Customer tracking portal
The customer tracking portal is a page where a customer can follow their own order without an account. They open a link, type a PIN, and see the order's progress, items, amounts, shipments, and any claims or returns. You create the link on the order and send it to the customer.
Where to find it: open an order from Sales → Orders → Order list. The Customer portal card is on the Order tab, in the right-hand column. The same card appears on a claim or return opened from Sales → Claims & returns → All.
When you'll use it
- A customer keeps asking where their order is, and you want them to check it themselves.
- You want the customer to see how their claim or return is going.
- A link went to the wrong person and has to stop working.
- A link expired, and the customer needs a new one.
Key concepts
- Link and PIN. The customer needs both. The PIN has six digits and is created together with the link.
- Valid for 30 days. After that, the link stops working, and you can create a new one.
- One link per order. An order has at most one working link. A claim or return uses the link of its order. There is no separate link for it.
- For reading only. The customer can only look. They cannot change the order, pay, or open a claim in the portal.
- In the customer's language. The link opens in the language of the delivery country, when Complaia has that language, and in English otherwise. The customer can switch the language and switch between a light and a dark look at the top of the page. The language you work in does not matter.
- Not the same as a shipment's tracking page. Each shipment also has its own public tracking page, without a PIN. It is described in Delivery & tracking. The portal covers the whole order and links to those pages.
The screen
The Customer portal card
Without a link, the card says No active link. and offers Generate customer portal.
With a link, the card's header shows Active and the date until which the link is valid. The card shows:
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Customer PIN | The six digits, with a copy button |
| Link | A shortened address, with buttons to copy it and to open it in a new browser tab. Hover over it to see the full address |
| Last sent | When the e-mail was last sent. Shown after the first send |
| Send email | Opens the window that sends the link to the customer |
| Bin icon | Deactivates the link |
Everyone who can open the order sees the card. The buttons need the Orders: customer portal permission.
On a claim or return, the card shows the link of the order the case belongs to. It has no Send email button and no expiry date. To send the link, open the order.
📷 Screenshot to add: the Customer portal card on an order with an active link, showing the PIN digits, the shortened link and the buttons
What the customer sees
First, the customer sees a page titled Order access. They type the six digits and click Enter the portal. After the correct PIN, the page shows:
| Part of the page | Content |
|---|---|
| Top card | The order's status, a sentence about where the order is, a progress bar, and the order number with a copy button |
| Order progress | Four steps: received, in progress, shipped and delivered, each with the date it was reached. A step reached only partly is marked as such. A cancelled order shows that it was cancelled instead |
| Items | Each item with its photo, name, quantity and gross value. Items covered by a claim or return carry a small marker. Product attributes, such as variant options, are not shown |
| Totals | Net value, VAT, discount, delivery cost and total. A row without an amount is left out |
| Your claims and returns | Each case with its number, type, status, resolution, reason, the items it covers, the refund amount and when it was paid out |
| Shipments | Each shipment of the order, except cancelled ones and pickups from the customer: the carrier (or own transport or personal pickup), the status and the tracking number. Links lead to the shipment's tracking page and to the carrier's website |
| Payment | The payment status, and the amount paid or the order value |
| Order details | The customer's details and the delivery address |
| Help | Your company name, with buttons to call or write to you. The phone and e-mail come from Logistics → Deliveries and notifications. See Delivery & tracking |
Internal comments, the internal note of a claim or return, and the note explaining a decision are never shown.
The customer stays signed in for two hours, or until they close the browser tab. After that, the page asks for the PIN again.
📷 Screenshot to add: the customer's view of an order in the portal, with the top card, the order progress and the items
Common tasks
Create a link
- Open the order.
- On the Customer portal card, click Generate customer portal. A message shows the PIN. The card shows the PIN, the link and the date until which it is valid.
Send the link by e-mail
- On the Customer portal card, click Send email.
- Check the Email address and correct it if needed. It is filled in with the customer's e-mail address from the order.
- Click Send email. You see Email sent successfully.
The e-mail contains your company name, a button that opens the link, the PIN and the date until which the link is valid. You can send it again after one hour.
Send the link another way
- On the card, click the copy button next to Link and paste the link into your message.
- Click the copy button next to Customer PIN and paste the PIN too. The customer needs both.
Switch a link off
- On the card, click the bin icon.
- Confirm in Deactivate the portal?
The link and the PIN stop working at once, for the order and for all its claims and returns. A customer who already has the page open is sent back to the PIN page the next time the page loads.
Replace a link
When the link has expired: the card shows No active link. again. Click Generate customer portal, then send the new link and PIN to the customer.
When the link still works, for example because it went to the wrong person:
- Click the bin icon and confirm.
- Click Generate customer portal. A new link and a new PIN are created.
- Send them to the customer.
When it doesn't work
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The card shows the link, but no buttons | Your role lacks Orders: customer portal | Ask an administrator to add it |
| A message was sent a moment ago. Wait a few minutes before sending another one. | An e-mail for this link was sent less than an hour ago | Wait, or copy the link and the PIN and send them yourself |
| An error after clicking Generate customer portal on a claim or return | The buttons are shown there to everyone, but they need Orders: customer portal | Ask a colleague with the permission, or ask an administrator |
| The customer sees Invalid PIN. Check the email message. | The PIN was mistyped, or it belongs to an older link | Read the current PIN from the card and give it to them again |
| The customer sees Invalid or inactive link. or The link has expired. Contact the seller. | The link was deactivated, replaced or expired, or the address was copied incompletely | Send the current link from the card, or create a new one |
| The customer sees Too many attempts. Please try again later. | More than 20 tries in five minutes from the same internet connection. Every try counts, also a correct one | They wait the few minutes shown on the page and try again |
| The customer is back on the PIN page without a message | Two hours passed, the tab was closed, or the link was deactivated | They type the PIN again. If the link was replaced, send the new one |
| The customer's page is in English although they are abroad | Complaia has no translation for the delivery country's language | The customer can choose another language at the top of the page |
| The Shipments section is missing on the customer's page | The order has no shipment yet, or all its shipments are cancelled | Nothing to do. The section appears once a shipment exists |
| The reason of a claim is in another language on the customer's page | The portal shows the reason as it was saved, in the language of the person who opened the case | Nothing you can change on the case |
Permissions
| To do this | You need |
|---|---|
| See the card with the link and the PIN | Orders: View |
| Generate a link, send the e-mail, deactivate the link | Orders: customer portal |
Related
- Orders — where the card is
- Fulfilment & shipments — what moves the status the customer watches
- Claims & returns — the cases the customer sees in the portal
- Delivery & tracking — the tracking page of a single shipment, delivery notifications and the contact details for customers
- Glossary: order-portal PIN