This page is for you, not your clients. It stays in your master portal and is deleted from every client copy.
You keep one master portal set up with your business details. For each new client, you copy the master, add that client's links, and send them their own private portal. Plan for about 45 minutes the first time and 10 minutes per client after that. Free Google accounts work.
Steps 1 to 6 set up your master once. Steps 7 to 12 repeat for each new client. Click a step to open it.
Step-by-step guides with screenshots live in the Forms & Flows help center. Questions: ffsupport@caitpotter.com
Help center page. It shows a sample help center so you can see how one works inside a portal. Replace it with your own, or hide the page: how to set up the Help center page. Your help center can be built in Docssier, which turns your how-to steps into searchable guides with screenshots.
Each link saves your own copy to your Google Drive. Remove "Copy of" from each file name.
Copy the proposal form. Packages, client details, and an agreement your client signs online. It is already styled in Zinnia.
Copy the client tracker. Clients, packages, and payments in one Google Sheet.
Copy the document template. A Google Doc with your header, fonts, and heading styles set, for welcome packets, guides, and letters.
Packages. Edit each package and price, then update the choices in Select your package to match. Edit or delete Upgrades. Use the same names and prices on the Packages tab of your tracker.
Agreement. On the Your agreement page, replace each bracketed term with your contract wording. Keep the checkbox, signature, and date signed questions. Those are how your client signs. Have your wording reviewed by a legal professional.
Client copy. Settings, then Responses: set Collect email addresses to Responder input and Send responders a copy of their response to Always. Your client then gets an email copy of their signed agreement.
Look. Your form already uses the Zinnia header, pink, and Montserrat fonts. To use your own header image, click the palette icon, then Header, then Choose image.
Open the Your proposal page.
Click the embedded form, then the trash icon.
Insert, then Forms, and choose your copy of the form. Drag the bottom edge down until the whole first page of the form shows.
Your Book a call page links to a Google Calendar booking page, where clients pick a time that is open on your calendar.
Open Google Calendar on a computer. Click Create, then Appointment schedule.
Name it, for example Kickoff call, and set the length, such as 45 minutes.
Set your general availability: the days and hours clients can book.
Under Scheduling window, choose how far ahead clients can book and how much notice you need.
Under Booked appointment settings, add Google Meet video conferencing or your phone number, and add buffer time between calls if you like.
Under Booking form, add any question you want answered before the call.
Click Save. Then click Share, copy the booking page link, and paste it into the Book your call button on the Book a call page (click the button, then the pencil icon).
Some booking page features, such as email reminders and payments, need a paid Google Workspace plan. If you do not see an option, your booking page still works without it.
Your portal, form, and tracker use the Zinnia pink (#ED68B9), yellow (#EBC135), and the Montserrat font. Swap in your own brand in each place below. Use the same colors and fonts everywhere so your client sees one connected system.
Portal (this site)
Colors and fonts: Themes panel, then the three dots on Zinnia, then Edit. Under Colors, enter your brand colors. Under Text, choose a text style (Title, Heading, Normal text) and pick its font. Repeat for each style.
Header images: on each page, hover the banner and click Change image, then Upload. Use an image about 1600 by 400 pixels.
Logo and name: Add logo, top left, and type your business name in the site name.
Photos: click a photo, then the three dots, then Replace image. Replace Joy's sample text and photos on Home, Your proposal, Files, Payment, and Client guide.
Tinted bands: click a section, then the palette icon on its left, and choose a style.
Proposal form
Click the palette icon at the top of the form.
Text style: choose a font and size for Header, Question, and Text.
Header: click the image name, then Choose image, then Upload. Use an image about 1600 by 400 pixels.
Color: click + and enter your main brand color. Background: choose the lightest option.
Client tracker
Click any header cell in row 1 of a tab, then use Fill color and Text color in the toolbar. Repeat on each tab.
To change fonts, select all (Cmd or Ctrl + A) and choose a font from the font menu.
Rename this site file to "[Your Business] Portal Master" (click the name, top left). Do not publish the master. It is the template you copy for each client.
In Google Drive, right-click your Portal Master, then Make a copy. Name it "[Client name] Portal" and open it.
Work through this checklist in the client's copy. To change a button's link, click the button, then the pencil icon.
Your proposal: change "Hey there," to "Hey there, [Client name]," and add their project. For a proposal with their package already selected, open your form, then the three dots menu, then Get pre-filled link. Select their package, add their name, click Get link, then Copy link. Back on this page, delete the form and use Insert, then Embed, then By URL with that link.
Payment: link the Pay your retainer button to this client's invoice or payment link (Stripe, PayPal, Square, or your PayPal.me link). Update the payment schedule if theirs is different.
Book a call: the Book your call button already links to your booking page from Step 4. No change needed.
Files: link the Open your project folder button to this client's Google Drive folder. Create one folder per client, click Share, add only the client's email, and copy the folder link.
Home: the View your proposal button already goes to the Your proposal page. No change needed.
In the client's copy only: Pages panel, three dots next to Setup guide, then Delete.
Click Publish and choose a web address, for example yourbusiness-clientname. Turn search visibility off.
Choose who can view it. Private: click the share icon, under Published site choose Restricted, and add your client's email. They sign in with a Google account to view. Simpler: leave it viewable by anyone with the link. Only people you send the link to will find it.
An email you can use:
Hi [Client name],
Thank you for our call. Everything for your project is in one place here: [portal link]
Start with Your proposal. Choose your package, add your details, and sign the agreement. You will receive a copy by email, and the Payment and Book a call pages cover what comes next.
[Your name]
Their signed agreement is in your form's Responses tab, under Individual, with the signature, date, and Google's timestamp. To save a PDF, open the response, click the print icon, and save as PDF.
Add them on the Clients tab of your tracker with their package and total. Set Status to Booked and enter the Contract signed date.
Log each payment on the Payments tab using the client's name exactly as on the Clients tab. Paid and Balance calculate on their own.