Portals, dashboards & booking systems
Web app development for Toronto and GTA businesses
A website tells people about your business. A web app does work for you: logins, records, bookings and payments. Cressoft builds web apps for businesses in Toronto, Mississauga and across the GTA, connected to the tools you already use, with a fixed quote in writing.
What we build
Most small business web apps are one of these four, or two of them joined together.
Client portals with logins
Your customers log in to see their own bookings, documents, quotes or job status, instead of emailing you to ask.
- Customer and staff logins
- Each person sees only their records
- File uploads and downloads
- Email notifications on changes
Admin dashboards and internal tools
One screen for the work your team now tracks in spreadsheets, inboxes and sticky notes.
- Lists you can filter and search
- Status changes with notes
- Roles for owners and staff
- Exports when you need them
Booking and scheduling systems
Customers pick a time that is actually free, and the booking lands where your team already looks.
- Live availability
- Confirmations and reminders
- Deposits or full payment online
- Reschedule and cancel rules
Quote, order and intake forms
Forms that save every request to a database and start the next step, not forms that only send an email.
- Required details checked up front
- Photos and documents attached
- Each request saved and tracked
- Routed to the right person
Website or web app? A quick fit test
A web app costs more to build and run than a website. If your needs land in the right-hand column, we will tell you so.
A web app is a good fit
- Customers or staff need to log in and see their own information.
- Requests, jobs or orders need a status that changes over time.
- You copy the same details between two or three tools every day.
- Payments, bookings or documents need to go through your own site.
Keep it simple
- You mainly need people to find you, trust you and call or fill in a form.
- Nothing has to be stored beyond the enquiry email.
- An off-the-shelf tool already does the job and you only need it on your site.
- The budget is for a first site. Start with a website and add an app later.
If the right-hand column sounds like you, our web development service builds fast, mobile-first business sites, and you can add an app to the same site later.
Connected to the tools you already use
We connect your web app to booking, CRM, payment and job tools through their APIs and webhooks, so details are entered once and show up everywhere they are needed.
Booking
Cal.com, Calendly or your own availability rules
CRM
HubSpot and other CRMs with an API, so leads land with their history
Payments
Stripe for deposits, invoices and subscriptions; Shopify checkout for stores
Job management
Jobber and similar field-service tools
Email and alerts
Transactional email through Resend, plus text alerts for your team
Your own data
Google Sheets imports and exports while you move off spreadsheets
Before we quote, we check that each tool you use offers an API we can connect to.
What we built for Ecofrost Heating and Cooling
Ecofrost is a GTA heating and cooling company. Behind its public website, we built a login-protected admin app that runs two parts of the business:
Service calls
- Customers book a service call online and can attach photos
- Every request is saved to a database and emailed to the team
- Staff set the status: open, in progress, completed, cancelled or no response
- Each call closes with notes on what was done
Reviews on its own website
- Customers submit a review on the site
- The owner approves or rejects each one before it shows
- The owner can post a public reply under any review
- Visitors filter approved reviews by city, service and rating
It runs on Next.js with a Convex database, beside the public site we also built. See the Ecofrost site in our portfolio.
How we build it, and what you own
Modern, fast stack
Next.js for the app, a Convex database (or Postgres where a project needs SQL), hosted on Vercel. Built mobile-first, so it works on the phone your customers already carry.
Logins and roles
Secure sign-in, with separate roles for owners, staff and customers. Each person sees and changes only what their role allows.
Your code, your data
The code sits in a repository in your name, and the database and hosting accounts are yours. Export your data any time, and take the full source to any developer.
From first call to launch
Scope
We map who logs in, what each person needs to see and do, and which tools the app has to talk to. You get a written scope for the first version.
Quote
A fixed price in writing for that scope, before any work starts. HST applied where applicable.
Build
We build in short rounds and give you a private link to try each one, so you see real screens early rather than a finished surprise.
Launch and support
We move your existing data in, train your team, and stay on to fix issues and add the next feature when you are ready.
Every web app is a custom quote: a fixed price in writing for an agreed scope, so the number does not move while we build. HST applied where applicable.
What Canadian Privacy Law Expects From a Web App
A portal or dashboard that stores customer names, bookings or documents holds personal information, so PIPEDA applies to how it is protected and how long it is kept.
Protection that matches the data
“Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.”
A booking calendar and a folder of tax documents need different levels of protection. We size logins, roles and access rules to what the app actually stores.
Passwords and encryption
“The methods of protection should include (a) physical measures, for example, locked filing cabinets and restricted access to offices; (b) organizational measures, for example, security clearances and limiting access on a “need-to-know” basis; and (c) technological measures, for example, the use of passwords and encryption.”
In a web app, “need-to-know” becomes user roles: staff see what their job needs, customers see only their own records, and data travels over encrypted connections.
Do not keep data forever
“Personal information that is no longer required to fulfil the identified purposes should be destroyed, erased, or made anonymous.”
We agree with you how long each kind of record is kept and can build automatic clean-up, so old customer data does not pile up in the database.
Quoted from the linked sources, checked November 2, 2026. Guidance and law change; follow the link for the current wording, and treat this as information, not legal advice.
Web app questions from GTA owners
How much does a web app cost?
It depends on what the app has to do: how many kinds of users log in, what records it keeps, and which tools it connects to. We scope the first version with you, then give you a fixed price in writing before any work starts, with HST applied where applicable. Most projects start small and grow once the first version is in use.
What is the difference between a website and a web app?
A website tells people about your business. A web app does work for you: people log in, records are saved, bookings and payments go through, and your team manages it all from a dashboard. Many businesses need only a website. If nobody has to log in and nothing has to be stored, a website is the right choice.
Can you build a client portal with logins?
Yes. We build portals where your customers log in to see their own records, such as bookings, documents, quotes, or job status, while your team uses an admin side with its own permissions. Each person sees only what their role allows.
Can it connect to my booking, CRM or payment tools?
Usually, yes. We connect web apps to the tools you already use through their APIs and webhooks, for example a booking tool like Cal.com or Calendly, a CRM like HubSpot, Stripe for payments, Jobber for job management, and transactional email. We check that the tool you use offers an API before we quote.
Who owns the code and the data?
You do. The code lives in a repository in your name, the database and hosting accounts are yours, and you can export your data at any time. If you ever move to another developer, they start from the full source, not a locked platform.
Do you build mobile apps?
Most of what we build is a web app that works well on phones and can be installed to the home screen, without an app store. If your project needs a native iOS or Android app, tell us what it has to do and we will quote it case by case.
Related services
Web Development
Fast, mobile-first business websites for GTA companies that need to be found and trusted.
Learn moreE-commerce & Shopify
Online stores with checkout, product search and filters, built on Shopify.
Learn moreAI Workflow Automation
Automate the follow-ups and data entry around your app: emails, reminders and CRM updates.
Learn moreFrom the blog
Plan the budget first.
What websites and web apps cost in the GTA, written up as a free guide.
How Much Does a Website Cost in Toronto and the GTA? (2026 Pricing Guide)
Price ranges from a one-page site to a custom web application, and what moves the number.
What GTA business owners say
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Nadeem and Raheel on our website updates. They were professional, fast, and incredibly collaborative throughout the entire process, handling everything from bug fixes to new features with great care.”
“Great experience from start to finish. Very professional, responsive, and knowledgeable. Delivered a great website and provided valuable insights on how to improve its reach. Highly recommended!”
Have a process that has outgrown spreadsheets?
Tell us who needs to log in and what they need to do. We will tell you honestly whether a web app is the right fit, and what the first version would include.