Costs
How much does a customer portal cost in Switzerland and Liechtenstein?
By Dominik Natter · Last updated on 3 November 2026 · 9 min read
In short
A customer portal connected to your ERP costs between CHF 25,000 and 80,000 excl. VAT, depending on scope, and takes 10 to 24 weeks to build. A portal with order status, documents and one integration sits at the lower end, while additional systems, roles and languages push the price up. For maintenance and operation, plan on 15 to 20 percent of the project cost per year. Whether it pays off depends mainly on how many status enquiries your sales back office handles today.
What a B2B customer portal typically does
A customer portal answers the questions your customers would otherwise ask by phone or email. It shows data from your ERP and CRM and captures requests in a structured way. In a B2B context it is often called a self-service portal.
These are the features most companies ask for. Two or three of them are usually enough to start with.
- Order status and delivery dates: customers see their open orders without calling your back office.
- Documents: delivery notes, certificates and contracts are ready to download instead of getting lost in email attachments.
- Invoices: open and paid invoices, with a PDF copy available at any time.
- Reordering: customers reorder familiar items, and the order arrives in your ERP in a structured format.
- Complaints: a form captures item, quantity, reason and photos, so nobody has to chase missing details.
- Uploads: customers, clients or partners upload documents securely, each one assigned to the right account.
- entry price for a customer portal connected to your ERP, up to CHF 80,000
- CHF 25,000
- weeks to build the portal, depending on the stage
- 10 to 24
- of the project cost per year for maintenance and operation
- 15 to 20%
- fewer status enquiries as a target, not a guaranteed result
- 40%
What makes up the price of a customer portal
A customer portal is priced on effort. Swiss providers charge hourly rates between CHF 150 and 250. At CHF 200 per hour, the range of CHF 25,000 to 80,000 corresponds to roughly 125 to 400 hours. They are spread across concept, design, development, integrations, testing and rollout.
The biggest difference is not the user interface but the integration. The portal does not hold its own version of the truth. Orders, documents and customer data stay in your ERP or CRM and are read and written there. Each system integration costs CHF 3,000 to 15,000, depending on the interface. Read more in our guide "ERP integration: how much does it cost to connect your online shop and ERP?".
The table shows three stages. Where one stage ends and the next begins is a guideline. The price becomes binding only with the cost ceiling from the preliminary study, which you receive at a fixed price of CHF 4,000 to 9,000.
Customer portal costs by stage
| Stage | Price range | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary study with cost ceiling | CHF 4,000 to 9,000 | Fixed price, 2 to 3 weeks |
| Stage 1: Basic portal | CHF 25,000 to 40,000 | Secure login, order status, documents and invoices, one ERP integration |
| Stage 2: Self-service portal | CHF 40,000 to 60,000 | Adds reordering, complaints, uploads and notifications, connected to ERP and CRM |
| Stage 3: Portal with role model | CHF 60,000 to 80,000 | Adds company account login, roles by location or cost centre, multiple languages |
| Platform for several user groups and systems | from CHF 100,000 | When the portal grows into an industry solution |
| Each additional system integration | CHF 3,000 to 15,000 | depending on the interface |
| Delivery time | 10 to 24 weeks | depending on the stage |
| Maintenance and operation per year | 15 to 20% | of the project cost |
A portal does not have to be built in one go. For Verling Solutions, a service provider that books sales appointments for its clients, we built a CRM with a customer portal. Admin, callers and clients work in one application, and each role sees only its own data. Clients upload leads, see booked appointments and record order values. The application went live in four stages within three weeks of signing the contract. An interface for importing leads and a document store for each client were added later, without rebuilding the foundation.
The five biggest cost drivers of a customer portal
Five factors decide whether your portal lands at the lower or upper end of the range.
- Number of connected systems: a portal that only reads from the ERP is considerably cheaper than one that combines ERP, CRM and document storage and writes orders back.
- Roles and permissions: if each customer simply sees their own company's data, things stay manageable. If your customers need separate roles for purchasing and accounting, several locations or approvals by cost centre, effort and testing increase.
- Multiple languages: every language affects the interface, emails, documents and master data such as item descriptions. With German, French and Italian in Switzerland, this adds up quickly.
- Design: a portal in your own brand identity needs design work and coordination. A plain, functional interface costs less and is enough for many B2B customers.
- Login and SSO: two-factor authentication is standard. If customers should sign in with their company account through Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace or other providers using OpenID Connect or SAML, setup and testing are added.
Customer portal for your ERP: vendor module, off-the-shelf software or custom build?
Start by checking what you already have. Many ERP vendors offer their own portal module. There are also helpdesk portals and the customer accounts built into common shop systems. These options are quicker to roll out and often cheaper upfront. In return, they usually come with ongoing licence fees, and you get what the vendor provides.
So do not compare purchase prices alone. Add licences over five years and the work your ERP partner does for setup and customisation. With a custom solution, you own the source code and the rights, but you are responsible for maintenance and further development. Read more in our guide "Who owns the source code of custom software? Rights in Switzerland and Liechtenstein".
Off-the-shelf or custom build?
No custom build needed, off-the-shelf is enough if
- your ERP's portal module shows exactly what your customers should see.
- you only need customers to download invoices.
- only a few of your customers need a portal at all.
A custom build pays off if
- data from several systems needs to come together in one view.
- your customers have their own roles, locations or cost centres.
- orders, approvals or uploads need their own workflows.
- the portal should carry your brand and fit your offering.
Running costs: what a customer portal costs per year
For maintenance and operation, we plan on 15 to 20 percent of the project cost per year. For a CHF 50,000 portal, that is CHF 7,500 to 10,000 a year. If you wish, we run the portal for you after go-live. Our maintenance contract then covers hosting in the EEA, monitoring, security updates, backups and agreed response times. Read more in our guide "Software maintenance costs: what do maintenance and operations cost per year?".
Some costs are missing from many quotes. Before you decide, find out whether the following items are included, because otherwise you will pay for them afterwards.
- Effort by your ERP partner: they usually send their own invoice for interface access, a test environment or extra modules.
- ERP updates: if the vendor changes its interface, the integration has to be updated too.
- Your own staff time: your team manages users, helps customers with questions about the portal and decides which extensions come next.
- Third-party services: fees for email delivery or login services, if you use them.
- Larger extensions: new features after launch are best planned as a separate stage with its own cost ceiling.
Worked example: when a customer portal pays for itself
The biggest measurable benefit is fewer status enquiries in your back office. On our solution page we state a target of 40 percent fewer status enquiries. That is a target, not a guaranteed result. The examples assume internal full costs of CHF 70 per hour, 220 working days and maintenance costs of 15 percent of the project cost per year. Plug in your own figures.
Project cost and annual savings compared
+Show values as a table
| Value | Project cost | Annual savings after maintenance |
|---|---|---|
| 40 status enquiries a day | CHF 45'000 | CHF 26'000 |
| 8 status enquiries a day | CHF 30'000 | CHF 2'000 |
Manufacturer with many enquiries: the back office answers 40 status enquiries a day. Looking things up in the ERP and replying takes about eight minutes each. That adds up to roughly 1,170 hours a year. If 40 percent of them disappear, you save about 470 hours or CHF 32,900 a year. With a project cost of CHF 45,000 and CHF 6,750 in annual maintenance, around CHF 26,000 remains each year. The portal pays for itself in just under two years.
Small volume: with eight enquiries a day, the same calculation saves you about 94 hours or CHF 6,580 a year. After deducting CHF 4,500 maintenance for a CHF 30,000 portal, about CHF 2,000 is left. That does not add up.
Some effects are harder to quantify and are not included. Documents no longer get sent twice. Reorders arrive complete instead of informally. And some key accounts require a portal as a condition of doing business.
Adoption, security and data protection
Your customers will use a portal if it saves them work. It has to answer the most common questions faster than a phone call: order status, documents, reordering. So start with two or three features, measure usage and only then expand. Point your customers to the portal actively, for example on every invoice and during every status call.
On security, the rule is simple: each customer sees only their own data. This is enforced at the level of database queries and verified with automated tests. On top of that come two-factor login, encrypted transmission, access logging and hosting in the EEA.
On the Swiss state e-ID: the federal government postponed the introduction of the e-ID on 30 June 2026 without setting a new date. The trust infrastructure is due to go live in the first half of 2027. For now, plan your portal login around two-factor authentication or company accounts. Read more in our guide "Swiss e-ID for businesses: how SMEs integrate the e-ID".
When a customer portal is not worth it
A portal is not always the right answer. Skip it or wait if any of the following applies:
- Your back office receives only a few status enquiries a day, as in the second worked example.
- Your customers order rarely and have no ongoing orders to track.
- The data in your ERP is incomplete or out of date. A portal only makes bad data more visible.
- Your ERP's portal module covers your needs, and your own brand experience is not a competitive advantage.
- Nobody in your company owns the portal and drives adoption among customers.
Where this information comes from
Price ranges and hourly rates
The price ranges are guidelines excl. VAT and match the figures on our pages for customer portals and for the customer portal with ERP integration. The split into three stages is a guideline within that range. The hourly rates of CHF 150 to 250 reflect what Swiss providers publish.
Worked examples
The 40 percent reduction in status enquiries is a target, not a measured result. The worked examples are based on the stated assumptions and do not replace a preliminary study.
Data protection and e-ID
The data protection information comes from the Swiss Federal Office of Justice on the revised Data Protection Act and from the Liechtenstein Data Protection Authority on the application of the GDPR in the EEA. The e-ID information comes from the Federal Council press release of 30 June 2026, issued by the FDJP and the Federal Office of Justice.
Practical example
The practical example is based on our published case study for Verling Solutions.
As of: November 2026.
| Preliminary study with cost ceiling | CHF 4,000 to 9,000 | Fixed price, 2 to 3 weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1: Basic portal | CHF 25,000 to 40,000 | Secure login, order status, documents and invoices, one ERP integration |
| Stage 2: Self-service portal | CHF 40,000 to 60,000 | Adds reordering, complaints, uploads and notifications, connected to ERP and CRM |
| Stage 3: Portal with role model | CHF 60,000 to 80,000 | Adds company account login, roles by location or cost centre, multiple languages |
| Platform for several user groups and systems | from CHF 100,000 | When the portal grows into an industry solution |
| Each additional system integration | CHF 3,000 to 15,000 | depending on the interface |
| Delivery time | 10 to 24 weeks | depending on the stage |
| Maintenance and operation per year | 15 to 20% | of the project cost |
Frequently asked questions
Will our customers actually use a portal?
If it saves them work, yes. Portals get used when they answer the most common requests faster than a phone call: order status, documents, reordering. That is why we start with two or three functions and measure usage before adding more.
How secure is customer data in the portal?
Each customer sees only their own data, enforced at the level of the database queries and verified with automated tests. On top of that come two-factor sign-in, encrypted transmission, access logging and hosting in the EEA.
Can users sign in with their existing company account?
Yes. Portals can be connected to Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace or other providers using OpenID Connect and SAML. For external customers we set up a sign-in with two-factor authentication.
Is our ERP vendor's customer portal module good enough?
Often it is, provided it shows exactly what your customers need to see and the focus is mainly on invoices and order status. A portal module is quicker to roll out, but it usually comes with ongoing licence fees and can only be customised as far as the vendor allows. A custom solution pays off when data from several systems needs to come together or your customers need their own roles, locations and workflows.
Can we start with a small customer portal and expand it later?
Yes, and that is usually the more economical route. A basic portal with secure login, order status and documents sits at the lower end of the CHF 25,000 to 80,000 range. Reordering, complaints, additional systems or languages are added later as separate stages with a cost ceiling, once you can see what your customers actually use.
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