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Clients

Clients are the people your firm collects documents from. This guide shows firm users how to add and manage clients, how clients receive access to their requests, and how to keep client records organized.

Clients never need a FileOnion account

Clients do not sign up, set passwords, or log in. When you send a request, your client receives a branded email or text message containing a secure magic link that opens their upload page directly. See Client Portal for what that experience looks like.

The client list

Open Clients from the left sidebar. Each row shows the client's name and email, their number of visits, how many requests they have, and their last activity. Click a row to open the client's detail view.

From the list you can also:

  • Search — type in the search box to filter clients by name or email. Matching is case sensitive, so search for Smith rather than smith.
  • Filter — switch between All and Archived clients.
  • Change page size — use the Show selector to display more clients per page.
  • Export CSV — download your client list as a spreadsheet.

Each row has a context menu with Edit client, Create Request, Archive client (or Unarchive client), and Delete client.

Adding a client

  1. On the Clients page, click Add new.
  2. Fill in the form:
    • First name and Last name (required).
    • Email (required) — this is where request notifications and magic links are sent. The email address cannot be changed after the client is created.
    • Language — the client's preferred language (English or Spanish).
    • Phone, Company name, Client title, and Address (optional).
    • Notification preference — how this client receives request notifications and reminders: email, SMS, or WhatsApp. A phone number is required if you choose SMS or WhatsApp.
  3. Optionally check Send invitation email to client to notify the client right away.
  4. Click Save.

Checkpoint

The new client appears in your client list. You can now create a request for them — from the row's context menu, choose Create Request.

Editing, archiving, and deleting

  • Edit — open the context menu (or the menu on the client's detail page) and choose Edit client. All fields except the email address can be changed.
  • Archive — hides the client from your active list without losing anything. Archived clients appear under the Archived filter, where you can Unarchive them at any time.
  • Delete — permanently removes the client record. A confirmation dialog asks you to confirm with Yes, delete.

Tip

Prefer archiving over deleting for former clients. Archiving is reversible and keeps your history intact.

The client detail view

Click any client to open their detail page. The header shows their contact details (email, company, phone) alongside a Create Request button and a menu with Edit, Archive, and Delete.

Below the header, tabs show everything related to this client:

  • Requests — every request sent to this client, with its current stage. You can edit, archive, or delete a request from here.
  • Uploads — the files this client has submitted.
  • Shared Documents — documents your firm has shared back to the client, if document sharing is enabled for your firm. From here you can upload files, create folders, and use Share with Client to grant access, optionally sending an email notification.

How clients access their requests

When you send a request, FileOnion notifies the client through their preferred channel (email, SMS, or WhatsApp) with a branded message containing a magic link. Opening the link takes the client straight to their request — no password required. When sending, you can choose:

  • With magic link — the standard one-click access link.
  • With secure magic link — adds a one-time verification code the client must enter before the request opens.
  • Without magic link — sends the notification without an access link (available once the client has already been notified).

See Client Portal for the client-side experience.

Resending access

Magic links expire. If a client reports that their link no longer works, open the request and click Resend — the same button you used to send it. This issues a fresh notification with a new link. If a notification fails to deliver, FileOnion tells you so you can resend it from the request page.

Reminders

When composing a request, enable Reminders and choose how often to nudge the client. Reminders are delivered over the client's notification preference — email, SMS, or WhatsApp — so make sure a phone number is on file for clients who prefer text messages.

Previewing what a client sees

To check a request's content from your client's perspective before sending it, open a preview of the template behind it. The preview renders the same view your client gets, in read-only mode — a banner notes that upload, complete, and comments are disabled. See Templates for details.