Client sign-in and magic links

Clients never make a password and never make an account. They type their email address at maelo.app/client-hub, tap Email me a login link, and open the link that arrives. That is the whole thing.

The link goes to a page that says Almost there! with a single Continue button. Tapping it signs them in and drops them exactly where they were heading, usually the request the email was about. The extra tap is there because some email providers open links automatically to scan them, and without it those scanners would use the link up before your client ever saw it.

Once they have done it in a browser, they stay signed in on that browser. They do not have to repeat it every visit, which is what the sign-in screen tells them up front. There is nothing for you to approve or grant. Anyone who has sent you a request can get in with the email address they used.

A login link is good for one hour and works once. Open it after that, or open one you have already used, and the client lands back on the sign-in screen with a message reading "That login link has expired or was already used. Enter your email below and we'll send a fresh one."

That is not an error to report. It is the expected outcome of clicking a link from yesterday's email. They type their address again, tap Email me a login link, and use the new one. Old emails always have a working button, because the button asks for a fresh link rather than carrying an old one.

This is the common one, and it is almost always the junk folder. The Check your email screen says so, and it also offers an Open Gmail style button that takes them straight to their mail app or webmail.

1. 1

   Check junk and spam

   Search the mailbox for the artist's name rather than scrolling. Marking the email as not junk stops it happening next time.
2. 2

   Wait, then resend

   Resend login link unlocks 60 seconds after the last one. Until then the button counts down.
3. 3

   Ask for a code instead

   At the bottom of the same screen, Send me a 6-digit code instead emails a short code they type in rather than a link to click. The code is good for five minutes. This is the one that gets past aggressive link filtering at work addresses.

The hub only knows a client by the address they booked with. Someone who submitted a request from a personal address and then tries to sign in with their work one will get in, but their booking will not be there, because as far as Maelo is concerned that is a different person.

Use a different email on the check-your-email screen takes them back a step so they can try the right one. If you are not sure which address they used, open their profile on Clients and read it off the record. That address is the one that works.

If they genuinely need the booking under a different address, correct the email on their client record with Edit Client from the row menu, then have them sign in with the new one. See Client profiles and notes.

Links are not tied to the device that asked for one. A client can request a link on their laptop and open it on their phone, and it works. Signing in on a second device just means a second link, which is normal.

One thing does break it. Some mail apps shorten long links and cut off the end. If that happens they see a page reading This link is incomplete with a Get a new link button. Ask them to open the email in a different app, or use the 6-digit code, which cannot be truncated.

A few things worth running through before it becomes a bigger problem:

• •Check the email on their client record matches the one they are typing, character for character.
• •Ask them to try the 6-digit code rather than the link, which rules out link filtering entirely.
• •Ask them to try a normal browser rather than an in-app one, since links opened inside another app sometimes behave oddly.

Nothing is blocked while they sort it out. You can still message them from your Messages page and they will still get the email, and their booking, their deposit and their appointment are all unaffected by not being able to sign in. If none of the above works, get in touch from Help and support with the email address they are using.