The two models
Issued-link access sends the customer a private URL that opens their portal directly. There is nothing to remember and nothing to reset, and adoption is dramatically higher — most homeowners will not create an account to check a roof date.
Account access asks the customer to register and sign in. It proves who is on the other side more strongly, which matters when the portal exposes money movement or personal data beyond the job itself. It also loses a meaningful share of customers at the registration step.
Making issued links safe
- One link per customer — never a shared link that resolves by lookup.
- The link is revocable: the business can switch it off at any moment.
- The link can carry an expiry date so forgotten access closes itself.
- The link exposes only that customer's scope, enforced on the server.
- Access events are recorded so opens are visible internally.
What access should never do
- Grant the customer any view of another customer's work.
- Reuse an internal staff login path for external people.
- Depend on the browser to hide anything — scoping happens server-side.
- Store the customer's identity claims in a way the page itself can change.