Portal Overview
Understand what the customer portal is, how it reflects internal order data, and what customers can and cannot do.
What is the customer portal
Give customers a branded space to view their orders, send messages, and manage their profile, all without exposing internal workflows or staff assignments.
The customer portal uses a separate identity store from company-user authentication. Customers log in with their own credentials.
The portal uses your company branding, including the logo, company name, colors, and theme. You can also show optional chain or endorsement branding where configured.
Portal navigation
The portal chrome includes the company or brand logo, user menu, language switcher, navigation tabs, responsive mobile layout, and dedicated empty and error states.
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Logo | Identifies the company or brand that provides the customer’s service. |
| User menu | Gives customers access to profile settings, password controls, and account actions. |
| Language switcher | Lets customers select their preferred portal language. |
| Navigation tabs | Provide access to orders, profile settings, and other available customer features. |
What customers can do
Customers can:
- Send messages to the company.
- Set or change their password.
- View their orders and order details.
- Download invoices where permitted.
- Manage their profile details.
- Set their preferred language.
What customers cannot do
Customers cannot:
- Change an order status.
- Change the planned date.
- Edit order lines.
- Change the assignee.
- Edit internal notes.
- Complete an order.
- Cancel an order.
The portal is intentionally narrower than the internal company order view. Customers see customer-facing labels and information, not internal stage names, staff assignments, or operational notes.
How portal relates to internal order data
The portal projects an allowlisted subset of each order. This gives customers the information they need to follow their order without exposing internal workflow data.
| Visible to customer | Internal only |
|---|---|
| Order reference and title | Internal stage names and IDs |
| Customer-facing order category | Assignee identity |
| Planned date | Internal completion notes |
| Customer-owned order lines | Internal activity |
| Gross total, including VAT | Internal permissions |
| Company display name and branding | Other internal company context |
| Customer and company message thread | Internal workflow details |
The customer sees the order information associated with their linked customer identity. The portal does not reveal whether another customer’s order exists when the signed-in customer does not own it.
Account provisioning
When you create an order, such as after a customer accepts an offer, the system match-creates a customer portal account using the contact information. The system then sends a password-setup email.
The customer can view the order after completing the password setup. After setup, the customer signs in with their portal email and password.
The customer identity store is separate from company-user authentication. Company users cannot use a customer portal session as a substitute for company authentication.