A document sharing portal is a door with a log. Clients push files in through it instead of emailing them, the firm sends documents back through it instead of attaching them, and both directions are recorded against the client: who sent what, when, and whether it was received. That log is the whole point; a portal that receives uploads into an inbox has moved the email problem into a web page. For a small firm the portal also carries the firm's name, so the client is handing a file to the firm they know rather than to a software company. The free document capture worksheet on this site sizes the yearly intake the portal will carry; Batesio Pro is the portal.
Files in: the upload under the firm's name
A client asked for their year-end papers lands on a page that says the firm's name, takes the files, confirms receipt and files each against the client and the matter. The confirmation is the client's proof and the log is the firm's; both are what email lacks.
Files out: the same door, the same record
Engagement letters, drafts for approval and finished documents go to the client through the portal, so the sent copy sits in the same record as the files that came in. When the client leaves or a regulator asks, the whole history exports as one thread rather than a mailbox search across four people.
What it should cost a small firm
Dropbox, cited below, prices its Standard team plan at $15 per user per month for 1 person or more and its Advanced plan at $24 per user per month for 3 people or more, so a general drive climbs with every hire before it has a portal at all. Batesio Pro is $19 per month for the whole firm, and the free worksheet stays free whether or not anyone subscribes.
Questions people ask about document sharing portal
Is a document sharing portal the same as a shared folder?
No. A shared folder holds files; a portal logs who sent and received each one, confirms receipt, and files the document against the client on arrival.
Do clients need an account to use the portal?
They should be able to upload from a link the firm sends without creating anything; the firm keeps the account. That is how Batesio Pro's portal works.
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a