Overview
The Supplier Portal lets a supplier confirm, propose changes to, or decline a purchase order (PO) from a single emailed link — no account or password required. Each contact gets their own private link, and Luminous tracks whether it has been opened.
Prerequisites
- Supplier Portal must be enabled for your company. Admins can turn it on at Settings → Purchase Orders. If you are not an admin, you will see a notice in the send dialog prompting you to ask one.
- The supplier must have at least one contact with an email address on file. Go to Manage → Suppliers, open the supplier, and confirm contacts are listed.
Sending a portal link from a purchase order
Step 1 — Open the purchase order
Navigate to Inventory → Purchase Orders and open the PO you want to share.
Step 2 — Open the Send dialog
In the Email to supplier section near the top of the PO, click one of these buttons depending on the current email status:
| Status shown | Button to click |
|---|---|
| Not sent | Send to contacts |
| Already emailed | Send again |
| Last attempt failed | Resend |
Step 3 — Search for and add contacts
The Send Purchase Order dialog opens with a "Search Contact" field. Type a contact's name to see matching stored contacts, then click one to add it — it appears below as a checked entry you can also un-check. Repeat to add more than one contact. There is no default list of pre-selected contacts; you search and add each one you want to email.
Step 4 — Include a portal link
If Supplier Portal is already on: a checkbox labelled Also send a portal link appears and is ticked by default. Leave it ticked to include the portal link alongside the PO email, or untick it to send the PO only.
If Supplier Portal is off and you are an admin: you will see two buttons:
- Send the PO only — sends the PO without a portal link.
- Enable and include a portal link — turns on Supplier Portal company-wide (after a confirmation prompt), then sends the PO and the portal link together.
If Supplier Portal is off and you are not an admin: you will see a notice to ask an admin to enable it under Settings → Purchase Orders.
Step 5 — Send
Click Send. Luminous:
- Emails the PO (as it normally would) to every checked contact.
- Sends a separate portal-link email to each checked contact — one individual link per person.
Sending a portal link directly from the Supplier Response tab
If the supplier has not yet responded, the Supplier Response tab on the PO shows a Send portal link button. Clicking it opens the same send flow described above.
Testing before sending to a real supplier
While Supplier Portal is enabled, a link labelled Email me a test link appears on the PO. Clicking it sends the exact same email and portal link to your own email address so you can preview the full experience. The link is real — anything submitted through it is recorded as the supplier's response — so treat it as you would a live link.
What the supplier receives
Each contact receives an email with:
- From: your company name (the same address Luminous uses for all your outbound email; replies go to your company's configured reply-to address)
- Subject:
Purchase Order PO-[number] — please confirm - Body:
- A greeting using the contact's name
- An explanation that they can review the PO, confirm it, propose different quantities or dates, and upload documents such as a packing slip — with no account or password needed
- A prominent Review purchase order button that opens the supplier portal directly to that PO
- A notice that the link opens the order once and expires in 72 hours, with a request not to forward it (anyone with the link can respond on the supplier's behalf)
- Advice to reply to the email if the link has expired so you can send a new one
How the link works
- Each link is single-use and contact-specific. Once a contact clicks it, the link cannot be used again by anyone else.
- The link expires automatically after 72 hours whether or not it has been opened.
- You can see who currently holds an active link — and when they last opened it — in the Who has a link section of the Supplier Response tab.
- If you need to cut off access immediately, click Revoke access in that same section. This invalidates any unspent links and ends any active sessions for that order.
After the supplier responds
Once the supplier confirms, proposes changes, or declines, a status banner appears at the top of the PO. Open the Supplier Response tab to review their answer, accept or decline individual proposed changes, and then click Notify supplier of decisions to send them a summary email with a fresh link.