George CollierProfessional services firms usually start looking at client portals for one reason: too much of the team's week goes on emails asking where things are. The question is whether to buy portal software or build one that's connected to how you actually work.
If clients mainly need to share files, send messages and pay invoices, buy portal software like SuiteDash or Clinked. It's quick to set up and cheaper than building.
Build a custom portal when clients need live status from your own systems, when the portal needs to follow your process, like document checklists and approvals in a set order, or when the portal is effectively how you deliver the service.
What portal software does well
Off-the-shelf portals are good at the basics. Clients get a login, a place to upload and download files, a message thread and a list of invoices. Most let you add your logo and colours, and you can be running in a week. For a small firm, or one where clients mostly just need to swap files, that's enough.
Where it falls short
The trouble starts when the portal has to reflect the work itself:
- Status is typed in by hand. Your team already updates the project in your own system, so the portal is a second place to keep up to date, and it falls behind.
- Document requests are a generic upload box. Clients send the wrong file, name it “scan.pdf”, and someone has to check, rename and file it.
- Approvals and sign-offs happen in email or a separate e-signature tool, so there's no single record of who agreed to what.
- Payments sit in another system, so the portal shows invoices but can't tell a client what's actually outstanding.
The result is a portal that clients log into once, find out of date, and then go back to emailing.
What the email problem costs
We estimate that a firm with 50 active clients spends around 10 hours a month answering status emails, and about 8 more chasing and filing client documents. Those are the hours a portal should remove. It only does that if the status in the portal is right without anyone updating it.
What a custom portal looks like
A custom client portal reads status, next steps and deadlines straight from your project system. Clients sign in at an address like portal.yourfirm.com, with a link to their email or their Microsoft or Google account, so there's no extra password.
Document requests come as a checklist, and uploads are checked, named and filed in SharePoint or Google Drive. Clients approve work and sign in the portal, with a record of who signed what and when. Invoices come from Xero, payments are matched automatically, and messages stay on the client's record instead of in someone's inbox.
Most firms that need a portal also need the steps before it, so we often build it alongside client onboarding. Both are included in the flat monthly price.
| Compared on | Portal software | Custom portal |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | A week or so | First version within 30 days |
| Project status | Updated by hand | Live from your own systems |
| Document requests | Upload box | Checklist, checked and filed for you |
| Approvals and signatures | Often a separate tool | In the portal, with a full record |
| Invoices and payments | Basic, or a separate tool | From Xero, matched automatically |
| Branding | Your logo and colours | Your design, on your domain |
| Best for | Small firms, file sharing | Firms with 15+ staff and a defined process |
How to decide
Ask three questions:
- Does the status a client sees already exist somewhere in your systems?
- Do you ask every client for the same documents, in the same order?
- Would a client logging in save your team an email or a phone call?
If the answer to all three is yes, a custom portal will save more time than portal software, because nobody has to keep it up to date. If it's mostly no, buy the software. It'll do the job and you can always revisit it.
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