CLIENT PORTAL FOR BOOKKEEPING FIRMS · UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
Client Management Portal for Bookkeeping Firms, Close the Month Without Chasing
Clientish is a white-label client portal for bookkeeping firms that puts month-end documents, transaction questions, fixed monthly fees and invoices in one place, from $29 a month with five users, and sends your invoices to QuickBooks Online or Xero. Month-end rarely runs late because of the bookkeeping. It runs late waiting for a bank statement, a pile of receipts in someone’s phone and an answer about a transfer. Clientish collects every document in the client’s portal, shows which closes are waiting on whom, and bills your fixed monthly fee automatically.
Sound Familiar?
Four things bookkeeping clients say at month-end, and how the client portal answers each one before the close slips.
From Documents to Closed Books
Every stage of a monthly close, from statements and receipts to reconciling, transaction questions, reports and the next month, in one client portal for every client.
- 01
Documents
Uploaded in the portal
- 02
Reconcile
Bank and card
- 03
Questions
Answered on the order
- 04
Reports
P&L and balance sheet
- 05
Close
Month delivered
- 06
Next Month
Billed and started again
MONTH-END DOCUMENTS
Every Document in One Place
Receipts in phone photos, statements in email and bills in a supplier portal make document collection the hardest part of the job. Attach a month-end documents form to your bookkeeping service with the intake form: the bank statement, card statement, receipts, supplier bills and anything new this month. The client uploads from their portal, and the files stay on that month’s order.
WHAT IS HOLDING UP THE CLOSE
See Which Closes Are Waiting, and on Whom
A close stalls on one missing statement or an owner who hasn’t approved payroll. Add your own steps, such as Documents, Reconcile and Waiting on client, and every client’s month-end shows where it is and how long it has been waiting, in your dashboard and in the client’s portal.
QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER
Ask About Transactions Where the Books Are
Questions about uncategorised transactions get lost in long email threads. Ask them on the month’s order: the client answers in their client portal with the receipt attached, and your team keeps private notes the client never sees.
FIXED MONTHLY FEES
Price by Volume, Not by Favour
Bookkeeping grows one small favour at a time while the fee stays the same. Sell monthly plans from your service catalog by transaction volume, such as Starter, Growth and Plus, and price catch-up months, payroll and a year-end pack as add-ons.
A NEW CLOSE EVERY MONTH
Every Month Starts on Its Own
Bookkeeping is the same job every month. Make it a recurring service that bills the client and creates a new order for every paid month, so each month-end close has its own documents, questions, tasks and reports.
MONTH-END CHECKLIST
The Same Checklist for Every Close
Reconciling, categorising, payroll review and reports happen every month, and a step skipped once shows up at year-end. Save your month-end checklist as a task template, and every new close gets its tasks, due dates and bookkeeper automatically.
SAFE ONBOARDING
Never Ask for Passwords by Email
Logins and statements sent as email attachments are easy to leak. New clients fill in an onboarding form in their portal with business details, what they use for their books and their logins in hidden fields that only your team sees.
Services Bookkeeping Firms Sell With Clientish
How monthly bookkeeping, catch-up work, payroll and year-end packs are priced by volume and ordered by clients from your portal.
Set It Up in 4 Steps
Add your monthly plans, onboarding form and month-end checklist once. Most bookkeeping firms are ready to invite clients the same afternoon.
How Clientish Compares for Bookkeeping Firms
Cheapest-plan prices and features of TaxDome, Karbon, Canopy, SuiteDash and Clientjoy next to Clientish, side by side.
| CClientish | TTaxDome | KKarbon | CCanopy | SSuiteDash | CClientjoy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | $29/mo5 users included | $800/yrper seat, solo only | $59/user/mobilled yearly | $74/user/mobilled yearly | $19/mo$180 yearly | $49/mo$44 yearly |
| Users | 5 | 1 on Essentials | Paid per user | Paid per user | Unlimited staff | 5 |
| Own domain | Yes | From Pro$1,000/yr per seat | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | From Premium$99/mo |
| Engagement letters with e-signature | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | From Thrive$49/mo | Yes |
| Client invoicing | Yes, QuickBooks & Xero | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Workflow automations | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | From Pinnacle$99/mo | From Premium |
You also prepare tax returns and want IRS transcripts and ledger connections from the Pro plan.
You run a team of four or more and want work templates and scheduled jobs at the centre of the firm.
You want tax workflow or tax resolution add-ons sold next to the portal.
You want unlimited staff on the cheapest plan.
Proposals, contracts and a sales pipeline matter more to you than the portal, which starts on its Premium plan.
Cheapest-plan facts from each vendor’s own pricing page on 8 October 2026. “Not listed” means their pricing page does not mention it. Check their pages for the latest.
Bookkeeping Firm FAQ
Straight answers on month-end documents, transaction questions, fixed fees, per-user pricing, QuickBooks and Xero, and client logins.
What is a client portal for bookkeeping firms?
A secure place each client logs in to at month-end instead of emailing statements and photos of receipts. They upload documents, answer your questions about transactions and pay your fee in one spot, and you see which closes are stuck. Clientish runs that portal for your firm from $29 a month.
Is Clientish priced per user?
No. The $29 plan already includes five users, so a small firm pays the same whether one or five people work the closes. Practice tools built for accountants usually charge each seat separately.
Is there a mobile app for my clients?
The portal installs on a client’s phone straight from the browser, so they can photograph a receipt and upload it to the month’s order without a separate app store download.
How do clients send bank statements and receipts?
They upload them to a documents form in their client portal, and the files stay on that month’s order instead of in your inbox.
How do I see which clients are holding up month-end?
Add steps such as Documents and Waiting on client. Every client’s close shows its step and how long it has been waiting.
Where do I ask clients about transactions?
On that month’s order, one question per line item: what the $1,200 transfer was, which card the Amazon charge belongs to. The client replies from the portal with the receipt attached, while your bookkeepers keep their own notes on the same order out of the client’s view.
Can I charge a fixed monthly fee?
Yes. Price monthly bookkeeping by transaction volume, for example up to 100, 300 or 600 transactions, and the fee is charged automatically each month. Every paid month opens its own close, so March’s documents never mix with April’s.
Can I sell catch-up bookkeeping and payroll?
Yes. Catch-up work can be its own service priced per month behind, and payroll an add-on priced by headcount. A new client who is six months behind buys the catch-up with their first plan, so the backlog is paid for before you open it.
How do clients share logins safely?
The onboarding form asks for bank, payroll and accounting-software logins in hidden fields. Only your bookkeepers can see them, instead of them sitting in an email thread anyone can forward.
Does Clientish connect to QuickBooks or Xero?
Yes, for your own billing. Connect QuickBooks Online or Xero and the invoices your firm sends clients are posted there, so your fees match your books. Your clients’ own ledgers stay in their accounting software; Clientish does not read bank feeds or categorise their transactions.
Is the portal branded as my firm?
It is your firm’s portal, not ours. Clients reach it at an address you own, such as clients.yourfirm.com, and meet your name and colours on every month-end request and fee invoice. The one trace of us is a small Powered by Clientish line on Starter and Growth; Pro and Enterprise remove it.
Close every month without the chase
Collect statements and receipts in the portal, ask about transactions on the month’s order, bill a fixed fee and send your invoices to QuickBooks or Xero. Try it with example data first.
- A month-end form for statements and receipts
- Your questions about transactions in one thread
- A fixed monthly fee billed automatically
- Logins shared in hidden fields, not email
- The portal on their phone for receipt photos
- Your firm’s name on every page