Client Portal Billing Notifications

Clients can now receive direct notifications for new invoices or estimates inside the Client Portal. This ensures they see billing updates immediately, reducing delays in payments and approvals that often occur when clients miss email notifications.

1. Log in to the Client Portal.
2. Open the Notifications panel.
3. Select the relevant notification to view the invoice or estimate.

Tip: No setup is required for this feature; it is automatically available to all contacts using the Client Portal.

Self-Service Appointment Booking

Clients can now manage their own schedules directly through the Client Portal. This allows them to book, view, and reschedule appointments without needing to call your office or send multiple emails, saving significant administrative time.

1. Navigate to Calendars → Calendar Settings → Meetings → Calendars.
2. Open the specific calendar you want to make available and click Edit Calendar.
3. Under Booking Channels, turn on Client Portal booking and click Save changes.
4. Navigate to Memberships → Client Portal → Settings → App Permissions.
5. Enable Appointments and save your settings.

AI-Powered WhatsApp Analytics

The AI Assistant in Workflows now includes WhatsApp performance reporting alongside email and SMS data. This allows you to track message delivery and read rates for WhatsApp steps within the same conversational interface used for other channels.

1. Open the AI Assistant within any workflow.
2. Ask for specific metrics using plain language, such as "fetch the WhatsApp delivery stats for this workflow for the last 2 weeks."

Tip: You can ask the assistant to compare current performance against a previous time period to see if your engagement is trending up or down.

Contact Detail Overlays

You can now view contact details without leaving your current screen. When you click a contact name from an opportunity or appointment, an overlay appears instead of redirecting you away from your work. This helps maintain context and speeds up information retrieval during busy workflows.

1. Click a contact's name on the opportunities or appointments page.
2. Select Single-column view to see details in a side panel alongside conversations.
3. Select Two-column view for an expanded conversation and detail view.
4. Choose Go directly to the Contact details page if you require the full-screen experience.

HubSpot Data Import

Migrating data from HubSpot is now much simpler with the direct importer. Instead of manually exporting and importing CSV files, you can connect your account to bring over contacts, deals, companies, and more directly into Cogent CRM.

1. Navigate to Contacts, Companies, or Opportunities.
2. Click Import and select Connect HubSpot.
3. Sign in to your HubSpot account.
4. Select the specific objects and data you wish to import.
5. Review the record counts and click Confirm and start import.

Tip: You can track the progress of your migration through the Import History table, which highlights successful or failed records.

How-to: Manage appointments through the client portal

Clients can now book, view, and manage their own appointments through the Client Portal. This feature reduces administrative overhead by allowing clients to handle scheduling without needing to exchange multiple emails.

1. Go to Calendar Settings in Cogent CRM.
2. Enable specific calendars for booking under the Booking Channels section of each calendar.
3. Ensure the Appointments app is enabled within your Client Portal App Permissions.

How-to: Use custom values in dashboards and reporting

You can now add custom values to dashboard widgets, user fields, and location fields. This lets your dashboards dynamically pull information relevant to your practice into your reporting views.

Tip: Use custom values to keep your reporting accurate and dynamic across your account.