Skip to content

Guides

Guides gives you direct access to the 3 Clicks Cloud documentation for the Supplier Portal. Click Guides in the left navigation menu to open this documentation site, where you will find step-by-step instructions, feature explanations, and troubleshooting help for every area of the portal.

Use the guides below as a starting point. Each one explains a common supplier workflow and how it connects to instance users — the internal staff at your customer's organisation who create orders, share costings, post comments, and manage production on their side of the platform.

Quick Check - Before You Start
  • Identify which customer connection you are working with — many suppliers collaborate with more than one brand.
  • If a module or record is missing, ask your customer's instance user (for example, a buyer or production manager) to confirm your Supplier Portal role and sharing settings.
  • Open Guides from the left menu whenever you need a refresher on a feature you have not used recently.

How the Supplier Portal Relates to Instance Users

The Supplier Portal and your customer's Production Portal (used by instance users) are two sides of the same platform. Instance users work inside their organisation's instance — creating styles, raising orders, requesting quotes, and tracking compliance. You work in the Supplier Portal, where only the records and tasks your customer has shared with your supplier account are visible.

You do in the Supplier Portal Instance users do in the Production Portal
View orders, styles, costings, claims, and compliance shared with you Create records and assign your supplier as the factory or agent
Enter quote prices and sample costs Review submitted quotes and approve or award costings
Download tech packs and manuals from Drive Upload files and share them to your supplier connection
Reply to comments and send Chat messages Post comments, mention your team, and message you directly
Review Activity for status changes and updates Change statuses, upload files, and trigger notifications you receive

View-Only Access by Default

Most Supplier Portal applications are view-only. Instance users control which modules you can see through the Supplier Portal role assigned on your supplier record in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers. If you need access to an area that is not visible, contact your customer's administrator or the instance user who manages your account.

The following five guides cover the workflows suppliers use most often. Each guide explains what you should do, what your customer's instance users do on their side, and where to find full documentation.

1. Getting Connected — How Instance Users Grant You Portal Access

Before you can view orders, costings, or any other shared data, an instance user at your customer's organisation must connect your supplier account to their company.

Why this matters: Without a valid connection and role assignment, your Dashboard counts will stay at zero and no records will appear — even if your customer intends to work with you.

What instance users do:

  1. Send you an invitation email or add your registered supplier account in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers.
  2. Assign a Supplier Portal role that controls which modules you can access (for example Order, Style, or Costing with View enabled).
  3. Link your supplier to styles, orders, costings, and other records as the factory or agent.

What you do:

  1. Accept the invitation and complete your supplier registration if you are new to the platform.
  2. Log in to the Supplier Portal and confirm your customer's name appears on the Dashboard and in Activity.
  3. Ask your customer's contact which modules you should have access to if any area is missing.

Go deeper:

2. Submitting Quotes on Shared Costings

When an instance user shares a costing with your supplier account, you can enter buy prices and quantities in the Quotes workspace. Your customer uses the same costing on their side to compare quotes, negotiate, and award production.

Why this matters: Timely, accurate quotes keep product development moving. Incomplete or missing rows can delay approval on the instance user's side.

What instance users do:

  1. Create a costing and assign styles, colourways, and quantities for quoting.
  2. Share the costing with your supplier account.
  3. Review submitted prices, add comments, and award or reject quotes.

What you do:

  1. Open Quotes from the left menu and select the costing shared with you.
  2. Work through each style in the left panel — enter buy price and quantity for every required row.
  3. Use the Show completed styles toggle to hide or reveal styles you have already finished quoting.
  4. Watch for comment notifications or Activity updates if the instance user requests changes.
Progress indicator Meaning
1/3 rows filled Quote is partially complete — outstanding rows remain
3/3 rows filled All quote rows are complete — style is finished
0/0 rows No quote rows are configured yet — contact the instance user

Go deeper:

3. Tracking Customer Updates in Activity

The Activity feed is your central inbox for changes made by instance users and your own teammates. Instead of opening every order or style individually, you can scan one feed for status changes, new comments, file uploads, and critical path updates.

Why this matters: Instance users often move quickly — updating order statuses, uploading revised tech packs, or posting questions on a style. The Activity feed helps you respond before deadlines are missed.

What instance users do:

  1. Change record statuses (for example, order milestones or sample approvals).
  2. Upload files and post comments on shared records.
  3. Trigger notifications that appear in your Activity feed with their name shown as the Instance user.

What you do:

  1. Open Activity from the left menu.
  2. Filter by Only Unread, Comments, Files, or Status to focus on what needs attention.
  3. Use Reply to respond to a comment directly from the feed, or Open to view the full thread in context.
  4. Mark items as read or use Mark all as read after catching up.

Your Own Actions Are Not Listed

The Activity feed shows actions taken by others — primarily instance users at your customer's organisation and your supplier teammates. Your own comments and updates will not appear in this feed.

Go deeper:

4. Communicating With Instance Users — Chat vs Comments

The Supplier Portal offers two main ways to communicate with instance users. Choosing the right channel keeps conversations organised and ensures the right people are notified.

Why this matters: A pricing question on a specific style belongs in a record comment so it stays attached to that style. A general production scheduling discussion may be better suited to Chat.

Channel Best for Visible to
Comments on a record Questions about a specific order, style, costing, claim, or compliance item Instance users and supplier staff with access to that record
Chat Direct or group messaging about general topics, quick clarifications, or file exchange Selected participants in the conversation
Activity Reviewing what changed — not for starting new discussions Your supplier account only

What instance users do:

  1. Post comments on records and @mention your team to draw attention.
  2. Send Chat messages from Messages in their Production Portal.
  3. Receive notifications when you reply or send a new message.

What you do:

  1. For record-specific topics, open the relevant application, scroll to Comments, and post or reply in the thread.
  2. For direct messaging, open Chat from the left menu or the chat icon in the navigation bar.
  3. Attach files in Chat when you need to share documents outside a specific record (up to 500 MB per file).

Go deeper:

5. Keeping Your Supplier Profile Current for Your Customers

Instance users rely on accurate supplier information when planning production, evaluating capacity, and selecting vendors. Details you maintain in Settings flow back to your customer's Site Settings › Company › Suppliers record.

Why this matters: Outdated contact details, missing staff accounts, or blank capacity figures make it harder for instance users to plan orders and reach the right person on your team.

What instance users see from your profile:

Information you maintain How instance users use it
Company details (name, address, contact) Identify and contact your organisation
Logo and profile Recognise your company in the supplier directory and on shared records
Monthly loading capacity Plan order volumes against your stated production limits
Staff accounts Know who on your team is active and reachable in the portal
Product images and manufacturing tags Filter and evaluate suppliers during sourcing

What you do:

  1. Open Settings and review Company Details, Monthly Capacity, and Staff regularly.
  2. Invite colleagues who need portal access so instance users can reach the right contacts.
  3. Update capacity and product information when your production capabilities change.

Go deeper:

What Else You Can Find in the Documentation

Beyond the guides above, the documentation covers the full range of Supplier Portal features, including:

  • Viewing and responding to orders, costings, samples, and claims
  • Monitoring compliance requirements and critical path activities
  • Downloading files and manuals shared by your customer through Drive
  • Managing favourite searches, notifications, and personal account settings
  • Troubleshooting common access and visibility issues

Troubleshooting

I was invited but cannot see any orders or costings

Your account may be connected, but instance users still need to share specific records with your supplier and assign the correct Supplier Portal role.

Steps to resolve:

  1. Confirm you accepted the invitation and are logged in to the correct Supplier Portal account.
  2. Check the Dashboard — if all counts are zero, no records have been shared yet.
  3. Contact your customer's instance user and ask them to verify your Supplier Portal role in Site Settings › Company › Suppliers and confirm the relevant records are assigned to your supplier.
An instance user says they sent a costing, but I cannot find it in Quotes

The costing may not be shared with your supplier account, or your role may not include access to Costing.

Steps to resolve:

  1. Open Quotes directly and check whether the costing appears in the list.
  2. Review Activity for recent file or status notifications from that customer.
  3. Ask the instance user to confirm the costing is shared with your supplier and that your role includes View access for Costing.
How do I know which instance user made a change?

The Activity feed displays the Instance user name on each notification — this is the internal staff member at your customer's organisation who performed the action.

Steps to resolve:

  1. Open Activity from the left menu.
  2. Locate the relevant notification and read the Instance user field.
  3. Use Reply or Chat to follow up with that contact if you need clarification.