How to Create a Contract Ordering Portal

If you’re a contract decorator, a common workflow is allowing customers to supply their own garments or products. Instead of handling these orders through back-and-forth emails, you can create a password-protected ordering portal in DecoNetwork that lets contract clients submit quotes or orders directly – saving time, reducing errors, and streamlining approvals.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why use a contract ordering portal
• Step 1: Update customer supplied product availability
• Step 2: Add customer supplied products to the website
• Step 3: Send customers directly to the design tool
• Step 4: (Optional) Enable quote-only mode
• Step 5: Password-protect the ordering portal
• Step 6: Manage customer accounts and payment terms
• Step 7: (Optional) Use contract price levels
• Best-practice tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional Resources

Prerequisites

Why use a contract ordering portal

A contract ordering portal replaces manual email-based ordering with a secure, self-service workflow for your contract clients.

• Reduces order entry time and manual errors
• Allows customers to submit complete quote requests themselves
• Keeps all artwork, quantities, and details attached to the order
• Supports customer-supplied products without blank pricing
• Gives you full control through password protection and pricing rules

Step 1: Update customer supplied product availability

1. Go to Products → Product Groups.
2. Open your Customer Supplied product group.
3. Under Availability, allow the products to be available in:
   • Business Hub
   • Web Stores
4. Deny availability for all stores except the specific contract portal store.

Step 2: Add customer supplied products to the website

1. Go to Websites → Edit Website.
2. Open Website Pages and add a Blank Product Listing widget.
3. Select the Customer Supplied category.
4. Choose to display only essential details (such as the product name).

Step 3: Send customers directly to the design tool

For contract ordering portals, there’s no need for a traditional product details page.

When customers click the customer supplied product, they should be taken directly into the Online Designer, where they can:

• Add artwork
• Select decoration options
• Submit their order or quote request

Step 4: (Optional) Enable quote-only mode

1. Go to Website Settings → Price Settings.
2. Enable Quote Only Mode.

In quote-only mode, customers submit a quote request instead of placing a payable order. The request appears in Business Hub as a quote, which you can finalize and send back for approval.

Step 5: Password-protect the ordering portal

1. Go to Store Configuration → Customer Options.
2. Override the default settings.
3. Require customers to be logged in to view the website.
4. Choose one of the following:
   • Allow customers to log in with their own username and password
   • Use a shared, generic site password (for example, contract)

Step 6: Manage customer accounts and payment terms

1. Create customer accounts manually in Customers.
2. Assign each customer to the correct contract portal website.
3. Apply Net Terms if the customer purchases on account.
4. Set a maximum outstanding balance to control credit limits.

Step 7: (Optional) Use contract price levels

Contract price levels allow you to charge different decoration pricing and remove blank product costs for customer supplied items.

Decoration pricing

• Create a Contract price level.
• Assign contract-specific price tables to decoration processes (screen printing, embroidery, etc.).

Zeroing out blank prices (advanced)

1. Go to Products → Supplier Product Markup.
2. Use Tiered Markup (not fixed markup).
3. Select the Contract price level.
4. Set the markup to -100%.

This removes the blank product price entirely, ensuring the customer is charged only for decoration.

Best-practice tips

• Use quote-only mode when pricing or artwork frequently changes
• Restrict product availability to avoid accidental public ordering
• Assign contract price levels at both the customer and website level
• Keep customer supplied products simple and generic

Troubleshooting

• Product not showing on the site: Check for product-level availability overrides.
• Blank prices still visible: Confirm tiered markup is used and set to -100%.
• Customer can’t log in: Ensure the customer is assigned to the correct website.

FAQs

Is a contract ordering portal different from a regular store?
Yes. The key difference is password protection and contract-specific pricing.

Do customers have to pay when submitting orders?
No. You can enable quote-only mode so no payment is required until approval.

Can I mix customer supplied and normal products?
Yes. Using a contract price level with a -100% blank markup allows standard products to appear with a zero blank cost.

Additional Resources

• Creating customer supplied products
• Setting up contract price levels
• Managing website access and customer login settings