Best Customer Portal Solutions for ERP: ISV Add-Ons vs Custom Build vs Power Pages

There are multiple ways to give customers self-service access to their ERP data. You can buy an ISV add-on, build with Microsoft Power Pages, or commission a custom portal built with React and Next.js. Each approach has genuine trade-offs, and the right answer depends on your ERP platform, your budget, your timescale, and the complexity of what you need.

This guide reviews all three options in detail. We cover features, pricing, pros and cons, and the specific scenarios where each approach makes sense. We also include ERP-specific guidance for Business Central, Sage 200, and OrderWise, because your ERP platform is often the deciding factor.

Here is an honest review of each approach — what they cost, where they shine, and where they fall short.

Why Customer Portals Matter for ERP

Before diving into the solutions, it is worth understanding why customer portals have become a priority for ERP users across UK manufacturing, distribution, and wholesale.

A customer portal connected directly to your ERP gives your customers 24/7 self-service access to their data: order status, invoices, statements, stock availability, pricing, and delivery tracking. The benefit is not just convenience — it reduces the volume of phone and email queries your sales and customer service teams handle every day. Each order-status call that a customer can answer themselves saves 2–4 minutes of staff time. Multiply that by dozens of calls per day and you are looking at hours of reclaimed time per week. For a business handling 50 customer queries per day, that works out to roughly 100–200 minutes of staff time saved daily — equivalent to one full-time customer service role every two to four days.

Beyond operational efficiency, customer portals deliver several measurable benefits:

• Customer satisfaction — customers expect real-time access to their data, just as they have with Amazon and other consumer platforms. A portal meets that expectation.
• Reduced invoice-to-cash cycles — when customers can view and pay invoices online, payment times typically shorten. Some businesses report a 20–30% reduction in average days outstanding after launching a portal with online payment.
• Professional brand impression — a branded portal signals that your business is modern, organised, and invested in customer convenience. This matters in competitive tender situations where customer experience is a differentiator.
• Data accuracy — when customers enter their own data (address changes, order quantities), the information goes directly into your ERP with fewer transcription errors than phone or email chains.

Now, the question is: how do you build one, and which approach is right for your business?

Now, the question is: how do you build one?

Approach 1: ISV Add-Ons (Simova, Dynamics eShop, Techcronus)

ISV (Independent Software Vendor) add-ons are pre-built portal solutions that plug directly into your ERP. They are the “buy” option in the build-versus-buy decision.

Simova Business Portals

Simova Business Portals is a portal-as-a-service extension for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It allows companies to create self-service portals for customers and vendors with no duplicate data storage, hosted in Microsoft Azure, and configured entirely from within Business Central.

Features:

• Display BC data and documents in a branded web portal
• Full configuration via Business Central interface — no coding required
• Unlimited external web users (no per-user cost for portal visitors)
• Standard widgets and dynamic data mapping
• Immediate synchronisation with Business Central
• Responsive design for mobile devices
• Integration with Simova Document Central for document provision

Pricing (Q2 2026):

• €599/month (monthly billing) or €569/month (annual billing)
• €49.99 per key-user/month (internal BC users who configure the portal)
• Unlimited external portal users included in the base price
• 30-day free trial via AppSource

Pros:

• Quick to deploy — typically 4–8 weeks from purchase to go-live
• No development work required; configuration-driven
• Unlimited external users at a fixed price
• BC-native; no integration complexity
• Simova is a well-established ISV with regular updates

Cons:

• Limited to Dynamics 365 Business Central only
• Customisation options are constrained by what Simova provides
• Ongoing licence cost that increases over time
• Limited control over UX and branding beyond basic theming
• Cannot extend beyond the standard portal widgets without development

Best for: Companies running Business Central that need a standard customer portal quickly, with minimal customisation requirements and a predictable monthly budget. Particularly suitable for businesses that want to hand over configuration and maintenance to their existing BC partner, since Simova is configured from within the BC interface they already know.

Dynamics eShop Customer Portal

Dynamics eShop offers a customer portal that integrates with Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations. It provides self-service account management, order-to-pay workflows, and document access using real-time ERP data.

Features:

• Real-time integration with Business Central for inventory, pricing, orders, and customer data
• Online account registration and onboarding
• Quote, order, invoice, credit memo, and payment history access
• Secure online payment processing (PCI compliant)
• Shipping status and tracking numbers
• Document upload and download
• Built-in CMS for content management
• Multi-store, multi-currency, multi-language support

Pricing: Not publicly listed; contact Dynamics eShop directly. Expect a subscription-based SaaS model with pricing dependent on portal users, transaction volume, and feature tier. Comparable solutions start around $500/month and scale to $3,000+/month.

Pros:

• Feature-rich with ecommerce capabilities alongside portal functionality
• Real-time ERP integration via standard APIs
• Supports both BC and F&O
• Built-in payment processing reduces integration work
• Multi-language and multi-currency support for international customers

Cons:

• Pricing is opaque and likely expensive for smaller businesses
• Limited to Dynamics ecosystem
• Customisation depth is capped by the product
• Vendor lock-in; switching costs can be high
• Portal UX is determined by the product, not your brand team

Best for: Dynamics 365 users who need both a customer portal and B2B ecommerce capabilities in a single platform.

Techcronus Business Central Portals

Techcronus offers customer and vendor portal extensions for Dynamics 365 Business Central. The portals are configurable and white-labelled, connecting to BC via standard Microsoft APIs.

Features:

• Self-service access to orders, invoices, payments, and support tickets
• Order placement, tracking, and shipment visibility
• Invoice and statement download as PDF
• Service request raising and tracking
• Personalised account dashboard with order history and billing summaries
• Knowledge base with FAQs and self-help articles
• Real-time pricing and inventory availability
• Automated email alerts and notifications

Pricing: Not publicly listed; contact Techcronus directly. AppSource listing is free with contact-for-pricing model.

Pros:

• Quick deployment timeline
• White-labelled to match your brand
• No additional BC user licences needed for external users
• Includes vendor portal functionality as well
• Direct API integration with BC

Cons:

• Business Central only
• Limited customisation breadth
• Ongoing subscription costs
• Less established than Simova
• Dependent on Techcronus for updates and feature development

Best for: BC users who want a quick, white-labelled portal with both customer and vendor self-service in one package.

Approach 2: Microsoft Power Pages

Microsoft Power Pages is the evolution of Power Apps Portals. It is a low-code platform for building external-facing websites and portals that sit within the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem. It integrates with Dataverse, which can connect to Dynamics 365 Business Central and other ERP systems.

Features:

• Low-code visual designer with templates
• Integration with Dataverse as the underlying data platform
• Microsoft Entra ID authentication (Azure AD)
• Content management system built in
• Form and list components for data entry and display
• Liquid templates for customisation
• Power Automate integration for workflows
• Multi-language support

Pricing (2026):

• Authenticated users: $200/month per 100-user pack (Tier 1), down to $50/month per pack at scale
• Anonymous users: $75/month per 500-user pack (Tier 1), down to $25/month per pack at scale
• Pay-as-you-go: $4.00 per authenticated user/month or $0.30 per anonymous user/month
• Dataverse storage included per capacity pack
• Licensing is separate from your Dynamics 365 or Power Apps licences

Pros:

• No-code/low-code approach reduces development time
• Native integration with the Microsoft ecosystem
• Scalable pricing model that works for large user bases
• Built-in authentication via Entra ID
• Power Automate integration for workflows
• Reduces reliance on external development partners

Cons:

• Requires Dataverse — an additional data layer that syncs with your ERP rather than connecting directly
• Customisation limits — Liquid templates and out-of-the-box components only go so far
• Performance can lag on complex data queries compared to a purpose-built frontend
• Not suitable for complex transactional interfaces (multi-line order entry, BOM displays)
• UX is constrained by the Power Pages component model
• If your ERP is not Dynamics 365, you need additional integration middleware
• Licensing complexity — Power Pages packs are separate from your existing Microsoft licences

Best for: Organisations already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem that need a straightforward portal with moderate complexity and want to avoid custom development. Good for information portals (order status, invoice viewing) rather than transactional portals (placing orders, full payment workflows). Power Pages works best when your portal requirements align closely with what the product provides out of the box, and when you have internal Power Platform expertise to manage the Dataverse integration and ongoing maintenance.

Approach 3: Custom-Built Portal (React / Next.js)

A custom-built portal is exactly what it sounds like: a purpose-built web application developed specifically for your business, your customers, and your ERP. The typical tech stack is React with Next.js for the frontend, TypeScript for type safety, and an API adapter layer that connects to your ERP’s REST or OData endpoints. The result is a portal that exactly matches your requirements with no compromises.

Because the portal is built from scratch around your specific workflows, it can handle scenarios that off-the-shelf products cannot. For example: a portal that shows a customer their contract pricing alongside current stock levels across multiple warehouses, allows them to place backorders with automatic allocation rules, and presents everything in your brand colours with your preferred UX flow.

Features (entirely up to you):

• Any UI, any workflow, any brand experience
• Direct API integration with your ERP — no intermediate data layer
• Complex transactional workflows (multi-line ordering, BOM visibility, price calculations)
• Real-time dashboards and live data
• Custom authentication (SSO, Entra ID, Magic Links, OAuth 2.0)
• Mobile-first responsive design
• Integration with payment gateways, shipping providers, CRM systems
• Full control over performance, security, and compliance
• You own the code and the IP

Pricing:

• Basic read-only portal: £15,000–£40,000 (4–8 weeks)
• Mid-range transactional portal: £50,000–£150,000 (10–16 weeks)
• Enterprise multi-tenant portal: £150,000–£400,000+ (6–12 months)
• Ongoing hosting and maintenance: typically £1,000–£3,000/month

Key cost drivers:

• ERP integration complexity (some ERP APIs are more capable than others)
• Number and complexity of customer workflows
• Authentication requirements (SSO, MFA, social login)
• Payment gateway integration
• Reporting and analytics dashboards

Pros:

• Complete control over UX, branding, and functionality
• No ongoing licence fees — you own the software
• Works with any ERP that has an API (Business Central, Sage 200, OrderWise, SAP, etc.)
• Can be extended and evolved without waiting for a vendor to release features
• Performance and security are under your control
• Differentiation — your portal is unique to your business

Cons:

• Higher upfront investment compared to ISV add-ons
• Longer initial timeline (8–16 weeks for a thorough build)
• Requires ongoing maintenance and hosting
• Dependent on development partner or internal team
• Must manage API versioning and ERP updates yourself

Best for: Businesses with complex workflows, unique customer experiences, or non-Dynamics ERP systems. Also the right choice if you want to differentiate your customer experience, need to support high transaction volumes, or plan to build a long-term platform that evolves with your business.

Comparison Table

Decision Framework: When Each Approach Is the Best Choice

There is no single best approach. The right one depends on your specific situation. Here is a decision framework to help you choose.

Choose an ISV Add-On when:

• You run Dynamics 365 Business Central (most ISV portals are BC-only)
• Your portal requirements are standard — order status, invoices, statements
• You want to be live in 4–8 weeks
• You prefer predictable monthly costs over upfront capital expenditure
• You are happy to work within the vendor’s UX and feature set
• You do not need complex transactional workflows or deep customisation

Choose Power Pages when:

• You are already embedded in the Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem
• Your portal requirements are primarily informational (view data, download documents)
• You have internal Power Platform skills to configure and maintain the portal
• You need to scale to a large number of external users cost-effectively
• Your ERP is Dynamics 365 (or you have a strategy for Dataverse integration)
• You want to avoid a large upfront development project

Choose a Custom Build when:

• Your ERP is not Dynamics 365 (Sage 200, OrderWise, SAP, etc.)
• You need complex transactional workflows (multi-line ordering, contract pricing, BOM visibility)
• Your customer experience is a competitive differentiator
• You want full control over branding, UX, and functionality
• You need to support high transaction volumes with fast performance
• You are building a long-term platform that will evolve over years
• You want to avoid vendor lock-in and own your IP
• Your portal requirements are unique and no off-the-shelf solution fits

ERP-Specific Considerations

The capabilities of your ERP platform significantly influence which approach is viable. Here is how the decision changes for the three most common mid-market ERP systems in the UK.

Dynamics 365 Business Central

BC has the most options. You can choose any of the three approaches. The ISV add-on market is mature, with Simova, Dynamics eShop, and Techcronus offering solid products. Power Pages integrates via Dataverse (requires syncing BC data to the Microsoft data platform before it can be displayed). A custom build connects directly to BC’s REST API v2.0 (OData), which exposes comprehensive endpoints for sales orders, purchase orders, inventory, customers, items, invoices, and general ledger data.

If you are on BC and need something quick and standard, an ISV add-on is the most pragmatic choice. If your requirements are unique or you want a competitive advantage, a custom build gives you complete freedom. BC is the only ERP where all three approaches are genuinely viable, which is why most of the ISV add-on market focuses on it.

Sage 200

Sage 200 has fewer ready-made portal options than Business Central. The Sage 200 API (both REST and OData endpoints) is functional but less comprehensive than BC’s API v2.0, and the ISV add-on market is significantly smaller. There are a handful of third-party portal products that work with Sage 200, but none with the maturity and feature set of the BC-focused options like Simova.

Power Pages is technically possible via the Sage 200 API and a custom connector, but this adds integration complexity that reduces the low-code advantage. You would need to build a custom Dataverse connector or use Azure Logic Apps to synchronise Sage 200 data into Dataverse before Power Pages can consume it.

A custom build is often the most realistic option, connecting to Sage 200’s REST API or OData endpoint directly. This approach gives you full control over the integration and avoids the overhead of an intermediate data layer.

Read our guide on building a customer portal for Sage 200.

OrderWise

OrderWise has a REST API that supports customer portal use cases, but the ISV ecosystem is essentially non-existent. There are no major pre-built portal add-ons purpose-built for OrderWise. The ERP is popular in UK wholesale and distribution but does not have the same breadth of third-party extensions that BC enjoys.

Power Pages would require custom connector development, making the low-code advantage largely irrelevant. You would spend as much time building the connector as you would building a proper frontend.

A custom build is the most common and practical approach, connecting directly to the OrderWise API. OrderWise users typically choose a custom build because the alternative is building a Power Pages connector anyway — at which point you may as well build a proper frontend that gives you full control over the customer experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does a customer portal for ERP cost?

It depends on the approach. ISV add-ons cost approximately €500–€600/month plus per-key-user fees. Power Pages costs from $200/month per 100 authenticated users plus Dataverse licensing (if you do not already have Dataverse capacity). A custom build ranges from £15,000 for a basic read-only portal to £150,000+ for a full transactional platform with complex workflows, with ongoing hosting and maintenance of £1,000–£3,000/month. The total cost of ownership over three years often levels out between the approaches when you factor in ISV subscription fees versus the upfront build cost plus lower ongoing fees. Read our detailed cost guide for customer portals.

2. How long does it take to build a customer portal connected to ERP?

ISV add-ons: 4–8 weeks including configuration, testing, and deployment. Power Pages: 6–12 weeks depending on complexity and how much Dataverse integration work is needed. Custom build: 8–16 weeks for a well-scoped project with clear requirements. Timelines depend on the number of workflows, the quality of your ERP’s API, and how quickly decisions are made by stakeholders. The fastest option is an ISV add-on, but “fastest to launch” and “fastest to value” are not always the same thing. A custom build might take longer but deliver significantly more value over the long term.

3. Can I use Power Pages with an ERP that is not Dynamics 365?

Yes, but it requires additional work that often negates the low-code advantage. Power Pages sits on top of Dataverse, so you need to either sync your ERP data into Dataverse (using custom connectors, Azure Logic Apps, or third-party integration tools) or build a custom connector that calls your ERP API directly from Power Pages. Both approaches add complexity, development cost, and a data synchronisation layer that introduces latency and potential data inconsistency. For non-Dynamics ERPs, a custom build that connects directly to your ERP API is usually simpler and more reliable.

4. What is the difference between a customer portal and a B2B ecommerce site?

A customer portal focuses on self-service access to existing ERP data: order status, invoices, statements, stock availability, and account history. A B2B ecommerce site focuses on placing new orders, browsing catalogues, configuring products, and completing transactions. In practice, many customer portals include ordering capabilities, and many B2B ecommerce sites include order history, so the line between them is increasingly blurred. The key distinction is whether the primary use case is managing existing relationships and transactions (portal) or executing new transactions (ecommerce). Many businesses need elements of both. Read our full comparison of customer portals vs B2B ecommerce.

5. Do I need additional ERP user licences for portal users?

No. External portal users accessing data through a portal do not require ERP user licences. The portal connects to the ERP via API using a service account or application registration. Each approach handles this differently, but in all cases, your customers do not need their own ERP seat. This is one of the key economic arguments for building a portal: you can serve hundreds or thousands of customers without paying per-user ERP licensing for each one. The licensing savings alone can justify the portal investment within the first year for businesses with a large customer base.

6. Can I migrate from an ISV add-on to a custom build later?

Yes, but the ease of migration depends on how much custom data or configuration you have stored in the ISV’s system. ISV add-ons that store data in your ERP (rather than in their own separate database) are easier to migrate from, because your data remains in your ERP and the portal is essentially a view on top of it. Add-ons that maintain their own data layer, configuration store, or custom workflows require more work to extract and migrate. If you think you might switch approaches later, choose a solution that keeps your data in your ERP. This is also a valid argument for a custom build from the outset: you avoid migration complexity entirely because you own the code and your data stays where it belongs.

Which Approach Is Right for You?

To summarise the decision in the simplest terms:

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