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Introducing: The Beacon Portal

David Simpson
April 9, 2021


       The Beacon portal is a new Premium-plan feature that allows the people in your database to access and manage the information you store about them. Supporters, members, and volunteers can now securely update their own records in Beacon.
     

We've built a new form type that allows people in your Beacon database to securely access the data you store about them.  You can choose precisely the fields that they can access, and which fields they can update. And of course, because it's a Beacon form, you can change the colours and add a logo to suit your brand.

You can use the portal for a wide variety of use-cases:













Lets take a quick look at the key features of the Beacon portal:


       1. No password required
     

Logging in to your Beacon portal is really simple.  You create a new form which can be linked to from anywhere or embedded on your site.

Screenshot 2021-04-09 at 07.28.06

People enter their email address and are sent a link via email, which will open the portal form with their details populated. If you have embedded your form the portal form will open in your embedded form space.


       2. Allow access to a person's record
     

The portal presents a simplified and configurable form-like interface for users to view and edit their data.  Think of it as a bit like a pre-populated Beacon form that only shows the fields you want to make available.  You can also choose which fields are editable.

Screen Shot 2021-04-09 at 12.59.54


       3. Allow people to manage and create related records
     

What's even cooler is that you can also show any records that relate to a person's record.  So you can show information about their membership, their payments, or any other record that points to a person in Beacon.  You can also allow people to create new related records.  This is really handy if, for example, you want volunteers to log their work.

Screen Shot 2021-04-09 at 13.00.18


       4. Restrict who can log in
     

Only want people who have an active membership to be able to access your portal? No problem. Creating a portal that's only for volunteers? We've got you covered.  You can restrict who can access any given portal based on a set of filters in Beacon.


       5. The security you would expect from Beacon
     

We've spent a lot of time making sure that this system is every bit as secure as you should expect from Beacon.  For example, there are some special features of the links that are generated:












       6. Pricing
     

The Beacon portal is available now for all customers on a Premium plan. Professional plan customers can purchase the portal as an add-on for an additional monthly fee.


       7. Find out more
     

You can find out more in our article in the Beacon guide. The Beacon portal is live and ready for you to try out right now!

Got questions for us? Fire off an email to david@beaconcrm.org or click the chat button in the bottom right corner of your Beacon dashboard.