Executive Summary
Project background and high-level description
Digitizing Dream is undertaking a full digital transformation of its operations by implementing a comprehensive, multi-role web portal system directly on digitizingdream.com. Currently, the business relies on manual or fragmented processes for order intake, invoice delivery, and payment collection. This project will eliminate those inefficiencies with a fully integrated platform.
The system will consist of two distinct portals — a Client Portal for self-service order management and payment, and an Employee Portal that handles both operational tasks and full administrative control. Employees will manage orders, invoices, products, users, backups, and system configuration from a single unified staff interface. Both portals share a common backend, ensuring real-time data consistency.
A key requirement of this project is data resilience. A four-tier backup strategy will be implemented, including a Google Sheets mirror that gives the client's team non-technical, real-time visibility into business data without requiring database access. Payment processing will be upgraded to support Stripe (recommended as primary) alongside the client's existing PayPal account.
Scope Note: This document defines Phase 1 of the project — the core portal build. The system uses two portals: Client and Employee (the latter covering all administrative functions). Mobile apps, advanced reporting dashboards, and third-party accounting integrations (QuickBooks, Xero) are designated as Phase 2 features and are out of scope for this engagement.
Project Objectives
Core goals this project must achieve
📦 Centralize Order Management
Replace ad-hoc order handling with a structured system covering creation, file attachment, status tracking, and delivery confirmation — visible to clients and staff simultaneously.
🧾 Automate Invoice Generation
Automatically generate branded invoices upon order completion, deliver them via email, and allow clients to view and download them from their portal at any time.
💳 Enable Online Payments
Allow clients to pay invoices directly through the portal using credit/debit cards via Stripe, and PayPal as an alternative, with automated payment confirmation and receipts.
🔐 Implement Role-Based Access
Ensure clients, employees, and admins each see only what's relevant to their role. No client sees another client's data; no employee accesses admin configuration.
☁️ Guarantee Data Resilience
Implement a multi-tier backup including automated cloud backups, Google Sheets sync for team visibility, and on-demand export capability — zero single point of failure.
🚀 Launch on Existing Website
Integrate the entire portal system within the existing digitizingdream.com domain, maintaining brand consistency and avoiding the need for separate sub-domain management.
Portal Architecture
Three role-specific portals sharing one unified backend
Architecture Philosophy: Both portals are views into the same data layer — not two separate systems. Changes made in the Employee Portal are reflected immediately in the Client Portal. This single-backend approach eliminates sync issues, reduces maintenance overhead, and removes the need to manage a separate admin interface.
Client Portal
Self-service hub for clients to manage their orders, pay invoices, and track project status in real time.
- 🔵 Order Dashboard
- 🔵 Place & Track Orders
- 🔵 Upload Project Files
- 🔵 View & Pay Invoices
- 🔵 Payment History
- 🔵 Profile Management
- 🔵 Download Completed Files
Employee Portal
Unified staff interface covering both day-to-day order processing and full administrative control — orders, products, invoices, payments, users, backups, and system settings.
- 🟢 Assigned Order Queue & Full Oversight
- 🟢 Order Status Management
- 🟢 File Upload & Download
- 🟢 Invoice Creation & Dispatch
- 🟢 Product Catalog Management
- 🟢 Client & User Management
- 🟢 Payment Records & Reports
- 🟢 Backup Monitoring & Exports
- 🟢 System Configuration
Module Specifications
Detailed feature breakdown of all 8 core system modules
Module 1 — Authentication & User Management
Secure login, session management, and role assignment for all portal users
Module 2 — Client Portal
Self-service interface for clients to manage their entire relationship with Digitizing Dream
Module 3 — Employee Portal
Unified staff interface for both day-to-day order processing and full business administration — replaces a separate admin portal
Module 4 — Product & Order Management
The engine behind order creation, routing, and lifecycle tracking
Module 5 — Invoice Management System
Auto-generation, delivery, and tracking of all client invoices
Roles & Permissions Matrix
What each user type can see and do within the system
✓ Full access · ✗ No access · Own = own records only
Payment Integration
Gateway selection, comparison, and recommended setup
Recommendation: Implement Stripe as the primary gateway (lower fees, superior developer API, supports cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and ACH bank transfer) while retaining PayPal as a secondary option for clients who prefer it. Both can be active simultaneously.
🔗 Stripe Integration Covers
- Credit & debit card payments (Visa, MC, Amex)
- Apple Pay & Google Pay (mobile clients)
- ACH bank transfer (US clients)
- Webhook-based payment confirmation
- Automated refund handling
- Stripe Dashboard for payment records
🔁 PayPal Integration Covers
- PayPal account payments (existing clients)
- PayPal-hosted card checkout (non-members)
- IPN / webhook payment confirmation
- Retain current PayPal business account
- No migration cost — additive integration
- Client choice at checkout
Data Backup Strategy
Four-tier redundancy ensuring zero data loss and team accessibility
Design Principle: No single backup layer should be relied upon alone. The four-tier system ensures that even if the primary database, the cloud backup, and the Google Sheets sync all fail simultaneously, a fourth recovery path still exists. Each layer is automated — no manual intervention required.
PostgreSQL database hosted on a managed cloud provider (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, or similar). This is the single source of truth. All portal data reads and writes go here. Point-in-time recovery (PITR) enabled — restore to any minute within a 35-day window.
Automated nightly export to cloud object storage (AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage). Full database dumps in encrypted format, retained for 90 days on a rolling basis. Admin receives an email confirmation after each successful backup. Failed backups trigger an alert.
Key business data (new orders, invoice status, client list, payments received) synced to a designated Google Sheets account via the Sheets API — hourly by default, configurable by admin. This gives the team a human-readable, Excel-style view of all business data without requiring database or portal access. Acts as a non-technical operational dashboard and a backup in its own right.
Admin portal includes a one-click export of all data to CSV / Excel for any date range. These exports can be downloaded and stored locally by the team. Recommended practice: monthly download stored on a dedicated Google Drive folder as a fourth-layer off-platform snapshot.
📋 Google Sheets — Synced Data Tabs
Technical Stack Recommendations
Proposed technologies — open to developer preference and existing infrastructure
Project Phases & Timeline
Estimated 15-week delivery across four structured phases
Discovery & Architecture
- Finalize requirements & content
- Database schema design
- UI/UX wireframes
- Dev environment setup
- Tech stack confirmation
- Domain & hosting config
Core Portal Development
- Auth system (all roles)
- Client Portal MVP
- Employee Portal (order processing + admin)
- Order management system
- Product catalog
- File upload/storage
Integrations & Features
- Employee admin features (invoices, users, config)
- Invoice system + PDF
- Stripe + PayPal integration
- Google Sheets sync
- Cloud backup automation
- Email notification system
QA, Testing & Launch
- User acceptance testing (UAT)
- Cross-browser / mobile QA
- Payment gateway testing
- Data migration (if any)
- Backup verification
- Go-live & handover
Timeline Note: The 15-week estimate assumes prompt client feedback at milestone checkpoints (end of Phase 1 and mid-Phase 3). Delays in design approvals, content delivery, or domain/hosting configuration may extend the timeline. A formal project kick-off meeting will be held to confirm dates and deliverable responsibilities.
Scope Definition
Clear boundaries of what is and is not included in this engagement
Assumptions & Dependencies
What this scope document takes for granted
🏗️ Technical Assumptions
- The client holds or will obtain access to the digitizingdream.com domain and its hosting control panel
- A new hosting environment will be provisioned for the portal (separate from any existing static website)
- The client will provide a Google account for Google Sheets sync setup
- The client's existing PayPal Business account credentials will be provided for API integration
- A Stripe account will be created or provided (free to create, no monthly fee)
- File uploads are assumed to be standard design formats — JPG, PNG, BMP, PDF, DST, EMB (max 50MB per file)
📋 Project Assumptions
- Client feedback on wireframes and designs will be provided within 3 business days of delivery
- All text content (service descriptions, pricing, terms) will be provided by the client before development begins
- A single admin account will be set up at launch; additional admin seats are out of scope
- Data migration from existing systems (if any) will be scoped separately and is not included
- SSL certificate and HTTPS are assumed to be active on the domain
- Any changes to scope after Phase 2 kick-off are subject to a change order process
Approval & Sign-Off
Agreement that this document accurately reflects the project scope
By signing below, both parties confirm that this Scope of Work accurately represents the agreed-upon deliverables for the Digitizing Dream Portal Project. Any changes to this scope after signing will be handled through a formal change request process and may affect timeline and budget.
Project Sign-Off
This scope document is version 1.0 and is considered final upon mutual signature. The project will proceed to Phase 1 — Discovery & Architecture — within 5 business days of sign-off.