Think of the flow as three stages: collect → plan → present. You collect insights from many sources, turn them into planned work, then present that work in meetings with the client.
The Big Picture
Stage 1: Collect — Where Data Enters the System
Every client engagement starts with gathering information. MSPortal pulls that information from five primary sources.Surveys
Surveys are how you capture the client’s own words — their frustrations, priorities, risks, and wishlist.- Send a survey to a stakeholder at the client company
- Responses arrive in the Surveys module, grouped by question
- Each answer becomes a row you can review, tag, and act on
Microsoft 365
When a client connects their Microsoft 365 tenant, MSPortal continuously pulls in:- Licenses — who has what, where you’re overspending, where you’re at risk
- Users and mailboxes — account hygiene and sign-in activity
- Secure Score controls — Microsoft’s recommendations for tightening security
- Domains and admin roles — configuration drift and risk indicators
Compliance
The Compliance module turns frameworks like CIS, NIST, Essential 8, and HIPAA into checklists you can run against each client.- Apply a template to a company
- Mark each control as pass, fail, partial, or not applicable
- Failing controls become the raw material for remediation work
Tool Stack
The Tool Stack module is the client’s inventory of software and services, with costs, renewal dates, and your recommendations.- Every tool has a status (keep, replace, upgrade, remove)
- Renewal dates and contract terms are tracked
- Recommendations you make here are candidates for the planner
Devices
Devices come in from your RMM (Datto, Syncro, Addigy, NinjaOne, and others) and from Microsoft 365.- Each device has a serial, model, warranty end date, and health signals
- Devices can be attached to planner items, compliance checks, and meeting agendas
- Warranty and end-of-life dates drive proactive replacement planning
Stage 2: Refine — From Insight to Goal
Raw data from Stage 1 needs a human to decide what matters. Goals are where you commit to a specific outcome.Review survey responses
Open a survey in the Surveys module. For any response that reveals a real need, click Create Goal. The response text becomes the goal’s starting description, and the goal is linked back to the survey answer so you can always trace the source.
Create goals from multiple answers
When several responses point to the same theme, select them together and choose Create Combined Goal. MSPortal merges the responses into a single strategic goal.
Let AI propose goals
Run AI analysis on a survey to surface themes across all responses. Each theme can be accepted as a goal with one click.
Stage 3: Plan — Turning Goals Into Work
The Planner is the center of the system. Almost everything from Stage 1 and Stage 2 can become a planner item.What feeds the Planner
| Source | How it gets to Planner |
|---|---|
| Goals | Click Add to Planner on any goal to create a task that delivers it |
| Compliance findings | Failed controls can be linked to planner items that track the remediation |
| Microsoft 365 Secure Score | Select a Secure Score control and link it to a planner item to track the fix |
| Tool Stack | Tool renewals and replacement decisions link to planner items for scheduling |
| Devices | Attach devices to planner items (warranty replacements, upgrades, reimaging) |
| Automation rules | Rules can create planner items automatically when conditions are met |
| Manual | Add any planner item directly with the + New Item button |
What a planner item carries
Every planner item can hold:- Title, description, status, and priority
- Start and due dates for the timeline view
- Estimated hours and cost estimate for budgeting
- Linked devices (which machines this work affects)
- Linked source (the originating goal, compliance check, tool, or survey)
- Assigned team member and company
Stage 4: Budget — Cost Planning From Planner Items
Once planner items have cost estimates and hours, the Budgets module rolls them up into a financial view the client can approve.Planner items contribute costs
Any planner item with a cost estimate or hours becomes a line item candidate for the budget.
Budget line items reference planner work
In the Budgets module, you build line items that pull from planned work. Labor rolls up from planner hours, and projects and products roll up from planner cost estimates.
Forecast forward
Use the Budget Forecast function to project the budget into future periods. The forecast models upcoming renewals, planned replacements, and recurring work so the client sees where spending is headed, not just where it is today.
Stage 5: Present — Meetings and Reporting
There are two ways to bring everything together for the client: live in a Meeting and on paper in a Report. Both pull from the same underlying data, so nothing has to be copied or kept in sync.Meetings
Meetings are where you close the loop with the client in real time. The Meetings module lets you assemble an agenda from anything in the system. From any meeting, click Add to Agenda or use the Add to Meeting row action on any list page. The following item types are supported:- Goals — strategic objectives for review
- Planner items — work in flight, upcoming milestones
- Compliance findings — gaps that need client decisions
- Secure Score controls — Microsoft 365 security posture
- Tool Stack — tools under review, renewals coming up
- Budgets — spending review and upcoming approvals, including the forecast widget
- Devices — warranty replacements, end-of-life upgrades
- Training — assigned training and completion status
- Free-form notes — anything that does not live in another module
Reporting
Reports give the client a durable artifact they can read, forward, and reference later. MSPortal supports two report styles, and both can mix and match data from every module.Block-based reports
Built in the Report Builder from reusable widgets. Drop in compliance scores, planner timelines, budget summaries, the budget forecast widget, device lists, Secure Score charts, and more. Arrange them on a responsive grid and save as a template to reuse for every client.
Narrative reports
Long-form, written reports generated from the same data. Use these for QBR write-ups, executive summaries, and compliance attestations where the client needs context and commentary around the numbers, not just the charts.
Automations: Shortcuts Across the Flow
Automation rules let you skip the manual steps for repeatable patterns. Rules listen for events and run actions, so Stage 1 data can arrive in Stage 3 or 5 automatically. Examples:- Survey response arrives → create a planner item for the account manager to follow up
- Device warranty within 60 days → add a planner item for replacement planning
- Compliance control fails → add to the next client meeting agenda
- Tool Stack renewal within 90 days → notify the team and create a review task
Where Devices Fit Everywhere
Devices are special because they can attach to almost anything. A single laptop might be:- Linked to a planner item tracking its replacement
- Flagged in a compliance check for missing encryption
- Listed on a meeting agenda for the client to approve the replacement
- Mentioned in Microsoft 365 data for the user assigned to it
Putting It All Together
A typical client journey looks like this:Kickoff
Send an onboarding survey. Connect Microsoft 365. Import devices from the RMM. Run the first compliance assessment.
Analyze
Review survey responses and turn the important ones into goals. Review compliance failures and Secure Score recommendations.
Plan
Create planner items from each goal, compliance finding, and tool stack recommendation. Attach affected devices. Set costs and hours.
Budget
Build the annual or quarterly budget by rolling up planner costs into line items. Share with the client for approval.
Present
Build a QBR meeting agenda with goals, planner progress, compliance gaps, and budget status (including the forecast). Present it live with the client, then send a block-based or narrative report as the written follow-up.