Client Portal and Showroom QR Codes
How a builder gave homeowners, subcontractors, and general contractors different views of the same project in one Zoho Creator portal, with QR-coded showroom displays linked to product pages.
Client details generalized to protect confidentiality.
Builders coordinating homeowners, subs, and GCs who each need project information but not the same project information.
The Challenge
Project information went out by email, tailored by hand to whoever was asking. Homeowners wanted schedule and selections, subcontractors wanted scope and site details, and general contractors wanted the whole picture. Sending the wrong detail to the wrong party was a real risk, particularly around pricing. Separately, showroom visitors saw products with no way to get specifications, so staff answered the same product questions repeatedly.
The Solution
Role-Based Portal Views
One portal serves three audiences, with each role seeing the project data appropriate to it.
- Creator portal with three role definitions
- View composition per role
- Pricing visibility restricted by role
- Shared project record underneath
Homeowner Experience
Homeowners see schedule, selections, and progress without seeing subcontractor commercial detail.
- Schedule and milestone view
- Selections and allowance status
- Progress photos
- Question submission to the builder
Subcontractor and GC Access
Subs and GCs see scope, site information, and documents relevant to their work.
- Scope and site detail per trade
- Document access scoped by role
- Schedule window for their work
- Completion submission
QR-Coded Showroom Displays
Showroom products carry QR codes linking to their specification pages, so visitors get answers without staff.
- QR code per showroom product
- Product page with specification detail
- Linked to the selection catalog
- Scan activity reported
Apps in This Solution
Under the Hood Technical detail
- Role Composition
- Views are composed per role from one project record rather than maintaining separate records per audience. Separate records mean three things to update and three chances for them to disagree, which is the emailing problem rebuilt in software.
- Pricing Visibility
- Pricing visibility is enforced at the data layer rather than by hiding fields in the interface. Field-level hiding in a portal is not a security boundary, and subcontractor pricing reaching a homeowner is the specific outcome being prevented.
- QR Implementation
- QR codes resolve to product pages driven by the same catalog that feeds selections, so a specification change updates the showroom without reprinting anything. Codes point to a stable identifier rather than to a URL that might change.
- Scan Reporting
- Scan activity is reported by product, which turned out to be useful merchandising data. Which products visitors want to know more about was previously unknowable.
- Notable Constraint
- Subcontractors adopt portals unevenly, and some will keep working from email regardless. Documents sent by email carry a portal link rather than the attachment, which pulled adoption up without requiring it as a condition of working.
The Results
- Three audiences see one project without any risk of the wrong detail reaching the wrong party.
- Showroom visitors get specifications without staff involvement.
- Product interest is measurable from scan activity.
Emailing Project Updates Individually?
We have built role-based portals in Zoho Creator for builders and contractors. Tell us who needs access to your projects.