This guide walks you through the six steps to get your portal set up and ready for your first partner. You'll find this process as a proposed checklist on your dashboard when you sign in:
1. Set your currency
Your program currency applies to all commission calculations and partner payouts. This setting locks permanently after your first payment is processed, so confirm your choice before going live.
2. Add your logo and customize colors
Before inviting partners, make your portal reflect your brand. You can set your primary color — used in the sidebar, sign-in page, and links — along with additional colors for lead and opportunity status indicators. A live preview updates as you make changes.
You'll also upload two versions of your logo (one on a white background, one on your primary color) and a favicon. All uploads must be in .png format.
3. Configure program settings and terms
Program settings let you describe how your partner program works, set your commission structure, and define partner tiers based on revenue performance. You can mark these details as public so prospective partners see them on your sign-in page before registering.
Program terms are optional. If your program requires partners to agree to a set of terms at registration, upload them under Partner Program → Program Terms. The same terms apply to all partners — they cannot be customized per partner. If you manage agreements outside the portal (e.g. via DocuSign), you can disable this section and attach signed documents directly to partner accounts instead.
4. Invite your team (optional)
If others on your team need access to the admin side of the portal, invite them from Accounts & Settings → Team. Only Portal Owners can add team members. You can assign each person a role to control their level of access and visibility.
5. Connect a CRM or revenue tracking integration (optional)
Connecting your CRM lets you sync partner-referred leads directly into your pipeline and automate revenue tracking for commission calculations. PartnerPortal integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Zoho. For accounting and automated revenue import, you can connect QuickBooks.
6. Invite your first partner
You're ready to bring partners on board. There are two ways to do it:
Self-registration: Share your portal's registration link (yourcompanyname.partnerportal.io/register) and let partners sign up on their own. You'll receive a notification and must manually approve each request — automatic approval is not supported.
Direct invite: Go to the Partners tab, click Invite, and add partners by email. You can also bulk-invite using a CSV file.
Only one person per partner company should register. Once they're in, they can invite the rest of their team themselves.
What's next?
Once your first partner is active, here are some useful next steps:
Customize your lead registration form — add custom fields to the lead submission form
Configure lead phases — define your pipeline stages
Understand payments and commissions — configure how and when partners get paid