Managing Clients

Managing active client relationships and their portal experience

Once a lead converts to a client, the Clients section becomes your hub for managing that ongoing relationship. This is where active client work lives, separate from the prospecting activities in CRM.

Clients vs Leads

Understanding the difference is key:

Leads (CRM)	Clients
Potential customers	Active customers
In sales pipeline	Have signed contracts
No projects yet	Have active/past projects
Sales team focused	Delivery team focused
Opportunity tracking	Project execution

The Transition: When you win a deal, a Lead becomes a Client. They move from the CRM section to the Clients section, and you create their first Project.

Clients Section Structure

👥 Clients
   └─ Clients Dashboard

Two main pages:

• Clients: List of all client companies

• Clients Dashboard: Overview of client health and metrics

Clients List

Purpose: Directory of all active client companies

What You'll See

A list of client companies showing:

• Company name and logo

• Primary contact

• Status (Active, On Hold, Churned)

• Number of active projects

• Outstanding payment amount

• Last interaction date

• Account value (total revenue)

Client Statuses

Active

• Currently working together

• Have ongoing or recent projects

• Good standing

On Hold

• Paused engagement

• No active projects right now

• Maintaining relationship for future work

Churned

• No longer working together

• Contract ended

• Relationship terminated

Custom Statuses (optional)

• VIP / Platinum tier

• At Risk

• Pending Renewal

• Trial Period

Viewing Client Records

Click on any client to see their full record page:

Overview Section

• Company details (name, website, address, industry)

• Primary contact information

• Status and account tier

• Key dates (became client, last project, etc.)

• Notes and context

Related Projects Tab

• All projects for this client (past and present)

• Filter by status (Active, Completed, On Hold)

• Quick view of project health

• Click to open any project

Contacts Tab

• All people at this organization

• Decision makers and day-to-day contacts

• Who has portal access

• Contact roles and relationships

Payments Tab

• All invoices and payments

• Outstanding balance

• Payment history

• Revenue to date

Opportunities Tab

• Upsell and cross-sell opportunities

• Potential future projects

• Expansion possibilities

Activity Feed

• Recent interactions

• Recent meetings

• Project updates

• Payment activity

• All touchpoints with this client

Common Actions on Client Records

Create Project Button to instantly create a new project for this client

• Pre-fills client relationship

• Quick way to start new work

Create Payment Generate an invoice for this client

• Links to client automatically

• Can pull from recent time/expenses

View as Client See exactly what this client sees in their portal

• Essential for quality control

• Troubleshoot access issues

• Preview before major updates

Grant Portal Access Add contacts as portal users

• Assign Client role

• Control what they can see

• Enable self-service

Clients Dashboard

Purpose: High-level overview of all clients and their health

What You'll See

Client Breakdown

• Total number of clients

• Clients by status (Active, On Hold, Churned)

• New clients this month/quarter

• Client growth over time

Project Overview

• Total active projects

• Projects per client (average and distribution)

• Projects by status

• Project health scores

Financial Snapshot

• Total outstanding payments

• Revenue by client (top clients)

• Average client value

• Revenue trends over time

Client Health Indicators

• Clients with overdue payments

• Clients with no recent activity

• Clients with at-risk projects

• Clients ready for upsell

Engagement Metrics

• Portal login frequency

• Last interaction date by client

• Response times

• Satisfaction scores (if tracked)

Common Use Cases

Weekly Account Review

• Check which clients need attention

• Identify at-risk relationships

• Plan outreach for quiet accounts

Executive Reporting

• Client count and growth

• Top clients by revenue

• Portfolio health

Capacity Planning

• See which clients have active projects

• Identify clients ready for more work

• Balance workload across accounts

Dashboard Customization: Tailor the Clients Dashboard to show metrics most important to your agency. Add charts for retention rate, client lifetime value, or custom health scores.

Working with Client Records

Adding a New Client

From a Won Lead:

1. Go to the Lead record in CRM

2. Change Status to "Won"

3. Convert Lead to Client (or update record type)

4. Client now appears in Clients section

Direct Creation:

1. Go to Clients

2. Click + New record

3. Fill in company details

4. Add primary contact

5. Set status to Active

6. Save

Linking Contacts to Clients

Each client can have multiple contacts:

1. Open the client record

2. Go to Contacts tab

3. Click + Add contact

4. Either create new or link existing contact

5. Designate one as Primary Contact

Primary Contact typically:

• Is the main decision maker

• Receives portal access first

• Gets key communications

• Has approval authority

Creating Projects for Clients

From the client record:

1. Click Create Project button (or similar action)

2. Project form opens with client pre-selected

3. Fill in project details:

   • Project name

   • Start and end dates

   • Budget

   • Description

4. Create initial tasks (optional)

5. Save

The project now appears:

• In the Projects section

• On this client's record under Projects tab

• Available for task creation and time tracking

Client Portal Access

One of Agency OS's most powerful features is giving clients portal access to see their own projects and billing.

Setting Up Portal Access

Step 1: Create User from Contact

1. Go to the Contact record

2. Click action button to "Create as User" or similar

3. They receive an invitation email

Step 2: Assign Client Role

1. Go to Settings > Users (or User Management)

2. Find the new user

3. Assign "Client" role

4. This role has restricted permissions

Step 3: Link User to Client Account

1. On the User record, find the Account/Client field

2. Link to their Client record

3. This ensures they only see their data

Step 4: Verify Access

1. Use "View as [Client Name]" feature

2. Navigate through Portal, Projects, Billing

3. Verify they see only their information

4. Check that Notes are hidden (only Replies visible)

What Clients See in Their Portal

Clients see a simplified version of Agency OS:

Three Main Sections:

• Portal: Welcome page with quick actions and task overview

• Projects: Their projects and tasks

• Billing: Their invoices and payments

What They Can Do:

• View project progress and tasks

• Add comments via Reply on tasks

• See deliverables and files

• View billing and payment status

• Access past invoices

• Book meetings (if enabled)

What They Cannot Do:

• See other clients' data

• View internal Notes (only Replies)

• Access team information

• See costs and margins (unless you enable it)

• Edit project details

• Change task assignments

Learn more in the detailed Client Portal Guide.

Client Status Management

When to Update Status

Set to "On Hold":

• Project completed, no immediate next project

• Client requested pause

• Seasonal client (work at certain times of year)

• Budget constraints, planning to return

Set to "Churned":

• Contract expired and not renewing

• Client went with competitor

• Business closed or was acquired

• Relationship ended

Don't Delete Clients: Even churned clients should be kept in the system. You maintain the history, and they might return. Just change status to Churned.

Re-activating Clients

If an "On Hold" or "Churned" client returns:

1. Open their client record

2. Update Status to "Active"

3. Create new Project

4. Update notes with context

5. Consider logging an Interaction about their return

Client Communication Best Practices

Using Reply vs Note

On all tasks and projects, you have two comment types:

Reply (Client Sees It) ✅ Use for:

• Status updates

• Deliverable completion

• Questions for client

• Next step notifications

• Approval requests

Note (Internal Only) 🔒 Use for:

• Internal discussions

• Technical blockers

• Budget concerns

• Scope change considerations

• Team coordination

Critical Rule: Always double-check before commenting. Using Reply when you meant Note can expose internal discussions to clients!

Reducing Status Update Emails

The portal reduces "what's the status?" emails by 80%:

Instead of Email Updates:

• Update task status → Client sees it in portal

• Add Reply comment → Client gets notification

• Mark deliverable complete → Visible immediately

• Create payment → Client sees invoice in portal

Train Clients: When clients email asking for status:

1. Reply: "Great question! I've updated your portal with the latest: [link]"

2. Add Reply comment on relevant task with update

3. They learn to check portal first

Account Health Monitoring

Signs of Healthy Client Relationship

✅ Regular portal logins ✅ Quick responses to Reply comments ✅ On-time payments ✅ New projects in pipeline ✅ Positive feedback and referrals ✅ Expanding scope of work

Warning Signs (At-Risk Clients)

⚠️ No portal logins in 30+ days ⚠️ Overdue payments ⚠️ Delayed responses or feedback ⚠️ Scope reduction or project cancellations ⚠️ New stakeholders getting involved ⚠️ Competitor mentions

Proactive Account Management

Monthly Check-ins:

• Schedule regular calls with key clients

• Review project progress

• Discuss upcoming needs

• Address concerns early

Quarterly Business Reviews:

• Present results and ROI

• Show value delivered

• Discuss strategy and goals

• Identify new opportunities

Client Satisfaction:

• Send brief surveys after project milestones

• Track NPS (Net Promoter Score)

• Address issues immediately

• Celebrate successes

Client-Level Reporting

Standard Reports

Project Portfolio by Client

• All projects (past and present)

• Status breakdown

• Timeline view

• Success rate

Financial Summary

• Total revenue from client

• Outstanding balance

• Average project value

• Payment history

Time Investment

• Total hours spent

• Billable vs non-billable breakdown

• By project or date range

• Resource allocation

Custom Client Reports

Create custom reports in Build Mode:

• Client profitability (revenue minus costs)

• Resource utilization per client

• Timeline adherence

• Scope change frequency

Integrating Client Data

Sync with Other Tools

Consider integrating client data with:

Accounting Software

• Sync client records to QuickBooks/Xero

• Match invoices automatically

• Pull payment data back to Agency OS

Email Marketing

• Export client contacts to Mailchimp

• Segment by status or tier

• Personalized communications

CRM Tools (if keeping separate)

• Sync key fields between systems

• Maintain single source of truth

• Avoid duplicate data entry

Learn more: Integrations Guide

Tips for Client Management

For Account Managers

Daily:

• Check Reply comments from clients

• Respond to client questions within 4 hours

• Review project progress for your accounts

Weekly:

• Review each client's portal (View as)

• Update internal notes on client health

• Plan proactive outreach

• Check for overdue payments

Monthly:

• Schedule check-in calls

• Review account metrics

• Identify upsell opportunities

• Update account plans

For Agency Leaders

Weekly:

• Review Clients Dashboard

• Identify at-risk accounts

• Celebrate wins and new clients

Monthly:

• Analyze client retention rates

• Review client profitability

• Assess portfolio balance

• Plan account strategy

Quarterly:

• Conduct client business reviews

• Set account growth targets

• Review and refine client tiers

• Adjust resources as needed

Related Guides

• CRM & Sales - Converting leads to clients

• Projects & Delivery - Executing client work

• Client Portal - Detailed portal setup and management

• Billing & Expenses - Invoicing clients

Happy Clients = Growing Agency: Great client management leads to referrals, repeat business, and sustainable growth. Use Agency OS to deliver a professional, transparent experience.