Collaboration · Oct 15, 2026 · 4 min

Share your system with clients (without showing your rates)

One of the biggest time-savers is no longer answering "how is my project going?": sharing with each client a view of their project where they can see the status, the dates and what's pending. We recommend it almost every time. And almost every time, the same doubt comes up.

"Sure, but that database also has my hours, my rate and my internal notes." Until now, the fix was duplicating information or building views very carefully so you didn't overshare. Neither is a good option.

Column permissions

Notion 3.8, released on October 13, brings column permissions to databases: the owner decides which properties each person and each agent can view or edit. Notion illustrates it with large teams, like a hiring process where salaries stay hidden. In a one-person business, the use is even more direct:

• The client sees Status, Due date and Next step.
• Rate, Hours and Internal notes are visible only to you.
• Your agent can update the Status, but cannot touch the amount.

Knowing who changed what

The other 3.8 update goes hand in hand: version history now covers pages and databases, highlights edits and shows who made each change, whether a person or an agent. And you can restore a previous version with one click.

When you, your client and one or two agents all write in your system, this stops being a nice-to-have. It's what lets you delegate with peace of mind: if something changes, you know who did it and you can undo it.

Where to start

First, check that your plan includes column permissions. Then pick one client, create their project view and hide the three properties you don't want them to see. Share it and watch how many email questions disappear in the first month. That's the collaboration layer at its purest: information flows without you having to push it.