The verdict in three sentences
A notary office chooses between a vertical solution at 60-120 EUR/user/month and a custom build between 50,000 and 110,000 EUR including a digital vault, connection to public e-services and legally-binding archiving. The main gain is file-preparation time cut by 30% and full traceability, decisive under audit. The non-negotiables: security, GDPR and professional secrecy.
Vertical solution or custom: which to choose?
Specialist vendors cover the notarial day-to-day: deed drafting, notarial accounting, file management and e-signature. Custom becomes essential when the office wants a clean workflow, specific integrations (banks, land registry, partners), or a branded client portal to share documents and deeds securely.
| Criterion | Vertical solution | Custom |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 60-120 EUR/user/month | 50,000-110,000 EUR |
| Go-live | 1-3 months | 4-8 months |
| Notarial accounting | Included | To build/integrate |
| E-signature | Included | Built in (qualified) |
| Legally-binding vault | Depends on plan | Custom |
| Branded client portal | Rare | Yes |
Compliance and hidden costs
A notary office handles sensitive data and authentic deeds: compliance is not optional. Here are the items to budget beyond the licence, as 2026 orders of magnitude.
| Item | Annual range |
|---|---|
| Legally-binding archiving | 2,000-6,000 EUR |
| Qualified e-signature | 1,500-4,000 EUR |
| Secure hosting / backup | 2,500-7,000 EUR |
| Security / GDPR audit | 3,000-8,000 EUR (initial) |
| Staff training | 1,500-4,000 EUR |
These costs are often partly included in vertical solutions; in custom builds they add to development but stay manageable over time.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Me Diop, partner in a notary office with 3 notaries and 8 staff in Dakar, handles about 900 files a year. Each file took on average 5 hours to prepare (gathering documents, data entry, back-and-forth). By digitising with a structured workflow and a vault, he saves 30%, i.e. 1.5 hours per file: 900 × 1.5 = 1,350 hours freed per year. Valued at 25 EUR per staff hour, that is 33,750 EUR of recovered capacity annually, before counting fewer errors and better client experience. A 70,000 EUR custom build pays off in a little over two years.
FAQ
Does an e-signature have legal force? Yes, provided you use a compliant qualified signature, which carries the same evidential value as a handwritten one. Serious notarial solutions and custom portals include it natively.
How do you protect professional secrecy in a digital tool? Through encryption, fine-grained access rights and secure hosting. Require an audit and a clear contractual clause on confidentiality and data location.
What is legally-binding archiving? It is a system guaranteeing the integrity and time-stamping of documents over time, admissible in disputes. Allow 2,000 to 6,000 EUR per year depending on volume.
Can old files be migrated? Yes, data migration is a project in its own right (scanning, indexing) to be quoted separately, often between 5,000 and 20,000 EUR depending on paper volume.
How long to deploy? Allow 1 to 3 months for a vertical solution, 4 to 8 months for a custom build including integrations and history migration.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your office size, compliance needs (binding archiving, qualified signature) and integrations, and we'll quote the best-fit solution. 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.
