Ever wished you could see the Client Portal exactly the way a specific client sees it? With View as Client, you can. Launch a read-only preview of any contact's portal directly from their client profile, verify what they see, and exit right back to where you were. No client login, no test accounts, no guesswork.
This is especially useful before you introduce a client to the portal, when a client says they cannot find a document or task, or when you want to double-check what is visible after changing sharing settings.
Launch a View as Client session
Open the client's profile and find the Contacts card.
Click the eye icon next to the contact you want to preview the portal for. Hovering over it shows View client portal as this contact.
The portal opens in a new browser tab as a read-only session showing exactly what that contact sees.
ℹ️Heads up! If the eye icon appears grayed out with a line through it, nothing has been shared with that contact yet, so there is no portal content to preview. The preview is also scoped to your own firm-side permissions: you will only ever see portal content you are already allowed to access in Financial Cents.
What you can do in the read-only session
A banner across the top of the portal confirms whose view you are in: Viewing the client [Client] as [Contact], with a Read only label. From there you can browse what the contact sees across the portal sections:
Requests: open and completed client tasks assigned to them
Documents: files and folders shared with them
Transactions: client transaction records, if the client has any (visible only if your account has the Manage Transactions permission)
Billing: invoices and payment pages visible to them (visible only if your account has the Manage Billing and Invoicing permission)
Settings: their portal settings
Chat is not available during a View as Client session. The Chat section appears in the sidebar but is disabled, and no messages are accessible. This is by design to prevent confusion between firm-sent and client-sent messages.
Because the session is read-only, you cannot complete tasks, upload files, or submit anything on the client's behalf. Think of it as a window, not a login.
Exit the session
When you are done, click Exit View in the banner at the top of the portal. Your original Financial Cents tab stays exactly where you left it, so you can pick your work back up without retracing your steps.
When to use View as Client
Before the portal introduction. Verify the portal looks right before you send a client their first invite. For tips on rolling out the portal, see How to introduce your clients to the Financial Cents Client Portal.
Troubleshooting access questions. When a client says they cannot see a task or file, preview their portal first. It is faster than a screen share, and you will know immediately whether it is a sharing issue. For deeper issues, see Troubleshoot Client Portal Issues.
After changing sharing settings. Confirm a newly shared folder or task actually shows up for the right contact.
ℹ️Heads up! If you do not see the eye icon on client profiles at all, your account does not have the View as Clients permission. Ask an admin to enable it for your role under Team > User Permissions (Roles and Permissions page).
Need more help? Click the chat bubble in the bottom right corner of your screen to connect with our support team.