3 Ways to Update Clients on Project Progress in 2026
Email updates, client portals, and public status pages. Each method has a different setup cost, update frequency, and client experience. Here is which one fits which team size.
How most agencies update clients today
The default agency client update process: the account manager opens the project board at the end of the week, writes a summary of what was completed, what is in progress, and what is next, and emails it to the client. For one client: 30–60 minutes per week. For eight clients: 4–8 hours per week. At 8 clients, that is a full working day each week, spent moving information from the workspace to the client's inbox, every piece of it already existing in the project board. The inefficiency is obvious. The three alternatives below each eliminate a different portion of it.
"At 8 clients, that is a full working day each week, spent moving information from the workspace to the client's inbox, every piece of it already existing in the project board."
Method 1: Email updates
Email updates are the baseline method, no tool setup required, works for any client, full editorial control over what is shared.
- Pro: No setup, works immediately with any client
- Pro: Full editorial control, the AM decides what to include
- Pro: Ideal for 2–4 clients where the relationship is highly personal
- Con: Updates are a snapshot of one moment, outdated the moment they are sent
- Con: 30–60 minutes per client per week of non-billable AM time
- Con: At 8 clients, this is a full working day per week
Method 2: Client portal
A client portal gives the client their own view into the project workspace, they log in, see their project's task list, and can communicate with the team directly.
- Pro: Client can check progress at any time, no need to ask for an update
- Pro: Suited for clients with multiple stakeholders who need shared visibility
- Pro: Reduces ad-hoc update requests significantly
- Con: Login friction, some clients find this barrier too high and do not use it
- Con: Setup time, each client needs their own portal configured
- Con: Onboarding cost, the AM needs to walk the client through using the portal
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Method 3: Public status page
A public status page is a shareable link that shows the project's current progress, no client login required.
- Pro: Zero friction for the client, click the link, see the project status
- Pro: Live data, updates automatically as tasks are completed in the workspace
- Pro: Takes under 60 seconds to enable and share
- Con: Less editorial control, the AM cannot curate what is visible
- Con: Internal tasks and sensitive information must be excluded from the project before sharing
- Con: Works best with a short contextual note from the AM accompanying the link
Which method works for which team size
The right method depends on the number of active clients and the relationship style:
- 2–5 clients: email updates are manageable, 2.5–5 hours/week, relationship stays personal
- 6–15 clients: public status page eliminates 80% of update time, share once, client checks live data
- 15+ clients: client portal + status page combination, portal for high-touch relationships, status page for the rest
How Melororium handles client updates
Melororium includes public status pages as a native feature, no integration or setup beyond enabling the feature per project. The AM enables the status page in project settings, copies the link, and shares it with the client. The page shows overall progress percentage, task list by status, deadlines for open tasks, and a built-in real-time chat. For teams also managing client portals: Melororium's client portal gives the client a login-based view with more context, full task descriptions, file attachments, and threaded conversation per task.
Set up a client status page for your next project in under 60 seconds.
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