The verdict in three sentences
A custom customer portal where clients track orders, invoices and tickets costs 15,000 to 35,000 EUR for an MVP, and 40,000 to 90,000 EUR for a full version connected to your ERP and billing. The return comes mainly from a 30 to 50 % drop in support calls and emails, plus the value of a digitised client relationship. The right 2026 move: ship a tight v1 covering 2 or 3 high-value use cases, then expand.
What a customer portal actually costs
Price depends on functional scope, integrations and the expected security level. An MVP focuses on authentication, order tracking and invoice downloads. A full version adds tickets, payments, dunning and real-time sync with your information system.
| Scope | Key features | 2026 price (EUR) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential MVP | Auth, order tracking, PDF invoices | 15,000 – 22,000 | 6 – 9 wks |
| MVP+ | + support tickets, notifications | 22,000 – 35,000 | 9 – 13 wks |
| Full version | + ERP, payment, multiple roles | 40,000 – 65,000 | 4 – 6 mo |
| Advanced platform | + multi-entity, SSO, self-service | 65,000 – 90,000 | 6 – 9 mo |
| Annual maintenance | Hosting, patches, evolutions | 4,000 – 12,000 /yr | recurring |
The two items that inflate the bill are ERP/billing integration (connectors, data mapping, error handling) and fine-grained access control when one client account groups several users and sites.
Where the return on investment sits
A portal's ROI is not a saved licence but recovered support time and client satisfaction. Every self-service request is a request an agent no longer handles.
| Lever | Before portal | After portal | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support calls/emails / month | 800 | 440 | -45 % |
| Average time per request | 7 min | 2 min self-service | -5 min |
| Monthly support cost | 6,400 EUR | 3,900 EUR | -2,500 EUR |
| Invoice access delay | 1 – 2 days | instant | real time |
| Client retention rate | baseline | +3 to 6 pts | loyalty |
At 2,500 EUR saved per month, a 25,000 EUR MVP pays back in about 10 months, not counting indirect commercial gains.
Mini case study
Thomas, operations director of a technical-equipment distributor in Nantes, manages 600 active clients. His team of 3 agents handles 800 requests per month, 60 % of them order-status or duplicate-invoice queries. He invests 26,000 EUR in an MVP+ (auth, order tracking, invoices, tickets). Six months later, 45 % of requests move to self-service: the team frees up the equivalent of a half-time role, roughly 1,500 EUR/month, reallocated to collections. ROI reached in 11 months, excluding a satisfaction gain measured at +8 NPS points.
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FAQ
Must the ERP be integrated from v1?
No. A v1 can run on a daily export of orders and invoices, which cuts integration cost by two or three times. You connect the ERP in real time in phase 2, once usage is confirmed.
How long to deliver a first portal?
An MVP ships in 6 to 13 weeks depending on integrations. A full ERP-connected version takes 4 to 6 months. The limiting factor is usually the availability of data on the client side, not development.
What is the annual maintenance cost?
Budget 4,000 to 12,000 EUR per year for secure hosting, security patches and small evolutions, roughly 15 to 20 % of build cost. It is essential for a tool handling client data.
Custom portal or off-the-shelf SaaS?
SaaS fits if your needs are standard and volumes modest. As soon as you have proprietary business rules, per-client pricing or specific ERP integration, custom becomes profitable beyond 200 to 300 active clients.
How do you secure client data?
Strong authentication, encryption in transit and at rest, access logging and per-account isolation. For the EU, GDPR-compliant hosting and a processing register are expected from design onward.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your priority use cases, your ERP and an indicative budget, and we'll scope a fundable v1. 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.
