Messaging your clients

Portal messaging gives you and your client one secure thread instead of a scattered email trail. Everything stays inside the portal, attached to the client’s file — no personal inboxes, no lost attachments, nothing to dig for later.

On your side: widget + full page

You can message a client two ways:

• Floating chat widget — a chat bubble that follows you around the workspace. Pop it open from anywhere, fire off a quick reply, and keep working. Best for one-liners.
• Messages page — the full view of every conversation across all your portal-enabled clients, with the complete history for each thread. Best for working through a backlog or finding an older exchange.

Both write to the same thread, so it doesn’t matter which one you use — the client sees one continuous conversation.

On the client’s side: the Messages tab

The client gets a Messages tab in their portal. They see the same thread you do, can reply, and get notified when you send something. For them it’s just a simple chat with their firm — no Fola branding, no clutter.

Requesting documents or information inside chat

The thread isn’t only for talking — you can ask for things right inside it:

• Request a document. Drop a document request into the chat (“Please upload your I-94”). The client gets a clear ask with an upload button right there in the conversation. What they upload lands in their documents and on your side of the file.
• Request information. Need a date, a number, a yes/no? Ask for it as a structured request and the client types the answer back into the thread.

Requests beat plain messages for collection

A typed “send me your I-94” is easy to skim past. A document request gives the client a button and tracks whether it’s been answered — so you can see at a glance what’s still outstanding without re-reading the thread.

Read receipts

Messages show a read receipt so you know whether the client has actually seen what you sent. No more wondering if your message landed — you can tell the difference between “they haven’t looked” and “they’re ignoring you,” and follow up accordingly.

Unread nudge emails

If the client has an unread message sitting in the portal, Fola sends a nudge email letting them know something’s waiting for them. That pulls them back into the portal without you having to chase them by phone or personal email.

Messaging needs portal access

A client can only message you once their portal access is on. If a client isn’t responding in chat, confirm their access is enabled and their invite was accepted.

Where the thread lives

Every message, document request, and information request is logged against the client’s file. If a matter is ever questioned, the full conversation — including what you asked for and when the client answered — is there in the record.