Overview
Customer Portal Common settings control what customers can do with estimates in the customer portal.
Turn estimate signing and customer deposits on or off.
Require an electronic signature agreement before customers sign.
Set a minimum notice in business hours before the move's arrival window, so customers can't book online too close to the move.
Show or hide the item-level activity log in the Storage Portal, for accounts with Storage Inventory.
Available on all plans.
Before You Start
Changing Customer Portal Common settings requires admin access.
The Storage card appears only if your account has Storage Inventory.
The minimum notice for online booking counts the business hours set in Hours of Operation on Settings > Company Details. Check those hours and holidays first.
How To Change Customer Portal Common Settings
Open Settings.
Select Customer Portal, then Common. The Customer Portal Settings page opens with settings grouped into cards.
In the Estimates & Signatures card, use the toggles to control estimate features:
Enable estimate signing: lets customers sign estimates in the customer portal.
Enable customer deposits: lets customers pay deposits in the customer portal. Set the deposit amount in your accounting settings, and confirm the branch has a payment gateway set up.
Require electronic signature agreement: requires customers to agree to an electronic signature agreement before signing. When this toggle is on, you can customize the Electronic Records and Signatures Disclosure customers see.
To set a minimum notice, enter a whole number of hours in Minimum notice for online booking (business hours), from 1 to 8,760. Customers can't sign or accept an estimate online unless at least this many business hours remain before the start of the arrival window on the move's first job. Leave it blank to turn it off.
If your account has Storage Inventory, the Storage card appears. Turn Show Item-Level Activity Log on or off to control whether Storage Portal customers see an activity history for each item.
Click Save. The Customer Portal Common settings apply. To discard your changes and restore the previous values, click Revert.
To apply a standard disclosure template, use the Apply Template option above the Electronic Records and Signatures Disclosure editor. You can also write or edit the disclosure text in the editor.
How the Minimum Notice for Online Booking Works
The minimum notice for online booking stops customers from signing or accepting an estimate in the customer portal when the move is too close. It's measured to the start of the arrival window on the move's first job.
SmartMoving counts the business hours left between now and the start of the arrival window on the move's first job. For a first job with an 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM arrival window, the count runs to 8:00 AM on the job date.
Only open hours from Hours of Operation count, in the company's time zone. Closed hours, closed days and the holidays checked under Holidays don't count.
When fewer business hours remain than the minimum notice, the customer sees "This day is no longer available, please contact your sales representative." and can't sign or accept the estimate online.
For example, with Hours of Operation of Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (9 hours a day) and a minimum notice of 24 business hours, a move whose first job has an arrival window starting Monday at 8:00 AM can be booked online until Wednesday at 11:00 AM the week before. On Wednesday at 4:00 PM, only 19 business hours remain (1 on Wednesday, 9 on Thursday and 9 on Friday), so the customer sees "This day is no longer available."
Key Details
The minimum notice for online booking is blank by default, which means it's off.
The minimum notice takes whole hours from 1 to 8,760. Other values show "Enter a whole number from 1 to 8760, or leave blank."
The minimum notice applies to the customer portal only. Office users can still book the move.
A move that's already Booked or Completed is never blocked by the minimum notice.
Changes to the Customer Portal Common settings are recorded in the audit log, such as "'Minimum notice for online booking' set to 24 business hours."
Best Practices
Keep Hours of Operation and holidays current, since the minimum notice for online booking counts them.
Set the minimum notice to the business hours your team needs to schedule a crew and confirm a move.
Save your changes before opening another settings page. Pending edits don't carry over if you leave without saving.
Coordinate changes to estimate signing settings with your sales team so customers see a consistent experience.
Review your Electronic Records and Signatures Disclosure text before turning the requirement on, especially if your state has specific language requirements.
Troubleshooting
A customer says the estimate shows "This day is no longer available."
The move is inside the minimum notice for online booking. Book the move from the office, or lower or clear Minimum notice for online booking (business hours) in Customer Portal Common settings.
The minimum notice blocks a move that seems far enough away.
The minimum notice counts business hours only, up to the start of the first job's arrival window. Check the first job's arrival window, then Hours of Operation and the holidays on Settings > Company Details; nights, closed days and holidays don't count.
I see "Enter a whole number from 1 to 8760, or leave blank."
The minimum notice for online booking takes whole hours from 1 to 8,760. Remove decimals, or clear the field to turn it off.
The Storage card doesn't appear in Customer Portal Common settings.
The Storage card appears only for accounts with Storage Inventory.
The Save bar doesn't appear after a change.
Refresh the Customer Portal Common settings page and make the change again.