Portals provide the people you do business with (owners, associations, tenants, guests, association members, vendors) secure online access to their accounts where they can view statements, documents, activities, make payments, submit work requests (occupants), authorize work, and much more.

Portal options for a managed account are entirely customizable. Set the standard options you want to be available for all people of a given type, and further configure each individual to add or remove specific options.

Portals are embedded into your HERO Website. A person will typically access their portal by logging in through your website or selecting a link on a message you send. If you do not have a HERO Website, you can still provide links on your website and in messages to the generic (unbranded) portals.

Once someone establishes a portal login, they can connect any managed accounts, as authorized. If a person is new to HERO Portals, they'll create their login and add their managed account in a single step. If they already have HERO Portals from a previous, or another, HERO member, they'll simply add their new managed account to their existing login. It may help to envision this as a car (portal login account) and a road (managed account). Once a person has the car, they can drive on any road where they're authorized.  If they previously got their car through you or another property manager, they just need access to your road. If they did not previously have a car, they'll create the car (portal login account) and establish the access to the road (managed account) in a single step. As a property manager, you are not really concerned about whether someone already has the car, because if they don't, it will be automatically created when they establish access to your road.

Configuring Portal Managed Account Access and Authorizations

To configure global/default access and authorizations, go to Settings > Portals > Portal Options > People Type > Authorizations. Set the defaults that will apply to all newly added people of this type. Note that Portal Access must be enabled, or the person will not be able to access their managed account through the portal at all.

If you already added people of this type, and wish to retroactively update all of their portal authorizations, check the checkbox for Update Existing People Type Previously Configured. This will replace any previously customized individuals with the new configuration. When you are ready, select the Save button to save these defaults (and, optionally, update existing people).

To configure individual access and authorizations, go to Management > Person Type > Person > Portals. Add or remove specific options that apply only to this person, then Save.

Understanding Authorization Codes

When a person accesses their portal and wants to connect to the managed account you provide, they need to be authorized. In some cases, they can authorize with only their email address, but this is not secure. To secure access, set an authorization code, which will then be required. Generate a secure random code by selecting the Generate Random Code icon. You will then need to provide this for the person the first time they attempt to connect to their managed account. Note this authorization code is also used in other areas, like authorized signatures, identity validation, etc.

Configuring Other Portal Options

Go to Settings > Portals > Portal Options > People Type for additional configuration options for each type of person.

Change Log

The change log is a portal function where a person can see changes that have occured on their managed account. These can be viewed in their portal, when enabled, and/or optionally sent to them as an email without needing to log in. Select the items to include in their change log. Just like with authorizations, you can apply these settings to all previously configured people of this type, and you can individually change the setting for each person from their Portal view.

When sending the change log as a daily email, configure the template for this message from Settings > Messages & Letters > System Message & Letter Templates > Portal/Profile Changes: Any. The email will be sent to the person, according to their configured message preferences, each day when they have one or more included changes on their account.

Intro Message

This is the message that all people of this type will see when logging into their portal. It's usually used to provide a company specific welcome, instructions, and any other information you want everyone to see as the introduction. Use merge fields from the list to customize the content. Be sure to select On from the Enabled: option to turn this on for portals, then select the Save button.

Special Information

Special information is additional, usually temporary, information that you want portal users to see. This is often used to highlight a holiday office closure, a change in policies/regulations, or special circumstances in a natural disaster. This is edited in the same manner as the Intro Message.

Go to Settings > Portals > Preferences to configure portal preferences. These control portal defaults and settings beyond those otherwise configured. Use the help tips for a detailed explanation of each item.

Website Portal Page

Go to Settings > My Account > Profile & Contacts > Main Contact > Website Portal Page to register the portal page established in your HERO Website. When configured, this will change all default portal links to be specific to your website, embedding functions into your website, with your brand, that would otherwise be unbranded and standalone. Select the help tip for additional information.

Inviting People to Use their Portal

If your message and letter templates include the Website Portal Page merge field (they do by default, but you can add or remove this), when the system message is sent, it includes necessary codes for the user to login (or create a login account, if they don't have one), and connect their managed account (if it's not already connected), via a simple link. There's nothing more you need to do, unless you have a secure authorization code, in which case you need to provide them with this code. You can include the authorization code in a merged message, as desired. Recognize that this is not the highest level of security, as each email message will include the code for someone to authorize themselves, but it is certainly the most convenient. These merge field is generally not included in default templates, as it does degrade your security/access control.

You can also invite users to set up their portal and/or connect their managed account with a portal setup message. Configure the template for this message from Settings > Messages & Letters > System Message & Letter Templates > Portal Setup: Any. 

In each person's profile (summary, and Portal view), an icon displays their current portal status. Hover over the icon for details.

• When portal access is authorized, but not yet established, the icon displays a small envelope. Select the icon to send a system message to the person, based on your configured portal setup template. From this message, the person will create their account and access their managed account, as necessary.
• When portal access is not authorized or not eligible, the icon is red.
• When portal access is authorized and established, the icon is dark. Select the icon to preview their portal account. In general terms, this allows you to see what they would see in their portal. Specifically, it does not include any custom embedding/branding, nor does it include access to functions that only the individual can perform, like changing their login account, or making a payment with a saved payment method where the property manager is not authorized.

Understanding Loginless Functions

Certain portal functions exist as loginless functions. For these, a link is created that authorizes anyone with the link to perform the function, without requiring having or logging in to a portal account. Read the article on loginless portal functions for more information.