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Web applications and client portals your team will actually use

When spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and five SaaS logins are running your business, it is time for one system built around how you work. We build portals, dashboards and CRM-style tools with logins, roles and real data.

Quick answer

A custom web application or client portal from ZK Digitals starts at AED 25,000 (USD 6,800) for a focused first version, with a written scope and fixed price before work starts. Typical builds take six to twelve weeks. You get user logins and roles, a database, an admin panel, email notifications, payments where needed and full source code ownership. We build for businesses in the UAE, the United States and Israel.

What is included

  • Discovery and written scope — screens, user roles, data and integrations agreed in writing before a line of code
  • User accounts and roles — staff, clients, partners and admins each see only what they should
  • Database and admin panel — your records in one place, searchable, exportable, with an audit trail
  • Client portal — customers log in to see orders, documents, invoices, bookings or job status themselves
  • CRM-style pipeline — leads, deals, follow-up tasks and notes when an off-the-shelf CRM does not fit
  • Payments and invoices — Stripe card payments, invoice PDFs and payment status
  • Email and WhatsApp notifications — the right person hears about the right event without checking a dashboard
  • Integrations — Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, accounting tools and other systems through their APIs
  • Hosting, backups and handover — deployed on your accounts, documented, with training and full code ownership

Portal, CRM or SaaS subscription: which one you need

If a ready-made tool covers 90% of what you do, use it. We will say so on the scoping call. HubSpot, Zoho or Pipedrive are cheaper than any custom build for a standard sales pipeline.

Custom makes sense when your process is the product: a booking flow with your own rules, a portal where clients upload documents and track a job, a dispatch board, a quote calculator tied to your pricing, or three tools that need to share one set of data. That is where per-seat SaaS fees grow every year and still leave gaps you fill with spreadsheets.

Built like our own platforms

We run our own products on the same stack we sell. NeedMyTools, a free tools site with more than 150 tools in English and Arabic, runs on Next.js with a Supabase database and serverless hosting. TD USA, a trucking platform covering training, dispatch, hiring and a truck marketplace, ties several services into one journey.

That means the hard parts are familiar: login and permissions, right-to-left Arabic and Hebrew layouts, file uploads, rate limits, backups and keeping a site fast when the data grows.

How a project runs

Week one is scoping: we map every screen and role, then send a written scope with a fixed price and timeline. Build happens in two-week rounds, each ending with a working version you can click through, not a status report. Before launch we test with real accounts on real phones, then hand over the code, the hosting accounts and a short training session.

If the scope changes mid-build, we price the change in writing before doing it. No surprise invoices.

What it costs

The AED 25,000 starting price covers a focused first version: one portal or tool, a handful of roles and screens, and the integrations it needs to be useful on day one. Multi-portal systems, heavy integrations or mobile apps on top are quoted after scoping. Market rates in the UAE for a custom portal run from roughly AED 15,000 for a narrow tool to AED 60,000 and above for a full system; we sit in that band and we tell you which end you are at before you commit.

Questions

What clients ask

How much does a custom web application cost in the UAE?

A focused first version with ZK Digitals starts at AED 25,000 (about USD 6,800). Published UAE agency prices for custom portals range from about AED 15,000 for a narrow tool to AED 60,000 or more for a full system. You get a fixed written price after a free scoping call.

How long does it take to build a client portal?

Most first versions take six to twelve weeks. Scoping takes about a week, then the build runs in two-week rounds, each ending with a working version you can test.

Do I own the source code?

Yes. The code, database and hosting accounts are yours. We deploy on accounts in your name and hand over documentation, so you can keep working with us or move to another developer.

Can you build a CRM instead of us paying for HubSpot or Zoho?

We can, but we will only recommend it when it pays off. For a standard sales pipeline a ready-made CRM is cheaper. A custom CRM makes sense when your process, pricing or data does not fit the standard tools, or when per-seat fees keep climbing.

Can the portal work in Arabic or Hebrew?

Yes. We build proper right-to-left layouts for Arabic and Hebrew, with translated labels, emails and documents, alongside English.

Where we deliver this

The same service, adapted to three markets

United Arab Emirates

Client portals and internal systems for UAE businesses

UAE teams often run sales and service through WhatsApp and spreadsheets. We build portals that keep that habit, with WhatsApp notifications and Arabic and English interfaces, and add Tabby or local gateways where card-only checkout is not enough.

United States

Custom web apps for US small businesses

For US operators the usual trigger is SaaS sprawl: five subscriptions that do not talk to each other. We consolidate the workflow into one app, connect Stripe and accounting tools, and keep the data where you can export it.

Israel

Bilingual Hebrew and English portals for Israel

Israeli businesses frequently need Hebrew and English in one system. We build the right-to-left layout properly, including tables, forms and PDF documents, rather than flipping a stylesheet.

Related services

What usually goes with this

Free scoping call

Describe the system you are running on spreadsheets

Tell us what you want to build. You get a written scope, a fixed price and a timeline before any work starts. No obligation.

services@zkdigitals.com · +971 52 586 8867
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