Software development • Montreal

Customer Portal Development in Montreal

A customer portal is the part of your business your clients can log into. It is where they see and pay invoices, download documents, submit requests and update their own information. When it works, your phone rings less and your clients trust you more. When it does not exist, your staff become the portal, answering the same questions by email.

DaniMaster builds customer, member, employee and student portals for small and mid-size businesses in Montreal and across Canada. We have shipped client-facing portals in our own products, so we know what people use and what they ignore.

What we build

A portal is a secure, logged-in web application built around your clients' needs. Here is what we build.

• Client portals: invoices, payments, statements, documents, support requests and project status in one place
• Membership management software: sign-up, renewals, dues collection, member directories, event registration and access levels
• HR management software: employee self-service for pay stubs, vacation requests, schedules, policy acknowledgements and onboarding checklists
• Educational software development: student and parent portals for schools, training centres and tutoring businesses, with enrolment, schedules, grades and messaging
• E-learning software: course delivery, video lessons, quizzes, progress tracking, certificates and payment for online programs
• Admin consoles so your team manages users, content and permissions without a developer
• Integrations with Stripe, Odoo, ERPNext, your accounting system, email and single sign-on

We build with PHP or Node.js and PostgreSQL or MariaDB, responsive for phones, hosted in Canada on request. Portals can start small and grow.

How we work

A portal only succeeds if clients use it.

1. Discovery. We ask your staff which questions they answer most often, and a few of your clients what they wish they could do themselves. That list becomes the first version, in Montreal or by video. 2. Design. We produce clickable mockups in French and English for clients and admins, and test the login and payment flows with real users. 3. Build. We deliver working software every week or two. Authentication and permissions come first, because security cannot be added later. 4. Test. We run security checks, load a copy of real client data and verify that each user sees only what they should. 5. Launch. We roll out to a small group of clients first, fix friction, then invite everyone, with announcement templates in both languages. 6. Support. We track which features clients use and plan the next version with you. Ongoing support covers security updates, integrations and new features.

Proof: the portals inside our own products

Our own products are portals with real users.

FacilInvoice, our bilingual invoicing SaaS for Canadian freelancers and small businesses, has two sides. Business owners log into an admin console to manage clients, invoices, promo codes, tax settings and Stripe subscriptions. Their clients receive public invoice pages where they view the PDF and pay by card, PayPal, bank transfer or Interac e-Transfer, with no account needed. Payments reconcile automatically. That is a customer portal in its most practical form.

BizLocal, our Quebec and Canada business directory with about 49,000 listings, runs partner and client consoles. Partner businesses manage their listing, receive routed quote requests, see referral billing and track results. Partner data syncs to Odoo CRM.

Across our brands we use Odoo 17 and ERPNext as central ledgers, so every portal we build connects to accounting and CRM through their APIs. ClearCall, our accessible calling app with live captions, shaped how we design for users with different abilities.

What it costs and how long it takes

Portal costs depend on user types, integrations and whether payments are involved. Ranges in Canadian dollars:

• Basic client portal with login, invoices, payments, documents and a request form, connected to your accounting system: $10,000 to $25,000, four to eight weeks
• Membership or partner portal with renewals, dues, directories, events and commission statements: $20,000 to $50,000, eight to fourteen weeks
• HR self-service portal with pay stubs, time-off requests, schedules and onboarding: $20,000 to $45,000, eight to twelve weeks
• Educational or e-learning platform with courses, enrolment, progress tracking, quizzes and payments: $30,000 to $90,000, ten to twenty weeks
• Hosting, security updates and support: $250 to $1,500 per month

Prices depend on scope. Custom permission models and regulated data such as health or payroll information push costs up. We quote a fixed price after discovery, and we tell you when a portal module already built into your ERP will do the job.

Why build your portal with a Montreal partner

Portals hold your clients' personal data behind a login. A Montreal partner brings specific advantages.

French and English, done properly. Your clients choose their language and every screen, email and document respects it.

Law 25 by design. Quebec's privacy law gives your clients rights to access, correct and delete their information, and it requires consent management and breach notification. We build consent preferences, data export and deletion requests into the product.

Canadian data residency. On request, we host portals on Canadian servers so client, member, employee or student data stays in the country. HR and education users often expect this.

Local payment habits. Interac e-Transfer, Canadian card processing and correct GST, HST and QST on every invoice.

Eastern time zone. Your clients log in during Canadian business hours, and so do we.

Proximity. We are a Montreal company. We can meet your team, train your staff in person and stay accountable after launch.

Who this is for

Portals make sense when clients or members ask you the same things repeatedly. Common situations:

• A professional firm or agency in Montreal. Clients email to ask for invoices, project status and documents. A portal gives them all three, with online payment.
• An association, club or professional order. Members renew by cheque and event sign-ups arrive by email. Membership software handles renewals, dues, directories and events, with Odoo or ERPNext behind it.
• A company with 30 to 300 employees. HR answers pay stub and vacation questions all day. A self-service portal lets employees find answers and submit requests themselves.
• A school, training centre or coach selling programs online. Students need enrolment, schedules, course content and progress tracking in one place, with payment built in.

If one of these describes your situation, a portal is probably overdue. Start with a free 30-minute call and we will outline a first version your clients will use.

Frequently asked questions

Can a portal sit on top of our existing Odoo, ERPNext or accounting system?

Yes, and that is often the best approach. Your ERP stays the source of truth for customers, invoices and payments. The portal reads and writes through its API and shows only what clients need, in your branding and both languages. This avoids duplicate data.

How do you handle logins and security?

We use proven authentication libraries, hashed passwords, optional two-factor authentication and single sign-on with Google or Microsoft where it fits. Each user sees only their own records, enforced at the database level. Sessions expire, access is logged and we test for common web vulnerabilities before launch.

Can members or students pay through the portal?

Yes. We integrate Stripe for cards and subscriptions, PayPal and Interac e-Transfer with automatic reconciliation. Dues, course fees, event tickets and invoices can all be paid from the portal, with receipts in French or English and GST, HST and QST applied correctly.

How long until our clients can actually use it?

A first version with login, invoices, payments and documents usually takes four to eight weeks from discovery. We launch to a small group of clients first, learn from their feedback, then open it to everyone. Larger membership, HR or e-learning portals take two to five months.