Complete online manual
This page contains the same chapters and operating content as the downloadable PDF. Audience: Customers, authorised organisation requesters and portal administrators
1. Role purpose and access boundary
The Customer / Requester Portal keeps external access separate from internal Service Desk roles. It lets an authenticated requester create and follow authorised tickets without exposing staff-only work, other organisations, internal analytics or configuration.
Who should receive this access
Provide portal access only to a verified requester linked to the correct Service Desk customer or organisation. Organisation-wide visibility must be authorised by the customer's own access policy; otherwise keep the requester limited to their own submitted tickets.
What this role can see
- Tickets submitted by the requester
- Tickets for the requester's organisation where that broader access is authorised and configured
- Ticket number, subject, description, lifecycle status and public conversation
- Assigned technician name where the portal exposes it
- Customer-visible attachments
- Onsite/visit information stored for the customer workflow
- Quotes or proposals requiring customer attention where Pro and the workflow provide them
- Signature and sign-off requests
What this role can do
- Create a support request
- Review authorised tickets
- Send a public reply
- Provide requested information
- Upload customer-visible supporting files where attachments are enabled
- Download customer-visible files
- Review a quote or proposal through the provided action
- Review work and complete the provided sign-off process
- Ask the Service Desk to correct account or organisation access
What this role cannot do
- See internal notes
- See staff-only or technician-only attachments
- See another customer or unauthorised organisation's tickets
- See technician workload or performance
- See staff analytics, internal escalation details or audit records
- Assign staff or change internal ownership
- Change Service Desk settings, integrations, roles or credentials
- Use an internal Service Desk WordPress role
3. Daily operating routine
Use a consistent routine so ownership, communication and audit records remain current.
Start of day or session
- Open the approved portal URL
- Check identity and organisation
- Review new Service Desk replies or status changes
- Check requests for information, quote action, visit details or sign-off
- Use one ticket for each continuing issue
During the day
- Reply on the existing ticket
- Answer the exact information request
- Upload only relevant and sanitised files
- Keep visit/contact details current
- Record the ticket number when contacting support through another channel
End of day or session
- Confirm replies and files appear on the correct ticket
- Note the current status and next-action owner
- Avoid creating a duplicate for an existing issue
- Remove downloaded sensitive files from shared devices
- Sign out on shared or public devices
4. Primary workflow
Submit one complete request, keep all updates on its public conversation and complete any customer action securely.
Customer ticket procedure
- Search the portal for an existing ticket about the same issue.
- Create a request only when no existing ticket should be continued.
- Enter a clear subject, description, affected product/service and business impact.
- Add contact, site, quote or onsite information only when relevant.
- Attach a sanitised customer-visible file and explain what it shows.
- Submit once and retain the ticket number.
- Use the public reply area for updates and requested information.
- Review the resolution, quote or visit result and complete sign-off only when it matches the work.
Decision and quality rules
- Continue an existing issue on its existing ticket
- Never place passwords, access tokens or unnecessary private information in a ticket
- A public reply is visible to authorised customer and staff users
- Only upload a file the intended customer audience may receive
- Do not approve a quote or sign-off until the details match the agreed work
- Report unexpected access immediately
5. Communication, notes and records
Create records that another authorised person can understand without relying on memory or a separate email.
Record standards
| Record | Required content |
|---|---|
| New request | Clear issue, impact, affected service, environment and desired outcome |
| Public reply | Requested answer, current result and any timing constraint |
| Attachment | Purpose, safe contents and relationship to the issue |
| Onsite details | Current site, contact, access and scheduling information |
| Quote/sign-off | Correct ticket, reviewed scope/result and authorised customer decision |
Visibility rules
| Content | This role's access or responsibility |
|---|---|
| Own/authorised organisation tickets | Visible according to the linked customer relationship |
| Public replies | Visible |
| Customer-visible attachments | Visible/downloadable through authorised controls |
| Internal notes and staff files | Hidden |
| Other customers, staff analytics and workload | Hidden |
| Settings, roles and credentials | Hidden |
Information protection
- Use a named account and protect its password
- Do not include credentials or full licence keys unless the approved process explicitly requires them
- Remove unrelated people and data from screenshots
- Check that an attachment belongs to the correct ticket
- Do not forward portal links or downloaded files to unauthorised recipients
- Report incorrect organisation or ticket visibility immediately
6. Handover and escalation
Escalate work with enough verified context for the next authorised role to act safely.
Escalate when
- The visible identity or organisation is wrong
- An unknown ticket or another customer's data appears
- An internal note or staff-only file is visible
- A public reply or customer file cannot be accessed
- A visit, quote or sign-off does not match the request
- The portal is unavailable or login recovery fails
Handover procedure
- Record the ticket number and portal account email.
- Describe the expected and actual result.
- State the page/action and time.
- Provide a sanitised screenshot only when necessary.
- Do not send passwords, tokens or unrelated ticket content.
- Confirm the Service Desk owner and next update channel.
Escalation evidence
- Ticket number
- Account email and expected organisation
- Page/action and timestamp
- Exact non-secret message
- Browser/device type
- Sanitised screenshot if approved
7. Access problems and recovery
Identify expected restrictions before treating them as faults.
Access troubleshooting
| Problem | Check or action |
|---|---|
| No tickets appear | Confirm the correct account and customer/organisation link |
| A submitted ticket is missing | Refresh once, check confirmation and give Support the ticket number |
| Cannot upload a file | Check that attachments are enabled, extension/size is allowed and the file is safe |
| Download is denied | Confirm the account is authorised and the file is customer-visible |
| Quote/sign-off action missing | Confirm Pro is active and the ticket currently requires that customer action |
| Unknown ticket appears | Stop viewing and report a possible access issue immediately |
Do not bypass the role model
- Do not create an internal WordPress role for a customer
- Do not use another person's customer account
- Do not alter ticket or download URLs
- Do not repeatedly submit when the result is uncertain
- Do not send sensitive attachments through an unapproved fallback channel
8. Quick reference and review
Use this checklist during onboarding, supervision and periodic access review.
Role checklist
- Named requester account
- Correct customer/organisation link
- Expected ticket scope
- Public content only
- Create/reply/file flow tested
- Quote/visit/sign-off tested where used
- Privacy escalation route known
Periodic review
- Confirm the requester still belongs to the customer/organisation.
- Confirm own-ticket or organisation-wide scope remains appropriate.
- Review recent portal access and customer-visible files.
- Disable leavers and remove unnecessary organisation authority.
- Repeat cross-customer and internal-content isolation tests.
Related master documentation
- Service Desk Free Detailed User Guide
- Service Desk Pro Detailed User Guide
- Service Desk Free Implementation Guide
- Service Desk Pro Implementation Guide