ConceptA tool I would build. Not client work.
Client portal with live status
Half my inbox is clients asking where their project stands, and the other half is me waiting for them to approve something.
Concept
Not client work- What this is
- A tool I would build, drawn to show the idea. Nobody has bought it, and every name and number on these screens is invented.
- For
- An agency, accountant or studio that answers “where are we?” by email.
- The money
- No figure I trust enough to quote. The cost is easy to count yourself: the status emails each week, and the days a project waits on a yes nobody chased.
- Belongs to
- Internal tools
- Drawn
- 11 Nov 2026 · sheet 4 of 6
Live demo
One link. One line. One thing waiting.
The design is ready for you. It has waited on you for 3 days.
- BriefDone 14 Oct
- 2DesignWaiting on you · 3 days
- 3BuildAbout 4 weeks
- 4LaunchPlanned 15 Dec
Your comments on version 1 3 of 3 done
Approving closes the design stage. The studio sends its invoice for it after a person checks it.
Concept
One link per client
What the client sees, and what the studio sees, when one design is approved.
The other screens
The record, and the files.
- The approval
- What
- Homepage design, version 2
- By
- Marie Claes, Bakkerij Voorbeeld
- When
- Wed 11 Nov 2026, 14:02
- Comments
- 3 on version 1, all answered
- Unlocked
- Build stage
- Invoice
- Design stage, drafted for the studio
What happened- 11 Nov 14:02
Marie approved version 2From the link in her email
- 8 Nov 16:40
Lars shared version 2All three comments answered
- 6 Nov 10:15
Marie left 3 comments on version 1Placed on the design
- 4 Nov 17:05
Lars shared version 1
- 14 Oct 11:30
Brief approved by Marie
Comments on version 1Placed on the design by Marie# She wrote In version 2 State 1 “Can the phone number go at the top? People call to order.” Phone number in the header Done 2 “Use the photo of the shop front, not the drawing.” Shop front photo Done 3 “Opening hours are hard to find.” Opening hours, larger, beside the map Done Both sides see the same record. If anyone later asks who agreed to what, it is here, with the version they saw.
Concept
Approval record
Who approved which version, when, and what it unlocked. Both sides see the same record.
1 / 2 - Project filesShared by Studio Voorbeeld
- Brief, signedPDF · 14 OctApproved
- Homepage design, version 2Link · 8 NovApproved
- Photos from the shop12 files · from you, 2 NovReceived
- Invoice 2026-041 · Brief€1,200.00 · 15 OctPaid
- Invoice · Design stageWhen the studio sends itComing
Where it standsThe studio sees the sameStage When State Brief Approved 14 Oct Done Design Approved 11 Nov, version 2 Done Build Started 11 Nov · about 4 weeks On the studio Launch Planned 15 Dec Next No login to remember: each client opens their own link, and it can be turned off at any time.
Concept
Files and invoices
The client’s side: every file and invoice for the project in one place, with its state.
2 / 2
What it would be worth
Fewer “where are we?” emails.
Every client can see where their project stands without asking, and the approvals stop waiting in someone’s inbox. Each stage closes the day it is approved, and its invoice is ready that day.
Count one week of status emails and calls, and look at how many days your last three projects waited on a client’s yes.
What you can buy today
- Assembly (opens in a new tab)$29 to $49 a month
- SuiteDash (opens in a new tab)$19 to $99 a month
- Dock (opens in a new tab)$350 a month
List prices as each vendor’s own page showed them on 11 Nov 2026. Buy one of these if your stages look like everyone’s. A custom portal is the better buy when your stages, approvals and invoices are your own, and you want it on top of the tools you already use.
Time spent on “where are we?”, in euros
Type your numbers and the sum appears here.
46 working weeks. It leaves out the bigger cost, the days a project sits waiting on a yes, because only your own calendar knows that one. Your numbers stay in this tab.
Where the line is
It shows. A person sends.
What it does
- Gives each client one link with where the project stands and the one thing waiting on them.
- Records every approval: who, which version, when, and what it unlocked.
- Opens the next stage when one is approved, and tells the studio.
- Drafts the stage’s invoice in your accounts package for a person to check.
What it never does
- Send an invoice or chase a payment on its own.
- Show one client anything of another’s.
- Change a date or a stage without a person on the studio side doing it.
The client’s link can be turned off at any time, and it shows only what the studio chose to share. Invoices stay in the accounts package; the portal only drafts them there.
Want this for real?
I would start with a week on three of your live projects: the stages you really use, who approves what, and where the invoices are made. Then a fixed price.
I would scope it as an internal tool: from €18k, usually 3–5 weeks, at a fixed price.