Set up portal access and message alerts

Before you start

Turn the portal off or on

1. 1

   Step 1: Open Portal access

   Go to Settings›Customers. In the Portal access card on the right, find Let customers use the portal and the separate Portal links area.

   

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose whether customers can enter

   Turn Let customers use the portal on or off, then save. The setting controls whether customers can view quotes and orders, message you, sign, and pay through the portal.

   Warning

   Turning the portal off changes customer contact

   Portal links show This page is not available. Contact the store. Customer portal alerts stop, staff replies go by email, and the receipt's portal QR is unavailable.

   Emails use the signing link while the portal is off. My orders uses its separate customer page, which directs customers to reply to the store's email.

Disable all existing portal links

1. 1

   Step 1: Open the link confirmation

   Under Portal links, click Disable all existing portal links. The confirmation explains that existing links will stop working and customers can request new links by email.

   

2. 2

   Step 2: Confirm the store-wide action

   Click Disable existing links when you intend to revoke every existing portal link. A message reports Disabled 1 portal link, the number disabled, or No active portal links to disable.

   Warning

   Every existing portal link is affected

   This action reaches customers across the store. Don't use it as though it targets only the quote you were viewing.

Know who gets message alert emails

Customers receive an alert for unseen store messages after 10 minutes. The wait is 1 minute when they have never used the portal or last wrote by email.

The email includes the newest 10 unseen messages, Open your quote or Open your order, and their PIN. Attachments are summarized with wording such as Sent 2 files.

Staff alerts wait 5 minutes. The recipient is the Inbox assignee, then the order's owner (its primary salesperson), then the other credited salespeople, then default copies. Only staff who can currently answer the order qualify.

Reading or answering within the waiting period cancels the alert. Emails sent by staff don't queue another portal alert. Use team Inbox settings to keep responsibility clear.

Check Settings›Messages & notifications›Delivery activity when investigating an alert. A reply in the conversation and an alert email are separate events.

What happens next

Disabled links stop working: they open This link has expired. Customers can use Email me a new link there to request a fresh link to the address on file. New customer emails carry new links.

With the portal on, a staff reply goes to the conversation. The alert rules decide whether an email is also needed.

If something goes wrong