# Your First Day

By the end of today you'll have a working portal that real users can log in to. This page covers two things: the **seven setup phases** that make up a complete configuration, and a **hands-on walkthrough** that takes you through the most important ones.

## Before you start

You'll need:

* Admin login credentials for the Client Admin Portal.
* A valid licence (your NetSuite Admin handles this).
* Your company's branding assets — logo, brand colours — if you plan to customize the theme.

{% hint style="info" %}
If anything in the seven phases below isn't ready yet (subsidiary not configured, no licence), ask your NetSuite Admin to handle that piece first. Some of these phases happen on the NetSuite Admin side, not in the Client Admin.
{% endhint %}

## The seven setup phases

A complete first-day setup walks through these phases in order. Some are quick; some you'll come back to over time.

{% stepper %}
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### Set up your subsidiary

Confirm the subsidiary name, address, currency, locale, and logo. This is usually done by the NetSuite Admin — see [Subsidiary Details](/netsuite-admin-guide/overview-1/subsidiary-details.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Create user roles

Plan the roles you need (Store Manager, Cashier, Customer, Vendor) and create them. Start with two or three — you can always add more. See [Roles & Permissions](/client-admin-guide/managing-users/roles-and-permissions.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Set up your catalog

If your portals involve products, create a catalog, organize products into categories, and configure display settings. See [Creating Catalogs](/client-admin-guide/creating-catalogs.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Build your first workflow

Workflows define the portal experience for each role. The fastest path is to clone a default workflow and adjust it. The hands-on walkthrough below covers this. See [Workflow Concepts](/client-admin-guide/workflow-builder-overview/workflow-concepts.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Design your portal pages

Open each module in your workflow and customize its page in the Page Builder. See [Page Builder: Getting Started](/client-admin-guide/active-workflows/getting-started.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Configure your theme

Set primary colours, fonts, and light/dark mode. The Theme Builder lives in the NetSuite Admin — see [Theme Builder](/netsuite-admin-guide/theme-builder.md).
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Invite users

Create user accounts, assign each one to a role and a workflow, and send invitations. The hands-on walkthrough below covers this. See [Give User Access](/client-admin-guide/managing-users/creating-users.md).
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Hands-on walkthrough

This walkthrough covers phases 4, 5, and 7 — the work you'll do entirely in the Client Admin. By the end you'll have customized a workflow, designed a Dashboard page, and given a test user access.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Log in and explore

Open the Client Admin Portal link your implementation team gave you and sign in. You'll land on the Dashboard. Click through the sidebar sections to get oriented — User Management, Catalogs, Categories, Workflow Builder, Reports.

![Sidebar tour](/files/Ou7s6uLFI8S8jyguz9w5)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Open Workflow Builder

Click **Workflow Builder** in the sidebar. The page heading reads **Workflows**. You'll see workflows grouped by entity type (Employee, Customer, Vendor, Partner), with default workflows tagged **Default**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Clone a default workflow

Find a default workflow that's close to what you need. Click **Copy**. A confirmation dialog appears — click **Copy** again to confirm. The new workflow shows up in the list with **\_Copy** appended to the original name.

![Copy workflow dialog](/files/bI1j6D1hyUKqLxqphYsU)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Rename your workflow

Click your new copy to open it. You'll see two tabs: **Workflow** and **Settings**. On the **Settings** tab, change the **Label** to something descriptive — *My Store Employee Portal*, for example. Click **Save All Settings & Variables**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Customize the modules

Switch to the **Workflow** tab. Each card represents one page in the portal. To customize:

* Drag a module to reorder. Dashboard, Header Navigation, and Sidebar Navigation are locked at positions 1, 2, and 3 — other modules move freely.
* Click the trash icon to remove one you don't need.
* Click **+ Module** in the top-right to add a new one.

![Workflow tab with module cards](/files/GoDGkS0ZUh9DbbUTxbYA)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Open a module in the Page Builder

Click anywhere on a module card — the icon, the title, the description, or the **gear** icon — to open it in the Page Builder.

{% hint style="warning" %}
There is no separate "Edit Page" button. Clicking the module card itself is what opens the Page Builder.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Build the Dashboard

The Page Builder opens with a canvas in the centre and a component panel on the left. Build a simple dashboard:

1. Drag a **Row** onto the canvas.
2. Drag a **Heading** into the row and type *Welcome to Your Portal*.
3. Below the row, drag a **Grid** onto the canvas. In the right-hand settings, set it to 2 columns.
4. Drag a **Card** into each column. Configure the titles (e.g. *Recent Orders*, *Quick Actions*).
5. Drag a **Text** component below the grid for a welcome message.
6. Click **Publish** to make the page live.

![Page Builder with dashboard layout](/files/wsl7OfEqb1PvOE3BdXLQ)
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Give a user access

Go to **User Management** in the sidebar. Click **Give User Access**. Choose the entity type (Employee, Customer, Vendor, or Partner), search for the user, then assign the role and workflow you just built. Click **Save**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Test the portal

Open a private/incognito browser window. Sign in to the User Portal as the test user. Confirm the Dashboard you designed shows up correctly.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## What success looks like

By the end of the walkthrough you should have:

* A custom workflow cloned from a default and renamed.
* A Dashboard page you designed and published.
* A test user who can log in and see your work.

## Common issues

* **The user can't log in** — confirm you assigned both a **role** and a **workflow** when giving access.
* **The page looks empty after publishing** — make sure you clicked **Publish**, not just **Save**.
* **The Workflow tab is empty** — the workflow may not have any modules yet. Click **+ Module** to add one.
* **The new workflow doesn't appear in Active Workflows** — Active Workflows only shows **published** workflows. Publish from the workflow list.

## What to do next

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Set up your catalog</strong></td><td>If your portal involves products.</td><td><a href="/pages/sqKV6Gm0WqBRQeT9aFbs">/pages/sqKV6Gm0WqBRQeT9aFbs</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Common patterns</strong></td><td>Recipes for the page types you'll build most often.</td><td><a href="/pages/nuIC9dFKJRLG7aUU3PNh">/pages/nuIC9dFKJRLG7aUU3PNh</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Invite the rest of your team</strong></td><td>Bulk-create accounts for real users.</td><td><a href="/pages/r7oNhYFeld1j3WjFd9i9">/pages/r7oNhYFeld1j3WjFd9i9</a></td></tr></tbody></table>


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