Portal
Portal is a vertical SaaS platform that helps AV, security, and IT integration professionals create professional client proposals, manage a 1.7M+ item product catalog, collect payments, and run change orders and purchase orders from a single cloud-based workflow.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Portal does
Portal is a vertical SaaS company that provides proposal, catalog, billing, CRM, and order-management software purpose-built for AV, security, and IT integration professionals. The platform centers on a pre-loaded product catalog with more than 1.7 million items (5M+ on Premium plans) carrying fully managed dealer pricing, which dealers can assemble into professional client-facing proposals with e-signatures, Good-Better-Best options, change orders, and one-click conversion into purchase orders. Underlying technology is a cloud-based web application with RESTful/JSON APIs, an iOS native app, native integrations with QuickBooks Online and Desktop, Stripe, Square, Google Sheets, Zoho, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, and several supplier-side systems (D-tools, iPoint, ProjX360, TDSynnex), and an expanding public API with webhook notifications unveiled in 2026.
The company monetizes through tiered monthly subscriptions (Lite $29, Pro $89, Premium $179, Unlimited $349) plus a 0.25% transaction fee (capped at $10, minimum $1) when clients pay through integrated payment processors. Go-to-market combines a self-serve 14-day free trial (no credit card required, 90-day money-back guarantee) with channel partnerships through buying group Azione Unlimited (284 dealers) and brand partnerships with Snap One and Sonos that offer Portal free to their dealer networks, supported by an active CEDIA Expo presence and an AI Proposal Builder feature (full Beta since September 2024) that generates proposals from text, audio, or voice input. The reported customer base is 2,500+ installation professionals collectively generating $4.2 million in new proposals weekly and more than $1 billion in annual contract wins through the platform.
Founded in 2011 and founder/CEO-led by Kirk Chisholm, Portal is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago (Philadelphia office referenced) with 11-50 employees. The company separated from the Azione Unlimited buying group in 2018, underwent a strategic transformation to refocus on the CEDIA channel, and rejoined Azione in May 2023; the only disclosed funding is a small 2014 round of approximately $529K led by Innovacorp. Portal's strategic posture is that of a focused vertical SaaS operator extending an established workflow tool into AI-assisted proposal generation and broader CRM/ecosystem integrations.
Portal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Portal
- Legal name
- Portal
- Website
- https://portal.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Portal is a vertical SaaS platform that helps AV, security, and IT integration professionals create professional client proposals, manage a 1.7M+ item product catalog, collect payments, and run change orders and purchase orders from a single cloud-based workflow.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Portal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AV/Security/IT Integrator Proposal Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enterprise Application UX, Portals & Low-Code Extensions (BPAEAGAM)
Keywords
Where Portal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Portal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Tiered monthly subscription plans (Lite $29, Pro $89, Premium $179, Unlimited $349) providing access to proposal creation, catalog access, CRM, billing, and integrations. Additional user pricing beyond plan limits.
- Payment Processing Fees: Transaction fee of 0.25% of transaction with $10 max and $1 min when clients pay through Portal's integrated payment processors (Stripe, Square, QuickBooks Payments).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Lite - $29/month for 1 user with 10 proposals/month |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro - $89/month for 2 users with unlimited proposals |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium - $179/month for 5 users |
| Subscription | Monthly | Unlimited - $349/month for unlimited users |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels8 records
Portal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Portal is a subscription-based SaaS platform that helps AV, Security, and IT integration professionals create professional client-ready proposals, manage a product catalog of 1.7M+ items with managed dealer pricing, collect payments via integrated processors, track customers through a lightweight CRM, and convert accepted proposals into supplier purchase orders. The suite includes Proposals, Catalog, Billing/Invoices, People CRM, Orders, and an AI Proposal Builder module, with deep integrations to QuickBooks, Stripe, Square, Zoho, Salesforce, and HubSpot.
Product overview
Portal is a unified web-based sales platform for AV, Security, and IT integration companies. The product suite consists of six interconnected core modules: Proposals for creating and sending professional client-ready proposals with e-signatures; Catalog containing over 1.7M+ product items with fully managed dealer pricing; Invoices & Payment Requests for billing and payment collection; People (CRM) for customer relationship management; Orders for purchase order management; and AI Proposal Builder for AI-powered proposal generation. Supporting integration modules include QuickBooks Online/Desktop, Zoho (CRM, Books, Deals), Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, Square, Zapier, and Loom. Pricing tiers range from Lite ($29/month, 1 user) to Unlimited ($349/month, unlimited users with API access).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Proposals Flagship proposal creation tool for AV, Security, and IT professionals to build and send professional client-ready proposals with Good-Better-Best options, view notifications, e-signatures, and built-in payment collection at acceptance.
Quantifiable outcome
- $4.2 million in new proposals every week created by dealers using Portal
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Portal
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Portal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration23 records
AI capability6 records
Feature9 records
Portal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Azione UnlimitedcorePortal rejoined Azione Unlimited buying group after separating in 2018. The partnership provides Portal's frictionless proposal creation software to Azione's 284 custom integration dealer members. Portal underwent transformation, reimagining software within the CEDIA channel. Both companies aim to provide best products and business solutions to customers.
- Snap OnecoreSnap One partnership offers Portal's proposal tool free to Snap One dealers as part of their dealer enablement program.
- SonoscoreSonos partnership provides free proposal software to Sonos dealers through Portal platform.
- QuickBookscoreDeep integration with QuickBooks Online and Desktop. Push proposals as line-itemed estimates, sync clients, and automate payment creation in QuickBooks. Supports consolidated line items (Parts, Parts Tax Exempt, Labor, Labor Tax Exempt).
- StripecorePayment processing integration allowing clients to pay proposals via credit card. Supports ACH with automatic bank verification. Convenience fee pass-through available.
- SquarecorePayment processing integration supporting credit card and ACH payments for proposal acceptance and invoices.
- ZohocoreBeta integration with Zoho CRM and Zoho Books. Push proposals to Zoho Books as quotes, sync contacts, and link deals in Zoho CRM. Enhanced contact matching and inventory tracking support.
- SalesforcecoreBeta integration with Salesforce CRM. Smart button on client detail pages, contact search and import functionality. Deal stage mapping for proposal status sync.
- HubSpotcoreHubSpot CRM integration in beta. Authentication, contact search, and import from HubSpot CRM directly into Portal.
- TDSynnex (Sony)coreAPI integration for live Sony product pricing via TDSynnex. Available for all users with automatic supplier price updates.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Portal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Jobber: Jobber provides field service software for home service businesses including quoting, CRM, and invoicing. It overlaps with Portal's SMB workflow positioning but lacks AV-specific catalog depth.
- PandaDoc: PandaDoc is a broader proposal and document automation platform serving many industries including services and SMBs. It competes with Portal at the proposal/e-signature layer but lacks Portal's vertical AV/IT catalog depth.
- Proposify: Proposify is a proposal creation and e-signature tool used across many service industries. It competes with Portal at the proposal layer but does not offer the AV-specific catalog or supplier integrations.
- HoneyBook: HoneyBook provides proposal, CRM, and payment tools for service-based SMBs. While not vertical-specific to AV integrators, it overlaps with Portal's proposal/CRM/payment workflow at a horizontal level.
- ServiceTitan: ServiceTitan is a major field service management platform for the trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical). While it serves a different vertical, its proposal, CRM, and payment features overlap with Portal's broader workflow positioning for SMB service businesses.
Direct peers
- iPoint Solutions: iPoint provides supplier ordering and inventory management software for AV and security integrators. It overlaps directly with Portal's Orders module and is integrated into Portal as a partner, positioning it as a direct competitor in supplier workflows.
- D-tools: D-tools SI is a system integrator software platform purpose-built for AV, security, and IT integrators—the same core customer as Portal. It offers proposal, system design, and project management features and is also integrated with Portal, making it a direct head-to-head competitor.
- ProjX360: ProjX360 delivers project, inventory, and supplier ordering software tailored to AV and security integrators. It competes with Portal's Orders and Proposals functionality and is also integrated as a Portal partner.
- Simply Reliable: Simply Reliable offers business management and proposal software for custom integration dealers. It serves the same AV/security integrator market with comparable workflow features, making it a direct niche competitor.
Others
- Intuit QuickBooks: QuickBooks is a deep integration partner for Portal rather than a direct competitor—its accounting, payments, and now lightweight CRM features anchor the back-office stack that Portal's proposals feed into.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Portal social profiles
Digital presencePortal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Portal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Portal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Portal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Portal
What does Portal do?
Portal is a subscription-based SaaS platform that helps AV, Security, and IT integration professionals create professional client-ready proposals, manage a product catalog of 1.7M+ items with managed dealer pricing, collect payments via integrated processors, track customers through a lightweight CRM, and convert accepted proposals into supplier purchase orders. The suite includes Proposals, Catalog, Billing/Invoices, People CRM, Orders, and an AI Proposal Builder module, with deep integrations to QuickBooks, Stripe, Square, Zoho, Salesforce, and HubSpot.
Is Portal a public or private company?
Portal is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Portal founded?
Portal was founded in 2011. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Portal based?
Portal is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Portal make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription SaaS are the primary driver. The others are payment Processing Fees.
Who are Portal's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Jobber, PandaDoc, Proposify, HoneyBook and ServiceTitan. Direct peers are iPoint Solutions, D-tools, ProjX360 and Simply Reliable. Intuit QuickBooks is listed as an others.
Does Portal have an API?
Yes. Portal offers a Public API enabling real-time event notifications via webhooks and endpoints for creating/updating proposals and the AI Proposal Builder. Available to dealers on the Unlimited plan after applying for access. Documentation at https://portalio.redoc.ly/. Change Orders accessible via partner APIs (iPoint & ProjX360) and public API. Zapier integration allows triggering actions based on events in Portal. Developer documentation is at portalio.redoc.ly.
What industry is Portal in?
Portal's product category is AV/Security/IT Integrator Proposal Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAGAM, Enterprise Application UX, Portals & Low-Code Extensions. Its NAICS code is 541511.