portalui.com · back office, two doorsStart a portal

questions

The short answers.

Everything a studio asks before it starts, and most of what it asks the first week. The longer version — every screen, chapter by chapter, for the team and for clients — is the guide. Anything not here: hello@portalui.com.

01 — what it is

01What is Portal UI?

A back office for a design studio, with two doors. The team works at team.yourstudio.com. Clients see their projects, files and invoices at projects.yourstudio.com. One system, one price per studio.

02Who is it for?

Studios of one to fifteen people who do client work: design, brand, web, print, marketing. If you have clients, projects, hours and invoices, it fits.

03Do my clients need an account?

No. They get an email, click the link, and they're in. No password. They only see their own projects, files and invoices.

04Do clients cost anything?

No. Clients are unlimited and always free. You pay per studio, not per person.

05What's a module?

A part of the Portal you can switch off: time tracking, schedules, invoicing, proposals, bank statements, handbook, time off, payroll, brand styles, storefront, social, texting, studio tools. Off hides it everywhere. Nothing is deleted.

02 — plans and billing

06What's the difference between the plans?

Studio (up to 5 seats): projects, time, invoicing, proposals, brand files. Agency (up to 15): everything in Studio, plus the handbook, time off, pay stubs, bank statements and your own domains. Storefront: everything in Agency, plus inventory, products, orders and deliveries, with Studio Tools included. Extra seats are $15 a month each.

07What are Studio Tools?

The design desk: moodboards, a color tool with Pantone and Sherwin-Williams matches, business collateral, Marquee motion graphics, a carousel slicer and a font library. Your clients get moodboards, colors and the slicer on their side too. Included with Storefront; $59 a month on the other plans ($49 billed yearly).

08How does billing work?

One monthly or yearly charge per studio. Change or cancel your plan any time from the Account page; we confirm it in the thread there.

09Is there a setup fee?

Yes, once: $500 to $1,500, depending on how much there is to move in. We bring your clients, invoices and hours over with you. Have a code from us? There's a place for it on the form.

10How do I get paid?

Connect your Stripe account. Every invoice gets a pay button for card or bank transfer. A client can also say a check is coming, which pauses reminders.

11What about my existing invoices and hours?

Bring a CSV from Wave, QuickBooks or a spreadsheet. The ledger picks up where it left off, numbers and all.

03 — setting up

12How do I start?

Fill in the form on the home page. We set up your portal with you: name, logo, colors, the modules you'll use. Then we send you a sign-in link. Most studios are in within a day.

13Can I use my own domain?

Yes. Point team.yourstudio.com and projects.yourstudio.com at us and both doors carry your name. Your portalui.com address keeps working too.

14What roles are there?

Manager, HR admin, payroll admin, print manager, social manager, and an accountant's door for an outside bookkeeper. Roles stack. Each person sees what their job needs and nothing else.

15Why do I have to wait for a person?

Because we'd rather set each studio up properly than hand everyone the same empty screen. You'll talk to the people who built it.

04 — your data

16Where do the files live?

In your portal's own storage, private to your studio. Anything you share out goes by a signed link. Large brand files and artwork are fine.

17Is my data separate from other studios'?

Yes. Each studio has its own database and its own storage. Nothing is pooled. Close your portal and both go with it.

18How do sign-ins work without passwords?

Every sign-in is an email link. It lasts 30 minutes and works once. There's no password to leak, and every sign-in is on the audit trail.

19Can I get my data out?

Yes. Ask and we'll send a full export: clients, projects, hours and invoices as spreadsheets, files as they are.

next

Ready? Start a portal — or read what’s in each plan on pricing.