invitation**.

They get an email with a link that works for 7 days, or the number of days set
in [Portal defaults](/client-portal/defaults/). Signing in needs a password and
a second factor, or the client's own sign-in when single sign-on is set up.

If the person already has a portal account for another of your clients, they
sign in with it to accept, and the new organization appears in their
organization switcher.

## Turn the portal off

Turn off **Client portal is on for this client** on **Overview**. The client's
people can no longer reach the portal for this client. Every user, role, and
setting is kept, so turning it back on restores them. Turning it off signs
nobody out of the console.

## Verify

**Overview** shows adoption: **Active users**, **Invited, not yet signed in**,
**Suspended**, and **Last sign-in**. Once the owner accepts, they count as an
active user, and **Users** lists them as **Active**.

## Next steps

- [Invite and manage portal users](/client-portal/users/)
- [Send the guide to your client](/portal-guide/)
- [Connect a payment provider](/client-payments/connect-a-provider/)