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The Client Experience

This page shows your firm what clients see and do after you send a request, so you can set expectations and support clients confidently. Nothing here requires your client to create an account, install anything, or remember a password.

What the client receives

When you send a request, FileOnion notifies the client through their contact channel — email, text message (SMS), or WhatsApp — with a secure magic link to their request page. The link is unique to that client and that request.

When sending, you choose how the link behaves:

  • With magic link — clicking the link opens the request directly. This is the standard flow.
  • With secure magic link — before the request opens, the client must enter a one-time verification code. Use this for sensitive matters.
  • Without magic link — the client is notified without a direct-access link (available when enabled for your firm).

If the notification fails to deliver, FileOnion warns you at send time ("Your request was published, but the … notification couldn't be sent") so you can resend it — see the FAQ below.

Opening the request

The client clicks the link and lands on the request page — no sign-up, no password. They see:

  • Your request title and details, with your firm's message.
  • A Files summary: how many files are requested, and a running count of how many have been submitted for review, approved, and declined.
  • A list of every document you asked for, each with its own status.

Below the list, each document has its own section where the work happens.

The upload flow

For each requested document, the client sees:

  • The document name.
  • Your Message — the description you wrote explaining what you need.
  • A Checklist/Sub-tasks list, if you added one — the specific items to include.
  • An Attachments area to add files.
  • A Submit for review button.

The client uploads one or more files to a document, removes any mistaken upload (with a confirmation, since deletion can't be undone), and clicks Submit for review. Each document is submitted on its own, so a client can send you the easy items today and the rest later.

Checkpoint — what a client sees after submitting

The document's section is covered by a large "Submitted!" confirmation, and its status in the document list changes to Submitted. The client can no longer change that document unless they click Edit on it, or you decline it.

Statuses the client sees

Each document carries one of these labels on the client's page:

Status Meaning for the client
Needs attention Nothing submitted yet, or changes are still needed — this document is open for uploads.
Submitted Sent to your firm and awaiting review.
Approved Accepted by your firm. The document locks with an "Approved!" confirmation.
Declined Rejected by your firm. The document reopens so the client can upload a corrected file and resubmit.

A document your firm closes shows a "Closed!" notice and no longer accepts changes. If you archive the request or it passes its expiry date, the link stops accepting uploads.

Reminders, due dates, and expiry

These are set per request when you compose it (see Requests):

  • Reminders — FileOnion automatically emails the client on the schedule you pick, so you don't have to chase them manually.
  • Due date — the deadline you communicate to the client.
  • Expiry date — after this date the request link no longer accepts uploads.

Client comments and questions

Clients can open an uploaded file and use its Comments panel to ask questions or leave context ("this is the 2024 return — 2023 is still with my accountant"). Comments appear for your team on the same file inside the request, and update in real time while both sides have the page open. Team members can be notified of new comments — see notification settings in User configurations.

Sharing documents back to the client

Collection isn't one-way. Your firm can share files and folders back to a client — completed filings, engagement letters, statements — and they appear in the client's Shared Documents area. Each shared item shows who shared it, when, the file size, and an optional message from your team. The client can View the file in the browser or Download it. Folders expand to show their contents.

Until you share something, the client sees "No shared documents — Documents shared with you will appear here."

See Clients for how to share documents from a client's profile.

Optional client sign-in

The magic link is all a client ever needs. But clients who work with your firm repeatedly can also sign in to FileOnion, which gives them two persistent pages:

  • My Requests — every request your firm has sent them, with search and a status filter (New, In Progress, Submitted, Under Review, Completed, Closed).
  • My Documents — everything your firm has shared with them, searchable, with a folder view or a flat list.

Signed-in clients see only their own requests and documents from your firm.

Custom branding

On the Professional plan and above, Owners and Admins can apply your firm's logo and brand colors from Organization → Branding, so the experience clients see carries your identity rather than a generic look.

FAQ

The client says their link is expired or invalid. What do we do?

Links can expire for security. Resend a fresh one: open Requests, find the request, open its row menu, and choose Resend Request (or Resend Secure Link for the code-protected variant). The client gets a new notification with a working link. The client-side error reads "Your link is either invalid or expired."

Can one client see another client's files?

No. Every link is scoped to a single client and a single request, and all data is isolated to your firm. A client sees only the requests you sent to them and the documents you shared with them — never another client's, and never another firm's.

Does the client need to install anything or create an account?

No. The request page works in any modern browser on desktop or mobile. Signing in is optional and only adds the persistent My Requests / My Documents pages.

Can a client fix a file they already submitted?

Yes. On a submitted document they can click Edit to reopen it. If your firm declines a document, it reopens automatically with a Declined status so the client can upload a replacement and resubmit.