Client Portal for Creative Agencies
Structured brief intake forms, revision rounds with a sign-off record, and full white-label on your domain, working alongside a multi-format review tool for pixel and frame-level feedback.
No credit card required · Cancel anytime · Free migration help
4.8/5★★★★★rating on G2By Sharifur Rahman, Founder of Taskip · Last updated September 27, 2026
What Creative Agencies Actually Need From a Client Portal
Taskip is best for creative agencies that want briefs, proposals, client comms, projects and invoicing in one tool, flat from $12/mo, the same setup 1,600+ agencies in 40+ countries run on, with agencies on it seeing a 25% increase in on-time deliverables and saving 7 hours a week on admin. It works alongside a multi-format review tool for pixel and frame-level feedback, not instead of them. Projects stall for reasons that have nothing to do with the work itself: a brief buried in an inbox, a revision round nobody agreed to, or an invoice sent weeks after delivery. Taskip keeps an approval trail on every brief and revision round, and runs the proposal, the project board, and the invoice in one place your client can actually log into, with a single magic link and no password to create or remember.
What is a client portal for creative agencies?
A client portal for creative agencies is a branded workspace where each client follows their project from brief to final delivery, whatever the discipline: branding, video, illustration, campaigns, or copy. They see project status, leave feedback tied to a revision round, approve the final work, and pay invoices, alongside a multi-format review tool for pixel and frame-level markup on the deliverable itself. Taskip runs the relationship and the record, not the pinned comment, in one workspace instead of email threads, spreadsheets, and a separate invoicing tool.
Built Around How Creative Projects Actually Run
Five stages, one workspace, and a client who can see exactly where their project stands without a status-update email.
- 01
Brief
The client brief lands with scope, references, and deadline, logged before creative work starts.
- 02
Concept
Initial concepts and a proposal go out for direction sign-off before full production begins.
- 03
Production
The team builds the deliverable, whatever the medium, on a board the client can watch.
- 04
Client Review
Feedback goes out for review and approval, tied to the revision round it belongs to.
- 05
Delivered
Final files ship and the invoice goes out referencing exactly what was approved.
What to Look For in a Client Portal for Creative Agencies
Most portal tools look identical on a feature list. These are the nine things that actually decide whether it survives contact with a real creative project, whichever tool you end up choosing.
Structured intake, not a blank inbox
A brief that only says "make it pop" turns into four rounds of guesswork. Structured intake forms that capture scope, references, and goals before work starts cut revision rounds meaningfully, agency benchmarks put it at roughly four rounds down to under two.
Source: Ziflow, Creative Intake Forms GuideIt does not assume a single deliverable type
A creative agency ships branding one month and a video campaign the next. A portal built only around one file type, mockups or documents, forces the rest of your work into the wrong shape.
Access without another password
Every extra login step costs you adoption. Look for magic-link or single-click access rather than forcing clients to create and remember an account.
Source: Baymard Institute, password requirements researchProposals and contracts before the brief starts
Agencies live or die on how fast a signed proposal turns into a kickoff date. A portal that cannot send a contract just adds a second tool to the process.
Invoicing tied to the project it belongs to
If billing lives in a separate tool from the approval record, disputes over what was delivered turn into disputes over what was paid for.
A CRM view across every client, not just one project
You need to see which clients are up for a new project, which are at risk, and what every open proposal promised, not just the status of the project in front of you.
Real white-label, not a logo slot
Check whether you get a custom domain, not just a logo upload. Clients noticing another company name on "your" portal undercuts the premium you are charging.
Pricing that does not punish growth
Per-seat pricing scales with your team. For an agency running strategists, designers, and producers through the same tool, a flat rate is usually cheaper by the third or fourth hire.
It stays current without manual updating
A portal you have to remember to update becomes a portal showing three-week-old status. It has to be where the project actually lives, not a mirror of it.
Do You Need a Full Client Portal, or Just a Review Tool?
For a creative agency the honest starting question is not build versus buy, it is whether a multi-format review tool already covers what you need. Here is the real range of options.
A shared Drive or Dropbox folder
- Best for
- One or two clients, and you are comfortable tracking approvals in a spreadsheet or by memory.
- Cost
- Free.
- Tradeoff
- No version history tied to feedback, no client login beyond a shared link, and no record of which round was actually approved. "Final_v3_REAL_FINAL" is not an approval trail.
A guest seat in your project tool
- Best for
- You already pay for ClickUp, Monday, or Airtable and just want the client to see project status alongside a separate review tool.
- Cost
- Often free. Guest or viewer seats are usually included or a low-cost add-on to a plan you already have.
- Tradeoff
- The client sees your internal tool, not your brand, and there is no invoicing, proposals, or e-signature built in. One wrong permission turns a guest into someone who can edit your board.
A Notion project hub
- Best for
- A handful of clients, and you are comfortable updating a shared page by hand between review rounds.
- Cost
- Free if you build it yourself, or $19 to $49 for a one-time template.
- Tradeoff
- There is no real client login, no built-in invoicing or e-signature, and every status update is one you type in by hand, which drifts stale the same way a spreadsheet does.
A dedicated review tool alone
- Best for
- Agencies whose main client-facing deliverable genuinely is markup across video, images, and documents, and everything else happens over email.
- Cost
- Roughly $12 to $350 a month depending on the tool and team size.
- Tradeoff
- It is built for one job. Proposals, contracts, account status, and invoicing all live somewhere else, which puts you back into the fragmented stack you were trying to avoid.
An off-the-shelf portal, paired with a review tool
- Best for
- A growing roster of clients across multiple disciplines where briefs, proposals, project visibility, and invoicing all need one home.
- Cost
- Roughly $12 to $200 a month depending on the tool and whether it charges per seat.
- Tradeoff
- A recurring cost and someone else's roadmap, plus you are still paying for a review tool separately for pixel and frame-level feedback. In exchange, security patching, uptime, and everything around the project stop being your problem.
A custom-built portal
- Best for
- Larger agencies with in-house developers and requirements no off-the-shelf tool covers.
- Cost
- Commonly quoted around $20,000 and up, with two to four months before first use.
- Tradeoff
- You now maintain an internal product forever, and every hour spent on it is an hour not billed to a client. Agencies routinely underestimate the second year, not the build.
The short answer
Rough rule: if the only thing your client ever does is mark up a file, a dedicated review tool alone is enough, and a full portal is overhead. Once proposals, client visibility across disciplines, or invoicing become real friction, pair a dedicated portal with whatever review tool already handles pixel and frame-level feedback, rather than trying to make either tool do both jobs.
How the Main Options Compare
Taskip is not a multi-format review tool, and pretending otherwise wastes your time. Agencies running Taskip report a 25% increase in on-time deliverables and 7 hours saved weekly on admin, here is where each option genuinely fits, and what it is missing.
| Option | Best for | Pricing model | White-label | Invoicing built in | Multi-format review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taskip | Creative agencies that want briefs, proposals, client comms, projects and invoicing in one tool, flat from $12/mo | Flat, from $12/mo | Yes, custom domain | Yes | No, clients review the file in a dedicated tool, you approve the round in Taskip |
| Filestage | Agencies running standardized review across video, images, and documents at scale | Flat tiers, from roughly $215/mo | Not publicly confirmed | No | Yes, this is its core |
| SuperOkay | Boutique studios wanting the portal itself to look designed, with embedded Figma | Flat tiers, from $9/mo | Yes, on paid tiers | No | Partial, via embeds |
| SuiteDash | Deep white-label and automation, at the cost of a steeper setup | Flat tiers | Yes, extensive | Yes | No |
| Assembly (formerly Copilot) | Productized services wanting a very polished client experience | Per user, per month | Yes | Yes | No |
| ManyRequests | Productized agencies wanting design annotations and billing bundled | Flat tiers, from $99/mo | Full white-label only on the $399/mo Pro tier | Yes | Yes, from the $149/mo Core tier up |
| A shared Drive folder | One or two clients, comfortable tracking approvals by hand | Free | No | No | No, and no version history either |
Pricing models reflect what each vendor listed publicly at the time of writing, and tiers change, so check current pricing before deciding. Most agencies that need both a portal and multi-format review end up running one of each rather than choosing between them.
Why Client Portals Fail at Creative Agencies
The common objection is "my client just marks up the file, that is all they need," and it is usually half right. Four reasons portals actually fail here, and what fixes each.
It forces every deliverable into the same file type
FixDo not try to force pixel or frame-level markup into a general portal. Keep pinned feedback in a dedicated review tool that handles whatever format the deliverable actually is, and use the portal for the round-level approval record and everything around it.
It was designed for the team, not the client
FixThe client view should answer three questions: what stage is my project at, what do you need from me, and what am I being asked to approve. Keep production-level detail on your side of the wall.
The status is stale, so nobody trusts it
FixThe portal has to be where the project actually lives. If it is a mirror you update manually, it will drift within two weeks and clients will go back to emailing you.
There is no recurring reason to come back
FixGive it a repeating action: an invoice to pay, a proposal to approve, a new brief to review. Portals that are only file storage get opened once and abandoned.
How Taskip Works for Creative Agencies
Turn Briefs Into Signed Projects
Control your entire sales process from first brief to signed contract.
- Custom pipeline stages from brief to signed project
- Drag-and-drop deal management with project value
- Proposals and contracts sent from the same workspace
- Automated follow-up tasks and reminders
Client Feedback in One Thread
Every conversation about a project lives on one project thread, not scattered across email and Slack.
- One thread per client project, not per channel
- Feedback and approvals timestamped and tied to the round
- Internal team discussion stays separate from client-facing threads
Projects Your Client Can Actually See
Client-visible progress in a fully white-labeled portal, without exposing your internal production board.
- Kanban board per client, built for their eyes, not your team's
- Brief, concept, production, and review stages the client can follow
- Files, brand assets, and deliverables filed against the right project, whatever the format
Invoicing Tied to the Work
The part of an agency that compounds: billing that runs on its own.
- Invoices tied to the project and the round that triggered them
- Automated reminders so payments never sit unanswered
- Clients pay by card or PayPal without leaving the portal
How Client Sign-Off Works in Taskip
Most disputes with a creative client are about what was approved, not what was delivered. Taskip keeps the record of what was proposed, what was approved, and what it cost.
- Step 1
Propose
Scope and pricing go out as a signable proposal from the portal the client will use for the whole project.
- Step 2
Brief
Intake forms collect the brief, references, and brand assets before production starts.
- Step 3
Review
Client feedback on deliverables lands on one project thread, timestamped, with your replies in the same place.
- Step 4
Approve
Each round is marked approved, which closes it and opens the next.
- Step 5
Invoice
The invoice goes out referencing the round or milestone it was triggered by.
To be clear about what this is: Taskip holds the proposal, the thread, the approvals, and the invoice tied to them. It does not render pixel or frame-level markup on the deliverable itself the way a dedicated review tool does. Agencies pair Taskip with one of those for that, and keep the relationship, the approvals, and the billing here.
7h
saved per week by cutting down on admin work
85%
of agencies see smoother teamwork and faster execution
25%
increase in on-time client deliverables
$12/mo
flat starting price, not billed per client
Everything Creative Agencies Need in One Platform
White-Label the Whole Experience
- Your logo, your colors, your custom domain
- No Taskip branding anywhere the client can see
- Clients log into your agency, not into someone else's software
Client Intake Without the Back and Forth
- Forms for briefs, references, and brand assets
- Collect everything before production starts, not mid-project
- Everything filed against the right client automatically
Proposals and Contracts Before Kickoff
- Send a proposal, convert it to an invoice when accepted
- E-signature contracts and deposit invoices in one step
- Scope changes mid-project become a new quote with its own paper trail
One Workspace for the Whole Team
- Role-based permissions for strategists, designers, and producers
- Internal discussion separate from client-facing threads
- Time tracking per client when you bill hourly or against a retainer
Creative Agencies Love Taskip
“Unlike many apps that "ship and forget," this team possesses a relentless improvement mindset. Responses are fast, and they turn user suggestions into reality.”
Karlo R.
WordPress Developer & Marketing Consultant
“The interface is clean and intuitive, task management feels smooth and straightforward, and the collaboration features work flawlessly.”
Aminul I.
CEO, Small Business
“Moving under one roof from managing multiple tools is life-saving for me. I am using this for my agency and my team can also contribute and help me to manage business and clients.”
Abdur Rahman
Founder, QuomodoSoft
Taskip Features for Creative Agencies
FAQs: Taskip for Creative Agencies
What is a client portal for a creative agency?
A client portal for creative agencies is a branded workspace where each client follows their project from brief to final delivery, whatever the discipline. They see project status, review and approve revision rounds, sign proposals, and pay invoices, alongside a multi-format review tool for pixel and frame-level markup. For the agency, it replaces the mix of email, spreadsheets, chat apps, and a separate invoicing tool most projects get managed with.
Is a client portal the same as a review tool?
No, and a tool that claims to be both is usually thin on one of them. A review tool like Filestage shows pixel and frame-level markup across video, images, and documents. A client portal is the workspace for everything around the work: proposals, briefs, project status, and invoicing. Most agencies that need both run one of each rather than one tool trying to do both jobs.
What should a creative agency client portal include?
Six things, at minimum: a proposal and contract flow before the brief starts, intake forms for the brief and brand assets, client-visible project status, a record of approved revision rounds, invoicing tied to the project, and support requests for ad-hoc work. Taskip covers all six, and pairs with a dedicated review tool for pixel and frame-level feedback.
Can I white-label the portal with my own domain?
Yes. The client portal runs on your custom domain with your logo and colors, and no Taskip branding is visible to clients. From your client's point of view they are logging into your agency.
How does invoicing work across multiple projects?
Each invoice ties back to the project and the round that triggered it, so a client asking "what is this charge for" gets an answer instead of a guess. Ad-hoc requests come in as support tickets instead of a separate email thread, and recurring retainer work bills automatically on schedule.
How much does a client portal for creative agencies cost?
From $12/mo, flat, not priced per client. A client portal for creative agencies generally runs from around $12 to $200 a month, separate from whatever you already pay for file review. The bigger variable is the pricing model: flat-rate tools charge the same whether you have three clients or thirty, while per-seat tools multiply as your team grows. Taskip covers the portal, projects, CRM, quotes, invoicing, forms, e-signatures, and support tickets, which is work that otherwise needs 8+ tools.
Should I just use a review tool instead of a full portal?
If the only thing your client ever does is mark up a file, yes, a dedicated review tool alone is enough, and a full portal is overhead. Once proposals, client visibility across projects, or invoicing start creating real friction, that is the point to add a dedicated portal alongside the review tool, not instead of it.
Will my clients actually log in and use it?
Only if you remove the friction. Portals fail for four predictable reasons: they try to duplicate what a review tool already does, they expose your internal production board instead of client decisions, the status goes stale because someone has to update it by hand, and there is no recurring reason to return. Fix those and adoption follows.
Does this work across branding, video, and campaign work in the same portal?
Yes, because the portal tracks the project and the approval, not the file format. A branding project, a video campaign, and a print run all move through the same brief, review, approve, and invoice stages, whichever dedicated tool handles the actual file markup.
Is there a free client portal for creative agencies?
There are free tiers and free review tools for one or two clients, and they can be enough at that scale. The usual limits on the portal side are no white-labeling, no invoicing, caps on clients, and no approval record, which is the piece that matters most when a project scope gets disputed. If you are running several concurrent projects, the cost of a paid portal is typically less than one unbilled hour a month spent chasing approvals across email.