This article explains how small businesses and professional service providers can use Bunkor as a secure client portal for small businesses to safely share sensitive documents—such as contracts, financial files, HR records, and project deliverables—without relying on email attachments or consumer file-sharing tools.

Why Use a Secure Client Portal for Small Businesses?

Small businesses routinely exchange sensitive information with clients, partners, and vendors. Email attachments, shared drives, and consumer file-sharing platforms create unnecessary security risks and make it difficult to control who has access to important files.

Many small businesses adopt a secure client portal to:

• Protect sensitive business and client data
• Keep files encrypted and access-controlled
• Share large files securely (hundreds of MBs to multiple GBs)
• Avoid documents living in inboxes or unsecured links
• Maintain clear ownership and visibility over shared files

Two Ways a Secure Client Portal for Small Businesses Shares Files

Bunkor provides two primary methods for securely exchanging files with clients. The right option depends on whether you need ongoing access or one-time delivery.

Option 1: Vaults (Secure Client Portals for Small Businesses)

Best for: Ongoing client relationships and long-term document access

Vaults function like secure client portals for small businesses, allowing controlled, ongoing access to shared documents in an encrypted environment. Many businesses create one Vault per client or project to keep files organized.

How Vaults Work

• Each Vault can be dedicated to a specific client or project
• Files remain available until you remove access or delete them
• If a file is deleted, it is no longer accessible to anyone
• Access does not expire automatically, making Vaults ideal for ongoing collaboration

Sharing a Vault

You can share a Vault in two ways:

1. Invite by Email

• Share the Vault with a specific email address
• Assign a role (e.g., Viewer or Uploader)
• The recipient creates a Bunkor account and accesses the Vault under “Shared with me”

2. Secure Share Link

• Share a private URL to the Vault
• Enable password protection in the Vault settings for added security
• Passwords cannot be reset, so many businesses use client-specific information they already manage rather than storing passwords separately

Receiving Files from Clients

Vaults also support secure file intake:

• Assign recipients the Uploader role so they can submit documents
• Create a File Drop page connected to the Vault

File Drop pages can be branded with your business name and logo, and any files uploaded through the link are automatically saved to the correct Vault.

Option 2: Secure Email (Time-Limited Access)

Best for: One-off or time-sensitive file sharing

Secure email allows businesses to send files as protected attachments with built-in expiration controls.

How Secure Email Works

• Files are sent as encrypted secure attachments
• You choose when access expires (after download, or 1–14 days)
• Once expired, the recipient can no longer access the file
• The file and its audit record remain visible in your sent folder

Secure email is ideal when ongoing access is not required.

Recommended Secure Client Portal Setup for Small Businesses

For most small businesses looking to securely share files with clients:

• Use Vaults as client or project portals for ongoing access
• Pair Vaults with File Drop pages so clients can securely upload documents
• Use Secure Email for one-off or time-limited file delivery

This setup provides strong security today while remaining simple and scalable as your business grows.

Get Help Setting Up a Secure Client Portal for Small Businesses

If you’d like help:

• Structuring client or project-based Vaults
• Setting up File Drop pages
• Choosing the right sharing method for your workflow

Our team is happy to help you get started.

Bunkor
A secure client portal for small businesses built to protect sensitive files

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