Top Project Management Software With a Client Portal in 2025

Productive is a comprehensive, one-stop-shop solution for managing client projects and broader company operations. The tool is designed to replace the classic patchwork of fragmented tools that create manual work and data migration errors.

Productive includes features that helping you manage various aspects of professional services workflows, including:

The difference between Productive and other PM tools is that Productive provides centralized visibility while automating and standardizing processes.

It also integrate financial management in the projects, so you can get actual numbers (and the finances behind them) on your daily work.

Let’s explore some of its key features.

With Productive’s Client Portal feature, you can invite clients into your project workspace free of charge.

You can manage what your clients see and do on the platform with the custom Permission Builder — basic permissions let them see, comment on, and open tasks, while advanced permissions give access to certain financial and time tracking information.

You can also set up custom dashboards and add widgets with various information that clients might find interesting, such as task statuses or billable time. With real-time updates, clients can check project progress whenever they need to.

Learn more why Prolex Media uses Productive to collaborate with their clients.

With Productive’s Project Management features, you can switch between multiple views to visualize your project tasks and track project progress. This includes a Gantt charts view, Workload, Kanban, List, Calendar, and more.

When it comes to task management, you have various ways to communicate and collaborate with internal teams and clients. This includes various task hierarchies (to-dos, milestones, dependencies), a comment history, time estimates (and a integrated timer that you can run from the task), custom task fields, notifications, and more.

You can also use no-code workflow Automations to streamline various repetitive tasks, such as updating someone manually on task progress in Slack. Productive also has handy AI tools for editing text, generating project reports, autofilling expenses, creating task summaries, etc.

With Productive’s Budgeting, you can build and manage various types of project budgets, including fixed, time & materials, and retainer.

You can not only monitor your budget burn in real time, but also forecast it along with revenue and profitability based on your resource scheduling.

When the time comes, you can use the Billing feature to create invoices by pulling your budgeting information. Productive also includes a native Xero and QuickBooks integration.

Productive has a Resource Planning feature, which includes Time Off Management for enhanced availability insights and utilization forecasting. You can use placeholders to account for hiring additional staff, or plan for unconfirmed engagements with tentative bookings.

Our users also have built-in contractor management, flexible permissions, and integrated cost tracking for all resource types (e.g., integrating freelancer work into project budgets).

For Reporting, you can access information from all of these features listed above: this includes time tracking, budgeting, expenses, scheduling, availability, tasks, and more.

These reports help you get the key profitability data like automated budget vs. actual comparisons, profit margin analysis, and instant financial visibility.

These reports can be created by editing a template from the Reports Library, or you can create one from scratch. To share reports, you can export your reports as a pdf file, or even better, schedule them to be sent automatically to Slack or email.

You can also build custom dashboards, add reports with widgets, and share them with relevant parties.

Additional features: Sales CRM, Revenue Recognition, Purchase Orders, Docs, AI

Productive offers various integrations with HR, accounting, and collaboration tools.

These integrations include Slack, Google Calendar, and Outlook for scheduling and updates; Xero and QuickBooks for accounting; BambooHR, Breathe, and Personio for HRM; Jira and Memtime for time tracking; and more.

You can also try out a 14-day free trial.

ClickUp is a work management software best for businesses interested in essential clients project management, without the need for advanced financial oversight.

Key features:

Additionally, there are some issues with user experience (bugs and performance). You can learn more here: ClickUp vs Asana vs Monday.

Copilot is best as an additional client communication tool used alongside a more advanced option, as it lacks time tracking, resource planning, and budgeting.

Copilot, previously known as Portal, is a tool dedicated to enabling client communication.

Key features:

This makes it best as tool that’s an addition to your current project management tool, such as Productive.

We also covered Copilot as one of the top Hello Bonsai alternatives.

Fusebase is best for knowledge management, including documentation and note making, but isn’t a comprehensive solution for client projects.

Fusebase, formerly known as Nimbus, is another tool specialized for seamless communication with clients.

Key features:

Monday.com is best for generalized work management and sharing projects with clients, but doesn’t support billable hours or project budget management.

Key features:

Basecamp is best for small teams due to its user-friendly interface, but it’s not great for complex projects or larger service businesses.

Key features:

MeisterTask is best for simple task management with its straightforward user interface, but lacks extensive features and advanced real-time insights.

Key features:

Wrike is best for project management combined with resource planning and budgeting, though the latter is available only in the most expensive plan.

Key features:

Check out our Wrike vs Asana review to learn more.

Jira is best for software development teams and agile project management, though it can have a steep learning curve for creative agencies and similar project requirements.

Key features:

A project management software with a client portal is a specialized solution within a project management tool that allows clients to access and collaborate on projects (and tasks).

These tools are connecting service providers and their clients, so that business relationships stay productive, healthy and transparent.

The project management client portal usually includes features such as file sharing, project tracking (including task management), commenting, and information on budgeting and time entries.

You need project management software with client portals because they enable real-time collaboration and seamless communication within a single place.

Your project teams are used to it and it contains all project information, as well as sharable dashboards and reports.

This means that all relevant client information will be centralized in a single location, so nothing will get lost in Slack, emails, and messy Google drive folders.

Additionally, it makes it easier for clients to get updates because they don’t have to spend time reaching out for progress reports.

Project managers also don’t have to invest as much time in putting them together it’s all there in your project management software with client portals.

To choose the best client portal software for your projects, you should Identify your real pain points, prioritize features based on your needs, shortlist the all-in-one platforms and do pilot runs.

The goal is to find a solution that reduces manual work, centralizes your operations, gives your clients real visibility into progress and enables smooth client collaboration.

Before we move on to the step-by-step process of selecting your client portal software, you should ask yourself four very important questions:

Now that you have a rough idea of what kind of client facing project management tool your really need, take the following steps:

Write down where your current process fails. This can be anything between wasting time switching tools, manual time tracking nobody uses, too much updates that are too hard to follow, etc.

The common challenges most companies face are:

Here you should gather team feedback and write down the actual bottlenecks in your workflow. That’s what the client portal project management software needs to solve.

Here you need to decide what matters most. Focus only on the highest-priority issues, not nice-to-haves. To pin-down these most important features look at your current workflows and established pain points.

Pick the features that solve your highest-priority issues, not only regarding the client facing, but your business as a whole. Since managing projects for clients’ is your business, the right feature stack is one of the biggest deciding factors.

The best advice for this step is to choose an all-in-one project management solution. Tools like Productive let you build real-time dashboards with permission controls, so you can customize what each client sees.

Pick the top 3 tools that cover your must-have features and also have a good reputation for reliable onboarding and excellent customer support.

Remember that the more disconnected tools you use, the more time you spend syncing data manually. You also leave more and more room for human error.

Tools like Productive stand out here because they replace 5+ separate systems and include built-in client portals, budgeting, resource planning, and reporting.

If you have any questions or any details on your workflows or must-have features, write them down and share them during the live demo.

Most tools offer free trials, so you should set up pilots with your client project management tool and see how working on real projects. Mimic client workflows to get a grip on what the client collaboration and project tracking look like.

Gather feedback from your team on usability and from clients on the portal experience. Again, avoid stacking multiple tools. You should also confirm whether the portal is included in your pricing, or if there are hidden costs for client access.

If you’re happy with the client collaboration features, but you still need another tool for time tracking, and another for accounting, and another CRM system for customer management, just move on.

Some tools might be cheap today but cost more in time and frustration later. Think long-term and pick a tool that can scale with you. On this step double-check and ensure SOC2 compliance, API options, and that client access doesn’t cost extra.

Remember, the best client portal software just “client-facing.” It’s company-operating. In case you need more advice and additional info, check out our detailed guide on how to choose project management software.

To find the best client portal project management solutions, you should carefully consider your business needs, including industry segments, size, and budgets.

A tool like Basecamp and MeisterTask can be optimal for smaller teams with less project experience, while options like Jira or Fusebase offer great specialized web development solutions.

Productive is the best collaborative workspace for professional service firms or agencies looking for a true all-in-one solution.

You should consider using it if you need a single platform for managing all client-facing operations (from managing resources, projects, sales, and finances to workflow automations, real time visibility and financial forecasting).

To find out how can Productive improve your business and client relationship, book a short demo today.