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Three Benchford portal screens on sample data resting on a plank line: the client dashboard, the staff console in dark mode and the dashboard on a phone

Portals and intake for firms that live in email and folders

Clients ask "where is my return?" and the answer lives in someone's inbox. Keep Clio, QuickBooks or AppFolio. We build the page your clients use and the view your staff need.

For accounting, law, wealth, consulting and property management firms of five or more people, on a fixed price from $4,950 with the ship date in the contract. Boulder County has 1,026 firms in law, accounting, architecture, investment advice and insurance, averaging 3.8 employees each (BLS, 2025 annual average).

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What we fix

Three problems we hear from firm owners

Each one pairs the problem with the build that fixes it, and the tool you keep.

Documents arrive by email, status arrives by phone

A client emails a scan, a staff member saves it, and a week later the client calls to ask where the return stands. We build a page where clients upload what you ask for, see a checklist and see the status, with payments beside it. QuickBooks Online, your tax engine and DocuSign stay.

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Intake that lands in an inbox

If Clio or PracticePanther Business already covers your intake, keep it: both include intake forms and a client portal. We build what they do not: a multi-step onboarding checklist in your branding, referral handoffs, and document status for wealth clients beside Wealthbox and Orion.

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Owner statements and board packets built by hand

Beside AppFolio, Buildium or Rent Manager, we build owner reports shaped the way owners ask, move-out inspections with photos and deductions, and vendor bid comparison. For HOA managers: a tracker for architectural-review requests and board packets. AppFolio Core already lists work orders, so we do not pitch maintenance intake.

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The tier that usually fits

Compare three years, not year one. Complete: half at signing, half when your checklist passes.

Complete Build

$9,850 one-time
  • Client portal plus the staff view
  • One integration with a tool you keep
  • Acceptance checklist, run with you
  • Your code, your data, a handover runbook
  • Launch guarantee and a 12-month warranty
  • Three years with Standard care: $20,614
  • Care plans from $149 a month, separate

A client portal with a staff view behind it and one integration with the tool you keep.

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Professional services questions

Short answers, with the prices we checked.

What is the best client portal for accounting firms?

The one your staff will use for every client. Karbon, Canopy and TaxDome are suites with portals, and list prices run from $59 to $149 a user a month (Karbon Team $59, Canopy Standard $74, TaxDome Pro about $1,000 a seat a year; checked 2026-10-16, some from third-party guides). If you use the whole suite, keep it. A build fits when you want the client-facing page and the intake shaped like your practice.

How do HOAs and property managers run an owner portal?

Most run it in their management suite. Buildium lists from $62 a month and AppFolio from $1.49 per unit a month with a 50-unit minimum (checked 2026-10-16). Buildium and Rent Manager include resident and owner portals, and AppFolio Core lists work orders, inspections and unit turns. The gaps are owner reports beyond the suite, move-out inspections with photos, vendor bid comparison and, for HOA managers, architectural-review requests and board packets. That is the layer we build.

Do I need a portal if I already use a document tool?

Often no. If clients send a few files a year, a shared folder or a tool you already pay for is fine. A portal pays when the same clients send many documents over months and staff spend hours chasing them. A Focused build with the Essential care plan is $355.25 a month spread over 24 months, which is about 8 staff hours a month at an example loaded cost of $45 an hour. Use your own number.

How much does a portal cost versus renting one?

For a 12-person firm, a Complete build with the Standard care plan is $20,614 over 36 months. Whole-practice suites for 12 seats list at $25,488 to $36,000 over three years. That holds if the build covers the suite functions you use. Against a tool that is just a portal, the saving is small, because SmartVault and ShareFile do not publish prices.

Do you hold a SOC 2 report?

No. Benchford holds no SOC 2 report and does not imply one. You can ask for a one-page architecture summary, a written controls summary, the subprocessors we use, an access list and restore-test evidence, and we will complete your security questionnaire. Every care plan includes backups with a quarterly restore test. If you need a SOC 2 report from your vendor, keep tools that hold one for the system of record.

Our IT provider handles that. Where do you fit?

Keep them. Hand them the runbook and admin access. We build the portal and intake layer and give your IT provider or agency a stable link or embed. They keep running what they run.

Keep reading

Related builds, and where we work.

Talk about your firm

Complete build, $9,850. A Complete Blueprint is $1,500, credited in full if you sign within 30 days.

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