The verdict in three sentences
When 25,000 cases a year trigger thousands of 'where is my debt?' requests, a real-time client portal frees your collectors and becomes a sales argument against national competitors. The project sits in the mid to complex tier of the Kolonell grid, 4,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (6,100 to 22,870+ EUR) depending on the integration with your collection system, with a 3 to 4 month timeline. The return shows up both in hours saved and in contracts won or retained.
Why your clients want to see their cases
The agency, based in London or Dublin, works for three client types: social and private landlords (rent arrears), telecoms and energy providers (small balances at high volume) and SMEs (B2B invoices from 2,000 to 50,000 GBP or EUR). It earns a commission of 10 to 25 % of amounts recovered, depending on debt age and size.
| Client type | Annual volume | Typical commission (2026 estimate) | Main expectation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landlords | 6,000 cases | 12 to 18 % | Tracking per tenant, repayment plans |
| Telecoms and energy | 15,000 cases | 15 to 25 % | Bulk upload, monthly reporting |
| B2B SMEs | 4,000 cases | 10 to 15 % | See every chaser, approve legal action |
| Total | 25,000 cases |
Today, debts arrive by email in inconsistent spreadsheets, and every update needs a call or a manual export. Collectors estimate they spend 20 % of their time answering clients instead of collecting.
Portal scope
| Feature | What the client sees | Internal gain |
|---|---|---|
| File-based debt upload | CSV or Excel template, automatic field checks | No re-keying, 3 min instead of 15 per batch |
| Case record | Status, original balance, amount recovered, next action | Fewer inbound calls |
| Action log | Letters, calls, SMS, payment promises, time-stamped | Transparency, proof of work |
| Collections dashboard | Recovered per month, success rate, debt age | Automatic monthly reporting |
| Step approval | Consent for county court claim or legal proceedings | Decisions in 24 h instead of 10 days |
| Documents | Invoices, contracts, judgments, downloadable | Central file store |
| Roles and access | Several users per client, rights per branch | Security, GDPR compliance |
The portal reads data from your existing collection system through an API or a scheduled sync. If that system has no interface, an extraction module is needed, which pushes the project into the complex tier, 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (10,670 to 22,870+ EUR). With an API available, the mid tier, 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (6,100 to 10,670 EUR), is often enough.
2026 benchmarks: off the shelf collection software sometimes offers a client extranet as an add-on at 2,500 to 10,000 GBP a year, with little customisation. A London software house quotes a comparable portal at 40,000 to 90,000 GBP; in Dublin, 45,000 to 100,000 EUR.
Security and compliance
Cases hold debtor data, sometimes sensitive (household situation, payment plans). The portal enforces two-factor authentication, strict separation between clients, UK or EU hosting and logging of every access, in line with UK GDPR and FCA consumer credit rules in London, or GDPR and Central Bank expectations in Ireland. Retention follows your data policy. Hosting is set in the quote; Kolonell maintenance runs 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA per month (53, 114 or 183 EUR).
Rollout plan
The first month covers workshops with three representative clients (one landlord, one utility, one SME), mockups and the import template. Months two and three build the case record, action log, dashboard and approvals, connected to your collection system. The last weeks are spent on acceptance testing, a security review and a pilot. Clients are then onboarded in waves of 10, with a 20-minute video call each, so the collections team never faces a support spike.
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Mini case study
Aoife, CEO of a Dublin agency, employs 18 collectors at a loaded cost of 3,600 EUR per month. The 20 % of time spent on updates is worth 155,520 EUR a year. The portal recovers half of it, 77,760 EUR of time put back into collecting.
On 30 million EUR of debt placed each year, each extra point of recovery rate means 300,000 EUR collected, about 45,000 EUR of commission at 15 %. The chosen build, 14,000 EUR plus 183 EUR per month of maintenance, costs about 16,200 EUR in year one: it pays back in under 3 months on time saved alone. A landlord tender won thanks to the portal covers the rest.
FAQ
Does the portal replace our collection software?
No. It sits on top and gives clients a clear view. The software stays the collectors' production tool.
Can a utility upload 5,000 debts at once?
Yes. The import checks every row, flags errors and creates cases in minutes. Batches above 50,000 rows run in the background.
Can debtors access the portal?
Not in this version, which is client only. A debtor area with online payment is a common next step, adding 4 to 6 weeks.
How long until go-live?
3 months with an existing API, 4 months if extraction must be built. A 4-week pilot with 3 clients validates the dashboard.
Let's scope your project. Share your volumes, client types and current system, and we will scope a portal deliverable in 3 to 4 months. 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.
