🔔 Understanding Client Hub Notifications (Accountant Users)

Last Updated: September 2026

Client Hub uses multiple indicators to help you track activity across client workspaces.

These indicators serve different purposes and do not all clear in the same way. Understanding how each one works will help prevent confusion and ensure nothing is missed.

Blue conversation bubble (next to a client name)

What it means

There are unread messages or conversation activity for that client. When a new message arrives, or when you open Client Hub with unread messages waiting, you'll hear a notification sound (this can be turned off in Notification Settings).

Inside a conversation, a NEW divider line marks exactly where the unread messages begin, so you can jump straight to what you haven't seen yet.

You can choose whose messages create this bubble — from clients, from firm users, or both — under Message Bubbles in Notification Settings.

What clears it

• Clicking the blue conversation bubble
• Entering the client workspace and viewing the conversation

What it does NOT affect

• Notification bells
• Notification counts
• The global notification panel

📌 Important: Messages are not notifications. They use a separate system.

🔔 Client-Level Notification Bell (Specific Client)

Bell icon next to the client name or in the client header

What it means

There are notifications related to that specific client workspace, such as:

• Client Task responses
• File uploads
• Other tracked client activity
• @mentions or assignments involving that workspace

You can control which of these show up here — client activity, task mentions and assignments, and system notifications — under Activity Bell in Notification Settings.

What clears it

• Clicking the bell icon directly — this takes you to the specific notification and clears it
• Marking all as read (checkmark) from the global notification panel

What does NOT clear it

• Entering the client workspace and browsing its tabs (File Manager, Jobs, Client Details, etc.) without clicking the bell
• Viewing messages

📌 Tip: If this bell is showing, click the bell icon directly, or mark all as read from the global notification panel. Opening the workspace alone won't clear it.

🔔 Global Notification Bell (Left Sidebar)

Bell icon on the far-left sidebar (with pulsing red dot)

What it means

There are unread notifications across all client workspaces. Your browser tab title also displays your combined unread message and notification count, so you can see at a glance whether anything needs attention without switching back to Client Hub.

How it works

• Opening the panel does not automatically mark notifications as read
• This ensures important activity is not dismissed accidentally
• The bell stays active until you take action on a notification — simply reopening or refreshing the workspace will not clear it

What clears it

• Clicking Mark as Read at the top of the notification list, or clicking directly into a notification

What it does NOT clear

• Blue conversation bubbles
• Client workspace indicators

📌 Important: Clearing the global bell only clears items in that panel.

👁️ Notifications vs Read Receipts

Notifications and read receipts serve different purposes:

• Notifications alert you when new activity occurs (tasks, uploads, updates)
• Read receipts (Seen by / Viewed by) show who has opened or viewed a message

Viewing a message may clear message indicators and prevent additional notifications, but read receipts are displayed separately within the conversation.

🧠 Why This Can Feel Confusing (and What to Remember)

There are three separate indicators, and no single action clears all of them:

Because of this, it's possible to:

• Clear messages but still see notification bells
• See a client-level bell still showing even after visiting that client's workspace, until the bell itself is clicked
• See indicators that feel "already handled" but haven't been cleared in that system yet

This behavior is expected and helps prevent missed activity, even though it may feel repetitive at first.

🧭 Managing Notification Volume

Click your profile photo (bottom-left) and select Notification Settings to control where and how you're notified.

Where to get notified

• Notifications post to the bell icon in Client Hub, and new messages appear as a message bubble next to the workspace name.
• Download the Client Hub mobile app (iOS or Android) to enable mobile push notifications.
• Toggle whether new messages and notifications play a sound.

Focus / Do Not Disturb

Pause all notifications — sound notifications pause too — for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, or until your next workday. You can choose whether task mentions and assignments still come through while Focus is on.

Message Bubbles

Choose which conversation messages create an unread bubble: messages from clients, messages from firm users, or both.

Activity Bell

Choose which activity appears in your notification center: client activity (a client answers a Client Task or uploads a file), task mentions and assignments (someone mentions you in a job comment or assigns you a job or task group), and system notifications (for example, a blocked job becoming unblocked, or someone accepting an invite to join).

📌 Note: Turning off task mentions and assignments may cause you to miss mentions and work assigned to you.

Email

Turn on email delivery for notifications that remain unread, and choose how long to wait — for example, 15 minutes — before that email goes out.

Followed Client Workspaces

Following a workspace controls whether you get notified about its overall client and firm activity — it does not affect message bubbles, task mentions, assignments, or system notifications, which follow their own settings above. New client workspaces are automatically followed by default (this can also be toggled off), and you can review or update which workspaces you follow from this list.

🔄 Unfollowing vs. Unassigning — What's the Difference?

These are two separate actions that affect your experience in different ways. It's easy to assume one does the job of the other, but they work independently.

Unfollowing a workspace (in your Profile > Notification Settings) stops notifications for that workspace's overall client and firm activity. However, message bubbles, task mentions and assignments, and system notifications are controlled by their own separate settings and will still apply even if you've unfollowed that workspace.

Removing yourself from a workspace assignment (in Client Details > People > Staff) removes that client from your My Client List entirely. You will no longer see message bubbles or receive notifications for that workspace. Keep in mind that once unassigned, a teammate will need to reassign you before you can be selected to receive Pins or be looped into activity in that workspace.

To stop all activity indicators for a specific workspace, unassigning yourself is the step that accomplishes that — not unfollowing.

✅ Key Takeaway

If you see an indicator:

• Message bubble? → Open the conversation
• Client bell? → Click the bell directly, or mark all as read from the global panel
• Global bell? → Mark notifications as read manually, or click directly into the notification

Each indicator clears independently. Want more control over what triggers these in the first place? Visit Notification Settings from your profile photo to fine-tune Message Bubbles, Activity Bell, Email, and Focus / Do Not Disturb.