[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":371},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-\u002Farticles\u002Fbest-way-to-build-a-custom-client-portal":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"answer":6,"body":7,"date":346,"description":347,"extension":348,"faq":349,"meta":362,"navigation":363,"outcome":364,"path":365,"readingTime":366,"seo":367,"stem":368,"updated":369,"__hash__":370},"articles\u002Farticles\u002Fbest-way-to-build-a-custom-client-portal.md","What's the Best Way to Build a Client Portal?","Start with the three or four jobs clients repeat most, such as checking status, sharing files, approving work and paying. Try a portal product or your CRM's built-in portal first. Build custom when those jobs need your own data, rules or branding, and keep the first version small, secure and accessible.",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":334},"minimark",[10,14,17,22,25,66,69,73,76,79,83,86,92,98,110,124,127,131,182,186,189,221,224,228,231,262,266,269,289,292,314,322,326],[11,12,13],"p",{},"A client portal is a private website where your clients sign in to see their work with you: status, files, messages, invoices and approvals. Done well, it replaces the \"just checking in\" emails and the hunt for the latest version of a document. Done badly, it becomes one more password your clients forget.",[11,15,16],{},"The best way to build one is to decide what it must do before deciding how to build it. This guide covers how to scope a portal, when to buy one instead, the security basics that are not optional, and how to keep ownership of what you pay for.",[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"what-a-client-portal-is-for","What a client portal is for",[11,23,24],{},"A portal earns its place when it saves your clients effort, not when it looks impressive. Most portals for small businesses and agencies do some mix of these jobs:",[26,27,28,36,42,48,54,60],"ul",{},[29,30,31,35],"li",{},[32,33,34],"strong",{},"Status."," Where is my project, order or case right now?",[29,37,38,41],{},[32,39,40],{},"Files."," The current version of every document, in one place.",[29,43,44,47],{},[32,45,46],{},"Approvals."," Sign off on a draft, a quote or a change without an email thread.",[29,49,50,53],{},[32,51,52],{},"Requests."," Ask for something and see that it was received.",[29,55,56,59],{},[32,57,58],{},"Billing."," See invoices, pay them and download receipts.",[29,61,62,65],{},[32,63,64],{},"Self-service."," Update contact details, book a time, or download a report.",[11,67,68],{},"Count how often your clients ask about each of these today. The two or three most frequent questions are your first version.",[18,70,72],{"id":71},"start-with-the-jobs-not-the-features","Start with the jobs, not the features",[11,74,75],{},"Write each job as a sentence from the client's side: \"I want to see whether my renovation permit has been approved without calling.\" Then write what has to be true for that to work: someone on your team updates the status, the client can sign in, and the status page shows only their project.",[11,77,78],{},"That second list is where portal projects go wrong. A status page is only useful if someone keeps the status current. If your team already tracks status in a project tool or spreadsheet, the portal should read from it, not ask your staff to update two places.",[18,80,82],{"id":81},"buy-configure-or-build","Buy, configure or build",[11,84,85],{},"There are three honest routes, and the cheapest one that does the job is the right one.",[11,87,88,91],{},[32,89,90],{},"Use what you already have."," Many CRMs, project tools and accounting packages include a client-facing view. HubSpot's Service Hub, for example, includes a customer portal for support tickets, and most accounting tools let clients view and pay invoices online. Shared folders in Google Drive or Microsoft SharePoint with sensible permissions cover file sharing for many small firms.",[11,93,94,97],{},[32,95,96],{},"Configure a portal product."," Products such as SuiteDash, Copilot and Moxo exist for service businesses that want files, messages, invoices and forms in one branded place. You pay a subscription, you configure rather than code, and you can usually be live quickly.",[11,99,100,103,104,109],{},[32,101,102],{},"Build custom."," A ",[105,106,108],"a",{"href":107},"\u002Fcustomer-experiences","custom portal"," makes sense when:",[26,111,112,115,118,121],{},[29,113,114],{},"Clients need to see data that lives in your own systems, such as job records, inventory or a specialised industry tool.",[29,116,117],{},"The portal must follow rules specific to your business, such as approvals that route differently by project type or price.",[29,119,120],{},"You want the portal to be part of your product, not a tool bolted beside it.",[29,122,123],{},"Per-user pricing on a portal product grows past what a small build would cost to own and host.",[11,125,126],{},"If none of these apply, a portal product is the better choice, and you should not let anyone talk you into a build.",[18,128,130],{"id":129},"the-steps-to-build-one-well","The steps to build one well",[132,133,134,140,146,152,158,164,170,176],"ol",{},[29,135,136,139],{},[32,137,138],{},"List the jobs and rank them."," Pick the top two or three for the first version.",[29,141,142,145],{},[32,143,144],{},"Name the source of truth for each piece of data."," For every screen, decide which system the data comes from and who keeps it current.",[29,147,148,151],{},[32,149,150],{},"Sketch the screens on paper."," One sketch per job. If a job needs more than two screens, simplify it.",[29,153,154,157],{},[32,155,156],{},"Choose proven sign-in."," Use an established identity service or framework rather than writing password handling from scratch, and offer multi-factor authentication.",[29,159,160,163],{},[32,161,162],{},"Design access per client."," Every query should be limited to the signed-in client's own records. This is the single most important security rule in a portal.",[29,165,166,169],{},[32,167,168],{},"Build the smallest version and put it in front of two or three friendly clients."," Watch them use it. Fix what confuses them.",[29,171,172,175],{},[32,173,174],{},"Write the update routine for your team."," Who updates what, and when. A portal with stale data is worse than no portal.",[29,177,178,181],{},[32,179,180],{},"Launch, then add one job at a time."," Each addition gets the same test with real clients.",[18,183,185],{"id":184},"security-privacy-and-accessibility","Security, privacy and accessibility",[11,187,188],{},"A portal holds your clients' information behind a sign-in, which makes it a target. The basics:",[26,190,191,197,203,209,215],{},[29,192,193,196],{},[32,194,195],{},"Test against the OWASP Top 10."," The Open Worldwide Application Security Project publishes this list of the most common web application security risks, and broken access control sits at the top of the current edition. Ask any developer how they test for it.",[29,198,199,202],{},[32,200,201],{},"Encrypt in transit and at rest."," HTTPS everywhere, and encrypted storage for files and databases.",[29,204,205,208],{},[32,206,207],{},"Log access."," Record who viewed or changed what, so you can answer a client's question or investigate a problem.",[29,210,211,214],{},[32,212,213],{},"Collect less."," Canada's PIPEDA, and Alberta's PIPA for many Alberta organisations, expect you to collect only what you need and safeguard it. If a service provider outside Canada stores the data, Alberta's PIPA includes notice requirements. Check the guidance from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner; this guide is not legal advice.",[29,216,217,220],{},[32,218,219],{},"Make it accessible."," Build to WCAG 2.1 level AA from the W3C so clients using screen readers, keyboards or magnification can use the portal. It also makes the portal easier for everyone on a phone.",[222,223],"cta-focus",{},[18,225,227],{"id":226},"what-you-should-own","What you should own",[11,229,230],{},"Whether you buy or build, make sure you can leave. Before you sign:",[26,232,233,239,250,256],{},[29,234,235,238],{},[32,236,237],{},"Data export."," You can export all client records and files in a standard format.",[29,240,241,244,245,249],{},[32,242,243],{},"Domain."," The portal runs on your domain, such as ",[246,247,248],"code",{},"portal.yourbusiness.ca",", so a vendor change does not change your clients' bookmarks.",[29,251,252,255],{},[32,253,254],{},"Code and accounts (if custom)."," The source code is in a repository you control, the hosting account is in your name, and copyright in the code is assigned to you in writing.",[29,257,258,261],{},[32,259,260],{},"Documentation."," A short written guide to how the portal works, how to add a user and who to call when it breaks.",[18,263,265],{"id":264},"what-it-costs-with-us","What it costs with us",[11,267,268],{},"If a portal product fits, use it. When you need a custom portal, Brodeur Software Development works to fixed prices, never hourly. All prices are CAD, taxes extra.",[26,270,271,277,283],{},[29,272,273,276],{},[32,274,275],{},"App or client portal:"," from $800, built around your clients' experience, for a focused portal that does your top two or three jobs, with the scope written before we start.",[29,278,279,282],{},[32,280,281],{},"Builds:"," $4,500 to $15,000 for a larger portal with several roles or integrations, quoted after a $500 discovery that is credited to the build, then delivered in one-week sprints with a demo each week.",[29,284,285,288],{},[32,286,287],{},"White-label for agencies:"," $650 a day, five-day minimum. You resell the portal under your brand at your own price, and the client relationship stays yours.",[11,290,291],{},"Smaller pieces come from the same price list: automations that feed the portal start from $80, and configuring the systems you already have, such as a reporting view, starts from $400.",[11,293,294,295,301,302,307,308,313],{},"After handover, hosting and care go to Run It at ",[105,296,300],{"href":297,"rel":298},"https:\u002F\u002Fgetmore.digital",[299],"nofollow","getmore.digital",", and user support goes to Fix It at ",[105,303,306],{"href":304,"rel":305},"https:\u002F\u002Fgotthis.support",[299],"gotthis.support",". If you want AI inside the portal, such as answering client questions from your documents, the AI strategy is scoped with BetterWay Technology at ",[105,309,312],{"href":310,"rel":311},"https:\u002F\u002Fbetterway.technology",[299],"betterway.technology",".",[11,315,316,317,321],{},"If your portal is mostly about onboarding new clients, read ",[105,318,320],{"href":319},"\u002Farticles\u002Fhow-to-automate-client-onboarding","how to automate client onboarding"," first.",[18,323,325],{"id":324},"your-next-step","Your next step",[11,327,328,329,333],{},"Write down the three questions your clients ask most often. If a portal product answers them, start a trial this week. If not, bring the list to ",[105,330,332],{"href":331},"\u002Fwork-with-us","Work with Us"," and we will scope the smallest portal that answers them.",{"title":335,"searchDepth":336,"depth":336,"links":337},"",2,[338,339,340,341,342,343,344,345],{"id":20,"depth":336,"text":21},{"id":71,"depth":336,"text":72},{"id":81,"depth":336,"text":82},{"id":129,"depth":336,"text":130},{"id":184,"depth":336,"text":185},{"id":226,"depth":336,"text":227},{"id":264,"depth":336,"text":265},{"id":324,"depth":336,"text":325},"2026-11-04","How a small business or agency should plan, buy or build a client portal: the jobs it must do, portal SaaS versus custom, security basics, and what to own.","md",[350,353,356,359],{"q":351,"a":352},"Do I need a custom client portal or will a portal SaaS do?","If your clients mainly need to see files, messages, invoices and simple task lists, a portal product such as SuiteDash, Copilot or Moxo, or the portal built into your CRM, is often enough. Custom makes sense when the portal must show data from your own systems, follow your own rules, or do something no product offers.",{"q":354,"a":355},"What should the first version of a client portal include?","Sign-in, the one screen clients check most often, usually project status or their documents, and one action they can take themselves, such as uploading a file or approving a draft. Add more only after real clients have used it for a few weeks.",{"q":357,"a":358},"How do I keep client data in a portal secure?","Use proven sign-in with multi-factor authentication, give each client access only to their own records, encrypt data in transit and at rest, log who did what, and test against the OWASP Top 10. Collect only the personal information you need, as Canadian privacy law expects.",{"q":360,"a":361},"Can an agency offer a client portal under its own brand?","Yes. Many portal products offer white-label plans, and a custom portal can carry any brand. Agencies that want a developer behind the scenes can buy white-label development and resell the portal to their clients at their own price.",{},true,"customer-experiences","\u002Farticles\u002Fbest-way-to-build-a-custom-client-portal",7,{"title":5,"description":347},"articles\u002Fbest-way-to-build-a-custom-client-portal","2026-11-05","DLebfDxuGpB-o9LsHPEvJmdRqNQowxjRVcC4XVPr6pc",1793926417776]