Inviting a Customer

Keeping your customers informed reduces phone calls and builds trust. When you invite a customer or homeowner to your BuildChart project, they get access to a simplified, read-only portal that shows project progress without exposing budgets, contractor details, or internal notes.

How to Send an Invite

1. Open your project from the dashboard.
2. Click the team icon in the toolbar, or go to project settings.
3. Click "Invite Member."
4. Enter the customer or homeowner's email address.
5. Select the role: Customer.
6. Click Send Invite.

The customer receives an email with a link to their project portal. They can also access the portal using a token-based URL (/portal/[id]?token=xxx) that works without logging in, which is ideal for non-technical homeowners who just want a quick status check.

What Customers See

The customer portal is designed to be clean and easy to understand:

• Circular progress indicator showing overall project completion as a percentage.
• Days remaining badge counting down to the project deadline.
• "Your Items" section showing any tasks specifically assigned to the customer, such as fixture selections or approval decisions.
• Milestone timeline highlighting major project milestones and their status.
• Section progress bars for Planning, Execution, and Closeout phases so the customer can see which stage the project is in at a glance.

What Customers Cannot See

The portal intentionally hides information that is not relevant to the homeowner:

• Budget figures and cost data
• Contractor communications and internal notes
• Individual task assignments to subcontractors
• Edit controls of any kind

The portal updates in real time — as you make changes to the project, the customer sees them immediately without refreshing the page.