When a client logs into the DarkLion portal from a desktop or laptop, they see a clean large-screen workspace built specifically for documents, organizers, messages, and company work. Here's a complete walkthrough of what the experience looks like from their side.

Portal Login

Clients log in at darklion.ai/client-login (or your custom domain, if configured). They enter their email address and password. Sessions last 7 days — after that, they need to log in again.

Tab Bar

After logging in, the client sees a tab bar across the top of their portal. Tabs include:

  • Overview — A summary of their account.
  • Personal Documents — Their individual documents.
  • Organizers — Their tax organizer checklists.
  • Messages — Secure messaging with the firm.
  • One tab per Company — Each business entity they have access to gets its own tab (e.g., "Smith Consulting LLC").

Overview Tab

The Overview tab shows:

  • A summary of their account and recent activity.
  • Any items that need their attention (unread documents, open organizers, etc.).
  • Recent portal activity summary.

Personal Documents Tab

Documents are split into two sections:

  • "Delivered by Your Advisor" — Documents your firm has uploaded and delivered to them. Organized by year and category (Tax, Other).
  • "Uploaded by You" — Documents the client has uploaded themselves.

Each document row has a Download button. New documents show a ✦ NEW badge until the client views them or 30 days pass.

Organizers Tab

Lists all tax organizers that have been sent to this client:

  • The current year organizer is shown prominently with its status (Open / In Progress / Submitted).
  • Prior year organizers are listed below in a collapsed accordion.

Clicking an organizer opens the full 4-step document collection flow.

Messages Tab

A chat-style interface for secure communication with the firm:

  • Client can start new conversations or reply to existing ones.
  • Messages show as bubbles — their messages on the right, staff replies on the left.
  • An unread count badge appears on the Messages tab when they have new replies from staff.
  • Clients cannot see internal notes — those are invisible on their end.

Company Tabs

Each business entity the client has access to gets its own tab. Inside each company tab:

  • Docs subtab — Same folder structure as personal documents, but for that company (Tax, Bookkeeping, Other categories).
  • Bookkeeping subtab (visible only for client_prepared companies) — Option to connect QuickBooks Online or upload P&L/Balance Sheet PDFs to send to the advisor.

Phone and Tablet Experience

The client portal is intentionally limited to desktop and laptop screens so document review, organizers, uploads, bookkeeping questions, and signatures display correctly. If clients open the portal on a phone or tablet, they see a clear message asking them to use a larger screen. Supported notification emails can still be answered directly by email, and those replies route back into the staff Messages inbox.

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The portal session expires after 7 days of inactivity. If a client says they can't log in, they may just need to log back in with their email and password. For password issues, they can use "Forgot Password" on the login page.