The verdict in three sentences
A project tracking portal for the clients of an engineering firm costs, as a 2026 order of magnitude on our delivery model, FCFA 10,000,000 to 22,000,000 (about EUR 15,200 to 33,500), delivered in 3 to 5 months. It gives each industrial client or funder secure access to milestones, documents, meeting minutes and online approval of deliverables. For a portfolio of 40 projects, a realistic target is 20 % fewer follow-up meetings and approvals obtained in days rather than weeks.
Why engineering clients ask for a portal
An industrial client building a production plant, or a funder financing a road, wants to know where the project stands at any time. Today information flows through emails, oversized attachments, WhatsApp groups and weekly meetings. Drawing versions get mixed up, a deliverable waits three weeks for approval because the right person never received it, and every meeting opens with ten minutes of "where are we".
| Situation | Without a portal | With a portal | Expected 2026 effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress | Presented in meetings | Milestones and percentage updated online | Fewer status meetings |
| Drawings and calculations | Attachments, multiple versions | Versioned library per project | No more version errors |
| Minutes | Emailed, sometimes lost | Published with read receipts | Traceable decisions |
| Deliverable approval | Paper signature or informal email | Time-stamped online approval | Approval time cut by 2 to 3 |
| Snags and observations | Excel sheet per site | Tracked items until closed | Faster close-out |
| Funder reporting | Monthly report compiled by hand | Automatic export in the required format | 2 to 3 days saved per report |
| Field mobile access | Limited | Viewing and photos from site | Faster incident reporting |
In Dubai, where moving between Business Bay, Jebel Ali and project sites can easily eat half a day in traffic, every meeting avoided counts twice.
Price by scope
| Scope | Features | Indicative 2026 price | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential portal | Client accounts, milestones, documents, minutes | FCFA 10,000,000 to 13,000,000 (EUR 15,200 to 19,800) | 3 months |
| + Deliverable approval | Sign-off workflow, time stamps, version history | + FCFA 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 | + 3 to 4 weeks |
| + Snags and observations | Items, photos, assignment, reminders | + FCFA 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 | + 2 to 3 weeks |
| + Funder reporting | Report templates, exports, indicators | + FCFA 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 | + 2 to 3 weeks |
| Low-bandwidth and mobile optimisation | Light files, previews, on-site viewing | included | included |
| Full version | All modules, multi-project space per client | FCFA 18,000,000 to 22,000,000 (EUR 27,400 to 33,500) | 4 to 5 months |
The portal is built for variable connections: light drawing previews, on-demand download of heavy files, fast mobile pages. Access rights follow the reality of the project: the owner sees the whole project, the contractor sees its work packages, the funder sees reports and milestones.
What to prepare before starting
Pricing depends mainly on three things: the number of project types (buildings, roads, water, energy), the approval workflow (one or several levels on the client side), and the reporting formats funders require. Gather two or three sample minutes, a typical schedule and a funder report template: these are what allow a precise quote within a week.
Mini case study
Khalid, director of an engineering firm in Dubai, runs 40 projects. Each generates on average 2 follow-up meetings a month, i.e. 80 meetings taking about 6 engineer-hours each, including preparation and travel: 480 hours a month. With 20 % fewer meetings, he frees 96 hours a month. At an estimated loaded hourly cost of FCFA 15,000 (about EUR 23), the gain reaches FCFA 1,440,000 a month, or FCFA 17,280,000 a year (about EUR 26,300). He orders a version at FCFA 16,000,000 (about EUR 24,400) with online approval: the portal pays for itself in about 11 months, not counting invoices issued earlier thanks to faster deliverable sign-off.
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FAQ
Will clients actually use the portal?
Yes, if the portal becomes the official source: minutes and deliverables are published there only. Firms that keep sending by email in parallel often stall below 40 % adoption.
Does online approval have contractual value?
It is time-stamped evidence of agreement, to be written into the engineering services contract. For some public contracts, a formal signature is still required in addition.
Does the portal work on a slow connection?
Yes, if designed for it: pages under 1 MB, compressed drawing previews, full download only on demand. This is included in the FCFA 10,000,000 to 22,000,000 budget.
Where are client documents hosted?
According to the contract: international cloud or local host. Confidentiality requirements from industrial clients and funders should be listed at scoping, as they drive the choice.
Can we start with a few projects?
It is recommended. A pilot on 5 to 8 projects for 4 to 6 weeks lets you adjust screens before opening the portal to all 40 projects.
Let's scope your project. Send us your number of projects, deliverable types and reporting requirements: we will price the portal module by module, with a 3 to 5 month plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
