Client portal
Your clients check where things stand themselves, instead of calling.
The problem: The same questions, every week again: where are we, has that been sent on, can I have that invoice again.
At most companies the information a client wants is sitting somewhere: in a mailbox, in a folder, in the head of whoever handles the case. The client just cannot get at it. So they call. And then someone looks it up, forwards it, and two weeks later the same thing happens.
A client portal opens that up. The client logs in and sees their own case: where it stands, which documents there are, what is expected of them. Not everything, only what is theirs. You stop forwarding, and your client stops waiting until you have time.
What the difference is
| Off-the-shelf package | Bespoke | |
|---|---|---|
| A status question | A call, then searching, then calling back | The client looks it up |
| Documents | As an attachment, every single time | They are there and they stay there |
| Outside office hours | Waiting until Monday | Always available |
| Who saw what | Digging through your sent items | It is logged |
| Adding a new client | Make a folder and hope | One button |
| Impression | You look like a one-man band | You look organised |
What is all that calling costing you?
Not what you pay for software, but what it costs you in time. Estimate how many hours a week go into status questions and forwarding.
€1,250 is the starting figure for phase 1. And be honest with yourself about the left-hand column: a portal does not make those questions disappear, it takes the repetition out. So do not use your full hourly rate if you could not have billed that hour anyway.
What you get
- A login per client, with their own area showing only their data
- Cases or projects with a status the client understands
- Documents that stay put: quotes, invoices, drawings, photos
- A place where the client can send things in, without a 40 MB email
- Messages attached to the right case, not spread over three mailboxes
- Notifications when something changes, so nobody has to go and check
- An admin side for you, where two clicks update a case
Connecting to what you already have
A portal you have to maintain separately does not get maintained. A connection costs €190 each.
- Your accounting, so invoices land in it automatically
- Your file storage, so you do not upload twice
- Email, so a message in the portal also lands in your inbox
- Your website, so an enquiry becomes a case straight away
How it runs
In phases, so you quickly have something you can hand to your first clients.
-
1
Mapping out 1 week
What may a client see, and what not. Everything hangs on that. -
2
Phase 1 3 to 5 weeks
Logging in, cases, documents and the admin side for you. -
3
Phase 2 per part
Notifications, file uploads and the connections. -
4
After that €45 per month
Hosting, updates, monitoring and small changes.
When not to do this
A portal only solves something when there is enough repetition in it.
- You have a handful of clients a year. Then calling is faster than logging in.
- Your cases run a week. A client will not log in for something that is finished tomorrow.
- Your clients are not digital. A portal nobody opens is a cost.
- You already work in a system that does this and you are not using the feature. Switch that on first.
Frequently asked questions
What does a client portal cost?
From €1,250 for phase 1, then €45 a month for hosting and maintenance, however many clients are on it. A connection costs €190 each. What your portal costs depends on what has to be in phase 1.
How many clients can it hold?
As many as you like. You do not pay per user, because it runs on your hosting. That is the big difference with a subscription service: growing costs you nothing extra.
How does a client log in?
With an email address and a password, or with a link you send if you would rather keep it passwordless. Which fits best depends on how often someone logs in.
Is that secure?
Every client sees only their own data, and that is enforced server-side, not just in the screen. Passwords are stored hashed, connections run over https, and who saw what is logged.
Can my clients put files in it?
Yes. That is usually one of the first things people want: photos, drawings, documents. Saves you a mailbox full of attachments.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, and it matters more here than elsewhere. A client who wants to check something quickly does it on their phone, not at a desk.
Can I expand it into a full system later?
That is exactly what the phasing is for. Many portals grow into a CRM or a planning tool, because the data is already in there.
Platforms I built
Two projects where visitors or clients manage something themselves instead of having to ask.
Stipt
A web app for shop inspections: walk your round on your phone, and anything out of order automatically becomes an action point with a name and a deadline. Built from scratch, from the first screen to the invoicing.
TuinKlussen.be
A marketplace where garden owners post their job and gardeners from the same area respond. Built from scratch, from the first table to the mascots.