How much does a custom client portal cost in the UK?
The cost drivers behind a secure client portal: documents, permissions, status tracking, messaging, approvals, payments and integrations, with AM-IT guide prices.
By AM-IT Solution · Published · 3 min read
In short
A focused client or staff portal from AM-IT Solution starts from £5,000 (GBP, excluding VAT). The cost rises with the number of user types and permission rules, the documents and approvals involved, payments, and above all with integrations into the systems the portal reads from and writes to.
What a client portal is for
A portal gives clients, students, landlords or staff a secure place to see where things stand and complete their next step, instead of asking by email. The value comes from what it replaces: status-update emails, documents sent as attachments, approvals chased by phone and invoices queried because nobody can find them.
That is also the best way to scope one. List the conversations you want to stop having, and the portal’s first phase is whatever removes the most of them.
The features that drive cost
Users and permissions
One client type that sees only its own records is the simplest case. Costs rise when a client organisation has several users with different rights, when staff see some clients but not others, or when partners and agents also log in. Permission rules are designed and tested carefully because a mistake here exposes someone else’s data.
Documents
Secure upload and download against a record is standard. A checklist of required documents per case or application, review and rejection with a reason, and version history each add work, and file validation and storage must be handled properly rather than through public links.
Status tracking
Showing a status that already exists in your system is straightforward. If the status has to be derived from several systems, or explained differently to clients than to staff, it needs design.
Messaging and notifications
Email notifications when something changes are a normal part of a portal. Two-way messaging that is stored against the record, with read receipts or response tracking, is a feature in its own right.
Approvals
A single "approve" button is simple. Multi-step approvals, approvals with comments, or approvals that must be recorded as evidence add rules and an audit trail.
Payments and invoices
Showing invoices from your finance system is one piece of work; taking payment inside the portal is another, because each payment, failure and refund must land against the right record. Payment integration starts from £1,200.
Integrations
This is usually the largest variable. A portal built on top of a system we also build, such as a custom CRM or case management system, shares its data directly. A portal that reads from an existing third-party system depends on that system’s API, and each API integration is scoped and priced on its own, from £1,200.
Security
Every portal needs secure authentication, encrypted connections, access checks on every request, and private file storage with short-lived download links. Requirements such as single sign-on, two-factor authentication for clients or specific retention rules should be listed at scoping, because they affect the design.
| Item | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Discovery and scoping | From £750 |
| Client or staff portal | From £5,000 |
| API integration, per integration | From £1,200 |
| Payment integration | From £1,200 |
| Essential Maintenance, after launch | From £150 a month |
Portal on its own, or with the system behind it?
If your internal process still runs on spreadsheets, a portal on top of them only moves the problem. In that case the portal is usually phase two of a CRM or case management project. If your internal system is sound and has a usable API, a portal can be a focused project on its own.
- List the questions clients ask most often, and the documents they send most often.
- Decide who logs in in the first phase, and what each of them may see and do.
- Identify which system holds the data the portal shows, and whether it has an API.
- Choose the one or two actions, such as upload, approve or pay, that matter most.
- Agree how the portal will be supported after launch.
For CRM projects that include a portal, see how much custom CRM development costs. Our client and staff portal service page summarises what a typical first phase includes.