The verdict in three sentences
A client portal costs in 2026 between 4 and 12 million FCFA (about 6,100-18,300 EUR) depending on the modules chosen. The timeline is 3 to 5 months and the Wave / Orange Money integration is the differentiating item. The real ROI comes from a 30-50 % drop in support calls: customers self-serve.
The modules and their cost
A client portal gives your customers a personal space: order tracking, invoices, online payment, messaging, documents. Each module is priced separately, so you can start small.
| Module | Scope | FCFA budget | EUR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account & authentication | Sign-up, roles, security | 700,000-1,500,000 | 1,070-2,290 |
| Order tracking | Real-time statuses, history | 1,000,000-2,500,000 | 1,525-3,810 |
| Online payment | Wave + Orange Money + card | 1,200,000-3,000,000 | 1,830-4,575 |
| Invoices & documents | PDF generation, download | 600,000-1,800,000 | 915-2,745 |
| SMS/email notifications | Status alerts, reminders | 500,000-1,500,000 | 760-2,290 |
| Support/messaging area | Tickets, FAQ, chat | 800,000-2,200,000 | 1,220-3,355 |
| Portal total | Complete portal | 4,000,000-12,000,000 | 6,100-18,300 |
Payment integration and support savings
Mobile-money online payment is the core value of a client portal. Here are the 2026 orders of magnitude for commissions and the impact on support load.
| Metric | 2026 order of magnitude | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Wave commission (merchant) | ~1 % per transaction | Varies by contract |
| Orange Money commission | 1-2.5 % per transaction | By volume |
| Multi-payment integration cost | 1,200,000-3,000,000 FCFA | One-off |
| SMS notifications | 15-35 FCFA per SMS | Usage-based |
| Drop in support calls | -30 to -50 % | After 3 months |
| Go-live timeline | 3-5 months | By modules |
Mini case study
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Ms. Kone runs a B2B services company: her 3-person team spends much of the day on the phone ("where is my order?", "send me my invoice"). She invests 8,000,000 FCFA in a client portal (tracking + Wave/OM payment + invoices + SMS), delivered in 4 months.
Before: ~60 tracking calls/day, ~6 minutes each, i.e. 6 hours/day of team time. After the portal, 40 % of those calls disappear as customers self-serve: -2.4 hours/day. Valued at 2,000 FCFA/loaded hour, that is 4,800 FCFA/day x 22 = ~105,600 FCFA/month, plus faster collections (24/7 online payment). The portal pays back in about 20 months on support time alone, before counting the improved customer image.
FAQ
Which payment methods to integrate first? Wave and Orange Money cover the vast majority of payments; add card (Stripe) for international customers. Budget 1,200,000 to 3,000,000 FCFA for multi-payment integration.
Does a portal really cut calls? Yes: on average 30-50 % of tracking calls disappear once customers access real-time statuses, usually by month 3.
Can we start without online payment? Absolutely. A tracking + invoices portal starts at 3-4,000,000 FCFA; the payment module is added later without rebuilding.
Are SMS notifications expensive? Budget 15-35 FCFA per SMS depending on the operator. On 2,000 SMS/month that is 30,000-70,000 FCFA/month, easily offset by avoided calls.
How long to go live? From 3 to 5 months depending on the number of modules. A tracking-only portal can ship in 2 months.
Let's scope your project. Tell us the modules you want (tracking, payment, invoices), your indicative budget and timeline: we price each module. 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.
