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Understanding Comments in Client Portal
Alex Masterson avatar
Written by Alex Masterson
Updated over a week ago

Client Portal allows you to see and reply to all comments made from Client Portal and Sisu. Client Portal tools like the Notifications panel, the Message Center, and @mentions will help you organize all your comments and keep track of what is most relevant. This helps you, your team, and your clients to all work together to efficiently get things done.

Topics in this article:

  • Starting a New Transaction Comment Thread

  • Starting a New Task Comment Thread

  • Starting a New Document Comment Thread

  • Replying to Comment Threads in a Transaction

  • Using the Notifications Panel to Reply to a Comment

  • Accessing Comments in the Message Center

  • Using @Mentions in Comments

  • Frequently Asked Questions

Use the table of contents on the right side of the screen to jump to a particular topic.

Starting a New Transaction Comment Thread

You can make a Transaction comment from both Client Portal and Sisu. Where do you want to start a new thread?

In Client Portal

1. Log into Client Portal.

2. Navigate to a client's transaction by doing one of the following:

  • Use the contact search bar

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Recently Viewed Transactions section

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Transactions section

3. Click the Comments tab.

4. Click the New Message button next to the search bar.

5. In the text field, enter your comment and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

6. If the comment is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

⚠️ Important Note!

The first comment in a thread determines whether the whole thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing replies, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing replies.

7. Click Send Message.

In Sisu

1. Go to Transactions > Transactions

2. Click in-line with a transaction to open it.

3. Click the Comments tab at the top of the transaction.

4. Click the New Message button. This opens the New Transaction Comment window.

5. In the text field, enter your comment and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

6. If the comment is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

⚠️ Important Note!

The first comment in a thread determines whether the whole thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing replies, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing replies.

7. Click Send Message when finished.

📖 Note

If you want to see where your comment appears in Client Portal, check out the section of this article called Replying to Comment Threads in a Transaction.

Starting a New Task Comment Thread

You can only start Task comment threads from Sisu.

1. In Sisu, go to Transactions > Transactions

2. Click in-line with a transaction to open it.

3. Click the Tasks tab at the top of the transaction.

4. Click the comment button in-line with a task. This opens the Task Detail window.

5. At the bottom of Task Detail window, enter your comment in the text field and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

6. If the comment is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

⚠️ Important Note!

The first comment in a thread determines whether the whole thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing replies, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing replies.

7. When finished, click Send.

📖 Note

If you want to see where your comment appears in Client Portal, check out the section of this article called Replying to Comment Threads in a Transaction.

Starting a New Document Comment Thread

You can make a Document comment from both Client Portal and Sisu. Where do you want to start a new thread?

In Client Portal

1. Log into Client Portal.

2. Navigate to a client's transaction by doing one of the following:

  • Use the contact search bar

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Recently Viewed Transactions section

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Transactions section

3. Click the Documents tab.

4. Click on a folder with a document in it.

5. In-line with a document, click the comment icon.

6. In the text field, enter your comment and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

7. If the comment is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

⚠️ Important Note!

The first comment in a thread determines whether the whole thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing replies, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing replies.

8. Click Send.

In Sisu

1. Go to Transactions > Transactions

2. Click in-line with a transaction to open it.

3. Click the Documents tab at the top of the transaction.

4. Click on a folder with a document in it.

5. In-line with a document, click the comment icon.

6. In the text field, enter your comment and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

7. If the comment is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

⚠️ Important Note!

The first comment in a thread determines whether the whole thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing replies, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing replies.

8. Click Send.

📖 Note

If you want to see where your comment appears in Client Portal, check out the section of this article called Replying to Comment Threads in a Transaction.

Replying to Comment Threads in a Transaction

1. Log into Client Portal.

2. Navigate to a client's transaction by doing one of the following:

  • Use the contact search bar

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Recently Viewed Transactions section

  • Click in-line with a transaction in the Transactions section

3. Click the Comments tab.

4. If you're looking for a specific kind of comment thread, click on either the Transaction, Tasks, or Documents tab.

5. Click on a comment thread to view the original comment and all its replies.

6. In the text field, enter your reply and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

7. If the reply is for the client, click the Client Facing button. The comment then turns blue so that it's obvious that it will be visible to the client.

ℹ️ Note

Internal-only threads (like the one shown in the screenshot above) won't allow for client-facing replies.

8. Click Send.

Using the Notifications Panel to Reply to a Comment

The Notifications panel shows you all comments and replies that include an @mention.

📖 Note

For help using @mentions, check out the section of this article called Using @Mentions in Comments.

To reply to a comment using the Notifications panel, do the following:

1. Log into Client Portal.

2. Click the bell icon in the top-right corner. This opens the Notifications panel.

3. Click the Comments tab at the top of the panel.

4. Find the comment you want to reply to and click Reply.

5. In the text field, enter your comment and format it how you want. Use @mentions to notify others of your comment.

6. When replying to a client-facing thread (indicated by the eye icon), you can either leave the comment marked as Internal or you can click Client Facing to make your comment client facing.

7. When finished, click Send.

Accessing Comments in the Message Center

The Message Center organizes all comments from all your transactions into the following categories:

  • Transaction comment threads

  • Task comment threads

  • Document comment threads

  • @mentions

  • All unread emails

  • All archived emails

To access comments in the Message Center, do the following:

1. Log into Client Portal.

2. Click the Message Center tab.

3. Click the Comments button at the top of the screen.

Using @Mentions in Comments

If you want someone to receive a notification about a comment, you must use an @mention. This will cause your comment to appear in their Notifications panel, which you can open by clicking the bell icon in the top-right corner.

To make an @ mention, do the following:

1. Go to a place in Client Portal where you can make a comment or a reply.

ℹ️ Note

See one of the above sections in this article for help making comment threads and replying to comments.

2. In the text field, enter the @ symbol and then type the name of either a user or a client. As you type, possible matching names will appear in a list.

3. Select the person you would like to @mention from the list.

⚠️ Important Note!

You must select an individual from the list. If you simply type in a name, no one will be notified of your DM, even if the @mention is in the correct format. When done correctly, the @mention is highlighted in gray. See the screenshot below for reference.

4. When you send your message, the number next to the person's bell icon increases by 1 and they receive an email.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Transaction, Task, and Document comments?

  • Transaction comments: These are general comments related to a transaction and that transaction's roadmaps. You can start a Transaction comment thread from within Client Portal or from Sisu.

  • Task comments: These are comments made on a specific task. You can only start a Task comment thread in Sisu by commenting on a task in a transaction's task list.

  • Document comments: These are comments made on a specific document. You can start a Document comment thread from within Client Portal or from Sisu.

What's the difference between messages and comments in Sisu and Client Portal?

  • Direct Message: Direct messages are only visible to the recipient(s) of the message. Direct messages are not visible to clients.

  • Comment: Comments are tied to transactions, tasks, and documents. This means that those who are involved with those transactions, tasks, and documents will be able to see your comments and reply to them. Comments can be client facing.

What are all the differences between internal and client-facing comments?

  • Internal comments will not be visible to clients. Client-facing comments will be visible to clients.

  • The first comment in a thread determines whether the thread is internal or client facing. Internal comment threads can't include client-facing comments, while client-facing comment threads can include both internal and client-facing comments.

  • Client-facing comments are blue. Internal comments are white.

  • All new messages are internal by default.

When I @mention someone, how will they be notified?

Short answer: through email and the Notifications panel

An @mention will send an email prompting the recipient to log into Client Portal to check the notification.

@mentions also increase the counter next to the bell icon. Click the bell to open the Notifications panel and see @mentioned comments and replies.

Where do I see all the comments for a single transaction?

Short answer: the transaction's Comments tab

In Client Portal, click on a transaction from the Dashboard. (You can use the search bar, the Recently Viewed Transactions section, or the Transactions section.) When the transaction opens, you'll see 4 tabs at the top. Click the Comments tab to see all the transaction's comments.

Where can I see and manage comments from all my transactions?

Short answer: the Message Center

📖 Note

For help accessing the Message Center, check out the section of this article called Accessing Comments in the Message Center.

What actions can you take from the Notifications panel?

You can open the Notifications panel by clicking the bell icon in the top-right corner of Client Portal. Here's some of actions you can take right from that panel.

  • Reply to a comment

  • Open a transaction by clicking the client information line

  • View a document

  • Mark the thread as read/unread; or archive the thread

Did this answer your question?