Enable the client portal

The client portal gives your clients their own Barkway space to view bookings, send booking requests, manage pets, view invoices and documents, and update their profile. What they can do depends on your portal and service settings.

Before you share it

Check these first:

• Portal is enabled in Settings → Portal.
• Business details and branding are set up.
• Client email addresses are saved correctly on client records.
• Services you want clients to request are marked Available for client booking requests.
• Opening hours and groomer availability are configured if booking requests are enabled.
• You have a test client ready so you can test the flow yourself first.

Step 1: Turn the portal on

1. Go to Settings.
2. Open the Portal section.
3. Turn on Enable client portal globally.
4. Save.

When disabled, clients are blocked from using portal pages.

Step 2: Control access per client

From the client area you can turn off portal access for a single client, or revoke their active sessions (for example after account changes). Revoking signs that client out and forces a fresh login.

Step 3: Choose which services clients can request

Enabling the portal alone isn't enough — you also choose which services appear in client booking requests:

1. Go to Services and open a service to edit it.
2. In Client Booking Requests, turn on Available for client booking requests.
3. Save.

Clients must select exactly one core service, then can add optional add-ons. For standalone extras (nail clips on their own), set up a suitable core option like Other — see Set up your services and pricing.

Step 4: Understand booking requests

Client booking requests are requests, not confirmed bookings. The client chooses services and a preferred slot, then submits. Your team still reviews it and accepts or rejects it.

• Accepted requests become bookings.
• Rejected requests don't create a booking.

See Review booking requests.

Step 5: Share your portal link

Your portal URL is your workspace URL plus /portal/:

• Workspace: https://yourbusiness.barkway.app
• Client portal: https://yourbusiness.barkway.app/portal/

Clients sign in with an email magic link — no password. Saving a client's email does not automatically send an invite; the sign-in email is sent when the client submits their email on the portal login screen.

Test before you share

1. Create a test client using an email address you can access.
2. Add a test pet and enable at least one service for client booking requests.
3. Open your portal URL in a private/incognito window and request a sign-in link.
4. Check the branding and visible data (bookings, invoices, documents, pets).
5. Submit a test booking request, then confirm it appears in Bookings → Requests.
6. Clean up test data afterwards if needed.

Troubleshooting

• Client can't sign in — check the email exactly matches their client record, and ask them to check spam or request a fresh link.
• Client can't see booking options — check Allow clients to request bookings in Settings → Portal, that services are marked client-bookable, and that opening hours/groomer availability are set.
• Branding looks wrong — recheck business and branding settings. Use Background as a light/dark off-tone, and Primary/Highlight for your main brand colour.
• Portal link doesn't work — check the subdomain is correct, the link includes /portal/, and the portal is enabled.

What clients see

See What clients see for the full picture of the client experience.