Keep clients updated without writing another status email

Every week, the same email: where things stand, what happened, what is next, what you need from them. It takes longer to write than it should, the client skims it, and by Wednesday it is out of date.

There is a calmer way to keep clients informed. Instead of writing a report about the work, give them a window onto it: a page they can open whenever they like, which shows where things stand. This post covers how to do that with any tools, when a live page, a frozen record or a copy they can try is the right fit, and what belongs on a page a client will see.

Why status emails eat your week

A status email looks small, but it hides several jobs:

• Gathering. You collect the facts from wherever the work lives: files, task lists, notes and your own memory.
• Writing. You turn those facts into prose, and pitch it right for this client.
• Repeating. Much of this week's update restates last week's, because the client needs the full picture each time.
• Answering. The email prompts questions, which prompt more emails.

Strip a status email down and it answers three questions: is the work on track, what happens next, and does the client need to do anything? If those answers are always visible, the email shrinks to a line, or disappears.

Sharing the work itself is how you get there. Our guides to people and sharing in PlexiDesk cover every way to do it, and this post focuses on the client case.

A window instead of a report

A window is a page that shows the work as it is, laid out so the client can read it at a glance. It works because it reverses who does the chasing: the client looks when they want to know, instead of waiting for you to tell them.

A good window has a few properties:

• It is always in the same place. One link, bookmarked, that the client opens every time.
• It answers the three questions at the top. Status, next steps and anything needed from the client.
• It is read-only. The client can look but not change your working files.
• It is honest. If something is late, the window says so. A window that is always green stops being believed.

You still talk to your client. The window carries the routine part, so the calls and messages you do send can be about decisions, not updates.

Live view, snapshot or a copy they can use?

There are three kinds of window, and each suits a different moment.

• A live view follows your changes. It suits ongoing work, such as a status board for a retainer, a campaign in progress or a listing that is on the market.
• A snapshot is a frozen record. It suits moments that need a fixed reference: what the plan looked like when it was agreed, the state of the work at sign-off, or an attachment to an email.
• A copy they can use is a working copy the client can try out. It suits templates, demos and worked examples, where seeing it is less useful than trying it.

PlexiDesk offers all three from one share sheet on any desk, and each opens in a web browser, with no account and nothing to install for the client.

• A live view is a read-only web page of the desk. You need to be signed in to publish one, and live views are on every plan. The page updates while PlexiDesk is running on your computer; when PlexiDesk is closed, it shows the last version you published and catches up when you open the app again. Pause publishing holds the page while you are mid-change, Publish now updates it straight away, and Stop sharing turns the link off. See publish a live view of a desk.
• A snapshot is a copy of the desk as it is when you make it, and it never changes. You choose how long the link lasts: Never, 48 hours, 7 days or 30 days. You can also let the client add it to their own PlexiDesk workspace. The page shows "Shared by" with a two-word name rather than your account name. See share a read-only snapshot.
• A desk they can use opens a working copy in the client's browser. Whatever they change stays theirs and never comes back to you, and the link has the same expiry choices. See share a desk anyone can use.

You can stop sharing any of these whenever you like. The sharing and invites guide sets out every option side by side.

What to put on a client-facing desk

Whichever window you choose, lay it out for someone who will spend two minutes on it.

1. A status card at the top. One line on where things stand, such as "On track for launch on 14 November" or "Waiting on your feedback on the homepage", and the date you last updated it. A sticky or a card works well.
2. Next steps, with owners and dates. Three to five items are plenty. Make it obvious which ones belong to the client.
3. Key dates. Milestones, review points and the final deadline, in a short table.
4. The work itself. The latest draft, the designs, the plan or the report, so the client can see the thing and not just a description of it.
5. Decisions on record. A short list of what has been agreed and when, which saves arguments later.

One PlexiDesk detail matters here. A live view shows notes, documents, tables, slides, charts, diagrams, images and PDFs much as they look in the app, but some widgets appear as a placeholder instead, including Tasks, Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Email and Chat. So write the client's next steps in a note or a table on the desk, not in your Tasks widget. People watching can open any widget larger, and switch to a List view that reads the desk from top to bottom, which also suits screen readers.

As an example, Ana, a freelance designer, keeps a client desk with a sticky at the top saying what stage the work is at, a short table of dates, the current mock-ups as images and a note of agreed changes. Her client bookmarks the live view and checks it before their weekly call, so the call starts with decisions.

What to keep off it

Whatever is on the desk can end up in front of the client, so look it over before you share. Keep these off a client-facing desk:

• Internal notes and asides, such as "client is slow to reply" or your own doubts about scope.
• Your margins, rates and costs, unless you mean to share them.
• Other clients' material, including a template you copied that still carries another client's name.
• Draft feedback you have not decided to act on.
• Anything you would not want forwarded. Anyone who has the link can open the page, so send it to the people you mean to share with, and stop sharing when the project ends.

PlexiDesk helps a little here. In a live view, private and personal widgets such as Email, Chat and Desk agent always appear as a placeholder, so the mail and messages in them are not published. A placeholder still shows the widget's title, and a kept email's title is its subject line, so check those too. A snapshot or a desk they can use includes everything on the desk, so check those with extra care. If a desk mixes internal working and client material, keep a separate desk for the client view and share that one.

A short weekly rhythm

A window replaces the status email, but it still needs keeping up. Set aside fifteen minutes at the same time each week:

1. Update the status card and its date, even if the status has not changed.
2. Move finished items off the next-steps list and add the coming week's.
3. Check the dates and flag anything at risk, honestly.
4. Open the live view in a browser, as your client would, and make sure it reads well.
5. Send a short message at milestones, with the link: "The first draft is up on your page, and we need your feedback by Friday."

At the end of a phase, make a snapshot of the desk as a record of what was delivered. When the project is over, stop sharing the live view, and if the work is passing to someone else, our project handover checklist covers what to pass on.

For a full client desk with the people, mail and messages beside the work, see one workspace per client. If you work in a particular field, our pages for real estate agents, marketing teams and graphic designers show what a desk per listing, campaign or client can look like. And for every way to share a desk, browse our guides to people and sharing in PlexiDesk.