---
title: How To Use And Share The Customer Portal
description: Share the Exterio customer portal with a homeowner and choose which project photos they see. Covers appointments, invoices, proposals, and portal access.
---
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1. [Exterio Help Center](https://www.getexterio.com/help?hsLang=en)
2. [How To](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en)
3. [Customer Portal](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#customer-portal)
# How To Use And Share The Customer Portal
The customer portal gives a homeowner one place to see everything about their job — upcoming appointments, invoices, photos you've shared, and proposals to review and sign. It's branded to your company, and it exists to cut down the back-and-forth calls asking when you're coming and what's happening next.
### When would I use it?
- A homeowner keeps calling to ask about the schedule
- You want a customer to see documented damage without emailing photo attachments
- An invoice needs paying and you want a link they can act on
- A proposal is out and you want them reviewing and signing in one place
### Where do I find the customer portal link?
The portal is tied to each **contact** in your CRM.
1. Open the contact card — from the Contacts page, the project page, or anywhere you can access it.
2. Find the **Customer Portal** link.
You can open it directly or copy it.
### How do I share the portal with a customer?
Three ways:
- **Email** the link
- **Text** the link
- **Send it automatically** — include it in an automated email sequence that goes out once a project reaches a certain stage, set up through workflows
### What does the customer see?
A branded experience carrying your company's brand and information, welcoming the homeowner to their portal.
If the contact has more than one project with you, they select the project from a **dropdown**, and everything below — events, invoices, photos, and proposals — reflects the project they've selected.
The **Overview** page shows counts of:
- Upcoming events
- Outstanding invoices
- Photos shared
- Active proposals
From there they can open each section:
| Section | What they can do |
| --- | --- |
| **Appointments** | See upcoming and past appointments, and add them to Google, Outlook, or Yahoo Calendar — or download the .ics file |
| **Invoices** | View and pay outstanding invoices |
| **Photos** | View the photos you've shared, zoom in, and read your descriptions |
| **Proposals** | Review and sign proposals you've sent |
### How do I choose which photos the customer sees?
Photos are shared per project, and nothing is shared automatically.
**To see what's already shared:** go to the project's **Photos** tab. Photos currently in the portal carry a **purple portal chip** in the bottom right corner.
**To share photos:**
1. Select the photos.
2. Click the **purple globe icon**.
**To remove photos:**
1. Select the photos.
2. Choose **Remove Selected from Portal**.
Those photos no longer appear in the customer's portal.
### Is the portal link private?
No. **Anyone with the link can open the portal** — there's no login or password.
Treat it like a shareable link. A homeowner may forward it to a spouse, an adjuster, a family member, or anyone else. Only put things in the portal you'd be comfortable with any of them seeing, and be deliberate about which photos you share.
### Tips and gotchas
- **Nothing is shared until you share it.** Photos default to internal. This is deliberate — your crew shoots plenty of images that shouldn't go to a homeowner. But it also means an empty photo section is on you, not the software.
- **Share marked-up photos, not raw ones.** A circled, labeled photo of damaged flashing explains itself. An unedited shot of a roof means nothing to someone who's never been on one. See *How to Edit a Photo — Markup and Cropping*.
- **Check the portal chip before you tell a customer to look.** Nothing undercuts the "everything's in your portal" message faster than a homeowner opening it and finding nothing there.
- **Remember the link covers every project for that contact.** The dropdown gives the customer access to all their jobs with you, not just the one you're discussing. For a property owner or repeat customer, make sure everything reachable through that dropdown is something you'd want them looking at.
- **Send the link early, then automate it.** Sharing it manually works. Building it into a workflow at a stage change means every customer gets it, every time, without anyone remembering to.
- **Use it for invoices, not just updates.** The invoice section lets customers pay from the portal. A link is a faster path to payment than a phone call about a check.
- [How To](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Contacts](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#contacts)
- [Tasks](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#tasks)
- [Communication](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#communication)
- [Projects](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#projects)
- [Photos and Documentation](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#photos-and-documentation)
- [Estimates](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#estimates)
- [Inspection Reports](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#inspection-reports)
- [Workflows](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#workflows)
- [Customer Portal](https://www.getexterio.com/help/how-to?hsLang=en#customer-portal)
- [Overview](https://www.getexterio.com/help/overview?hsLang=en)
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