Client Portal: Give Your Clients 24/7 Access to Their Documents

The problem: the invisible administrative burden

SMBs often underestimate the cost of client document management. Yet if you count the time spent each week responding to emails like "Can you resend the January invoice?" or "Where is my order?", you can easily reach 3 to 5 hours per week per team member.

Multiply by the number of client-facing staff, and by 52 weeks. The result is striking: hundreds of hours of skilled work used for tasks that add no business value.

On the client side, the experience isn't great either: waiting 24–72 hours for a document that belongs to them generates frustration and damages your professional image.

1. The client space: a dedicated portal for each client

VIA ERP's client portal is a secure, personalized web space — accessible from any device — that you can activate for each client in seconds.

Each client receives a unique, secure access link (or creates their own account) and accesses a personal dashboard containing:

• All their quotes and proposals — with the ability to accept or decline directly online
• All their invoices — with payment status and full history
• Their purchase orders and delivery notes
• The progress of active projects — completed phases, in-progress phases, milestones
• A history of all commercial exchanges with your team

The portal reflects VIA ERP data in real time: as soon as an invoice is created or a status changes, the client sees it immediately in their space. No manual synchronization required.

2. Invoices and online payments: cut your payment delays

One of the most impactful features of the client portal is direct online payment. Instead of waiting for your client to print the invoice, prepare a check, and mail it (or manually enter your IBAN for a bank transfer), they can pay in 2 clicks from their dashboard.

VIA ERP integrates with leading payment processors to enable:

• Card payment — 3D Secure protected, instant result
• Simplified bank transfer — pre-filled IBAN, automatic payment reference
• Partial payment — for invoices tied to progressive deliveries

As soon as a payment is received, VIA ERP automatically updates the invoice status, sends a receipt to the client, and records the collection in your accounting. Zero manual data entry.

Companies that activate online payment in VIA ERP see on average a 40% reduction in average payment delay (DSO — Days Sales Outstanding).

3. Project tracking: transparency without unnecessary meetings

For service businesses — agencies, consulting firms, development companies — a large portion of client management time goes to giving project updates.

VIA ERP's client portal includes a project tracking module visible to the client:

• Project phases: each phase is displayed with its status (Not started / In progress / Completed) and estimated dates
• Milestones and deliverables: the client sees exactly when each deliverable is expected and can download completed ones directly
• Overall progress: a visual progress bar gives a quick summary
• Messages and comments: built-in messaging allows exchanges directly in the portal — without getting buried in email threads

Result: no more "Where is my project?" emails at 10pm. The client has constant access to information, and your teams can focus on delivery rather than communication.

4. Security and access controls

The question that always comes up: "Is it secure?" The answer is yes, on multiple levels:

• Secure authentication: each client logs in with their own credentials. VIA ERP supports two-factor authentication (2FA) for sensitive accounts.
• Data isolation: one client can never see another client's documents. Isolation is enforced at the database level, not just the interface.
• Granular control: you choose exactly what each client can see — some clients may access all their documents, others only invoices, etc.
• Access logging: you can see at any time which documents were viewed, when, and from which IP address.

5. Measurable impact on your business

Companies that deploy VIA ERP's client portal see on average:

• −80% inbound emails about documents and invoices
• +40% client satisfaction measured on NPS surveys post-deployment
• 3 hours/day recovered by the admin team
• DSO reduced by 40% through visibility and online payment
• Zero disputes over "I didn't receive the invoice" — everything is traceable

Activating the client portal in 15 minutes

Activating the client portal in VIA ERP requires no technical work:

1. Configure the appearance: upload your logo and choose the primary color
2. Activate per client: in each client record, check "Enable portal" — the client automatically receives their invitation by email
3. Set permissions: choose which document types are visible for each client or client group
4. Set up online payment (optional): connect your payment processor in 5 minutes

Once activated, the client accesses their portal and all their existing documents are already available — no manual migration needed.