Customer portals
Your customers order, request quotes and book on their own
We build applications for your company’s customers: an ordering account with each customer’s prices, reorders from history, quote requests with an estimated price, status and documents, bookings, online payment and an app for your field sales reps. All of it connects to the ERP or business software you already use, so nothing is typed twice. It starts with a short diagnosis.
Today and after
One customer request, from the price list to the invoice.
An example built for this page: a 40-person company selling to around 300 businesses and receiving about 60 requests a day by phone, email and WhatsApp. The numbers are working assumptions, not a client’s results.
Illustrative example
Today
The customer asks for the price list by email Manual
A sales rep looks up the customer’s terms and sends a PDF or spreadsheet that is out of date a month later.
The order arrives by phone, email or WhatsApp Manual
An operator types it into the ERP. The same order as last month is typed again, code by code.
Quote requests are calculated by hand Manual
Dimensions, material, quantity, in a spreadsheet, including the requests that never become orders.
The customer calls to ask where the order is Manual
Someone checks the ERP and calls back. Meanwhile, the line is busy for the next customer.
Invoices and documents are resent on request Manual
Copies of invoices, delivery notes or certificates, dug out of email before the customer’s audit.
In the example: 60 requests a day × 5 minutes = 5 hours a day on the phone, typing and searching, almost a full-time person, plus the code errors from retyping.
After
The customer logs in and sees their own prices Automatic
Negotiated prices and stock come from the ERP, not from a PDF sent a month ago.
New order, or a reorder from history Automatic
The order goes straight into the ERP with the right codes. The phone stays for anyone who prefers to call.
The quote request gets an estimated price on the spot Automatic
Calculated with your pricing rules. Unusual requests reach sales complete, with dimensions and files attached.
Exceptions go to a person Human check
Credit limit exceeded, price outside the list, not enough stock, each with the reason written. The example assumes one request in ten.
Status and documents are in the account Automatic
Status updates from the ERP, and invoices, delivery notes and certificates are downloaded from there.
In the example, the team reviews exceptions instead of typing and calling back. How much time is saved depends on how many customers use the app: we measure that in the diagnosis and then with the first customers.
When this fits
When it is worth it, and when it is not.
It fits if
- Customers ask for the price list by email and order by phone or WhatsApp, and someone types the orders into the ERP.
- Every quote request is calculated by hand from dimensions, material and quantity, even the ones that never become orders.
- Repeat customers order the same products every month, through the same email thread.
- Field sales reps write orders on paper at the customer’s site or send them on WhatsApp, and someone types them into the ERP in the evening.
- The phone rings all day with “where is my order?” or “do you have a slot on Thursday?”.
- Artwork, files or documents go back and forth by email until approval, and nobody is sure which version is final.
- Appointments are taken by phone and kept in a notebook or a spreadsheet.
It does not fit if
- You have a few customers who order rarely. A good form on your site and a clear email do more than an app.
- An off-the-shelf tool covers almost everything you need, such as simple appointment booking or a standard online shop. We tell you so and help you configure it and connect it to what you have.
- The prices, stock or product codes in your ERP are not reliable. Your customers would see all of it, so we start with the data.
- Your software has no way in: no API, no import, no scheduled export. Then the first conversation is about the system.
Where it is used
See how it works in your industry.
What we build
What your customers can do on their own.
Each feature can be built on its own and connects to the same ERP. The diagnosis shows which one is worth starting with.
- 01
B2B ordering at each customer’s prices
Every customer has an account with their negotiated prices, stock and terms, and the order goes straight into the ERP with the right codes.
- 02
Reorders from history
The customer repeats last month’s order in one click, saves product lists and changes only the quantities. Repeat orders no longer go through the phone.
- 03
Quote requests with an estimated price
A configurator asks for exactly the data you need (dimensions, material, quantity, files) and shows an estimated price calculated with your rules. The sales rep receives the complete request and confirms the final price.
- 04
Order status and documents
The customer sees where the order is, from confirmation to delivery, from the ERP’s data. Invoices, delivery notes, certificates and service reports can be downloaded from the account at any time.
- 05
Artwork and document approval
The customer uploads the file, sees the proof, leaves comments and approves it. Every version is kept, with the date and the name of the approver, and reorders start from the approved version.
- 06
Appointments and bookings
The customer picks the day and time, by person, room or equipment, and gets a confirmation and a reminder. Session packages and memberships are kept in the account, connected to the software your team works in.
- 07
Online payment
The customer pays the order, the deposit or the booking by card, straight from the account, through a licensed payment provider. The payment shows up in the ERP, and the invoice continues to e-invoicing.
- 08
An app for field sales reps
The rep takes the order at the customer’s site, on a phone, with that customer’s prices and stock, and the order goes straight into the ERP. If the signal is weak, the order stays saved on the phone and is sent once it is back.
Do the math
What do the requests your customers could handle themselves cost you today?
Enter your own numbers. The result is the time your team spends today on price lists, typed orders, status questions and phone bookings, not a promised saving. How much of it moves into the app is what the diagnosis and the first customers show.
Estimate
- Manual time per month
- 100 hours
- Cost per month
- €3,000 per month
Per year: €36,000
Assumptions
- With the starting values: 1,200 requests × 5 minutes = 100 hours a month. At €30 an hour, that is €3,000 a month.
- 1,200 requests a month is 60 per working day, as in the example above. Count the calls, emails and messages in a normal week before you pick the number.
- The minutes cover taking the request, looking it up in the ERP, typing it and replying to the customer. A quote calculated by hand can take much longer than a status question, so if you have both, estimate them separately.
- €30 an hour is a starting value for the full cost of an hour of administrative work, not an official average. Use the real cost in your company.
- Not every customer will use the app in the first month. The estimate shows today’s cost, not how much goes away.
- It leaves out the orders lost while the line is busy and the errors from retyping.
- It is an indicative estimate, not a quote and not a guaranteed saving.
How we work
From today’s requests to an app your customers actually use.
The first step is The Diagnosis: we count customer requests on every channel, see what customers ask most often and which ERP data can be shown to them. Only then do we design and build.
- 01
Diagnose
We count requests by channel (phone, email, WhatsApp, sales reps), measure how long each takes and check which ERP data is correct and can be shown to customers.
Output: request types, volumes, available data and the first feature to build.
- 02
Design
We draw the screens and show them to a few real customers before writing code. We set the pricing rules and decide what stays with the sales rep.
Output: screens checked with customers, written rules and the ERP connection described.
- 03
Build
We build the first feature and launch it with a small group of customers, alongside the phone and email, until it runs without surprises.
Output: the first feature in production, used by real customers.
- 04
Scale
We invite the rest of your customers and add the next feature: reorders, documents, bookings, online payment. We hand over the code and the documentation.
Output: an app your customers use, with the code and documentation in your name.
Risks
What can go wrong, and how we handle it.
Customers do not use the app
An app your customers ignore is a cost with no return. We start with the customers who order most, show them the screens before any code, and the phone stays. We measure every month how many requests go through the app.
Wrong price or stock in front of the customer
Inside the company, a mistake gets corrected. In the customer’s account it becomes a promise. We check ERP prices and stock in the diagnosis, and the configurator price stays an estimate until a person confirms it, if you decide so.
The ERP connection stops
Orders are not lost: they wait in a queue and reach the ERP when the connection is back. The customer sees when stock was last updated, and a person is alerted right away.
Personal data, payments and access
Each customer sees only their own data, and accounts have roles: who orders, who approves. Card data stays with the payment provider, not in the app. We sign a data processing agreement for any data we can access, and the app is hosted in EU data centers. When the app holds health data, the data protection impact assessment (DPIA) is done before we build.
Questions about customer portals
What is a customer portal?
A customer portal is a web application where your company’s customers log in with their own account to order, request a quote, track status, download documents, pay or book an appointment. The data comes from the ERP or business software you already use and goes back there. It is not an online shop open to anyone, and it does not replace the ERP.
Do we have to change our ERP, website or online shop?
Usually not. If the ERP, business software, clinic software or hotel system has an API, accepts imports or allows database access, we keep it and build around it. The app can live in a section of your existing website, and an online shop that works stays untouched.
ERP-CRM integrationWhy not an off-the-shelf tool?
Sometimes an off-the-shelf tool is the right choice, and then we tell you so. A custom app is worth it when each customer has different prices, when you have your own quoting rules or several systems to connect, which is exactly what a standard tool does not cover. Sometimes the right answer is in between: we configure the existing tool and build only the connection to your ERP.
Freelancer, agency, SaaS or studio?Is the configurator price a firm price?
You decide. The estimated price is calculated with your rules: dimensions, material, quantity, surcharges. It can be shown as an estimate the sales rep confirms, or as a firm price for standard products. Requests outside the rules reach sales complete, with all data and files attached.
Our customers order by phone and WhatsApp. Will they use the app?
Not all of them, and not on day one. That is why we start with the customers who order most and the feature they ask for most, and the phone stays. Today’s mix of phone, WhatsApp and spreadsheets is not an obstacle: those requests tell us what the app has to do.
Does it work on phones, in several languages and with online payment?
Yes. The app runs in the browser, on phones and computers, with nothing to install. It can be in English, Romanian or other languages for customers abroad. Card payment is added through a licensed payment provider, and the invoice continues to e-invoicing.
e-Invoicing automationDo you also build the app for our sales reps?
Yes. Reps take the order at the customer’s site, on a phone, with that customer’s prices, stock and history, and the order reaches the ERP without anyone at the office typing it again. Reps and customers share the same prices and the same ERP connection, so an order never lands in the system twice.
Who owns the code and the data?
You do. From the first commit, the source code, the infrastructure accounts and your customers’ data are in your company’s name. You owe us no licences and do not depend on us to carry on.
How long does it take, and where do we start?
We start with a diagnosis, which takes from a few days to 2 weeks. How long the build takes depends on how many features you start with and how easily the ERP connects, so we set it in the diagnosis and write it into the proposal. We build one feature at a time: one reaches your customers before we start the next.
The DiagnosisFurther reading
Read more on this.
Tell us what your customers ask you most often.
Describe how your customers order or request quotes today, on which channels, and which software the requests end up in. We reply honestly on whether a diagnosis is worth it, and what it would cover.