Skip to main content

Premium Portal vs Customer Portal: Which is Right for Your Business?

JD avatar
Written by JD
Updated yesterday

What You'll Learn

This article will help you understand the differences between Uptick's standard Customer Portal and the Premium Portal, so you can choose the right solution for your clients' needs.


Overview

Uptick offers two portal options to help your clients manage their fire safety compliance: the Customer Portal (included free with your subscription) and the Premium Portal (available as a paid add-on). Both provide real-time access to critical property information, but they're designed for different client needs.


Customer Portal: Essential Compliance at Your Fingertips

The Customer Portal is included free with your Uptick subscription and provides everything your clients need to stay on top of their fire safety compliance.

Key Features

Dashboard & Compliance Overview

  • Interactive map showing all properties with color-coded pins indicating defect severity (critical, non-critical, and non-conformance)

  • Real-time compliance status across the entire portfolio

  • Quick snapshot of outstanding defects and their age

Activity Reports

  • Defect Quotes: View, approve, or decline quotes directly from the portal

  • Service Quotes: Track quotes awaiting approval or already approved

  • Outstanding Invoices: See what's due and what's overdue

  • Monthly Activity Report: Summary of inspections, defects, invoices, and program maintenance

  • Monthly Maintenance Report: Detailed breakdown of assets serviced and their status

Property Management

  • Detailed property information including building details and contacts

  • Program maintenance schedules showing completed, scheduled, overdue, and missed services

  • Access to all inspection reports with download capability

  • Public documents including floor plans, commissioning documentation, and base information

Defect Management

  • Complete defect registry with filtering options

  • View defects by severity, age, contractor, and status

  • Compliance tracking by asset type

  • Contractor performance visibility

Search & Navigation

  • Advanced search across properties, assets, defects, and reports

  • Intuitive filtering to find exactly what you need

  • Interactive graphs and KPIs that link to detailed views

What Clients Can Do

  • Approve or decline quotes directly from the portal (no need to search through emails)

  • Submit rectifications for defects they've fixed themselves (with supporting photos and documentation)

  • Download reports for any time period

  • Track compliance across their entire portfolio in real-time

Best For

  • Single properties or small portfolios (1-3 properties)

  • Property managers and facilities managers who need day-to-day operational visibility

  • Clients who want self-service access to their compliance information


Premium Portal: Advanced Insights for Strategic Decision-Making

The Premium Portal builds on the standard portal with advanced features designed for larger portfolios and executive-level reporting. It's ideal for clients who need deeper insights, customization, and strategic planning tools.

Everything in Customer Portal, Plus:

Risk Areas & Alerts

  • Custom compliance alerts beyond fire services (building compliance, plant and equipment, asbestos, hazmat)

  • Automated triggers for missing documentation, expired certifications, or overdue compliance items

  • Proactive notifications to address issues before they become critical

Annual Certification Tracking

  • Track annual certification status across all properties

  • Identify certifications issued late or overdue

  • Performance reporting on compliance deadlines

Asset Lifecycle Management

  • Forecast asset replacement needs based on expected life cycles

  • View replacement costs and budget requirements

  • Analyze asset condition (new, good, poor, end of life)

  • Plan capital expenditure up to 10 years in advance

  • Pivot table analysis by asset type, condition, and installation date

Financial Insights

  • Spend analysis across different periods

  • Billing and callout insights

  • Repair cost tracking

  • Budget forecasting for long-term contracts

Advanced Reporting

  • Contract Performance Report: Track inspections attended, certificates issued, and defects resolved

  • Defect Performance Report: Analyze defect age and resolution rates across the portfolio

  • Customizable reporting periods

  • Drill-down capability into detailed data

Service Call Tracking

  • Monitor outstanding and completed service calls

  • Track response times and resolution rates

Routine Activities

  • Filter and view specific routine types

  • Track what's been performed vs. what's outstanding

Customization Options

The Premium Portal can be customized to your client's specific needs:

  • Risk areas configured based on their compliance requirements

  • Custom alerts tailored to their industry and regulatory environment

  • White-labeling options available

  • Settings applied at the client group level for consistent experience across the organization

Best For

  • Large portfolios (multiple properties across regions or states)

  • National or global property managers

  • Executive-level users (directors, state managers, compliance officers)

  • Clients who need strategic planning and budget forecasting

  • Organizations managing complex compliance requirements beyond fire safety


Pricing

Customer Portal: Included free with your Uptick subscription

Premium Portal: Priced per property per month. Contact your Uptick account manager or [email protected] for pricing details.


Setup Considerations

Customer Portal

  • Can be enabled at the client level (for individual clients) or client group level (for multiple properties)

  • Invitation sent to the primary contact email

  • Multiple users can access via client groups

  • Quick setup with minimal configuration

Premium Portal

  • Must be enabled at the top-level client group (applies to all properties underneath)

  • Requires consultation with Uptick support team to configure custom features

  • Some features require extensions to be enabled (e.g., Asset Lifecycle, Risk Areas)

  • Setup includes customization of risk alerts and reporting views

Important: Premium Portal settings can only be changed at the top-level entity. If you need premium features for just one client within a larger group, you'll need to restructure your client hierarchy.


Making the Right Choice

Choose the Customer Portal if your client:

  • Has a small to medium portfolio

  • Needs operational visibility and day-to-day compliance tracking

  • Wants to approve quotes and track defects efficiently

  • Prefers a straightforward, easy-to-use interface

Choose the Premium Portal if your client:

  • Manages a large, multi-property portfolio

  • Requires executive-level reporting and strategic insights

  • Needs budget forecasting and asset lifecycle planning

  • Has complex compliance requirements beyond fire safety

  • Values customization and white-labeling options

  • Wants proactive alerts for compliance risks


Getting Started

For Customer Portal:

  1. Navigate to People > Clients

  2. Select your client

  3. Click Send invitation in the Customer Portal section

  4. The primary contact will receive login instructions

For Premium Portal:

  1. Contact your Uptick Customer Success Manager or email [email protected]

  2. Discuss your client's specific needs and use cases

  3. Work with the Uptick team to configure custom features

  4. Enable extensions as needed (Asset Lifecycle, Risk Areas, etc.)

  5. Test the portal before rolling out to your client


Tips for Success

Engage Your Clients

  • Present the portal at your next client meeting

  • Show them how to navigate and use key features

  • Demonstrate how it reduces their administrative burden

  • Highlight the value-add of real-time compliance visibility

Reduce Support Calls

  • Encourage clients to use the portal for report access, quote approvals, and defect tracking

  • This frees up your team to focus on service delivery rather than administrative requests

Leverage Premium Features

  • For long-term contracts (3-5 years), use Asset Lifecycle to help clients budget for future replacements

  • Use Risk Areas to position yourself as a comprehensive compliance partner, not just a fire safety provider

  • Customize reports to match your client's board reporting requirements


Need Help?

If you have questions about which portal is right for your client, or need assistance with setup and configuration, contact:

For detailed setup instructions, visit our Help Center articles:


Did this answer your question?