A client portal instead of chasing e-mails
A client portal is a secure, login-protected web application where clients upload documents, follow the status of their case and message your team, each seeing only their own data. Tsunami Digital, a software studio in Zagreb, builds them to measure for accounting firms, law firms, agencies and project offices.
Overview
A client portal is a private, login-protected area where each client sees only their own matters: the documents you need from them, the documents you have prepared for them, the status of the work and the conversation about it. For an accounting office that means monthly invoices and statements arriving in one place; for an engineering office, drawings and approvals; for a property manager, building notices and repair requests.
It matters when your team spends hours every week asking for missing documents, answering "where are we with this?" calls and searching e-mail threads for the latest version. It is not worth building if a file-sharing tool or the portal that comes with your practice software already covers it - many accounting and legal packages include one. Custom makes sense when your workflow has steps those tools cannot show, or when the portal is part of the service you sell.
Signs you need it
- Every month someone on your team sends the same reminders for the same missing documents.
- Clients call to ask where their case, tax return or project stands, and the answer is in one colleague's head.
- Sensitive documents travel as e-mail attachments, and nobody is sure which version is final.
- Clients have to approve drafts or offers, and the approvals get lost in reply chains.
- You already use a ready-made portal, but your process has steps it simply cannot show.
What a custom client portal includes
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Document requests and uploads
A list of what you need from each client this month or for this case, upload from a phone or computer, and automatic reminders until it arrives.
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Status the client understands
Each matter shows its stage in plain words, updated by your team in one click, so status calls become rare.
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Messages tied to the matter
Conversations attached to the case or document they are about, instead of scattered e-mail threads, with a full history for both sides.
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Approvals and sign-off
Clients review and approve drafts, offers or reports in the portal, with a record of who approved what and when.
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Roles and access rights
Several people per client company, each with their own rights, while your staff see only the clients they work for.
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The staff side
One view of all clients, overdue documents and open requests, so your team works from a shared list instead of personal inboxes.
How we work
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Map one client journey
We follow a typical client from first contact to finished work: what you ask for, what you send, where it stalls. That becomes the scope and a fixed price for the first version.
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Solve the busiest step first
The first version tackles the step that costs the most time - usually collecting documents - and goes live with a few willing clients.
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Move clients over gently
We prepare invitation e-mails, short instructions and a fallback, so clients who prefer e-mail are brought in step by step, not forced.
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Your development team
After launch we work on a monthly basis as your development department: maintenance, security updates and new steps as your process changes.
No project price list. A fixed price before we start.
Every project is different, so the price depends on what you need and how much of it. The first call is free of charge, and you always get a fixed price in writing before any work starts - no surprises.
- 01The first call is free and commits you to nothing
- 02You get a fixed price in writing before work starts
- 03You own the code and data once the work is paid for
- 04Hourly work and extra developers: €40-60 per hour
- 05After launch: software maintenance and development, monthly
Proof from our own products
Further reading
- 01 Website vs web application: what is the difference? Website vs web application: you read a website, you work in a web app. Everyday examples, a side-by-side table and why the price difference is so large.
- 02 GDPR and custom software: what business owners must know A practical guide to GDPR compliance in custom software in Croatia: requirements, costs, the biggest traps, and how to avoid fines.
Related solutions
- 01 B2B ordering portal A private ordering portal for trade customers: their own prices, fast reorders, quotes, approvals and payment on invoice.
- 02 Work order and field service app Jobs on the technician's phone, with scheduling, photos, signatures, materials and time, and a report ready for invoicing.
- 03 Custom booking system Booking for appointments, tables, rooms, rentals and classes, built around your staff, resources, deposits and rules.
Services behind it
- 01 Custom software development Web apps, mobile apps, internal tools and platforms built around your processes - including takeovers of existing code.
- 02 Business process automation Orders, invoices, reports and approvals that move between your systems on their own, with people only where judgement is needed.
Questions
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01 What is a client portal?
A client portal is a secure website where your clients log in to exchange documents with you, see the status of their work and send messages, all in one place. Each client sees only their own data. For your team it replaces reminder e-mails, status calls and hunting for attachments.
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02 What should a client portal include?
At minimum: secure login, document upload and download, a visible status for each matter and messages tied to that matter. Most businesses then add document requests with reminders, approvals and a staff view of everything overdue. We start with the part that saves your team the most time and add the rest once clients are using it.
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03 Is a client portal safe enough for sensitive documents?
It has to be designed that way from the start: encrypted connections, access limited per client and per staff member, a log of who opened or changed what, and regular backups. Because a portal holds personal data, it must also follow the GDPR - what is stored, for how long and who can see it. We agree these rules with you before building, not after.
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04 Ready-made client portal software or a custom portal?
If your practice software already includes a portal, or a ready-made tool fits your process, use it - it is cheaper and we will tell you so. A custom portal pays off when your work has its own stages, approvals or document types, when you need the portal to work with the tools your team already uses, or when per-user fees grow with every client. Sometimes the right answer is to keep the tool and build only the missing step.
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05 Will clients actually use it?
Clients use a portal when it is easier than e-mail: a link that takes them straight in, a clear list of what is needed and an upload from their phone. We keep the screens few and ask for as little as possible on first login. It also helps when your team answers in the portal rather than by e-mail from day one.
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06 How much does a client portal cost?
It depends on scope - how many client types, steps, roles and documents the portal has to handle, and whether existing data has to be moved in. That is why we do not publish a price list. The first call is free, and the price is agreed in writing before work starts.
Tired of chasing client documents?
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