Branded file sharing for consultants: a delivery checklist

Send reports and workshop files on your own branded link, collect missing inputs and see who opened them.

5 min readTarkle
Branded file sharing for consultants: a delivery checklist

Branded file sharing for consultants means sending each report, workshop pack and project document on a link with your own name on it, and seeing whether the client opened it. Many consultants still send these as email attachments, which hit size limits and leave no trail, or through a public service that shows nobody's name but the sender's. This checklist follows one delivery from the final review to the follow-up, and it shows which plan fits.

Two colleagues reviewing documents together at an office desk

Photo by Md Ishak Rahman on Unsplash

Check the deliverable before it leaves your desk

Most client mistakes happen before the file is sent. Open the folder once and read it as the client will see it.

  • Remove drafts, internal notes and comments from the files.

  • Put the client's name and a version word in the file names, so the right version is easy to find later.

  • Decide who should open the files: one contact at the client, or the whole project team.

Name the file for the client and the version, like "acme-workshop-pack-final-v2.pdf". The client can find the right file in their inbox without asking which one is final.

Branded file sharing for consultants starts with your own link

File sharing on Tarkle sends files and folders with one branded link, and you decide who can open it. Your logo, colours and favicon appear on every transfer page with custom branding. You can also name the link itself, such as files.yourstudio.com/t/brand-assets, with custom transfer links. The Free plan includes custom branding and a custom domain. Recipients need no Tarkle account to open or download the files. How to create a file transfer walks through the steps.

For a pack that holds unfinished work, add a control. A password is on the Free plan too. An expiry date stops the link after the date you set, with link expiration. A one-time download link stops working after its first download, which suits a final file the client should take once.

If the client needs a second copy of a one-time link, issue a fresh link instead of sending the old one again. The one-time download links feature does this.

Ask for the inputs you are missing

Projects stall when a client has not sent the logo, the data export or the signed list. Ask for those on a link instead of in a long email thread. File requests collect files from anyone with one link, into the folder you choose. Set a deadline on the request, so the client knows when the inputs are due. The Free plan includes file requests too.

Check that the client received it

Sending is half the job. Transfer status shows whether a transfer was delivered, viewed or downloaded. Each transfer shows a Delivered badge once its email is delivered, and Viewed and Downloaded badges with counts. The guide how to see if a recipient opened your transfer explains how to check the badges and the Activity section on a transfer.

Use the result to choose the follow-up. A transfer marked Delivered but never Viewed usually needs a short message that names the file. A transfer marked Downloaded needs no reminder, so you can move to the next step of the project.

Decide when a client portal is worth it

When the same client receives a delivery every month, one link per file gets messy. A client portal gives that client one branded place to receive and manage the files you share with them. On Tarkle the fully branded client portal is part of the Pro plan.

Which plan a consultant needs

Tarkle's pricing page describes Pro as "Best for freelancers and small teams." For most consultants, that is the plan to compare first.

Plan

Price

What it covers

Free

$0

1 workspace, 5 GB, file sharing and file requests, custom branding and a custom domain, uploads up to 1 GB each

Pro

$29 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly ($228/year)

2 workspaces, 3 TB, files up to 200 GB, file versioning, fully branded client portal

Agency

$59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly ($588/year)

Everything in Pro, plus 20 client workspaces and 6 TB

You can test the flow on the Free plan with your own files. Its uploads are capped at 1 GB each. Pro and Agency accept files up to 200 GB, so a larger file needs one of those plans. Agency suits a consultant who runs a separate workspace for each client. The pricing page lists every plan.

Tarkle plans and pricing page

Set this up this week

  1. Start for free on the Free plan and create your first workspace.

  2. Send one real deliverable on a branded link, with a password on it.

  3. Make a file request for the next input you are missing.

  4. Open the transfer afterwards and read its Delivered, Viewed and Downloaded badges.

  5. Check the pricing page before you move a client to Pro.

What to remember about Tarkle

Tarkle sends a consultant's reports and workshop files on a branded link, collects missing inputs with file requests and shows whether each transfer was viewed or downloaded. Free lets you test it with real files. Pro, at $29 a month or $19 a month billed yearly, adds files up to 200 GB and the branded client portal. Start for free, then compare the plans on the pricing page.

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