A secure, branded web interface, separate from the main app, that shares a filtered view of your Kinabase data with internal colleagues or external collaborators.

s are standalone web applications that let you share your Kinabase data with people who don't need full access to your workspace - whether that's field engineers checking job details on-site, clients viewing their project status, or partners accessing shared inventory.

1. What Are Portals?

Portals provide a focused, branded interface for specific users to interact with your data. Unlike giving someone full Kinabase access, portals let you:

Control what they see

Choose exactly which collections

Collection

A container for records in Kinabase, similar to a table in a spreadsheet or database, used to organise one type of data such as Projects or Contacts.

, fields

Field

A single piece of information stored on every record in a Collection, such as text, a number or a date, similar to a column in a spreadsheet.

, and records

Record

An individual entry within a Collection, like a row in a database table, representing one item or entity such as a customer or an order.

each portal displays.

Keep data secure

Apply filters to show users only the records relevant to them - like a client seeing only their own projects.

Maintain your brand

Apply your organisation's branding, colours, and even use a custom domain.

Enable self-service

Let users trigger automations

Automation

A rule that automatically runs one or more Steps, such as sending a notification or updating a record, when its Trigger conditions are met.

, complete forms

Form

An Automation whose first Step opens a data-entry screen, used to collect structured information from colleagues, or from external users via a Portal.

, and move records through workflow

Workflow

A structured process, built from Stages and Actions, that a record moves through to represent its status in a business process, such as a sales pipeline.

stages.

2. Portal Types

Kinabase offers two types of portals, designed for different audiences.

Internal Portals

Internal portals are for your own colleagues, who sign in with their Kinabase account using Sign in with Kinabase Account - the same credentials they use to access Kinabase directly. They're ideal for:

Field engineers - accessing job sheets, equipment details, and site information on mobile devices
Warehouse staff - viewing inventory and stock levels without needing full Kinabase access
Inspectors - completing checklists and recording findings on-site
Remote workers - accessing specific data while away from the office

Read our Internal Portals guide for setup instructions.

External Portals

External portals are for people outside your organisation - clients, vendors, partners, or volunteers who need access to specific data. These users:

Sign in using email verification codes (no Kinabase account required)
Are matched to records in a user collection you specify
See only the data filtered to their specific record

External portals are perfect for:

Clients - viewing project status, invoices, and deliverables
Vendors - checking order status and delivery schedules
Partners - accessing shared inventory or collaborative projects
Volunteers - viewing assigned tasks and event schedules
Donors - tracking the impact of their contributions

Read our External Portals guide for setup instructions.

3. Portal Features

Both portal types share a powerful set of features.

Portals can include multiple navigation items, each displaying different content:

Collection Views - display records from your collections in table or catalogue format
Reports - show dashboards
Dashboard
Your personal landing page in Kinabase, with Home, Tasks, Activities and Reports tabs, where you keep track of your work and view Reports across collections.
with charts and widgets
External Links - provide quick access to external websites or resources

Each navigation item can have access conditions to control who sees it. For internal portals, restrict items by role or with custom conditions; for external portals, build conditions against the user record.

Read our Portal Views guide for details on configuring displays, fields, filters and named views.

Actions and Automations

Portal users can execute form

Form

An Automation whose first Step opens a data-entry screen, used to collect structured information from colleagues, or from external users via a Portal.

s to collect input and trigger actions, move records through workflow

Workflow

A structured process, built from Stages and Actions, that a record moves through to represent its status in a business process, such as a sales pipeline.

stages where permitted, and export data to CSV where permitted.

Branding and Customisation

Make portals feel like an extension of your brand: apply your organisation's Brand Guide

Brand Guide

Your organisation's style settings in Kinabase — colours, fonts and logos — used to keep the app and your Portals looking consistent with your brand.

identity, customise background colours and welcome messages, and use a custom domain (e.g. portal.yourcompany.com).

Read our Custom Domains & Branding guide for setup details.

4. Creating a Portal

1. Open Portal settings

Go to Settings → Operations → Portals, then click + Add Portal.

2. Select the user type

Select whether this will be an Internal Users or External Users portal.

The user type cannot be changed after the portal is created, so choose carefully.

3. Configure the portal

Work through the available tabs:

General - name, icon, description, support contact details
Structure - navigation items and their configuration
Users - access permissions and user matching (for external portals)
Hosting - Kinabase subdomain or custom domain
Emails - invitation and sign-in email templates
Display - welcome messages, branding, and homepage settings
Security - inactivity timeouts for session management

For external portals, the Users tab is where you set the User Data Source: select the collection that stores your portal users, select the Email Field used for authentication, and optionally select a Display Name Field for greetings like "Welcome John!" (falls back to the collection's primary field if not set).

5. Managing Portal Access

For internal portals, you control access by selecting which users or roles can access the portal.

For external portals, users are matched to records in a designated user collection. Each user record moves through five access states - No Portal Access, Access Granted, Pending Access, Invited, and Active User - as you grant access, send invitations, and they sign in.

Read our Managing Portal Users guide for the full access-state reference and step-by-step instructions.

6. Troubleshooting Portals

If you're experiencing issues with portals:

Users can't sign in

Internal portals: ensure the user has a Kinabase account and the correct permissions.
External portals: check that the user's email matches a record in the user collection, and that access has been granted.
Verify the outbound email address is configured correctly in the portal's Emails tab.

Users can't see expected data

Review the field visibility settings for the navigation item.
Check any filters applied to the collection.
Check whether access conditions on navigation items are hiding pages from the user.
For external portals, verify the user-based filters are correctly configured.

Custom domain not working

Ensure the CNAME record points to portal.kinabase.cloud.
Allow up to 24 hours for DNS changes to propagate.
Click Verify Domain in the portal's Hosting tab to check the configuration.

Emails not being received

Confirm the outbound email address is correctly configured.
Check spam and junk folders.
Verify the email address in the user record is correct.

Next Steps

Ready to set up your first portal? Choose your starting point:

Internal Portals - for your own team members
External Portals - for clients and partners
Portal Views - configure how data is displayed
Managing Portal Users - control access and invitations
Custom Domains & Branding - make it your own
Portal Security - configure inactivity timeouts

Portals transform Kinabase from an internal tool into a platform for collaboration with anyone who needs access to your data - all while maintaining security and your brand identity.

Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.

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