What does a custom portal cost?

Custom portals, staff dashboards and internal tools start at $9,500, fixed in writing before the build starts. That covers discovery, the screens and roles in the agreed scope, integrations with tools like Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Stripe and calendars, training and documentation. Larger systems with many roles or complex integrations cost more, and the scoping call is where the number gets set. Hosting and care are quoted separately because a system with logins and live data needs more attention than a marketing site.

How long does it take?

Most portals are live in 6–8 weeks from the agreed scope. The first week or two is discovery, documenting how the work actually happens. You see working screens early, not at the end, and the last stretch is testing with your team, training and launch. Bigger systems take longer, and we say so before you sign anything.

Why not just use Airtable, Notion or a no-code builder?

Often you should. If the job is a form, a table and some notifications, a no-code tool is cheaper, faster and good enough, and we will tell you that at the scoping call. Custom software makes sense when you have already outgrown those tools: you need real client logins with separate data per client, a process with several roles and hand-offs, integrations that no-code connectors handle badly, or you are paying per-seat fees that now cost more than a build would. The honest test is whether an off-the-shelf tool has already been tried and fought back.

Who owns the software when it is done?

You do. The code is handed over, the hosting and service accounts are in your name, and the data is yours to export at any time. If you stop working with us, the portal keeps running and another developer can pick it up. We think that is the only fair way to sell custom software to a small business.

What happens after launch?

The team is trained, the documentation is written and the system is monitored. Hosting and care are scoped to the portal: security patches, backups, uptime monitoring and a way to reach us when something needs changing. Most clients add small improvements over the first few months as the team finds what else the tool could do, and each of those is quoted on its own.

Client portals, staff dashboards & internal tools for NJ & NYC businesses

Software built around how your business actually runs

A client portal, a staff dashboard or an internal tool that replaces the spreadsheet, the email chain and the re-typing. We document the real process first, then build only the software that process needs. From $9,500, live in 6–8 weeks. If a no-code tool would do the job, we will tell you that instead.

Book a scoping call See pricing

The business works. The tools around it do not

Most businesses that come to us for a portal are not disorganised. They have a process that works, held together by one person who knows where everything is. The spreadsheet has forty tabs. Clients email to ask where their job is. Approvals happen in a text thread. It works until that one person is on holiday, or the business grows past what a spreadsheet can hold.

Clients emailing to ask for a status update that is sitting in a spreadsheet only you can see
The same details typed into a form, a spreadsheet, an invoice and a calendar
Approvals, sign-offs and hand-offs living in email threads nobody can search
A staff dashboard that is really a shared Google Sheet with colour coding
Off-the-shelf software that does eighty percent of the job and fights you on the rest
One person who knows how everything works, and no documentation if they leave

Three shapes a portal usually takes

Every build is different, but most land in one of these three shapes. Yours may be a combination.

Client portal

Your clients log in and see their own work: job status, documents, invoices, messages, the next thing they need to do. Fewer 'just checking in' emails, and a professional front door that a shared inbox cannot give you. Example: a contractor's clients see photos, change orders and payment status per project.

Staff dashboard

One screen for the team that shows what is due, what is waiting on someone and what happened today, built on your own data instead of a report someone assembles every Monday. Example: a dispatch board for a service company with jobs, crews and the day's schedule in one place.

Internal tool

A specific job the business does every day, turned into software: intake, quoting, approvals, scheduling, inventory, compliance records. Forms that route to the right person and hand-offs that cannot be forgotten. Example: an intake-to-quote tool that replaces a four-step email chain.

Secure logins and roles

Every portal starts with who can see what. Clients see their own records only. Staff see what their role needs. An owner sees everything. Password resets, invitations and audit trails are built in, not bolted on later.

Integrations with what you already pay for

Google Workspace for email, documents and sign-in. QuickBooks for invoices and customers. Stripe for payments. Google or Outlook calendars for scheduling. The portal reads from and writes to those systems rather than becoming one more place to keep data.

Training and documentation

The build ends with your team using it, not with a hand-over email. Written documentation for the process the portal now runs, a recorded walkthrough and a session with the people who will use it every day.

Who this is for

Service businesses with jobs in flight

Contractors, cleaning companies, property services, repair shops. Many jobs at different stages, clients who want to know where theirs is, and crews who need the day's list on a phone.

Professional practices

Law, accounting, consulting, design. Documents going back and forth, sign-offs, deadlines and billing that clients want visibility into without a phone call.

Manufacturers and distributors

Quote requests, spec sheets, order status and reorders for B2B customers, and an internal view of what is quoted, in production and shipped.

Not for you if a no-code tool would do

If the job is a form, a table and a few notifications, Airtable, Notion, Jotform or a good CRM will do it for a fraction of the cost. We use those tools ourselves and will point you at one when it fits. A custom portal earns its price when off-the-shelf software has already been tried and fought back.

How a portal gets built

The most expensive mistake in custom software is building the process someone described instead of the process that actually happens. So we start there.

Document the real process
We sit with the people who do the work and write down what actually happens: where a job starts, who touches it, what gets re-typed, where things get stuck. Not the flowchart on the wall; the real one. You get this document whether or not you go further.
Decide what the software should and should not do
Most of the process should stay as it is. We agree the handful of steps where software removes real work, and the ones where a person should stay in charge. This is also where we say if a no-code tool would do the job.
Fixed scope, fixed price
A written scope with screens, roles, integrations and what 'done' means, and a fixed price against it. Most portals start at $9,500 and take 6–8 weeks. Anything added later is quoted on its own.
Build in the open
You see working screens within the first two weeks, not a design mock-up. The people who will use it try it while it is being built, so the awkward parts get fixed before launch rather than after.
Train, launch, hand over
Documentation, a recorded walkthrough and a training session for the team. The code, the accounts and the data are yours. Hosting and care are scoped to the system so it stays patched, backed up and monitored.

What it costs

Custom portals and internal tools start at $9,500 and most are live in 6–8 weeks. The number is fixed in writing before we build, and it includes discovery, the build, integrations in the agreed scope, training and documentation.

From $9,500 for a client portal, staff dashboard or internal tool with secure logins, roles and the integrations in scope
6–8 weeks from agreed scope to your team using it, for most builds
Discovery comes first and you keep the process document even if you stop there
Hosting and care are scoped to the system rather than sold as a standard plan, because a portal with logins and data needs more than a brochure site does
You own the code, the accounts and the data; nothing is locked to us
If the job fits a no-code tool, we say so at the scoping call and charge you nothing for the advice

See full pricing Book a 15-minute call

Questions about custom portals

What does a custom portal cost?: Custom portals, staff dashboards and internal tools start at $9,500, fixed in writing before the build starts. That covers discovery, the screens and roles in the agreed scope, integrations with tools like Google Workspace, QuickBooks, Stripe and calendars, training and documentation. Larger systems with many roles or complex integrations cost more, and the scoping call is where the number gets set. Hosting and care are quoted separately because a system with logins and live data needs more attention than a marketing site.
How long does it take?: Most portals are live in 6–8 weeks from the agreed scope. The first week or two is discovery, documenting how the work actually happens. You see working screens early, not at the end, and the last stretch is testing with your team, training and launch. Bigger systems take longer, and we say so before you sign anything.
Why not just use Airtable, Notion or a no-code builder?: Often you should. If the job is a form, a table and some notifications, a no-code tool is cheaper, faster and good enough, and we will tell you that at the scoping call. Custom software makes sense when you have already outgrown those tools: you need real client logins with separate data per client, a process with several roles and hand-offs, integrations that no-code connectors handle badly, or you are paying per-seat fees that now cost more than a build would. The honest test is whether an off-the-shelf tool has already been tried and fought back.
Can it connect to QuickBooks, Google Workspace, Stripe or our calendar?: Yes. Those four are the most common connections we build. Google Workspace for sign-in, email and documents; QuickBooks for customers and invoices; Stripe for payments; Google or Outlook calendars for scheduling. The portal reads from and writes to those systems so nobody has to keep two copies of anything. Other tools with an API can usually be connected; we confirm which ones during scoping rather than promising everything.
Who owns the software when it is done?: You do. The code is handed over, the hosting and service accounts are in your name, and the data is yours to export at any time. If you stop working with us, the portal keeps running and another developer can pick it up. We think that is the only fair way to sell custom software to a small business.
What happens after launch?: The team is trained, the documentation is written and the system is monitored. Hosting and care are scoped to the portal: security patches, backups, uptime monitoring and a way to reach us when something needs changing. Most clients add small improvements over the first few months as the team finds what else the tool could do, and each of those is quoted on its own.

Still deciding? Book a free 20-minute call and we will tell you honestly whether this is the right spend for where you are.

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Start with the process, not the software

Book a scoping call and we will spend it on how the work actually happens today. You will leave with a written view of where a portal would remove real work, and an honest answer on whether a no-code tool would do instead.

Book a 15-minute call (201) 389-7937