How to set up a client portal for your video production studio
A client portal is the single workspace clients log into to see their video projects, leave feedback, approve cuts, and download finals. Here's how to set one up for your studio, what to put in it, and which mistakes to avoid.
Most video studios discover the need for a client portal the same way: a client asks for the final cut they signed off on six months ago, the Dropbox folder you sent them has expired, and now you're hunting through three external drives trying to find the file. A client portal solves this by giving every client one workspace where their videos, deliverables, and invoices live for as long as the project exists.
This guide walks through what to put in a video production client portal, how to set one up, and the four mistakes most studios make their first time.
What goes in a client portal
A client portal for video production has six core surfaces. Some clients see all of them, others see a subset depending on what they're paying for.
- Video review. Timestamped comments anchored to the exact frame of a cut. Reviewers leave feedback without creating an account.
- Deliverables. Final cuts, social cuts, captions, raw exports. Downloadable per file or as a project zip.
- Quotes. The pre-engagement document the client approved.
- Invoices. Billing for the work.
- Asset library. Per-client brand kit, brief, reference videos, contracts.
- Project context. A simple page or dashboard showing what's active, what's done, what's pending review.
Studios that try to assemble this from separate tools usually end up with three to five subscriptions and a stitching problem. A purpose-built portal handles all six.
The four-step setup
- Brand the portal. Upload your logo, pick your brand colour, set your studio name. Your clients should see your brand in the header, not the platform's.
- Create a company per client. Each client (a brand, a couple, a small business) is a "company" record. All their projects live under that company.
- Set up roles. The client gets a "client manager" role (full access to their work) and optional "client user" roles for reviewers. Your team gets internal roles (producer, editor, accounts).
- Invite the client. They get an email with a link to their portal. They click, log in, and see their projects. No training needed.
Four mistakes to avoid
From talking to studios that switched from cobbled-together stacks, the same mistakes come up.
- Generic portal tool, no video review. HoneyBook and Dubsado are built for service businesses with contracts and PDFs. They don't handle video. You'll end up running them plus Frame.io anyway.
- Dedicated review tool, no portal. Frame.io and Wipster are excellent at review but stop at the cut. Your invoice and brand assets live elsewhere, and the client experience is just one video.
- Per-seat pricing trap. Anything charging per internal seat punishes you for growing the team. Flat-rate tools price by studio, not by employee.
- Generic file-sharing. Dropbox links expire, WeTransfer caps at 7 days, Drive folders look the same as every other Drive folder. None of this presents your work like the work deserves.
Where MyStdio fits
MyStdio is the client portal we built for video production studios. Free tier covers up to 20 clients, 10 team members, and 5GB of storage with full custom branding. Pro is $25/month flat with unlimited clients, 1TB of storage, and a custom domain like portal.yourstudio.com. See the full client portal buyer's checklistif you're still comparing options.
A client portal is the last thing your client sees before they renew or refer you. Treat it like the deliverable it is.