# Softr: Build a Client Portal Where Each Client Sees Only Their Own Work

> Replace "where is my draft?" emails with a client portal. Describe it to Softr's AI, preview it as a client, fix what you find on the Free plan, and…

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/softr-agency-client-portal · Updated 2026-10-31 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

## Practice it step by step

[Start the free practice](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/softr-agency-client-portal)

[Take the free module: why it matters, practice and a quick check →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ai-for-consulting-and-agencies/21)

You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Softr. It checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, about 14 minutes, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Open full screen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/softr-agency-client-portal)

Free · Live now · [Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations) · Softr · ~14 min · 53 steps · Beginner

Updated October 31, 2026. Built against the tool’s current screens and checked step by step. [How we check this lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about#how-we-check)

Replace "where is my draft?" emails with a [client portal](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/client-portal). Describe it to Softr's AI, preview it as a client, fix what you find on the Free plan, and prove one client can't see another's work.

## At a glance

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| What you build | Replace "where is my draft?" emails with a client portal. Describe it to Softr's AI, preview it as a client, fix what you find on the Free plan, and prove one client can't see another's work. |
| Tools | Softr |
| Time | About 14 minutes, 53 steps in 5 parts |
| Level | Beginner, no coding needed |
| Cost | Free |
| Ways to learn it | [Practice it step by step](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/softr-agency-client-portal) |

### The 5 parts, in short

1. Describe the portal: Describe the app, Send it, Answer: feedback in the portal, Answer: staff update statuses, and 5 more steps.
2. See what it built: Watch it build, Open the Data tab, Look at the people and the tables, See who owns each project, and 2 more steps.
3. Look through a client's eyes: Read the warning, Open Preview, Open Preview as, Pick a client, and 5 more steps.
4. Fix it on the Free plan: Go back to the editor, Select the My Projects list, Scroll to Record filters, See why it found nothing, and 18 more steps.
5. Test it again as the client: Preview as Emma again, Check the count, Open her project, Open a deliverable, and 3 more steps.

**Start here first:** [AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets) (module 1 of Business Automations)

**In the course:** [Part 9 · n8n Automation Toolkit](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/part-9-n8n-automation-toolkit) (Module 113 of the [full course](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course))

**Part of:** [AI Apps Worth Knowing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/paths/partner-tools-ai-apps) (step 108 of 111). Next up: [AI Tool Directories: Find the Right Tool for a Job](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-tool-directories-find-right-tool)

## What you'll build

Alder & Finch is a made-up marketing agency. Clients email to ask where their draft is, and approvals get lost in long threads. In this lesson you describe a client portal to Softr's AI and it builds the database, pages and [sample data](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/test-data). Then you do the step most people skip: you preview it as a client. On the Free plan we found problems you need to catch, including one client seeing another's projects. You fix each one on the Free plan and test again. The lesson stops in preview; it does not publish the app or invite anyone.

The AI built a working portal in about two minutes. Previewing as a client showed what that first draft got wrong on the Free plan: no projects, other clients' projects, and no way to approve. You fixed each one, without paying, and proved it by testing as the client again. That habit applies to anything an AI builds that handles permissions. Before real clients log in, test the published app with a test client, run the link check on every page, and replace the sample people.

- Tools: Softr
- Time: about 14 minutes, 53 steps in 5 chapters
- Level: beginner, no coding needed
- Price: free

## Practice first, then build it for real

Practice copy built from real Softr screens (studio.softr.io), captured 31 October 2026 on the Free plan. Nothing here touches a Softr account. The agency is made up, and the people and projects are sample records Softr's AI generated. AI builds differ from run to run, so your app can differ. To build it for real you need your own Softr account, and some services charge once you use them for real work, so check each tool's current pricing.

## Try it yourself, free

Reading the steps is a start. Doing them is how it sticks. The interactive module walks you through every click in a practice copy of Softr, checks each step, and never touches your real accounts.

[Start “Softr: Build a Client Portal Where Each Client Sees Only Their Own Work”](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/softr-agency-client-portal)

## Step by step: Softr: Build a Client Portal Where Each Client Sees Only Their Own Work

All 53 steps of the interactive module, in order. In the module you watch each one, then do it yourself in a practice copy that checks your work.

### 1. Describe the portal

1. **Describe the app.** You run client services at **Alder & Finch**, a made-up marketing agency. Clients email to ask where their draft is, and approvals get lost in long threads. In **Softr**, describe the portal on the home screen. Say who logs in and exactly what each person may see.
   Clients keep emailing to ask where their draft is. In Softr, describe the portal. Say who logs in, and what each person may see.
   ```text
   A client portal for a small marketing agency called Alder & Finch. Clients log in and see only their own projects and deliverables, with status, due date and a link to the latest draft. Each client can approve a deliverable or leave feedback. Agency staff can see all clients and update statuses.
   ```
2. **Send it.** Keep **App** selected at the bottom, and click the **send arrow**.
3. **Answer: feedback in the portal.** The AI asks a few questions first. Your questions may differ. Click **Clients approve or leave feedback directly in the portal**.
   It asks a few questions. Pick feedback directly in the portal.
4. **Answer: staff update statuses.** Click **Staff manually update statuses as work progresses**.
   Pick staff update statuses by hand.
5. **Choose email login.** Under **How will your users log in?**, tick **Email**.
   Tick Email.
6. **Continue.** Click **Continue**.
7. **Keep strangers out.** Under **Can people sign up on their own?**, click **No, I'll invite my users**. A client portal is invite-only. Then click **Continue**. On the navigation question that follows, we kept the defaults, **Side** and **Bottom**, and clicked **Continue**.
   Pick No, I will invite my users. A client portal is invite only. Then keep the navigation defaults.
8. **Pick a theme.** Click any theme, then **Apply**. We used **Tangerine**. You can change it later.
   Pick any theme, and click Apply.
9. **Create the app.** Click **Create my app**.

### 2. See what it built

10. **Watch it build.** It builds the database, the links between tables, sample data, pages and permissions. Ours took about two minutes, and it says clients see only their own work. **Now you check that.** Click the build log.
    It builds the database, pages and permissions, in about two minutes. It says clients see only their own work. Now you check that.
11. **Open the Data tab.** You land in the editor. **My Projects** shows 8 here because the editor does not apply user filters. Softr says so itself, and you will see that note shortly. Click **Data**.
    The editor does not apply user filters, so ignore these counts.
12. **Look at the people and the tables.** The AI made sample people: three **Client** and four **Agency Staff**, including you. Replace them with real ones later. The Free plan allows **5 app users**, per Softr's docs, so delete samples before you invite anyone. Click the **Projects** table.
    Sample clients and staff. Replace them later. The free plan allows five app users.
13. **See who owns each project.** Each project has a **Client** column holding that client's email. Emma Sanchez owns **two** projects: Corporate Website Redesign and Internal HR [Knowledge Base](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/knowledge-base). Remember that number. Click the Client column.
    Each project has a client. Emma Sanchez owns two. Remember that number.
14. **Open the Users tab.** Click **Users** at the top.
15. **Open User Groups.** Click **User Groups**. The small yellow marks on this page flag features that depend on your plan.

### 3. Look through a client's eyes

16. **Read the warning.** **This is the catch on the Free plan.** The AI made **Agency Staff** and **Client** groups, and they are switched off: *"Some user groups are deactivated because you've exceeded your plan's limit."* Softr's docs list custom groups from the Pro plan up. So anything the AI hid or showed by group now behaves differently. Click the warning.
    Here is the catch. The groups the AI made are switched off on the free plan. So anything it restricted by group behaves differently.
17. **Open Preview.** Click the **eye icon**, top right. Preview opens in a new tab.
18. **Open Preview as.** **Preview as** lets you see the app as any user without their login. Click the box next to it.
    Preview as shows the app as any user.
19. **Pick a client.** Click **Emma Sanchez**.
    Pick Emma Sanchez, a client.
20. **Note the warning.** Read this one: anything you do in preview **changes your real data**. Use test records. Click **Ok, I understand**.
    Note that anything you do in preview changes real data.
21. **Problem 1: she has no projects.** Emma owns two projects, and **My Projects** says **0**. The list below is empty too. Click the count.
    Problem one. Emma owns two projects, and it says zero.
22. **Open All Projects.** The AI meant this next tab for staff only. Click **All Projects**.
    The AI meant this tab for staff only.
23. **Problem 2: other clients show up.** Emma can see **every client's projects**. E-commerce Platform Migration is not hers. In a real portal, this is the one mistake you cannot make. Click it.
    Problem two. Emma can see every client's projects. That is the one mistake a portal cannot make.
24. **Confirm whose it is.** The Client is **alexander.clark@example.com**, and Emma can read the whole project. **This is why you always preview as a client before you invite anyone.** Click the email.
    That project belongs to Alexander. This is why you always preview as a client before you invite anyone.

### 4. Fix it on the Free plan

25. **Go back to the editor.** Click **Edit**, top right. Stay on the **Home** page and scroll to the projects list.
26. **Select the My Projects list.** Make sure **My Projects** is the open tab, then click the list. Its settings open on the right.
27. **Scroll to Record filters.** Scroll down the right panel to **Record filters**.
28. **See why it found nothing.** The filter says **Client includes exactly the logged-in user's Name**. But the Client column holds **emails**, as you saw. A name never equals an email, so nothing matches. And note the yellow box: user filters only run in Preview. Click the **Name** box.
    Here is the bug. It compares the client column to the user's name, but that column holds emails. So nothing matches.
29. **Open the user fields.** Click **Logged-in user**.
30. **Match on Email.** Untick **Name**, then tick **Email**. The value now reads **Email**.
    Untick Name, and tick Email.
31. **Go to the All Projects tab.** Now the leak. Click **All Projects**.
    Now the leak.
32. **Select the tab container.** Click the empty space to the left of the list. The right panel changes to **Tab container**.
33. **Open the All Projects tab settings.** The orange icons mean each tab was limited to a group, and those groups are off. Click the **arrow** on **All Projects**.
    Those orange icons were group limits, and the groups are off.
34. **Delete the tab.** Your staff can use the **Data** tab to see every project, so clients don't need this tab. Click the **red trash icon**.
    Staff can use the Data tab, so delete this one.
35. **Remove the list too.** **Tick this box**, or the list moves onto the page and keeps showing every project.
    Tick this box, or the list stays on the page.
36. **Confirm.** Click **Delete tab and one block**.
    Confirm the delete.
37. **Fix the count the same way.** Click the **My Projects** count at the top. It has the same bug. In **Record filters**, change **Name** to **Email** exactly as you just did. Then click the **My Deliverables** count.
    The count has the same bug. Change Name to Email, the same way.
38. **Remove the second count.** This one compares a **Project** to the user's name, which can never match. Each project page already lists its deliverables, so the simple fix is to remove it. Click the **three dots**.
    This one can never match. The project page already lists deliverables, so remove it.
39. **Delete it.** Click **Delete**, then **Delete** again. Next open **Pages**, on the left.
40. **Open Deliverable Details.** Earlier, Emma would have had no way to approve anything. Click **Deliverable Details**, click the details block, and open its **Actions** tab.
    Now the approve button.
41. **Open Approve deliverable.** The orange icon again. Click the **arrow** on **Approve deliverable**.
42. **Open its visibility.** Click the **orange icon**.
43. **Remove the switched-off group.** Softr spells it out: *"All selected user group are disabled, so no one can see the current action button. Upgrade your plan or remove visibility to show it."* So on Free, **nobody** could approve. Click the **x** on **Client**. Conditions show as locked on this plan, but Softr says existing ones still apply.
    Softr spells it out. With that group off, no one sees this button.
44. **Do the same for Leave feedback.** It now says **All logged-in users**. Click the **back arrow** and do the same for **Leave feedback**. Leave **Update status** alone, so clients can't change it. Then open the **Project Details** page from **Pages**, and click the top block.
    Now it is all logged-in users. Do the same for Leave feedback, and leave Update status alone.
45. **Add a filter to the project page.** One more gap. This page finds a project from the **record ID in the link**, so a client with another client's link could open it. We tested that, and they could. Click **Add extra filter**.
    One more gap. This page trusts the link, so a client with someone else's link could open it. We tested it, and they could. Add a filter.
46. **Limit it to the logged-in client.** Choose **Client**, then **Includes exactly**, then **Logged-in user**, then **Email**. Now the record must also belong to whoever is logged in. Then click the **eye icon** to preview.

### 5. Test it again as the client

47. **Preview as Emma again.** Click the **eye icon**. If you see **Your app has been updated**, click **Refresh**. Your **Preview as** choice stays on Emma.
    Preview again. If it says the app was updated, click Refresh.
48. **Check the count.** **My Projects** says **2**, which matches the table. The **All Projects** tab is gone. Click the count.
    Two projects, which matches the table. And All Projects is gone.
49. **Open her project.** Click **Corporate Website Redesign**.
50. **Open a deliverable.** Her deliverables show with status, due date and the draft link. Click **Homepage Wireframes**.
    Her deliverables show with status, date and draft link.
51. **Approve it.** The buttons are back, on the Free plan. These are made-up records, so click **Approve deliverable**.
    The buttons are back, on the free plan.
52. **Check it saved.** The status changed from **In Review** to **Approved**. That update is what replaces the email thread. Click the status. Next, paste the link to one of **Alexander's** projects while still previewing as Emma.
    Approved. That replaces the email thread. Last check.
53. **Try the other client's link.** Before our filter, this link showed Alexander's whole project. Now the project is gone and its deliverables never load. **Do this check on each page that opens a record.** We closed the project page; do the same on Deliverable Details, using a field that ties a deliverable to its client. We tested all of this in Preview. Softr's published app and real login were not tested, so try them with a test client before you invite real ones.
    Alexander's project no longer opens. Run this same check on every page that opens a record, and try the published app with a test client, before you invite real ones.

## Screenshots

[Start this module free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/softr-agency-client-portal)

- Previous in Business Automations: [Dify: Build a Support Chatbot That Answers From Your Help Docs](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/dify-support-chatbot-help-docs)
- Next in Business Automations: [Landbot: Build a Law Firm Intake Chat That Flags Urgent Deadlines](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/landbot-law-firm-intake-urgent-deadlines)

## More in Business Automations

- [AI Receipt Extractor: Receipts to Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-receipt-extractor-n8n-google-sheets): Drop a photo of a receipt into an n8n chat. An AI agent reads it, pulls out the date, vendor and amount, picks a category, and adds a row to Google Sheets.
- [n8n AI Email Responder: Draft Gmail Replies Automatically](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ai-email-responder-gmail-drafts-n8n): Build an n8n agent that watches your Gmail, reads each new customer email, and writes a reply as a draft in the same thread, ready for you to check and send.
- [Daily Job Alerts: Email Each Tech Their Jobs from Google Sheets with n8n](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/n8n-daily-job-alerts-google-sheets-gmail): Every morning at 7, n8n reads a plumbing company's jobs sheet, skips anything not assigned yet, and emails each job to the tech it's assigned to — customer, address…
- [Gmail AI Triage: Auto-Label Every Email and Draft Replies](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/gmail-ai-triage-labels-drafts-n8n): Build an n8n workflow that reads each new email, sorts it as a lead, a client or an invoice with a Text Classifier, adds the matching Gmail label, and drafts a reply to…
- [A Support Agent That Answers from Your Own Docs](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/support-agent-answers-from-your-docs-n8n): Turn an n8n chat agent into a support agent that answers only from your policies in a Google Doc, refuses what it should, and hands off to a person by email.
- [Chatbase: Answer Customer FAQs with an AI Agent](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatbase-ai-agent-answer-customer-faqs): A business case for a small firm that answers the same customer questions every week: build a Chatbase AI agent on your FAQ in the real app, make it say when it does…

[All 26 modules in Business Automations](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations)

## Terms in this lesson

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[Client portal](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/client-portal) · [Test data](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/test-data) · [Knowledge base](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/knowledge-base) · [Conditional logic](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/conditional-logic) · [Email thread](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/email-thread)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

## Browse related tutorials

[Business Automations (26)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/course/business-automations)

Want AI working like this in your business? Robert Breen, the instructor behind this lesson, helps small and mid-sized teams put AI assistants, agents and automations to work. [See Ynteractive’s AI consulting](https://ynteractive.com/)