Communicating with your clients and getting on the same page from the very beginning can make a huge difference in whether or not your projects will turn out successful.
With Paymo, you can now add clients as guest users directly into your workflow, at no extra costs.
Guest users
Guests are a new type of user that allow you to give your clients (or any stakeholder) visibility over a project and its progress. You can also decide whether they should be able to add tasks on their own – thanks to the guest permissions.
How to add guest users
To add a guest, go to the People module (sidebar menu) → Guests → Add guest.
Add guests in Paymo
NOTE: Guests are not assigned to a client, as they can range from clients to sponsors, suppliers, or temporary contract workers.
Guest user permissions
When it comes to user rights, guests are similar to regular users, but with a set of limited permissions. By default, they are able to:
- View projects/tasks/time reports/invoices/estimates shared with them
- View upcoming milestones
- Create new Discussions and comment inside them
You can, however, give them extra rights from Privileges like the ability to:
- Add tasks on their own
Guest priviliges in Paymo
After you click Save Guest, they will be notified by email and be able to set their own password.
NOTE: Remember that guests CAN’T:
- Be assigned to a task, nor assign users to a task
- Modify task details for an existing task not added by them
- Access the Files* area (of the project)
- Access the Expenses** module
- Track time
* Guests will still be able to access files under a task or task comment, as well as those within discussions.
**There’s one special case when guests can view expenses, and that is when an expense has been attached to an invoice that’s been shared with them.
Guest visibility
With the addition of guests, we’ve re-imagined the sharing options from the ground up, going from a fragmented level of access to a more unified control.
Therefore, we’ve introduced a standard Share box with sharing settings, both for users and guests. As well as an indicator – an orange eye icon – that shows the number of guests the item has been shared with.
Sharing access in Paymo
This bears a few UX implications as follows.
How to share a project
We’ve simplified the Add Project pop-up and moved the Assign Users area to the project’s upper right corner.
Share a project in Paymo
To share a project with a client, click on it → Search after the existing guests → Select which ones to share the project with.
Share a project with guests in Paymo
You can also invite people who are not part of Paymo yet, then set them up as guests.
Share a project with new users in Paymo
NOTE: Don’t worry, guests will not have access to sensitive data like the Time Worked, Unbilled AR, and Project Timesheet areas. The Files* area (of the project) will remain designated only to you and your team, so you can collaborate in a shared, private space.
*You will still be able to collaborate with guests in a limited context. Meaning they will have access to the files inside a task and task comment, as well as those within discussions.
How to share a task
To share a task with a guest, open the Full Task Details → Click on the visibility dropdown → Visible to Guests and our Team. This will allow all guests that you’ve shared the project with to view the task, comment on it, as well as access the files attached to the task and task comments.
So beware whom you’re sharing the project with in the first place.
![Share a task with guests in Paymo](https://cfw.paymoapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/visible-7.png")
Share a task with guests in Paymo
You’ll also notice that shared tasks will have an orange eye icon displayed in front of them.
Task visibility in Paymo
How to share a discussion
Discussions are the best place to brainstorm ideas with a client in a secured place, without having to resort to long threads of emails and calls. That’s why we’ve redesigned them, so you can follow conversations much more easily as they unfold.
To share a discussion with a guest, go to Discussions → Open an existing discussion → Click on the visibility dropdown → Visible to Guests and our Team.
Share a discussion in Paymo
How to share a time report, invoice, or estimate
For an increased usability, we’ve removed the permalink at the bottom of certain items, specifically: time reports, invoices, and estimates. And moved it to the sharing settings in the upper right corner.
Share an invoice in Paymo
You can still copy the permalink once you click on the sharing settings or send it via email directly to your clients. Think of it as another type of access – anonymous access – useful in case you want to share the item with a person who you don’t necessarily want to invite in as a guest user.
New permalink position
FAQ
Q: What will happen to the current Contacts from the Clients module?
A: During the beta test, we’ll keep Contacts in parallel with Guests. Depending on the user behavior, we’ll decide whether to merge them with the actual guests or discard them at the end of the beta.
Q: If I share an invoice or estimate with a guest user, when will the “seen” status show up?
A: Only when the guest has clicked on the permalink shared with them.
Q: At which plans are guests available and do they cost extra?
A: Guests are available under the Small Office and Business plans, at no extra cost.
Disclaimer
I’d like to remind all testers that this is still a private beta. Our goal is to gather feedback in order to improve the current version of the guest access before the actual launch.
That’s why I recommend testing it internally first or with clients who understand that this is not a final version, hence certain errors might occur.
Call for feedback
With this being said, we’re looking forward to your feedback! Please write us in the in-app chat about what you like, what you dislike, or what improvements you think could be beneficial for what we have in the current version ????
Andrei Țiț
Author
Andrei Țiț is a product marketer at Ahrefs. He has been involved in product marketing at various SaaS companies for over six years, specializing in content marketing and short-form video. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and traveling.
