> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Dates and Countdowns

> Track onboarding milestones with custom dates and show a live countdown timer at the top of the client portal

Custom dates let you capture the key milestones for an onboarding portal, such as the kickoff, hardware delivery, go-live, or the end of a trial period. Mark one date as the countdown and both you and the client see a live countdown of days remaining at the top of the portal.

## Why Use Custom Dates

* **Anchor the onboarding to a deadline** so clients know when it must be complete
* **Track milestones** beyond the built-in portal status
* **Set expectations** with a visible days-remaining counter
* **Pre-populate standard milestones** from your onboarding templates

## Opening the Dates Manager

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Company Onboarding Tab">
    Navigate to the company, then click the **Onboarding** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Manage Dates">
    On the **Overview** tab, click **Manage dates** in the action bar. This opens the dates manager dialog.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The dates manager lists every custom date on the portal, with the countdown-marked date highlighted by a **Countdown** badge.

## Adding a Date

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Add Date">
    Click **Add Date** in the dates manager.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the Fields">
    * **Label** (required), the display name, for example "Go-Live" or "Hardware Delivery"
    * **Description** (optional), additional context for your team and the client
    * **Target Date** (optional), leave empty if you have not committed to a date yet
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle Show Countdown">
    Turn on **Show countdown** to display this date as the active countdown at the top of the portal. Only one date can be the countdown at a time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save** to add the date. It appears immediately on both the admin view and the client portal.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How the Countdown Displays

When a date has **Show countdown** enabled, a box appears at the top of the portal showing:

* The label and optional description
* The target date
* A live calculation of days remaining, or **Today** on the target date, or **X days overdue** once it has passed

Both your admin view and the client's view of the portal show the same countdown.

## Template-Level Dates

You can also define custom dates on an onboarding **template**. Template dates use an **offset in days** from the portal start date rather than an absolute target date.

When you launch a portal from that template, offsets are resolved against the portal's start date to produce target dates automatically. If a template date has no offset, the target date is left empty for you to fill in from the dates manager.

This lets you set up a standard sequence once, for example "Kickoff = day 0, Hardware = day 14, Go-Live = day 45", and have every new portal start with those milestones pre-populated.

## Editing and Deleting Dates

* Click a date row to edit its label, description, target date, or countdown setting
* Toggle countdown on a different date to switch which one shows at the top of the portal
* Delete a date with the row actions menu. Deleting a date does not affect tasks or phases

## What the Client Sees

Clients see custom dates in the portal header area:

* The label, description, and target date for each date
* A live countdown if one date is marked as the countdown

Clients do not see internal fields like template references, created timestamps, or edit controls.

## Related Resources

* [Managing Portals](/user-guides/client-onboarding/managing-portals)
* [Onboarding Templates](/user-guides/client-onboarding/templates)
* [Hiding Items from Client Users](/user-guides/getting-started/hiding-items-from-clients)