Project · Construction · Armstrong Creek, VIC
Keystone Build Co
A private client portal that keeps home owners up to date on their build, without the endless chain of emails and phone calls.
Sample project created to show our approach. Business and people are fictional.
Keystone Build Co is a custom home builder working across Armstrong Creek, Mount Duneed and the growing southern suburbs of Geelong. They build a limited number of homes each year and put a lot of care into the relationship with each client.
Building a home is a long process, and clients naturally want to know how things are going. Updates were being shared through a mix of emails, text messages and shared folders, which made it hard for clients to keep track and hard for the team to know what had already been sent.
The challenge
Site supervisors are busy people working from a ute or a slab, not from a desk. Any system that relied on them sitting down to write long updates was never going to be used, so the staff side had to be quick and work well on a phone.
Clients needed the opposite experience: a calm, clear view of where their build was up to, with confidence that their plans, contracts and photos were private and only visible to them. Getting both sides right was the core of the project.
What we built
The solution
A clear build timeline
Each client sees their home move through stages from site start to handover, with expected timing and short notes from the team explaining what is happening and what comes next.
Photo updates from site
Supervisors can snap and upload photos from their phone in a few taps, tagged to the current stage, so clients see real progress without anyone having to compile a report.
Documents and variations
Plans, contracts, selections and variation requests live in one secure place, with a clear record of what has been approved and when.
Private by design
Every client only ever sees their own build. Access is controlled on the server, files are stored privately and staff permissions are set by role.
The result
Keystone clients now have one place to check on their build whenever they like, and the team spends less time chasing emails and resending documents. Supervisors have taken to the photo uploads because they fit into the working day rather than adding to it.
The portal is one of our custom web applications, built around how the business actually works. If you have a process that lives in spreadsheets and inboxes, we would like to hear about it, or see how we streamlined member support for Ironbark Strength.
Our clients love logging in to see photos of their home going up. It has made the whole build feel more open, and our team is not stuck answering the same question five times a week.
What is a client portal for builders?
It is a secure website where each client logs in to see the progress of their own build, including stage updates, photos, documents and variations.
Is client information kept private?
Yes. Access is enforced on the server so each client can only see their own project, and documents and photos are stored privately rather than on public links.
Can site staff use it from a phone?
Yes. The staff side was designed for phones first, so supervisors can post updates and photos on site in a few taps.
Can the portal grow with the business?
Yes. Because it is custom built, we can add features over time, such as selections, defect lists or integrations with your existing software.
More work
Other projects
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