Accept the first version with a client.
Choose a few clients with a current task. Check the invitation, access to the right records, completion and handover to your team. The number of registered accounts alone does not show the portal’s benefit.
A custom client portal connected to your team’s workflow
Give clients one place to check progress, share files and send requests
“Any update?” emails, documents sent to the wrong address and invoices nobody can find take hours out of your team’s week. We build client portals where customers see the status of their order, case or project, upload what you need, approve, sign and pay. The portal reads from the systems your team already works in, so nobody updates two places. Your team answers the questions that need a person, not the ones a status page could.
- Live status from your own systems, not copied by hand
- Documents, approvals and e-signatures in one place
- Separate access for each client company, role and person
- Requests and messages that land in your team’s queue
Does this sound familiar?
The situations where teams usually call us.
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Clients email to ask for status because there is nowhere they can see it themselves.
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Onboarding a new client means a week of emails, attachments and missing documents.
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Your team sends the same reminders and document requests every month.
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Each client has several people who need different access, and shared folders can’t handle it.
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Clients use four tools to work with you, from email and a file share to an e-signature service and invoices.
What happens when a client logs in.
The portal doesn’t keep its own copy of the truth. It shows what your systems already know and sends the client’s actions back to them.
- The client logs in With a password, a one-time link or company sign-on
- Status from your systems Orders, cases and invoices read from your CRM or ERP
- The client acts Uploads a document, approves, signs or pays
- Checks run automatically Missing fields, file types, approval limits
- Your team handles the rest Questions and exceptions land in one queue
- Everyone sees the same record Client and team, without a status email
What we’ve learned.
From the projects we’ve built in this area.
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01 -
02 Status is what clients come for.
Clients rarely log in to explore. They come to check where things stand, upload what you asked for and leave. Get those three right before adding forums, chat or dashboards.
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03 The portal is only as good as the data behind it.
If your team updates status in a spreadsheet once a week, the portal will show week-old news. Sometimes the real first step is moving that work into a system, so the portal can read live status from it.
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04 Decide who sees what, early.
In B2B work one client company has a buyer, an accountant and a manager, and each needs different access. Changing the permission model after launch touches every screen, so we agree the roles in the project workshop.
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05 Adoption depends on the first login.
A portal nobody logs in to just adds another channel. Invite clients with a link that opens straight on their case, without setting a password first. Keep sending key updates by email, with a link back to the portal.
What we can build.
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For your clients
- Status pages for orders, cases or projects
- Document upload with a checklist of what’s still missing
- Approvals, e-signatures and online payments
- Notifications by email, SMS or in the app
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Access and security
- Roles per client company, team and person
- Company single sign-on or login with a one-time link
- Two-factor authentication and audit logs
- EU hosting, with data kept only as long as needed
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Connected to your systems
- CRM such as HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce
- Invoicing and accounting
- Your ERP, project or case management tool
- Document storage and e-signature services
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For your team
- Admin for clients, users and permissions
- A queue of client requests with owners and deadlines
- Templates for recurring requests and reminders
- AI drafts of answers to common questions, checked before sending
Email and shared folders, a ready-made portal or a custom one?
Many CRMs and helpdesks include a basic client portal. Here is how the options compare.
| Email and shared folders | Ready-made portal (CRM add-on or SaaS) | Custom client portal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready to use this week | Yes | Yes | No |
| Upfront cost | None | Low | Fixed project price |
| Clients see live status | No | Partly | Yes |
| Your own steps and approvals | No | Partly | Yes |
| Access per company and role | No | Partly | Yes |
| Connected to selected systems | No | Partly | Depends on available interfaces |
| Cost as clients grow | None | Per user or seat | Hosting and support |
How the first version comes together.
A typical timeline. We confirm yours after the project workshop.
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Week 1
Pick one client journeyIn the project workshop we choose one process, such as onboarding or order status, and map what clients need to see and do.
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Weeks 2–5
Build the portal and connectionsLogin and roles, status pages, document requests and the connection to your CRM or ERP, with a demo every week.
- 3
Weeks 6–8
Pilot with a few clientsA handful of friendly clients use it for real, and we fix what confuses them before everyone gets an invite.
- 4
Then
Add the next journeysPayments, e-signatures, more client types or a mobile app, based on what clients actually use.
Case studies.
Systems we’ve built that are close to this one.
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One platform to replace older student systems
College-access platform for recruitment, scholar success, and alumni tracking
Read the case study -
Making gym management easier
Gym SaaS for class enrollment, parent self-checkout, and Stripe Connect billing
Read the case study -
Health checkups portal and booking system
Novuma provides preventive health checkups for thousands of customers and manages their patient records.
Read the case study
Further reading.
- AI in customer support: what to automate and what to keep human Six jobs AI can do in a support team, which requests to automate first, what to leave to people, and how to measure whether it actually helps. Read the article
- Build or buy AI: when off-the-shelf is enough and when to go custom When an off-the-shelf AI tool is enough, when a custom build pays off, why most companies end up with a hybrid, and what to ask vendors before you sign. Read the article
Questions people ask.
Is this only for larger businesses?
No. Smaller teams often benefit most, because the people doing the work are the same people answering status emails. A first portal can cover a single process, such as onboarding new clients.
Can it work with our CRM and billing system?
Yes. We connect the portal to CRMs such as HubSpot, Pipedrive or Salesforce, to invoicing and accounting tools and to your own databases through their APIs. The data stays in those systems. The portal shows it and writes the client’s actions back.
Can different clients and roles see different things?
Yes. Access is set per client company, per role and per person, for example a buyer who sees orders and an accountant who sees invoices. Every view and download can be logged.
How do you keep client data secure?
Each company’s data is separated and checked on every request, not just hidden in the interface. We add two-factor login or company single sign-on where needed, encrypt data in transit and at rest, and host in the EU. If you need an external penetration test, we plan it before launch.
Can you add AI to the portal?
Where it helps. A sensible start is drafting answers to common questions from your own documents and the client’s records, with your team checking anything unusual before it goes out. We keep complaints, refunds and legal questions with people.
Can you build on our existing portal or client area?
Yes. We can extend it, or rebuild it in stages while the old one keeps running. We look at the code and the data first and tell you which option is cheaper.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
A simple portal for one process can start in our €5–10k range. Most portals with roles, documents and integrations fall between €10k and €30k, and platforms with several apps go above €30k. First versions take 6 weeks to 3 months, at a fixed price agreed after the project workshop.
Who owns the portal?
You do. The code, repositories and accounts are yours from launch. We fix bugs for free for 3 months, then offer optional monthly support.
What should a first portal version include?
One complete client journey, such as checking status and supplying documents. Agree the user invitation, permissions, status source and the next task for your team. Add payments, chat or a mobile app when that journey needs them.
What happens when a connected system is unavailable?
We agree which records can show their last update time and which operations must wait. Failed transfers have a visible status and a responsible person. Repeated operations are tested to avoid unintended duplicates.
What do your clients keep emailing you about?
Send us the five questions clients ask most often and tell us which systems hold the answers. We’ll tell you what a first portal should cover and what it would cost.
JurajCEO, QikBuild
You leave the call with
- What we would build first
- A rough price range
- Whether custom software makes sense for you
Or write to hello@qikbuild.com