A customer portal
that lets people find
their own answers.
Let customers check job or order status, get documents, and complete tasks like paying invoices or signing agreements. I build portals connected to the records and software your business already uses.
My work includes Full Stack Storage, the SaaS platform I own and built, and Breeze, built for Lightning Transportation while I was at OTR Web Solutions.
Sound familiar?
The information is there. Someone still has to look it up.
A customer needs an update, a document, or help with an account task. Someone in the office finds the record and handles it. A portal lets customers check those records, retrieve documents, and complete agreed account tasks themselves.
Keep people available for the questions that need a person. Give routine tasks a clear path.
“What’s the status?”
Today
A customer asks, and someone checks the system for the latest information.
→
With a portal
Customers check the latest status for their own jobs, orders, or shipments.
“Can you send that document again?”
Today
A customer asks, and someone finds the paperwork and resends it.
→
With a portal
The relevant paperwork sits beside the record, ready for the customer to access.
“Can I take care of this online?”
Today
A customer asks, and someone handles the task (e.g. payment, agreement, or detail update).
→
With a portal
Customers complete the agreed action themselves, at a time that works for them.
Selected work
Portal work and the business processes behind it.
01 / Full Stack Storage
Full Stack Storage
Customer account tasks connected to facility operations.
Founder and product engineer. Full Stack Storage is the SaaS platform I own and built.
Customers manage rental payments, agreements, and documents in one portal. When they make payments or change account details, those changes update the same records staff use to run the facility.
Payments update billing records and balances, and contact changes update linked customer records. Scheduling a move-out updates the rental’s scheduled date, creates a request staff can see, and queues customer and staff notifications.
Full Stack Storage is in controlled release; this is implemented product work presented as engineering proof.
02 / Breeze
Breeze
A logistics portal for Lightning Transportation.
Sole developer and software architect. Built while employed by OTR Web Solutions.
I built Breeze around incoming transportation records, with working views for staff, customers, and warehouses. Customer accounts saw assigned records; warehouse access could be narrowed by both customer and delivery location.
Saved working views supported recurring shipment lookups. People could retrieve freight paperwork through Synergize and review record history. Authorized priority and empty-container actions recorded changes in Breeze and notified the business.
Incoming transportation data from Lightning Transportation.
Shipments
Customer accounts
Warehouse activity
Status updates
→
BreezeShipmentsSearchSaved viewsCedar Works ⌄
Shipments / FB-104
FB-104 Delivered
Cedar Works / North Warehouse
Delivery date
Mar 14, 2024
Last updated
Mar 14, 2024
OverviewPaperwork (2)History (2)
Customer
Cedar Works
Delivery location
North Warehouse
Status
Delivered
Reference
FB-104
Last updated
Mar 14, 2024
Related paperwork
Proof of delivery.pdfPDF · 245 KB
Bill of lading.pdfPDF · 180 KB
Record history
Mar 13, 2024
Out for delivery
Mar 14, 2024
Delivered
Illustration of the Breeze workflow using sample information.
Useful access
One set of records. The right view for each person.
A regional team needs the wider picture. A district manager may oversee several locations. A warehouse manager only needs the work their location is responsible for.
Regional Operations
4 records
Across multiple customer groups and locations
SR-104Cedar WorksNorth Warehouse
SR-105Cedar WorksSouth Warehouse
SR-106Meadow SupplyEast Warehouse
SR-107Meadow SupplyWest Warehouse
Cedar Works District Manager
2 records
Multiple Cedar Works locations
SR-104Cedar WorksNorth Warehouse
SR-105Cedar WorksSouth Warehouse
North Warehouse Manager
1 record
This location only
SR-104Cedar WorksNorth Warehouse
How projects start
Start with one task customers regularly need.
We choose one recurring customer need for the first release. Each phase has a defined scope. You approve one phase at a time, with the option to continue later.
Examples of a focused first release
Records and documents
Signed-in customers find their records and paperwork.
SR-104Delivered
Cedar WorksShipped Mar 12, 2024
Proof of delivery.pdfPDF · 245 KBOpen
One customer action
Signed-in customers complete an agreed action, such as paying an invoice.
Invoice INV-3321Payment due
Cedar WorksDue Apr 3, 2024
$2,480.00Pay invoice
View invoice (PDF)
Your first release may look different. We choose the starting point around what your customers need to find or do. A records-and-documents portal can be the finished project; expansion is optional.
Start with a free fit review.
If the requirements are clear enough, I provide a fixed quote directly. If important questions need investigation first, I’ll propose a small planning phase for one reasonably bounded customer workflow, at an agreed price of no more than $500 USDPrices are shown in USD for a consistent North American reference. Canadian projects are quoted and invoiced in CAD at the equivalent amount. US projects are quoted and invoiced in USD. Once quoted, the project or phase amount is fixed in the agreed currency.. We agree on its scope and price, and you explicitly approve it before work starts.
You do not have to commit to a large build while important questions are still unresolved.
What to share for the free review
Share what customers need to find or do, who needs access, and the systems involved.
What you leave with
Requirements and findings: how the work happens today, the business rules that matter, and what the review establishes.
A recommended approach: what to preserve or change, alternatives, the first useful scope and its boundaries.
A basis for implementation: acceptance criteria, dependencies, and a fixed proposal with delivery timing and operating responsibilities when the build is viable and sufficiently defined.
If the right answer is not to proceed, you receive the reasons and alternatives instead. If essential information remains unavailable, the handoff explains what is blocked and what would need to be resolved.
The handoff is yours to keep. You can use it with Featherply, another developer, or nobody.
01Free fit reviewQuote directly when clearInvestigate important questions only if needed, within an agreed planning cap.
02You approve the buildFirst useful phaseScope, acceptance criteria, price and timing agreed before implementation
03Continue if neededAdditional workSeparately agreed and approved, one phase at a time
The fit review and direct quote are free. Planning is optional. You approve each paid phase separately.
Planning establishes what customers need to find or do, who may access which records, where the information comes from, and how current it needs to be. The handoff defines the first useful customer task, permission and exception rules, acceptance checks, and operating arrangements. These findings can improve how your office shares information even if you decide not to build a portal.
Illustrative sample: Birch & Hollow defines which delivery periods a departing property manager may access, how corrections appear beside original slips, and who can withhold incorrect paperwork. Those rules can guide office responses before any portal is built.
Work directly with Brad Conklin, the developer. Before implementation, we agree on scope, acceptance criteria, price, timing, hosting arrangements, ongoing costs, and who supports the portal after launch. Practical handover.
The enquiry and fit review are free. If the requirements are clear enough, I provide a fixed quote directly. If important questions need investigation, I explain the work first and propose a small planning phase with an agreed price of no more than $500 USD. No paid work starts until its scope and price are agreed and you explicitly approve it.
Do we have to replace our existing software?
Not necessarily. The portal can work around information your business already maintains. We decide what the existing system should continue to own and what the portal needs to present or do.
What if our software already includes a customer portal?
That may be the simplest option. Custom customer or client portal development becomes useful when the available views, connections, documents, or access rules do not fit how your business works.
Can customers and locations see different information?
Yes. Access can follow customers, locations, staff responsibilities, or other business relationships. Those rules need to apply to records, documents, searches, exports, and permitted actions, as well as the first screen someone opens.
Does our system need a live API?
Not always. A suitable API, agreed database access, or recurring export may provide information for reading. A portal can keep a working copy of selected information without becoming the authority for every field. Customer actions need a supported way to process and record changes. I review what the existing system supports before we choose the connection.
How up to date will the portal be?
That depends on the source and the agreed connection. We decide how often information needs to refresh and make its freshness clear, rather than presenting an older update as live.
Can the first version be read-only?
Yes. A read-only portal can be a complete, useful project. It can show records and documents without changing the original system and still have its own accounts, account settings, and saved views. Other portal actions or source-system updates can be added separately; expansion is optional.
Who owns the portal, and what costs continue?
You keep the completed work. Handover of the agreed deliverables and application source, ownership, and access are set out in the agreed scope. Hosting, third-party software, source-system access, and ongoing support may have separate costs. The proposal explains those arrangements and who operates the finished portal.
Can customers make payments, sign agreements, or update their details?
Yes. Full Stack Storage, the SaaS platform I own and built, includes these kinds of customer workflows. For your portal, we agree on which actions customers need, how those actions connect to your business records, and what your existing software supports.
Start a conversation
What should customers or staff be able to find or do?
Describe what customers or staff need to find or do. You don’t need a technical specification.
I’ll review your message and reply within two business days with any initial questions and a suggested next step. This initial fit review is free.
No paid work starts until its scope and price are agreed and you explicitly approve it.
Privacy and your enquiry
I treat what you share as private and use it only to review your enquiry unless we agree to use it for a project. Share only what you are comfortable sending; a short description or anonymized example is enough to start.
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