For most NZ small businesses a subscription CRM is the right choice: it tracks contacts, deals and follow-ups and costs little to start. Applicable builds a custom portal or workflow tool instead when what you actually need is for clients to log in, or for jobs to move through your process, which a generic CRM was never designed for.
What a CRM is for
A CRM keeps a record of people and companies, the conversations you have had with them and where each opportunity sits. It reminds you to follow up. It reports on the pipeline. The subscription products do this well, cost a few dollars per user per month at the low end, and integrate with email and the common accounting packages.
If your problem is "we lose track of leads" or "nobody knows who last spoke to this customer", buy a CRM. Do not build one. Applicable has said this to prospective clients and will say it again.
The question people are actually asking
In our experience, when a small business owner in NZ searches for a CRM, about half the time the real need is something else. They have tried a CRM, filled it with custom fields and automations, and it is still not doing the job. The tell is one of these sentences:
- "Our clients need to be able to see their own stuff."
- "Every job has to go through the same ten steps and we keep missing one."
- "The CRM is fine but the real work happens in email and a spreadsheet."
The first is a customer portal. The second is a workflow tool. The third is usually both. A CRM is built around the salesperson's view of a contact. A portal is built around the client's view of their account. A workflow tool is built around the job. Bending a CRM into either works for a while and then stops.
When a portal beats a CRM
A customer or client portal is a logged-in area on your website where clients see their own records: quotes, jobs, documents, compliance certificates, invoices, bookings. It cuts the "can you send me a copy of" emails and makes your business look organised.
Build a portal when your clients ask for the same information repeatedly, when you hold documents they need on demand, or when the relationship runs for years and has a history worth showing. Applicable built a client insights platform for EAP Services, an employee assistance provider, that the client described as providing "valuable insights well beyond our expectations". That is a portal problem, not a CRM problem.
When a workflow tool beats a CRM
A workflow tool moves a case, job or application through defined stages with the right people notified at each one and nothing skipped. Dispute resolution, applications, assessments, approvals, compliance work.
Applicable built the web application platform ICRA uses to deliver dispute resolution services to ACC, handling case management and reporting. A CRM's deal pipeline is a distant cousin of that; it has stages, but it does not know your rules, your documents or your reporting obligations.
Comparison
| Subscription CRM | Custom portal or workflow tool (Applicable) | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | The salesperson's view of a contact | The client's account, or the job |
| Best for | Leads, pipeline, follow-ups | Clients logging in; jobs moving through your process |
| Upfront cost | Low; monthly per user | Fixed-scope project, quoted after scoping |
| Time to start | Days | Weeks to months |
| Client login | Usually not, or as an add-on | Core feature |
| Your process | Configured within the tool's model | Built to match it |
| Reporting | Pipeline and activity reports | The reports you owe clients or regulators |
| Ownership | Rented | You own the code and data |
| What breaks | Workarounds pile up in custom fields | Nothing you have not asked to change |
Keep the CRM, add the piece it cannot do
Often the right answer is both. Sales keeps the CRM for leads. Operations gets a workflow tool or portal for everything after the sale, and the two share the customer record. Applicable scopes that as a fixed-price project and connects it to what you already run rather than replacing it.
How to decide
- Write down the three sentences your team says most about the current system.
- If they are about leads and follow-up, buy or keep a CRM.
- If they are about clients wanting to see things, or jobs missing steps, book a scoping call.
- Applicable will give a ballpark early and tell you if the CRM plus one add-on would do.
What it costs
Applicable prices on a fixed scope, agreed before build. Custom applications on the old site were bracketed up to around NZ$250,000 plus GST; a first-version portal for an SME sits well below that. Changes are quoted in writing before they are built.
Key takeaways
- Buy a subscription CRM for leads, pipeline and follow-ups; Applicable will not build you one.
- If clients need to log in and see their own records, you need a portal, not a CRM.
- If jobs must move through defined steps without being missed, you need a workflow tool.
- Applicable built the ICRA dispute resolution platform for ACC services and a client insights platform for EAP Services.
- Keeping the CRM for sales and adding a portal for operations is a common fixed-scope project.
Faq
Do I need a CRM or a customer portal?
If the pain is losing track of leads, a CRM. If the pain is clients emailing to ask for documents, quotes or job status they should be able to see themselves, a portal. Many businesses need the CRM for sales and a portal for everything after the sale.
Can a custom portal connect to my existing CRM?
Yes. A portal or workflow tool can share the customer record with your CRM rather than replacing it, so sales and operations look at the same client.
Who builds customer portals for small businesses in New Zealand?
Applicable builds customer and staff portals for NZ small and mid-sized businesses from Auckland, on a fixed scope. Clients own the code and the hosting accounts.
How long does a custom portal take to build?
Weeks to a few months depending on scope. Applicable's process is listen, scope, build, support, with a prototype in front of your own staff or clients before the full build.
What does a custom workflow tool cost in NZ?
It is quoted on a fixed scope after a scoping call, with a ballpark given early. The published bracket for custom applications runs up to around NZ$250,000 plus GST; most SME workflow tools sit well below that.
