A payment portal for small business is a single place where a client can find what they owe and pay it, instead of searching their inbox for last month's invoice. This article answers how to give clients that place on the levelpartner.ai platform, using a branded pay page on your website and the hosted invoice links the platform already creates, and how to decide whether a logged-in client area is worth adding. The outcome is fewer "can you resend the invoice" emails and faster payment from clients who lose things.
What clients actually want from a portal
Clients do not want another login. They want three things: to see what they owe, to pay it in a minute, and to download a receipt for their own records. Anything beyond that is for your benefit, not theirs.
That is why the simplest portal is often the best. A single page on your website, linked from every invoice email and your email signature, that says how to pay, with links to pay standard items and a way to request a copy of any invoice. Clients with an open invoice already have a hosted page for it. The portal page is the front door that leads there.
An online payment portal for small business clients, in two layers
Layer one is public. A "Pay us" page in Sites with payment links for your fixed services, your bank details for transfers, and a short form to request a copy of an invoice. Anyone can use it, and it needs no maintenance beyond keeping prices current.
Layer two is private. If your clients need to see documents, contracts and invoices in one place, the platform's client area in Memberships gives each client a login and a space you control. Check which billing views it shows in your account before promising clients they can see every invoice there. Many firms find layer one is enough.
Before you start
- A processor connected in Payments and tested.
- Payment links created for any fixed-price services you sell.
- Your bank transfer details confirmed by finance.
- A page or website in Sites where the pay page will live, on your own domain.
- A decision on whether you need a logged-in client area at all.
How to set up the pay page
- Go to Sites, then Websites, and click Edit on a page to open the Page Builder.
- Open the Pages drawer, click Add New Page and enter a Page Name such as Pay an invoice and a URL path such as /pay.
- Select the new page and add a short paragraph telling clients the invoice email contains a direct pay link.
- For each fixed-price service, create a link in Payments, then Payment Links, and add a button on the page that points to it.
- Add your bank transfer details and the reference format clients should use.
- In Sites, then Forms, build a form asking for name, company and invoice number, and add it to the page.
- In the form's Notifications settings, send an Email Notification to finance and an Auto Responder to the client.
- Preview the page, publish it, and add its address to your invoice email template and staff email signatures.
- Test it from a phone: pay a link, submit the form and check both reach the right place.
Adding a logged-in client area
If you decide you need one, set up a client area in Memberships with a simple structure: a welcome section, a documents section and a billing section with links to open invoices or your pay page. Give each client access when they sign. Keep it small. A client area that duplicates your whole website will not be used.
For agencies and consultants with long engagements, a client area also helps delivery: briefs, reports and recordings sit next to the billing, so clients go to one place. For mortgage brokers and real estate teams with short transactions, the public pay page alone usually does the job.
Say finance receives about 40 emails a month asking for invoice copies or bank details, mostly from client accounts teams whose staff have changed. A pay page with a copy request form, linked from every invoice and email signature, would answer most of them without a reply. If those emails fell to under ten, the remaining requests would also arrive in one format with the invoice number included. Illustrative figures.
What it replaces and the time it takes
The pay page replaces the "please resend" email, bank details typed into ad-hoc replies, and PDF invoices forwarded around a client's company. It takes an afternoon to build. Once live, it needs a check each quarter to keep prices and links current.
The mistake most people make
Building a login-only portal and expecting clients to use it. Every login is a password to forget. Clients who cannot get in will email you instead. Keep the public pay page as the main route and make any client area optional.
The second mistake is putting the pay page on a domain clients do not recognise. Host it on your own website so it looks like you, not like a phishing link.
When not to build a portal
If you have a handful of clients, each with one invoice a month, a portal adds little. Clear invoice emails with a pay link are enough. Build one once requests for copies and bank details start taking real time.
Troubleshooting
Clients say the pay page link looks suspicious. It is on an unfamiliar domain. Move it to your main website domain.
Copy requests go nowhere. The workflow is not published or sends to an old inbox. Publish it and route to a shared finance address.
Clients pay the wrong link. The page has too many buttons. Keep only your common fixed-price services and send everything else by invoice.
Clients cannot log in to the client area. They never set a password. Resend the access email and keep the public pay page as a fallback.
Related guides
For where else a pay button belongs, see payment options across the client journey. For clients who never open email, see sending invoices by text message. For what goes on each invoice, see keeping invoices simple.
Frequently asked questions
Does every client need a login to pay?
No. Every invoice has its own hosted pay page, and the public pay page needs no login. A logged-in area is optional.
Can I put payment links on my website?
Yes. Create payment links in Payments for fixed-price services and add them as buttons on a page in Sites.
What should a payment portal show?
What the client owes, how to pay it and how to get a receipt or copy. Keep anything else in a separate client area or in your normal emails.
Is a pay page secure?
The payment itself happens on the processor's secure page, so card details never touch your website. Host the pay page on your own domain so clients trust it.