Custom supplier portal or SaaS?

Write down what the company really pays for

Separate the features in active use from those that exist only in the licence. Check how often suppliers use it, the administrator's work and the integrations the process needs.

Also ask what happens at renewal. Can you change the plan, narrow the scope or bill external users differently? Negotiation may remove the problem faster than a software project.

Retool's 2026 survey of its customers shows interest in replacing parts of SaaS with in-house apps. The sample covers users of a software-building tool, so it is not representative of all companies. Nor does it prove that your own portal will be cheaper.

Replace a specific process, with no need to rebuild the whole SaaS

In the first scope you can consider supplier documents, a list of gaps and the approval status. You do not need to rebuild the whole purchasing suite. Negotiation, risk assessment, ordering and invoicing can stay in the current systems.

Do not add AI just because the project involves new software. Statuses, access and notifications often need an ordinary app. AI can be assessed separately for interpreting documents or describing gaps.

How to count the return with no illusory saving

Compare the same period and the same scope of features. On the current side, include the subscription, add-ons and the work around its limits. On the new side: preparation, the build, migration, hosting, upkeep, changes and support.

The cost of your own solution over the assessment period is the sum of the cost of launch, the switch-over and later running. The difference against SaaS matters only when both options give the quality and continuity the process needs.

Avoid comparing an annual bill with a one-off development quote. Your own app also needs updates and a person responsible for access. Where the SaaS vendor used to carry these duties, you have to name their new owner.

Migration is part of the product

Check whether documents, statuses, history and links to suppliers can be exported. Do not assume that downloading a CSV file rebuilds the whole process. Some information may sit in attachments or a change log.

Settle how users get access and where they report a problem. During the switch-over you need a clear split of which matters are handled in the old system and which in the new one. Put the contract renewal date in the schedule, together with the time needed for tests and fixes.

The company should also know the rules on ownership of the code and data, and on changing supplier. Write these arrangements into the contract, so that “a system you own” has a clear scope.

What acceptance should confirm

Walk through the real roles: supplier, account owner, approver and administrator. Check data visibility between suppliers, document corrections, removing access and the history of decisions. During the demo, ask for these situations to be shown on accounts with different permissions.

Assess the time to complete a task and the work left for the team. A licence saving loses its meaning if the administrator has to repair the flow by hand every day.

How Syntalith approaches such a scope

As part of custom apps, we can assess whether your own app, an extension or staying with the ready tool is justified. The proposal should set out the limits of the features, migration, acceptance and upkeep. This article describes a possible project, and makes no claim that a client's platform has been replaced.

A custom app at Syntalith starts from €3,000 net (pricing). For the call, prepare the features you use, the number and activity of users, the renewal date and a description of the integrations. We do not need a password to your current system to start assessing the scope.

What a custom supplier portal costs and when it pays back

Where to start

In the free process review we choose one process and count the team's volume and working time, and within 2 working days you get a written summary with a price. We build as part of AI apps, and we price maintenance separately.