---
title: Inviting clients to the customer portal
slug: inviting-clients-to-the-portal
category: Customer Portal
url: https://alaga.io/help/article/inviting-clients-to-the-portal
audiences: business_owner, manager, staff
updated: 2026-08-29
source: Alaga Help Center
---

# Inviting clients to the customer portal
The customer portal is where your clients book, pay and message you. They need an account to use it.

## Sending an invitation

Sidebar: **Clients**, then the **Invite Customer** button next to the search box. Enter the **Email Address**, optionally a first and last name, and send.

- Invitations expire after **30 days**.
- Pending invitations appear in the "Pending Invitations" card on the Clients page, with **Resend** and **Cancel**.
- You will be told if that email already has a pending invitation, or already has an active portal account.

The client receives an email, sets a password (at least 8 characters, containing a letter and a number) and lands in the portal. If they already have an Alaga login they are asked to sign in with the password they have.

## Clients who sign up themselves

If you share your public booking link, a client can register directly. Their account arrives in a **pending approval** state and the portal tells them so. Approve them from the "Pending Clients" card on the Clients page.

## What a pet parent can do

- **Book** appointments and boarding or daycare stays.
- **See their pets**, add a new one and edit details such as feeding instructions, temperament flags, vet and emergency contacts. They cannot enter vaccination dates or upload documents — those are staff-only.
- **View appointments and reservations.** They can request a change to an appointment, and can cancel a reservation themselves (with the cancellation fee shown up front when they are inside your cancellation window). They cannot cancel an appointment on their own.
- **Pay invoices** and see what they have paid and what is outstanding.
- **Message** you, in a single thread that lands in your Messages inbox.
- **Sign agreements**, by drawing or typing a signature.
- **Fill in questionnaires** you have published.
- **Manage their profile**, including SMS consent, authorized pickup contacts, their password, and exporting their own data as JSON or CSV.

## Booking rules worth knowing

- Appointments booked in the portal always arrive as **Pending** — your team confirms them.
- Choosing a time places a 10-minute hold on the slot, with a countdown, so two clients cannot claim the same slot while one is filling in the form.
- If required forms are incomplete, or the pet's vaccinations need attention, the submit button changes to tell them what to fix first.
- Reservation requests arrive as Requested unless you have turned on auto-confirm.

Your portal can carry your own logo, colours and welcome message — set those under Business Settings, Business Profile.