The short answer
The supplier portal link is not a merge token or placeholder you insert into your PO email template. It is delivered in a separate email that Luminous sends alongside your normal PO email. If your PO template body contains text like [PO Acknowledgment Link], that text is treated as plain text — Luminous does not recognize it as a token and will print it literally in the email your supplier receives.
How the two-email model works
When you click Send in the Send Purchase Order dialog (with the Also send a portal link checkbox ticked), Luminous sends two separate emails to each selected contact:
- The PO email — your normal purchase order document, rendered from whatever HTML template you have configured.
- The portal-link email — a separate, system-generated email with a Review purchase order button that contains the supplier's one-click portal link.
The portal URL is built and embedded automatically in that second email. You do not need to — and cannot — inject it into the first email using a placeholder.
Why the link arrives in a separate email (not the PO body)
Each supplier contact receives their own unique, single-use link. The link is generated at send time by minting a token specific to that contact. Because the token is contact-specific and created on demand, it cannot be pre-inserted into a reusable PO HTML template. Attempting to share one link with multiple recipients would also mean the first click locks everyone else out.
What the portal-link email looks like
The portal-link email is a fixed, system-rendered message. It contains:
- A greeting using the contact's name
- A brief explanation that the supplier can confirm, propose changes, or upload documents — no account needed
- A prominent Review purchase order button linked to the supplier portal
- A note that the link is single-use and expires in 72 hours
You cannot customise the body of this email from an HTML template; the content is system-generated.
Prerequisites before Luminous will send the portal-link email
All three conditions must be met or the send will fail (or the checkbox will not appear):
| Requirement | Where to configure |
|---|---|
| Supplier Portal must be enabled | Settings → Purchase Orders |
| A supplier portal address (base URL) must be set — either a custom URL in Settings or the platform's default subdomain for your account | Settings → Purchase Orders |
| The supplier must have at least one contact with an email address | Manage → Suppliers → open the supplier → Contacts tab |
If the base URL is missing or not a valid https:// address with no path, Luminous will refuse to send and will show an error: "This account has no supplier portal address configured. Set it under Settings → Purchase Orders before sending a link."
Fixing the "[PO Acknowledgment Link]" literal text problem
- Open Manage → Templates (for your PO document template) or Settings → Purchase Orders → Purchase Order Email Content (for the PO email body).
- Find and remove any text such as
[PO Acknowledgment Link]from the template body — that text is not a recognised placeholder and will always render as-is. - Save the template.
The portal link will continue to be delivered correctly in the separate portal-link email as long as the prerequisites above are met.
Sending a portal link and testing it
- To send a portal link alongside a PO, open the PO, click Send to contacts, tick the Also send a portal link checkbox, select recipients, and click Send.
- To test the experience yourself before involving a real supplier, use the Email me a test link button on the PO. This sends the identical portal-link email to your own address. Note that the test link is real — anything submitted through it is recorded as the supplier's response.
- To send a portal link without the PO email (for example, a follow-up), use the Send portal link button on the Supplier Response tab of the PO.
For more detail on the sending flow and what the supplier sees, see How do I send a supplier a portal link from a purchase order, and what does the supplier receive in their email?