Because they cannot see anything, so they ask. Somebody spends an hour writing a snapshot that is stale before it is sent, and the client still cannot tell what happens next week.
The client portal gives a client a read-only view of their project: phases, dates, progress, deliverables and what is waiting on them.
The portal reads the same plan the team works from, filtered to what you expose. It updates because it is the plan, not a report generated from it.
A project stalls waiting on client sign-off. The portal shows it as waiting on them, with the date it started waiting — which usually resolves it without a phone call.
It never shows cost, margin, internal tasks, notes or unapproved work. Those cannot be exposed by configuration, because a mis-set toggle is not a risk worth carrying.
Phases, milestones, exposed deliverables and approvals. The customer record is the same one Flow and Desk use, so the client is one organisation across the suite.
Yes, per person, so approvals are attributable.
Yes, per project, from phases down to individual deliverables.
No. Support goes to Desk, on the same customer record.
Fourteen days, every module, no card. Or half an hour with someone who will run it on your own records and tell you where it does not help.