The prospect portal is a private, read-only web page you can give a franchise prospect so they can follow their own application without logging in. It shows their progress, their FDD review window, the documents you've sent them, any franchise fee due, and who their rep is. It's part of Franchise Sales, the org-level +CRM/Franchise Sales add-on ($799/mo). If your org stops having the add-on, live portal links stop showing anything.
Sending a portal link
- Open the workspace menu at the top of the sidebar, pick your org under Franchise Sales, and open the prospect from the Pipeline.
- In the Contact section, click Portal link.
- The link is copied to your clipboard ("Portal link copied to clipboard"). Paste it into an email or text to the prospect.
Each link works for 30 days. If the prospect already has a link that hasn't expired, clicking Portal link again gives you that same link rather than making a second one. Any rep who can see the prospect can copy the link; read-only members can't.
This is a different link from the one the prospect gets when you use Send FDD, which is for receiving the FDD itself. For sending documents, see Sending FDDs and franchise agreements for e-signature.
What the prospect sees
The page is headed Franchise application portal and greets the prospect by first name, with your org name, their territory of interest and their target investment if you've recorded them.
- Your application timeline: six steps (Contacted, Qualifying call, FDD review, Discovery Day, Sign Franchise Agreement, Onboarding) with a progress bar. Steps tick off from real activity: logged contact, the FDD review window closing, a completed task, a signed franchise agreement, and the prospect converting. It's a simplified view, not your exact pipeline stage.
- Your Franchise Disclosure Document: when the FDD was delivered (Review window opens) and how many days are left (Closes in), or Window closed once 14 days have passed. Before the FDD is delivered, it says it hasn't been sent yet. It also explains the prospect's 14-day review right under the FTC Franchise Rule.
- Your documents: each document's name and type, marked Pending, Sent with a date, or Signed with a date.
- Discovery Day: a short description of the visit and a prompt to contact their rep to pick a date.
- Your franchise rep: the assigned rep's name, email and phone, when a rep is assigned.
The portal never shows your internal notes, deal odds or pipeline stage.
Collecting a franchise fee
If you've set a franchise fee on the prospect and it isn't paid or waived yet, the portal shows a Franchise fee due card with the amount. Until the fee is settled, the document list is hidden and the prospect sees how many documents will unlock once they pay.
The prospect can't pay until their 14-day FDD review window has closed; the card says how many days are left. After that they click Pay and enter a card. Once payment is approved they see "Payment received — thank you!" and their documents unlock shortly after.
Turning off access
- The prospect can click Sign out at the top of the portal. That link stops working right away, and they'll need a new one from you.
- An org owner or admin can click Revoke access in the prospect's Contact section. This shuts off every live portal link for that prospect, including one they may be using right now, and can't be undone. You can send a fresh link afterward.
An expired, revoked or signed-out link shows "This link is invalid or expired" and asks the prospect to request a new one from their rep.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How long does a portal link last?
A: 30 days. Clicking Portal link again while the current link is still valid gives you the same link instead of a new one.
Q: Can the prospect change anything in the portal?
A: No. The portal is read-only, apart from paying an open franchise fee and signing out.
Q: Why can't my prospect see their documents?
A: If a franchise fee is set on their record and hasn't been paid or waived, documents stay hidden until the fee is settled. Otherwise, documents appear once you've added them to the prospect.
Q: Why is the Pay button greyed out?
A: The franchise fee can't be paid until the prospect's 14-day FDD review window has closed. The card shows how many days are left.
Q: Who can revoke portal access?
A: Only org owners and admins. Revoking invalidates every live link for that prospect at once. Any rep who can see the prospect can copy a new link afterward.