InstallationLesson 1

Self-Service Portal

Back to S200: SysAdmAdvanced

Lesson 1: Self-Service Portal

Part 1: Installation

In this lesson, you will learn the installation and deployment options for the Acumatica Self-Service Portal. Acumatica ERP gives your company's employees a complete set of business software applications that your users can use anytime, from anywhere, on virtually any device. Although your employees have been able to communicate information with your customers through emails, phone calls, and postal mail, customers expect to have the information they need from your company at their fingertips anytime. The Acumatica Self-Service Portal provides a solution for you to work and communicate with your customers more efficiently. By using this site, your customers can view all the relevant information about their interactions with you as a vendor and perform needed activities. The process of setting up Acumatica Self-Service Portal is similar to that of creating a new Acumatica ERP instance.

Lesson Objectives You will do the following:

  • Learn about the deployment of the Acumatica Self-Service Portal
  • Learn about activating a Acumatica Self-Service Portal license
  • Learn about specifying the company that is visible for Acumatica Self-Service Portal users | Step 1.1: Installing Acumatica ERP | 9

Step 1.1: Installing Acumatica ERP In this step, you will install the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard. Normally, the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard is installed on a dedicated application server or servers. In this training, you will use your computer as the server hosting application and database. Perform the following instructions:

  1. Open the Acumatica Partner Portal. You will need your partner user name and password to access the site.
  2. Under Product Links in the left pane, click Download Acumatica.
  3. Under Current Products in the left pane, click Acumatica 2017 R2. The page where you can download the selected version and read the release notes is displayed, as shown in the screenshot below. Click the download link, and save the Windows installer package (.msi).
       Figure: Page where you download Acumatica Partner Portal
  4. Run the AcumaticaERPInstall.msi file that you have downloaded in the previous instruction. The Welcome page of the installer is displayed.
  5. Click Next.
  6. On the License Agreement page, read the license agreement.
  7. To accept the license agreement, click I Agree and click Next.
  8. On the Main Software Configuration page, select the Launch the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard check box, and click Next.
  9. On the Select Installation Folder page, specify the location where you want to install Acumatica ERP, and then click Next. | Step 1.1: Installing Acumatica ERP | 10
        Before you clicked Next, you could have clicked Disk Cost to view the list of the drives where you
    can install Acumatica ERP, along with the available and required disk space on each drive.
  10. On the Confirm Installation page, click Next. Wait while the Acumatica ERP software is being installed. When the installation process has completed, the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard is started automatically and the Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard is displayed, as shown in the screenshot below.
    Figure: Welcome page of the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard
    You can also run the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard anytime by selecting Acumatica > Acumatica ERP Configuration from the Windows Start menu. | Step 1.2: Deploying an Acumatica ERP Instance | 11

Step 1.2: Deploying an Acumatica ERP Instance In this step, you will create an Acumatica ERP application instance with the demo dataset inserted. You will also sign in to this instance and create a new user (Edward Perry) who is supposed to be the Self-Service Portal user. In this step, you, as an administrator, will assign the sufficient access rights to this user by assigning the user the Portal User built-in user role. With this role assigned, the user will be able to sign in to the Self-Service Portal and perform the changes you permit. Perform the following instructions:

  1. Run the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard by clicking Start > Acumatica > Acumatica ERP Configuration.
  2. On the Welcome page, click Deploy New Application Instance.
  3. On the Database Server Connection page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Server type: Microsoft SQL Server
  • Server name: (local)
  • Windows Authentication: Selected
  1. On the Database Configuration page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Create a new database: Selected
  • New database's name: AcumaticaDB
  1. On the Company Setup page, double-click in the Insert Data column in the automatically created row with Company, and select I100 from the dropdown list, as shown in the following screenshot.
       Figure: Selection of the demo dataset
  2. Click Next to proceed to the next page. | Step 1.2: Deploying an Acumatica ERP Instance | 12
  3. On the Database Connection page, select Windows Authentication and click Next.
  4. On the Instance Configuration page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Instance Name: AcumaticaERP
  • Create Portal: Cleared
  • Local Path of the Instance: The path on the local computer to the application instance
  1. On the Web Site Configuration page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Web Site Settings: Default Web Site
  • Use Existing Application Pool: Selected
  • List of existing application pools: DefaultAppPool
  1. On the Confirm Configuration page, click Finish, and wait while the new application instance is created.
  2. After the installation has completed, click OK in the dialog box, which opens, to return to the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard, and then click Perform Application Maintenance. The list of existing application instances now contains one site: AcumaticaERP, as shown in the following screenshot.
    Figure: List of application instances
  3. Click the AcumaticaERP instance, and click Launch.
  4. On the Welcome page of the AcumaticaERP instance, sign in as admin with the setup password; then change the default password to 123, and sign in to the instance.
  5. To create the future Self-Service Portal user, open the Contacts form (CR3020PL; Organization > Customer Management > Manage). | Step 1.2: Deploying an Acumatica ERP Instance | 13
  6. On the form toolbar, click New Record, and on the Contacts form (CR302000), which opens, specify the following settings:
  • Business Account: C000000002 - Microchip Restaurant
  • First Name: Edward
  • Last Name: Perry
  • Email: Your email address
  • Country: US
  1. On the form toolbar, click Save.
  2. On the User Info tab, click the pencil icon right of the User Type box.
  3. On the User Types form (EP202500), which opens, specify the following settings and save your changes:
  • User Type: Portal User
  • Linked Entity: Contact
  • Description: Portal User
  1. On the Allowed Roles tab, click Add Row, and in the Role Name column, select Portal User. This role should be assigned to only contacts who must have access to the Self-Service Portal.
  2. Select the Default check box next to the added row, as shown in the screenshot below. Because this check box is selected, the role in this row will be assigned to any new user of the type.
    Figure: Creation of a user type
  3. On the form toolbar, click Save & Close.
  4. On the User Info tab of the Contacts form (CR302000), select Portal User in the User Type box.
  5. In the Login box, type perry.
  6. Clear the Generate Password check box, and type 123 in the Password box.
  7. On the form toolbar, click Save. | Step 1.2: Deploying an Acumatica ERP Instance | 14
        Notice that the Portal User built-in role is automatically assigned to the perry user that you have
    just created. This user also has Edward Perry specified in the Linked Entity box.
    Now you are ready to deploy the Self-Service Portal instance that is connected to the
    AcumaticaERP instance.

 Built-in Roles

| Step 1.3: Deploying a Self-Service Portal Instance | 15

Step 1.3: Deploying a Self-Service Portal Instance In this step, you will deploy a Self-Service Portal application instance. You will also sign in to this instance as Edward Perry and make a change to the business account to which this user has access. Then you will open the application instance that uses the same database as the Self-Service Portal application instance and make sure that the change has appeared. To create a Self-Service Portal instance, perform the following instructions:

  1. Run the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard by clicking Start > Acumatica > Acumatica ERP Configuration.
  2. On the Welcome page, click Deploy New Application Instance.
  3. On the Database Server Connection page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Server type: Microsoft SQL Server
  • Server name: (local)
  • Windows Authentication: Selected
  1. On the Database Configuration page, specify the following settings, as shown in the screenshot below, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Connect to an existing database: Selected
  • Available databases on server: AcumaticaDB
        Figure: Self-Service Portal setup
  1. On the Company Setup page, click Next to proceed to the next page.
  2. On the Database Connection page, select Windows Authentication and click Next.
  3. On the Instance Configuration page, specify the following settings, as shown in the following screenshot, and click Next to proceed to the next page: | Step 1.3: Deploying a Self-Service Portal Instance | 16
  • Instance Name: AcumaticaPortal
  • Create Portal: Selected
  • Local Path of the Instance: The path on the local computer to the application instance
    Figure: Creation of the Self-Service Portal instance
  1. On the Web Site Configuration page, specify the following settings, and click Next to proceed to the next page:
  • Web Site Settings: Default Web Site
  • Use Existing Application Pool: Selected
  • List of existing application pools: DefaultAppPool
  1. On the Confirm Configuration page, click Finish, and wait while the new application instance is created.
  2. After the installation has completed, click OK in the dialog box, which opens, to return to the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard, and then click Perform Application Maintenance. The list of existing application instances now contains two sites: AcumaticaERP and AcumaticaPortal, as shown in the following screenshot. | Step 1.3: Deploying a Self-Service Portal Instance | 17
    Figure: Application instances
  3. Click the AcumaticaPortal instance, and then click Launch.
  4. On the Welcome page of the AcumaticaPortal instance, sign in with the perry user name and the 123 password.
  5. On the main menu, click Profile, as shown in the screenshot below.
    Figure: Self-Service Portal after sign-in
  6. Click Company Profile.
  7. On the Company Profile form (SP408030), which opens, verify that you see the details of the Microchip Restaurantcompany—the business account linked to the Edward Perry contact in the AcumaticaERP instance. Notice that as the perry user, you do not see all information stored in the database of the AcumaticaERP instance for this business account. | Step 1.3: Deploying a Self-Service Portal Instance | 18
  8. In the Phone 2 box, type +1(777)777-77-77 and save your changes.
  9. Launch the AcumaticaERP instance, and on the Welcome page, sign in as admin with the 123 password.
  10. Open the Business Accounts form (CR3030PL; Organization > Customer Management > Manage).
  11. On the All Records tab, click C000000002.
  12. On the Business Accounts form (CR303000), which opens for the selected entity, verify that the new value has appeared in the Phone 2 box on the Details tab, as you can see in the following screenshot.
        Figure: Updated business account details

 Setting Up Acumatica Self-Service Portal

| Step 1.4: Activating a Self-Service Portal License | 19

Step 1.4: Activating a Self-Service Portal License The Acumatica Self-Service Portal is a separate application instance that requires licensing. The license is required for the company that has the Acumatica ERP license. By default, the Self-Service Portal is installed in trial mode, which means that only two users may concurrently use the system. Each time a third user signs in to Self-Service Portal, one of the current users is forcibly signed out. When you obtain the license for using Acumatica Self-Service Portal and apply this license to an instance, the trial mode restrictions are removed. For a license to be validated, the licensing server requires port 443 to be opened on the computer that is running the Acumatica Self-Service Portal instance you use to enter the key. If the server has a firewall enabled, this port may be closed by default. During licensing and activation, the Self-Service Portal instance is restarted. When you apply a license on a non-testing environment, make sure that all users of your website are warned that the site will be restarted. This step describes how you can activate a full product license. You do not have to perform these instructions to pass the training, because all of the features are available in trial mode; you should simply read the instructions while reviewing the applicable forms.

To activate the license for the Acumatica Self-Service Portal instance, you would perform the following instructions:

  1. Obtain a product key by creating a support case through the Partner Portal and submitting the following information:
  • Installation ID: You can find the installation ID in the About dialog box of the Acumatica ERP or Self-Service Portal instance. To open this dialog box, on any Acumatica Self-Service Portal form, select Help > About, as shown in the following screenshot.
  • Contract ID: You can find this ID on your Acumatica ERP sales invoice.
        Figure: Retrieval of the installation ID
  1. Sign in to the Self-Service Portal instance with a user account that is assigned the Administrator role. For example, you can use the default admin user credentials because the Self-Service Portal uses the same database as the corresponding application instance does.
  2. Open the Activate License form (SM201510; Configuration > Administrator > Portal Site Management).
  3. Depending on the license type that you have obtained from your sales representative, do one of the following:
  • If you have obtained a license key, click Enter License Key, and enter the license key in the Activate New License dialog box. The system contacts the licensing server and validates the license online. Each license can be used to activate a predetermined number of instances. If you reach the limit for your | Step 1.4: Activating a Self-Service Portal License | 20
                 license, you generally won’t be able to use this license. Alternatively, depending on your
             license settings, the system may give you the option to deactivate the license from the
             oldest instance.
  • If you have obtained a license file, click Upload License File, and then select and upload the license file by using the Upload New License File dialog box. When you use a license file, the system validates the license without contacting the licensing server.
  1. In the table at the bottom of this form, review the features that this license supports, and make sure that the feature list is correct.
  2. On the form toolbar, click Apply License to activate your instance.
 To License the Self-Service Portal Instance

| Step 1.5: Specifying the Company That Is Visible for the Self-Service Portal Users | 21

Step 1.5: Specifying the Company That Is Visible for the Self-

Service Portal Users

If you use a multi-company Acumatica ERP configuration, after you deploy a Self-Service Portal instance, you can define the specific company that will be available for the Self-Service Portal users of the instance. Alternatively, you can add a dropdown list to the self-service portal Welcome page where a user can select a company to sign in. In this step, you will add one more company to the AcumaticaERP instance and set the new company to be visible for the users of the AcumaticaPortal Self-Service Portal. Then you will make both of the companies visible for the users. To create another company and select it to be visible for Self-Service Portal users, perform the following instructions:

  1. Run the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard by clicking Start > Acumatica > Acumatica ERP Configuration.
  2. On the Welcome page, click Perform Application Maintenance.
  3. Click the AcumaticaERP instance, and then click Company Maintenance.
  4. On the SQL Server Authentication page, which opens, select Windows Authentication and click OK.
  5. On the Company Setup page, click New to add one more company, as shown in the following screenshot. Notice that the ID of the newly created company (Company2) is 3, and the ID of the existing company (Company) is 2.
       Figure: Creation of multiple companies
  6. On the Confirm Configuration page, click Finish, and wait while the new application instance is created.
  7. After the installation has completed, click OK in the dialog box, which opens, to return to the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard. | Step 1.5: Specifying the Company That Is Visible for the Self-Service Portal Users | 22
  8. Open the web.config file for your Self-Service Portal instance. The configuration file for your Self-Service Portal instance is located in %Program Files% \Acumatica ERP\AcumaticaPortal. Important: You might need to provide administrative permissions to be able to save the changes you will make to the web.config configuration file.
  9. In the file, find the snippet in the section that starts with the following parameters.
    <add name="PXSqlDatabaseProvider" ... .../>
  10. Change the companyID="2; Company" setting to companyID="3; Company2". The following screenshot demonstrates the updated settings.
    Figure: The updated company visibility settings
  11. Save the web.config file. This causes the website to restart automatically.
  12. In the Acumatica ERP Configuration Wizard, click the AcumaticaPortal instance, and then click Launch.
  13. On the Welcome page of the AcumaticaPortal instance, try to sign in with the perry user and the 123 password. You cannot sign in because only Company2 is visible to Self-Service Portal users. Company2 does not have any dataset inserted, and you have not created the perry user for this new company. Thus, you cannot sign in as perry.
  14. Again open the web.config file for your Self-Service Portal instance.
  15. In the file, find the snippet in the section that starts with the following parameters.
    <add name="PXSqlDatabaseProvider" ... .../>
  16. Change the companyID="3; Company2" setting to companyID="2; Company,3; Company2".
  17. Save the web.config file. This causes the AcumaticaPortal instance to restart automatically.
  18. Verify that the company selection box has appeared on the AcumaticaPortal instance Welcome page, as shown in the screenshot below. Now, with the updated web.config settings, the users can select the company to which they want to sign in. | Step 1.5: Specifying the Company That Is Visible for the Self-Service Portal Users | 23

Figure: The updated company visibility settings | Additional Information | 24

Additional Information

The following concepts are outside of the scope of this course but may be useful to some readers. You can use the links below to get additional information.

Managing Access to Self-Service Portal To give a contact access to the Acumatica Self-Service Portal, you add a user account to the contact account in Acumatica ERP. This user account must have a contact-related user type and the Portal User role assigned. The settings of the Portal User role define which functionality is available to the portal users. The user type settings determine the ability of the contact users to manage contact user accounts. For more information on managing access to the Self-Service Portal—including configuring the Portal User role, managing the contact’s user accounts, managing contact-related user types, and delegating user management—see Management of Self-Service Portal Users in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Managing Hierarchy of Customer Accounts In Acumatica ERP, the hierarchy of customer accounts is the group of relationships between parent and child customer accounts. A customer account can have a virtually unlimited number of child customer accounts but only one parent customer account. For more information, see Hierarchy of Customer Accounts in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Handling Online Orders If you want to make online ordering available for your customers, you select the default settings for the Self-Service Portal Orders suite. These defaults affect all portal users. For more information, see Managing Online Orders in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Handling Cases with Self-Service Portal The Acumatica Self-Service Portal gives your customers the ability to add cases online and track case processing. For more information on managing cases with Self-Service Portal, see Case Management with Self- Service Portal in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Managing Self-Service Portal Wikis Acumatica ERP uses wikis to provide certain information for Acumatica Self-Service Portal users, such as marketing and informational documents, support reference materials, and Self-Service Portal Help. For more information on managing the wikis for the Self-Service Portal, see Management of Self- Service Portal Wikis in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Configuring and Updating the Self-Service Portal Home Page The Self-Service Portal home page is the first page a user sees after signing in to the Self-Service Portal. You design the home page and apply changes to it any time you want to. A home page may contain marketing materials, product documentation, and any other information you want your customers to see. For more information on configuring the Self-Service Portal home page, see To Select the Self-Service Portal Home Page in the Acumatica ERP User Guide.

Managing the Localization of the Self-Service Portal If your organization’s customers and partners who use Acumatica Self-Service Portal speak different native languages, you can localize the user interface, user input, and wiki articles to these languages. | Additional Information | 25

For more information, see Localization of Self-Service Portal in the Acumatica ERP User Guide. | Lesson Summary | 26

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you have been introduced to the concepts of the Acumatica Self-Service Portal, and you have learned how to deploy Acumatica Self-Service Portal instance and give the system users access to the Self-Service Portal. Review Questions:

  • In brief, how will you deploy an Acumatica Self-Service Portal instance for Acumatica 2017 R2?
  • Is the Acumatica Self-Service Portal a separate application instance?
  • How will you update the Acumatica Self-Service Portal instance?
  • What are the options of using the Acumatica Self-Service Portal if you run a multi-company Acumatica ERP instance? | Lesson 2: Deploying Acumatica ERP on Windows Azure | 27