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What you will accomplish

You will set up clear document categories, turn on customer access where needed, and help customers upload files themselves from My Documents in the customer portal—so your front desk receives fewer email attachments. This guide is for staff who configure uploads and coach customers. Customers do not use the staff dashboard.

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When to use this guide

  • You want customers to upload insurance cards or registration without emailing photos.
  • Onboarding should collect paperwork, but customers may also need to upload files later.
  • Your team already saves files with Upload a document for a customer and you want the same categories available in the portal.
Signed agreements are differentContracts are PDFs customers sign. Documents are files they upload (insurance, registration, license). If the customer needs to sign a storage agreement, use Send a contract for signature or Attach contracts to customer workflows—not this upload flow.

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Before you start

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Step 1: Confirm document types customers may upload

1

Open Contracts & Documents

Go to Settings > Contracts & Documents.
2

Review Document types for uploads

Scroll to Document types for uploads. Each row is a label customers and staff see when saving a file.Expected result: Types such as Insurance and Vehicle Registration appear with Customer Access enabled for types customers should upload themselves.
3

Turn on Customer Access when needed

Edit a type (or create one) and turn Customer Access on when customers should see or upload that category in the portal.Why this matters: If Customer Access is off, the type is for staff-only uploads—even if you turned on the onboarding upload step.
Document types for uploads in settings showing Insurance and Vehicle Registration with Customer Access
Use Customer Access to control which upload categories appear in the customer portal.

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Step 2: Tell the customer where to go

After the customer signs in to the portal, they open My Documents.
1

Share the portal link

Send your facility’s customer sign-in link (see Share customer login links) or resend a portal invite from Contacts.
2

Open Profile, then My Documents

After the customer signs in, they tap Profile (or Settings) in the bottom navigation, then tap My Documents.The page title reads My Documents with the subtitle View and upload your documents.You can also open My Documents directly when you are already signed in.
Customer portal My Documents page showing document type cards with Upload buttons
Customers upload by document type—Insurance, Registration, and other categories you configured with Customer Access. Expected result: The customer sees one card per allowed document type, each with an Upload button (or Upload your first document when nothing is on file yet).

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Step 3: Walk the customer through an upload

Use plain language on the phone or in email. Read these steps slowly—many customers have never uploaded a file from a phone browser before.
1

Choose the document type

Ask the customer to tap the card that matches their file—for example Insurance for an insurance card photo.Why this matters: Picking the wrong card makes your team relabel the file later. The card name should match what you asked for in email or on the phone.
2

Open Upload

They tap Upload on that card (or Upload your first document when the list is empty).Expected result: A window titled Upload Document opens.
3

Pick a file from their phone or computer

In the Upload Document window, they enter a Title (required), then choose a PDF or photo from their device. Many customers photograph a card with their phone camera.On a phone, Take photo or the camera option works well for insurance cards.Expected result: They see the file name (for example, insurance-card.jpg) before they save.
4

Save the upload

They tap Upload, Save, or Add Document at the bottom of the window.Expected result: The window closes and the file name appears under that document type on My Documents.
Customer portal Upload Document window showing file picker and save button for an insurance upload
The Upload Document window is simple: choose the file, confirm the name looks right, then save. Stay on the phone until the file name appears on My Documents. Expected result: Your team sees the same file on the customer record under Documents & Contracts within a few seconds (see Step 4).

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Step 4: Confirm on the customer record (staff view)

1

Open Contacts

Go to Contacts and open the customer.
2

Scroll to Documents & Contracts

Find the Documents & Contracts section. Uploaded files appear as document cards with the type label you configured.Why this matters: Staff and customers share one file list—no need to hunt through email.
Customer record Documents and Contracts section showing uploaded documents and contracts
Portal uploads appear on the customer record with the same document type label your team uses for staff uploads.

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Optional: Require uploads during first-time onboarding

If every new customer must upload during their first portal visit:
1

Enable customer app onboarding

In Settings > Customer onboarding, expand Customer app onboarding and turn the main switch on.
2

Enable the Document Upload step

In the Onboarding steps list, turn on Document Upload and click Configure to choose required types.See Attach contracts to customer workflows for the full onboarding setup order (cars before contracts when vehicle fields are used).
Document Upload step configuration modal showing required document types for onboarding
During onboarding, customers only see document types you select here—and only types with Customer Access enabled.

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What success looks like

  • Customers can open My Documents after signing in.
  • Each required file type appears with a clear name (Insurance, Registration, and so on).
  • Uploaded files show on the customer record under Documents & Contracts.
  • Your team spends less time saving email attachments manually.

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Troubleshooting

Customer does not see a document typeConfirm Customer Access is on for that type in Settings > Contracts & Documents and that the type Status is active.
Customer cannot find My DocumentsConfirm they completed portal sign-in (not the staff dashboard). Resend the invite from Contacts and ask them to use the link in email.
File uploaded but staff cannot see itOpen the correct customer record. Similar names happen. Refresh the page. If it is still missing, ask the customer to upload again while you stay on the phone.
Use staff upload insteadWhen a customer emails a file and cannot use the portal, save it with Upload a document for a customer.

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What to do next