A client portal is a private website or app where a homeowner can see everything about their own build: where it's up to, recent photos, their documents and what they've paid. Instead of the builder sending updates out, the client logs in and checks.
Large volume builders have offered portals for years. They've become practical for small and mid-size builders more recently, and the choice can be confusing. Here's a plain guide.
What goes in a builder's client portal
Most portals cover the same core information, which also happens to match the questions clients ask most:
- Progress: the current stage, what's done and what's next, with dates.
- Photos and notes: recent site photos with short updates.
- Documents: the contract, plans, variations, certificates and inspection reports.
- Payments: what's been paid, what's due next and what it's for.
Some portals add selections (choosing colours and fittings), variation sign-off, messaging, online payment and warranty requests.
Two kinds of portal
Portals inside a bigger platform. Construction software such as Buildxact and Buildertrend includes a client portal alongside tools for estimating, quoting, scheduling or job management. The portal comes with the platform, so you get it by moving at least some of your work, such as estimating or job management, into that software and paying for it.
Standalone portals. These give clients a portal without replacing your other tools. Constructive is an Australian example, with a minimum spend of $6,600 a year; Portalview is built for small and mid-size builders and sits on top of the tools your team already uses.
We've compared the main options side by side on our comparison page.
What a client portal costs
As listed on each company's website on 9 October 2026, excluding GST:
- Buildxact: plans from $199 a month, with the client portal included in its Foundation, Pro and Master plans.
- Buildertrend: quote only; one third-party estimate puts plans at roughly US$339 to US$1,099 a month.
- Constructive: $95 per job for its customer portal, with a minimum licence spend of $6,600 a year.
- Portalview: $149, $249 or $349 a month by active builds, plus $2,999 one-off setup.
When you compare, look at what you'd pay for your actual number of builds over a year, and what else you'd have to change to get the portal.
Signs you're ready for one
- Your supervisors spend real time each week answering "where are we up to?"
- Site photos go out by text, one client at a time, if they go out at all.
- You regularly resend plans, contracts or variations that clients can't find.
- Progress claims trigger questions before they get paid.
- You want to look as organised as the big builders your clients also considered.
If two or three of those sound familiar, a portal will probably pay for itself in time saved.
Questions to ask before you choose
- Does it work with the tools we already use, or do we have to switch?
- Who sets it up? Will we be doing it ourselves on weekends?
- Is it branded as our business, or as the software company?
- How is it priced: per job, per user or per active build? What will we pay at our real volume?
- Do homeowners need to install an app, or does it work in the browser?
- Is there a lock-in contract, and can we take our clients' documents with us if we leave?
The short version
A client portal gives homeowners answers without them having to ask. If you want new software for everything, an all-in-one platform includes one. If you want to keep your tools and just give clients a better experience, a standalone portal is the simpler route.
If that sounds like you, book a walkthrough and we'll show you Portalview on a demo build.