Customer Portal

Purpose

The customer portal lets invited business customers browse products, request orders, check orders and balances, and pay eligible amounts online.

Where to find it

Staff invite a customer from the customer record. The customer opens the link in the invitation.

Customer locationCustomer record > Portal Invite

Before you start

• Staff need customer access and the correct customer email.
• The customer needs the invitation and a password that follows the rules shown on screen.
• Online payment appears only for balances the portal can accept. Text updates need the customer’s consent.

Invite a customer and use the portal

1. Open the customer record. Check the email, then choose Invite or Resend.
2. The customer opens the invite, sets a password, and chooses Sign In. Use Forgot Password if the link expired or the password is lost.
3. To request an order, search products, set quantities, add delivery instructions, and choose Submit Order Request. Staff must review the request.
4. Open an order from the list to check its status. Customers can cancel only when the portal shows that choice.
5. To pay a balance, choose Pay Balance Online. Check the order or statement and amount before paying.
6. Choose text updates only after the customer agrees. A saved phone number does not count as consent.
7. To end access, remove the portal email or revoke access from the customer record.

Requests, balances, and store credit

Example: A Wholesale-tier customer requests a product with a 45-yard minimum and 45-yard increment. This example has no negotiated, manual, or fixed-unit price. To get wholesale pricing, the order must include a full group of 45 yards. An order for 45 gets wholesale pricing. An order for 44 gets none; all 44 use the contractor price, or Retail if no contractor price is set. A saved negotiated price can take priority over the quantity rule. The request does not change the customer’s saved tier.

Submit Order Request sends products and delivery or pickup details to staff. Staff must review it. It does not take payment or promise your date. For example, a $200 request may wait while staff checks stock and timing.

Pay Balance Online opens payment for eligible unpaid orders when online payments are ready. It does not apply Store Credit. If an order shows $200 due and the customer has $50 in Store Credit, apply that credit in FlintPOS first. Then confirm the order’s new amount due before the customer pays online.

Field reference

Expected results

The invite opens the merchant’s portal. Order requests go to staff for review. An eligible payment updates the balance and notifies staff. Revoked access blocks future sign-in.

Troubleshooting

• The invitation did not arrive: check the email, check spam, and resend it from the customer record.
• The customer cannot request an order: check the product, amount, address, and contact fields the form requires.
• Payment is not available: check that the balance can be paid online and the merchant payment setup is ready.
• Text updates did not arrive: check consent, the phone number, Text Messaging, and the matching notification rule.

Related settings

Set business notices in Store Info. Set email and text in Communications. Use Storefront Ordering for public catalog orders.