Clients and contacts have two options for signing in to the Client Portal: Instant Sign In and Google Sign In. Both sign-in methods improve the overall security of the Client Portal and eliminate the need for clients and contacts to memorize a password.

With Instant Sign In, clients can enter their email address to request a new sign-in link each time they'd like to access the Client Portal. With Google Sign In, clients and contacts who have a Gmail email address associated with their Client Portal can use their Google Account credentials to sign in.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• Inviting clients to the Client Portal
• Using Instant Sign In
• Using Google Sign In
• Troubleshooting Client Portal login issues

Note: Within the Client Portal, clients can fill out intake paperwork, send Secure Messages, request appointments, and make payments. For an overview of the Client Portal that you can share with clients, see our client-facing guide to Getting started with the Client Portal.

Inviting clients to the Client Portal

You can invite new clients to the Client Portal during the client creation process. To do this:

• Click + Create > Create client
• Make sure to enter an email address to grant Client Portal access

• Click Continue
• Follow the prompts to choose the items you’d like to send along with the Client Portal invitation

Note: To learn more about adding clients, see Adding a new client and navigating your Clients and contacts list.

You can also give existing clients access to the Client Portal while sharing documents. To do this, navigate to their client Overview page and click Share.

To activate the Client Portal for an existing client without sharing intake paperwork:

• Navigate to the client’s Overview page
• Select Edit > Client Portal
• Click Send email

Note: An email with consent is required for Client Portal access. To add an email address, navigate to the client’s Overview page > Edit > Client Info tab. Scroll down to the Email section, enter an email address, and select the box next to Email ok.

When you give Client Portal access to a client, they’ll receive an invitation email that contains the unique, one-time link they can use to access the Client Portal. Clicking Sign in will open the Client Portal in a new tab on their browser.

Tip: To customize the Client Portal email templates that clients receive, navigate to Settings > Client Portal > Emails. For more information, see When are different email templates sent to clients?

Instant sign-in links expire after 24 hours and can only be used once. If a client clicks an expired link, they’ll be prompted to request a new instant sign-in link or Continue with Google.

Using Instant Sign In

An existing client can request a new sign-in link every time they access the Client Portal. To do this, they can:

• Navigate to your practice's Client Portal

Tip: For easy access, ask your clients to bookmark your Client Portal URL. You can copy your Client Portal URL from Settings > Domains and send it to your client via Secure Message at any time. To learn more, see Resending a Client Portal invitation.

• Choose I’m an existing client

• Enter the email address associated with their Client Portal
• Select Send link

• If the email address matches the one you have on file for them, they’ll see a message confirming their link has been sent

• Check their inbox for an email with the subject line Sign in to your Client Portal
• Click Sign in

If a client enters an email address that doesn’t exactly match the one you have on file for them, they’ll see a message directing them to try a different email address or reach out to you for assistance:

If a client incorrectly enters an email address too many times, they’ll need to wait before they can try again:

Clients can click Need help? to view our troubleshooting tips. To learn more, see Troubleshooting Client Portal login issues.

Note: Clients can use Instant Sign In to access the SimplePractice Client Portal iPhone app. To learn more, see The SimplePractice Client Portal mobile app.

Using Google Sign In

Note: At this time, SimplePractice only offers social sign-in through Google. A client’s Client Portal access must be associated with a Gmail email address to use this feature. Clients who have an email modifier added to their Gmail address won’t be able to use Google Sign In.

Clients who have a Gmail email address associated with their Client Portal now have the option to sign in with their Google Account credentials. This streamlines the login process by allowing clients to easily and securely sign in to the Client Portal using their existing Google Account, instead of requesting a new instant sign-in link via email.

To use Google Sign In, clients can:

• Navigate to your practice’s Client Portal
• Select I’m an existing client

• Click Continue with Google

• Enter the email address and password associated with their Google Account

Important: When a client uses Google Sign In, Google shares their email address and public profile information with SimplePractice to authenticate their identity. SimplePractice does not share any information with Google.

The next time the client clicks Continue with Google, they may be automatically signed into the Client Portal if they’re logged in to their Google Account on that device.

Clients can remove access for Client Portal Login at any time from their Google Account. For further instructions, they can refer to this Google Help Center guide: Use your Google Account to sign in to other apps or services.

Important: The security of your clients’ data is our highest priority, and we’re dedicated to making sure all of our features exceed information security standards and requirements. If a client is accessing the Client Portal on a public or shared device, we recommend they make sure to fully log out of all accounts, including email, at the end of their browsing session. To learn more about security at SimplePractice, see Being HIPAA compliant with SimplePractice and our BAA, Terms of Services, and Trust & Security information.

Troubleshooting Client Portal login issues

Note: To learn how to resend the Client Portal invitation, customize which features a client has access to, or disable Client Portal access, see Setting up the Client Portal.

If a client is experiencing login issues or reporting that they’re not receiving Client Portal emails, they can click Try these tips or Need help? to see suggestions they can follow.

They'll be presented with the following troubleshooting tips:

• Confirm their email address is spelled correctly
  • They can click Request a new link to re-enter their email or try a different one
• Check their Spam/Junk/Bulk/Updates folder for an email from yourprovider@simplepractice.com
  • They can add yourprovider@simplepractice.com to their email contact list to ensure delivery of their Client Portal emails
• Request a one-time Pin Code from you
  • If the client clicks Sign in via Pin Code, they’ll be directed to call your practice

Note: The practice phone number populates from Settings > My Practice.

If they continue experiencing difficulties signing in, you can:

• Confirm the email address associated with their Client Portal access
  • To view this, navigate to their client Overview page and click Edit > Client Portal
  • For more information, see Troubleshooting client invitations to the Client Portal
• Ask them to add yourprovider@simplepractice.com to their email address book
  • To learn more about troubleshooting email delivery for clients, see Understanding email statuses
• Provide a one-time Pin Code they can use to sign in

To provide a Pin Code:

• Navigate to the client’s Overview page > Edit > Client Portal tab
• Click Generate Pin Code

• Share the 6-digit Pin Code with the client

Note: Pin Codes expire after 24 hours and can only be used once. While sharing the Pin Code with your client, double check that they’re using the email address selected under Client Portal access to sign in.

On their end, the client can enter the Email address associated with their Client Portal and the 6-digit Pin Code, then click Sign in.