Firm & Client Collaboration

DayZero connects advisory firms and client businesses in one shared workspace. The firm works in Books; each client gets a read-only client portal into their finances — so questions, documents, and approvals stay tracked instead of lost in email. Firm staff can preview the client experience from the Client Portal workspace in the workspace switcher.

Key capabilities

• A read-only client portal per business, branded with the firm's name and logo: home dashboard, statements, transactions, invoices & bills, reports, and documents
• The firm's books stay authoritative — clients view, they don't edit the ledger
• Notifications inbox (Action Items) surfacing alerts, approvals, anomalies, and firm asks
• Questions — the firm attaches a clarification to a specific transaction; the client answers from a focused queue
• Document Requests — typed file asks tracked open → fulfilled with secure upload and expiring links
• Messages — categorized, threaded conversations between firm and client (when enabled)
• AP Automation — optional Bill Approvals page with upload, approval, and AI payment guidance
• Invoices & bill pay — clients view receivables/payables and pay open invoices via a hosted link
• Self-service Integrations — clients connect their own accounts (e.g. a bank via Plaid) from a firm-controlled approved list
• Regent AI assistant and a scheduled client digest email — both optional, both read-only/informational
• Per-feature client access controls, and per-business sidebar customization, so firms expand capability as trust grows

How it works

The firm provisions the relationship — invites a client user, assigns them to one or more businesses, and sets what they can see and do. Day to day, the firm sends tracked asks through the product instead of email, the client responds in the relevant queue, and both sides keep a clean record of every exchange.

flowchart TD
  firm["Firm (Books workspace)"] --> books["Categorize / reconcile / report / AP-AR"]
  books --> portal["Client portal (read-only)"]
  firm --> access["Client access controls (per feature)"]
  access --> portal
  portal --> asks{"Two-way, tracked"}
  asks -->|"Questions"| q["Client answers a transaction question"]
  asks -->|"Document Requests"| d["Client uploads requested files"]
  asks -->|"Messages"| m["Threaded conversation"]
  q --> firm
  d --> firm
  m --> firm

How to use it

1. A firm invites a client user from Settings -> Clients (Invite Client) and picks the businesses they can open; Manage changes that access later.
2. The firm sets what the client can see and do under Settings -> Client Access (AP Automation, Regent, digest) and the Client Messaging toggle on the Your Firm page under Settings -> Business Profile.
3. Integrations only appear on a client's Integrations page when they are on the firm's client-visible list (any of Stripe, Plaid, Ramp, Square, Shopify, Slack). There is no screen for this list yet: ask DayZero support, or have a firm owner or admin set it over the API (see the Advisory firms guide). Until the list has at least one entry, clients see no Integrations item.
4. The client signs in, lands on their Home page, and reviews finances plus anything the firm has sent.
5. The client responds in the right place (Questions, Document Requests, or Messages) and the firm sees it on its side. Firms ask a question with Ask Client on a transaction, and request a file with Request Doc on the Clients page.
6. Both sides keep working through the product (not email), leaving a tracked record of every ask and answer.

Pro tips

• Firm-side: direct every client ask through Action Items, Questions, or Document Requests — they're tracked, badged, and won't get buried in an inbox.
• Firm-side: start clients with conservative access and expand it (messaging, AP automation, AI assistant, integrations) as they get comfortable.
• Firm-side: turn on the client digest (weekly on Mondays or monthly on the 1st) so clients stay informed proactively, which cuts down on status-check emails.
• Firm-side: the Regent assistant and digest are read-only/informational — the hard numbers come from the books, so enabling them never risks the ledger.
• Client-side: the portal is your single source — pay invoices, answer questions, and upload requested files there instead of over email.
• Client-side: use the business switcher if you own multiple businesses under the same firm; each has its own data and queues.

In-depth guide

What the client can see vs. do

The portal is read-only for accounting data. Client accounts are view-only by default, and that is enough for responding to asks (Questions, Document Requests, Messages), paying invoices, and using the AI assistant. Uploading files or bills, approving bills, and connecting a bank change records, so they need a role with more than view access on the business.

Client access controls

Firms gate capability per feature; most are off by default until the firm opts in.

Hiding a sidebar section is a tidy-up preference, not a lock: the page still opens from a direct link. Messaging is enforced by the platform; the Bill Approvals page is hidden from the sidebar when off.

How firm-side data flows into the client view

The portal shows posted statements, categorized transactions, invoices and bills, and reports you mark client-visible. Clients don't edit the ledger — they respond to asks, upload files, pay, approve bills, and connect integrations you allow.

Edge cases

• No assigned business — contact the advisor.
• Disabled features hide sidebar entries entirely.
• A report generated on demand is visible to clients by default; scheduled reports are visible only when the schedule says so.
• Multi-business clients see data for the selected business only.