Why do the CRM, the portal and the projects belong together?
Most businesses start with a CRM for contacts, add a project tool when the work gets complicated, then bolt on a client portal when customers ask to see progress. The result is three tools, three logins and the same client typed in three places. When the three share records, a client record leads to the project, the project leads to the invoice, and the client can see where things stand without calling the office.
How do eight options compare?
Facts about other products come from their own pages, as of October 2026. Prices are left out; they change, and a quote for your size is what matters.
| Product | Client portal | Projects and timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Link | Every plan. Clients sign in to see invoices and record what they have paid, sign documents, see progress and photos, approve extra work, book visits and join meetings | Every plan. Board, milestones on a timeline, team roles, budget and billing, notes and files. No Gantt chart |
| Jobber | Client Hub: request work, approve quotes, pay invoices | Projects with milestones and tasks is in beta |
| Housecall Pro | Customer portal: pay invoices, approve estimates, book and reschedule | No project boards found on the pages read |
| HubSpot | Two pieces: a billing portal for invoices and a customer portal for tickets | A projects object with stages and tasks, and a Gantt view |
| Salesforce | Experience Cloud sites, sold separately or in its top editions | Project tools come mainly from partner apps |
| monday.com | A service portal for requests; boards can be shared with guests. No portal for approving quotes or paying invoices found | Boards, dependencies and a Gantt view |
| Asana | Client Management: updates, deliverables and approvals, aimed at agencies | Tasks, projects, timeline and Gantt views |
| SuiteDash | Part of its all-in-one platform with a CRM, project management and billing, branded to your company | Project management, per its own site |
How to read it: the portals at Jobber and Housecall Pro center on paying and approving quotes, with lighter project tools. monday.com and Asana center on planning and timelines, and their portals are for requests and approvals rather than payments. HubSpot and Salesforce can cover all three, in separate pieces. Operations Link puts the three together for operations work. Our pages on Jobber, Housecall Pro, HubSpot, Salesforce, monday.com and Asana go through each one.
What should you look for in an all-in-one?
- What the portal lets clients do. Viewing a status page is one thing; paying, signing, approving extra work and booking are another. List the five things your clients ask the office for and check each.
- Who pays for portal users. Some products charge by client or by tier. In Operations Link portal users are free; you pay per person on your own team.
- Whether the project tools match your work. A checklist is not project management. Ask for milestones, team roles, budget against actual cost, and files. If you need a Gantt chart with dependencies, Operations Link does not have one and monday.com and Asana do.
- What each person can see. If clients log in, they should see only their own work. In Operations Link each person sees only the parts of a project their role allows, and a client sees what you switch on for them.
- Whether the AI reaches across the three. That is worth checking in a trial, not on a features list.
How does Operations Link join the three?
A lead converts to a contact and a deal; a won deal becomes a client. The client record holds the timeline, the work, the money, the feedback, messages and files. Projects belong to clients: you plan the work on a board and a timeline, track budget, cost and what has been billed, and switch a client’s access to the project on or off. In the portal the client sees status, progress, milestones, deliverables and your team, and can see invoices, record a payment they have sent, sign and book.
Two AI agents touch this. Vera answers your existing customers on your phone line and in your client portal, after checking who is calling, about their own jobs, invoices, quotes and documents; she does not book appointments, take messages or qualify leads. Nova is the AI assistant you talk to in the app, free for fifteen days and then a service. Both are separate services, not part of the plan price. See replacing five tools with one platform and AI-native versus AI-assisted for more.
What are the limits?
No Gantt chart. No public API. Essentials is limited to 30 users and 50 GB; Professional is not. The books live in the company’s own QuickBooks Online. Plans are $79 (Essentials) and $129 (Professional) per person a month, billed in US dollars; Enterprise is a conversation. Fifteen days free, no credit card. See the pricing page and the platform page.
Frequently asked questions
Which CRM has a built-in client portal and project management?
Several do, in different depths. Operations Link has both in every plan; SuiteDash describes an all-in-one platform with both; HubSpot, Salesforce, monday.com and Asana cover them with separate pieces; Jobber and Housecall Pro focus on the portal with lighter project tools. Check what the portal lets clients do and how real the project tools are.
How much does an all-in-one CRM with a client portal cost?
It varies widely and changes often, so ask each vendor for a quote at your size and check whether portal users cost extra. Operations Link is $79 (Essentials) or $129 (Professional) per person a month, billed in US dollars, and your clients use the portal at no charge.
Is it better to use separate tools for CRM, projects and a client portal?
Not always. Separate tools make sense when one is clearly the best at its job. For many small and mid-size firms, one set of records saves the time spent re-typing the same client and reconciling versions, and gives clients a single login. Weigh that against what you would give up.
Do clients need to pay to use the client portal?
Not in Operations Link, where portal users are free. Policies differ elsewhere, so check whether a vendor charges per client, per tier or not at all.
Can Operations Link replace monday.com, HubSpot and a separate portal tool?
For operations work it can replace the CRM, the project board, invoicing and the portal. It does not have a Gantt chart, a public API or HubSpot’s marketing tools. There is no importer from either product, though clients and team members can be imported from a file.