By default your customers reach their portal on a ClippingCash address. With a custom domain they reach it at something like portal.yourbusiness.com, which looks like you rather than like a supplier of yours.
This one involves DNS, so it is the most technical thing in these guides. It is still only one record.
1 Decide the address
Use a subdomain of a domain you already own. portal.yourbusiness.com or my.yourbusiness.com are the usual choices.
You need access to wherever your domain’s DNS is managed. That is often your website host or wherever you bought the domain, and if someone built your website they may hold it.
2 Add the domain in ClippingCash
Add your chosen domain on the custom domains screen. ClippingCash then tells you which record to create. It supports verification by DNS CNAME, DNS TXT Record, or DNS A Record, and shows you which one applies.
For the portal you will typically be adding a CNAME record, and the screen states plainly what it is for: add this CNAME record to make your custom domain display the customer portal with your branding.
3 Create the DNS record
In your DNS provider, create the record exactly as shown. Copy and paste it rather than typing it.
Two things that trip people up:
- Some DNS providers want just the subdomain part (
portal) where others want the full name (portal.yourbusiness.com). If it is rejected, try the other form. - DNS changes are not instant. Propagation usually takes minutes but can take hours. Nothing is broken if it does not verify immediately.
4 Verify
Back in ClippingCash, trigger verification. The domain carries a status badge:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| PENDING | Waiting for you to add the record |
| VERIFYING | Checking now |
| VERIFIED | Working |
If it fails, the screen shows the verification error, which is worth reading rather than just retrying. It usually names the actual problem, which is nearly always a record that does not match what was asked for.
5 If verification will not pass
Work through these in order:
- Re-read the required record and compare it character by character with what you created.
- Check you created it on the right domain, which matters if you own several.
- Wait longer. Genuinely: an hour is not unusual.
- Check you did not create a conflicting record for the same name.
If you have a web person, this is a two-minute job for them and worth handing over rather than fighting.
Is it worth doing
Honestly: it is polish, not function. The portal works perfectly well on the default address, and a solo operator has better things to do in March.
It is worth it when you are quoting commercial work or competing on looking established. A portal on your own domain removes the moment where a customer wonders who this other company in the URL is.
Set the portal up first if you have not: how to set up the customer portal.