Every approval, proof, payment, and status update with one link.
Your client just emailed asking where their order stands. Again. Meanwhile you're three emails deep trying to chase down a proof approval, and a payment that was "on its way" last week is still outstanding. Sound familiar?
For most promotional products distributors, the client communication loop is one of the biggest drains on rep time and one of the most visible friction points in the client experience.
Present, pitch, and close in one platform. commonsku's Project Portal and Client Portal give clients a branded, real-time window into their orders and give reps back the time they spend answering status questions, chasing approvals, and following up on invoices.
Stop chasing status updates. Every approval, proof review, payment, and shipping update happens through a single link. No login required for the client. No manual follow-up required from the rep.
This is your complete guide to the client experience on commonsku.
Two Portals. One Connected Client Experience.
What each Portal does and when to use it
Project Portal — Order-Level Client View
A branded, shareable link for a single project. Clients review products, approve orders, approve proofs, make payments, and track shipping in one hub. No login needed. Sent per order
Client Portal — Account-Level Client View
A consolidated view of all active and historical orders, invoices, and projects for a client account. Builds transparency and reduces status-check emails from your most active clients. Shared per account
The result: clients who feel informed and in control, and reps who spend time selling, not answering "where's my order?" emails.
Before Portals, a typical promotional products order looked like this:
1. Rep sends presentation by email
2. Client replies with questions
3. Rep sends updated quote
4. Client approves verbally on a call
5. Rep follows up asking for written approval
6. Proof arrives and gets forwarded by email
7. Client sends feedback two days later
8. Rep manually updates the order
9. Invoice goes out
10. Client says they didn't receive it
Can you imaging having to repeat this process across 20 active orders simultaneously?
Every order, reps are losing hours to status emails, approval chasing, payment follow-up, and manual updates. Sometimes, leading to a stalled deal.
Where rep time goes without a client Portal
Status emails
Answering "where's my order?" multiple times per client, per week.
Approval chasing
Following up on sales orders and proofs sitting in client inboxes.
Payment follow-up
Resending invoices and tracking down outstanding payments.
Manual updates
Updating order records after every client communication.
20
hrs saved / week
on average, per commonsku user — eliminating exactly this kind of reactive admin
commonsku users save up to 20 hours per week on order management and a significant portion of that comes from eliminating exactly this kind of reactive, manual communication. Portals don't just improve the client experience. They free your reps to sell.
Portal 1
The best client experience isn't more communication. It's giving clients the right information before they have to ask for it.
The Project Portal is a branded, shareable link generated directly from a sales form in commonsku. Send it to your client at any stage of the order from initial presentation through to shipped and invoiced. The client sees a clean, professional view of their order with no commonsku branding, no login required, and real-time updates as the order progresses.
Approve or request changes
Clients approve sales orders or submit change requests directly through the Portal. Every action updates the order status in commonsku automatically.
Review and approve proofs
Proof files are shared directly through the Portal. Clients approve or request changes on artwork without a separate email thread. Approval status updates in the Production Report instantly.
Make payments
Clients pay invoices directly through the Portal. No separate payment link, no follow-up email. The payment updates the invoice record in commonsku automatically.
Track order status
Clients see real-time order status and shipping updates including tracking numbers automatically pushed to the Portal when reps update shipping details on the PO.
View and download documents
Sales orders, invoices, and packing slips are available directly in the Portal. Clients can download what they need without emailing their rep for a copy.
Send messages to the rep
Clients can communicate directly through the Portal. Messages are logged on the project in commonsku, keeping all order-related communication in one place rather than scattered across email.
💡 Pro Tip
Send the Project Portal link at the presentation stage — not just at the sales order stage. Clients who can review and interact with their Presentation in the Portal convert faster because the friction of back-and-forth email is removed from the very first touchpoint. (See how it's done.)
The Project Portal isn't a standalone client-facing tool — it's wired directly into commonsku's production workflow. When a client approves an order through the Portal, the sales order status updates automatically. When a rep adds a tracking number to the PO's Shipping tab and clicks Notify, the shipping update and tracking link appear in the client's Portal immediately. When a proof is approved, the proof status updates in the Production Report in real time.
From Portal Action to Production Update
Every client action in the Portal triggers the next step automatically.
🔗
Rep sends
Portal link shared with client from any form
👤
Client reviews
Products, pricing, proofs, and status
✅
Client approves
SO or proof approved with one click
⚡
Auto-updates
Order status and proof status update in commonsku instantly
🚀
Next step
Rep moves to production without a single follow-up email
Portal 2
The distributors who win the biggest accounts aren't just fulfilling orders. They're building a client experience that makes it easy to keep coming back.
The Client Portal operates at the account level rather than the order level. Share it with key clients to give them a consolidated view of everything happening across their account, including: all active projects, past orders, invoices, and order history.
For high-volume clients who place multiple orders a month, this is the difference between a professional partner experience and an inbox full of fragmented emails.
❌ Without the Client Portal
✅ With the Client Portal
Not every client needs a Client Portal, but your highest-volume accounts almost certainly do.
A good rule of thumb: if a client places more than four or five orders a year, or if they regularly email asking for invoice history or order status across multiple projects, the Client Portal turns a reactive relationship into a proactive one.
Pair it with the Management Dashboard's Clients with the No Recent Activity tile to identify accounts where proactive outreach (including sharing a Client Portal) could revive or deepen the relationship.
20+
hours saved per week
per commonsku user on order management
25%+
annual growth
reported by distributors using commonsku
40%
efficiency increase
in sales process through automation
1
link replaces it all
approvals, proofs, payments, status — one Portal
💡 Pro Tip
Introduce the Client Portal as part of your onboarding conversation with a new account. Positioning it as a dedicated client hub — rather than an afterthought — sets a professional tone from the first order and reduces status-check emails before they start. (See how it's done.)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Portals aren't a standalone feature: they're the client-facing layer of commonsku's connected workflow. Every action a client takes in a Portal connects directly to the rep's workflow. Approvals move orders forward. Proof actions update the Production Report. Payments update invoices. Shipping notifications push tracking data to the Portal automatically when a rep logs shipment details. This is what "From pitch to PO to payment, all in one place" means in practice, and the Portal is where clients experience that seamlessness directly.
The Connected Client Experience
From first presentation to final payment — Portals are the thread that ties it together.
📋
Presentation
Rep shares Portal link. Client reviews products and pricing.
✅
Approval
Client approves SO in Portal. Status updates automatically.
🖼️
Proofing
Proof shared in Portal. Client approves. Production moves forward.
📦
Shipping
Tracking auto-pushed to Portal when rep logs shipment.
💳
Payment
Client pays invoice in Portal. Record updates in commonsku instantly.
One link. One experience. Zero email chains. That's the commonsku Portal workflow.
Send a Project Portal link on your next active order. Open the project, generate the Portal link, and share it with your client. Tell them they can check status, approve, and pay directly there. Watch how many "where's my order?" emails don't come.
Identify your top three accounts for the Client Portal. Look at your highest-volume clients — the ones who email most frequently or have the most active orders. Share the Client Portal with them as a proactive upgrade to their experience.
Use Notify Shipping Changes on your next shipped order. When you add a tracking number to the PO Shipping tab and click Notify, your client gets an automatic update with the tracking info pushed directly to their Portal — no separate email needed.
Start sending Portal links at the presentation stage. Don't wait until the sales order is confirmed. Share the Portal when you send the initial presentation and let clients interact with their order from the very first touchpoint.
Have questions about your Portal setup? Reach out to your CSM or email support@commonsku.com.
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For commonsku users
Send your first Portal link today
Open any active project, generate the Portal link, and share it with your client.
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See the client experience in action
Watch how Portals, production, and the full workflow connect end to end.
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