First customer portal for the business, buy or build
A customer portal looks simple, until you notice it needs login, permissions, an audit log and data integrations. Start with SaaS, build only later when SaaS pinches.
Try this first
- 1First define what customers must be able to do, downloading documents is different from creating tickets or paying invoices.
- 2Check whether your existing tools, accounting or CRM, already have a portal feature, then the data is in the right place.
- 3Compare two or three SaaS portals on login security, MFA support and SSO options, not only on looks.
- 4Ask comparable companies which portal they use and what they think after a year, not after a week.
- 5Cost per customer per month, not only subscription but also onboarding time for every new customer.
- 6Build custom only if no SaaS fits and you can maintain the portal for two years, otherwise it becomes a legacy system.
When to bring us in
If no SaaS fits and you are leaning toward custom, ask for a second opinion. Vectel can help pick or build a light custom layer on top of SaaS before you commit to a big project.
See also
- First IT setup as a freelancer, what do you actually needNot everything at once. One laptop, a mailbox on your own domain, a password manager, a backup. That covers the first year.
- Hiring your first employee, what IT to arrange before day oneLaptop, account, mailbox, access to the right folders. In that order, not all of it at 9 a.m. on day one.
- Moving to a new office, IT checklistInternet and power have the longest lead times. Plan at least three months out, not three weeks.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.