Deliver Client Files Under Your Brand

Your client sends the brief by email. You deliver the final files through a third-party link that expires in seven days. A week later, they say they never got it -- and the download notification your client did receive showed a service brand, not yours. Freelancers lose hours every month chasing confirmations on things that should simply arrive.

Why Email and Expiring Links Fall Short

Email attachments cap out at around 25 MB with most providers. Links from file-sharing services expire in seven days on free tiers. Neither gives you visibility into whether your client actually downloaded the file, or when. You send it, hope for the best, and follow up two days later.

The problem compounds for creative freelancers. A photographer delivering a full wedding shoot can easily produce 8 GB of RAW files. A video editor sending a 4K render and its proxy files can hit 20 GB per project. For clients uploading assets back to you -- a brief, raw footage, a signed contract -- the answer is usually 'just email it,' until the file is 6 GB and suddenly nothing works.

Beyond logistics, there is a branding problem: every file you deliver through a third-party service advertises that service to your client. The download notification shows their logo, their domain, and their name. For freelancers whose delivery experience is part of what they charge for, that is a missed opportunity every single time.

What Does Professional File Delivery Look Like?

A dedicated client portal gives each client their own login under your logo -- files flow in both directions, nothing expires, and you get a timestamped record of every upload and download. For a freelancer with 5 to 15 clients, it is the difference between chasing confirmations and knowing at a glance that the work arrived.

In practice, here is how it works:

• You upload deliverables to their folder; they get an email notification immediately.
• They upload source files, briefs, or feedback directly -- no back-and-forth by email.
• You see a log of every access: who downloaded what, and when.
• The client sees your logo and your workspace name, not the tool's brand.

That audit trail matters beyond just logistics. When a client disputes whether you delivered something -- or when you need to confirm that a final version was received before an invoice -- a timestamped record beats a forwarded email every time. If you are new to the concept, our guide on what a client portal is and when you need one covers the full picture.

Does a Branded Portal Have to Be Expensive?

No -- and the pricing model matters more than the headline number. Most client portal tools charge per client seat, which means every active client adds to your monthly bill. If you run 12 active projects and the tool charges $4 per client account, that is $48 a month before you have billed anyone. The pricing logic is inverted from how freelance work actually operates.

ProjectSend Cloud uses a different model: you pay for active client accounts -- the clients who are currently working with you. When a project wraps, you archive that account. It stops counting toward your plan limit immediately, and all uploaded files stay available in your archive. Your clients never pay and are never counted as staff seats.

The Free plan gives you a personal account on a shared site with 2 GB of storage and a private link for every file, kept for 30 days -- with no credit card and no time limit. It is a real plan, not a trial. For a freelancer just getting started, handing over a deliverable by link now and then, the Free plan can cover the workflow; client logins under your logo come with Pro.

When your practice grows, Pro at $19/month gives you 25 active client accounts, 100 GB of storage, and 3 workspace users -- useful if you bring in a collaborator or a VA. Beyond 25 active accounts, each additional one costs $0.40/month. For most freelancers managing 5 to 15 clients, Pro covers the full range.

How Do You Set It Up?

Getting your first client into a branded portal takes about five minutes. See the full walkthrough at how it works. The short version:

1. Choose a plan. The Free plan requires no credit card.
2. Upload your logo and set your workspace name. Your clients will only see your branding.
3. Invite your first client by email. They receive a link, set a password, and land directly in their dedicated folder.

If you already run ProjectSend on your own server, you can migrate to Cloud in under 48 hours for free -- users, clients, files, and configuration included. A self-hosted install is just one tenant in Cloud, and the migration works in both directions.

What Happens to Your Files If You Leave?

ProjectSend is open source software with 1,900+ GitHub stars and 4.8M+ Docker downloads, licensed under GPLv2. The same code that powers ProjectSend Cloud runs on 4,000+ active self-hosted instances worldwide. If you ever want to move to a self-hosted setup, your data comes with you -- no proprietary format, no lock-in, no exit fee.

"The code is open. So is your exit." ProjectSend Cloud is built by the same team that maintains the open source project. Every subscription directly funds the software that 4,000+ teams already run on their own infrastructure. You get the hosted convenience; the community gets a healthier codebase; and your exit ramp is always there.

If delivering files under your own brand -- with a full history and no expiring links -- sounds like the upgrade your freelance workflow needs, start free today. No credit card. No time limit.