01 · Getting started
This page walks you through your first sign-in to the KW Group platform and the global navigation that's available everywhere.
What you need
- A user account on the portal — your administrator will send an invite by email. The invite link sets your initial password.
- A modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari from the last two years).
- For 2FA: an authenticator app (Authy, Google Authenticator, 1Password).
URLs
Your platform is reached at one of these URLs depending on what you do:
| URL | Audience |
|---|---|
https://portal.kwgroup.org.uk |
Internal staff (the main portal) |
https://support.kwgroup.uk |
External customers raising tickets |
https://crm.kwgroup.uk |
Customer-facing CRM access |
https://kb.kwgroup.uk |
Public knowledge base |
https://esign.kwgroup.uk |
E-sign recipient pages |
End users only need the portal URL. The other domains exist so that external visitors don't see the internal navigation.
Logging in
- Open the portal URL in your browser.
- Enter your email and password from the invite email.
- If you have 2FA enabled on your account, you'll be prompted for a 6-digit code from your authenticator app.
If your administrator has configured single sign-on (Google, Microsoft, Okta or generic OpenID), an or continue with row of SSO buttons appears below the sign-in form.
ASCII layout of the login screen:
+------------------------------------------------+
| KW Platform |
| |
| Work email |
| [ email ] |
| Password Forgot? |
| [ password ] |
| [x] Keep me signed in on this device |
| |
| [ Sign in ] |
+------------------------------------------------+
📷 Screenshot placeholder: screenshots/login.png
Forgot password
Click Forgot password and enter your email. A reset link is sent provided the address is recognised. Reset links expire after 60 minutes.
Setting up 2FA
- Open Account settings from the user menu (top-right), via
/profile/settings. - Start the 2FA setup.
- Scan the QR code with your authenticator app.
- Enter the 6-digit code shown by the app to confirm and enable 2FA.
Once enabled, every subsequent sign-in asks for a 6-digit code after your password.
⚠️ Caution. Keep your authenticator app backed up. The platform does not currently issue printable recovery codes, so if you lose the authenticator an administrator has to reset 2FA on your account.
Global navigation
After login you land on the dashboard. The navigation surface has three parts:
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
| ☰ ⊞ | KW Group · Helpdesk [search] [☼] [🔔] [📞] [tenant ▾] [user ▾]
| top +----------------------------------------------+
| | |
| sidebr | Page content |
| (this | |
| app's | |
| sub- | |
| nav) | |
+--------+----------------------------------------------+
📷 Screenshot placeholder: screenshots/portal-shell.png
Top bar
Left-to-right:
- Hamburger (☰) — toggle the sidebar between collapsed (icons only) and expanded (icons + labels). Your preference persists across sessions.
- Launcher (⊞, the 9-dot grid) — opens the app launcher. This is how you move between modules (see below).
- App chip — shows the name of the app you're currently in (e.g. "Helpdesk").
- Search — global search.
- Theme toggle (☼) — switch between light and dark.
- Notifications (🔔) — your notification bell.
- Phone (📞) — softphone toggle. See Calls.
- Tenant switcher — switch between organisations you belong to. See Multi-tenancy. Hidden if you only belong to one.
- User menu — profile, settings, sign out.
The app launcher (9-dot grid)
The platform does not have one long sidebar of every module. Instead, the 9-dot launcher in the top bar opens a grid of all the apps your licence enables, grouped into:
- Operations — Helpdesk, RMM, Uptime, Assets
- Sales & customers — CRM, Customers, Billing, E-Sign, Marketing
- Delivery — Projects, Calendar, Meetings, Timesheets
- Knowledge & people — Knowledge base, People, Vault, Design studio
- Communications & system — Team chat, Softphone, Call log, API explorer, Admin
Pick a tile to enter that app.
Sidebar
The sidebar is contextual — it shows the sub-navigation for whichever app you're currently in, not a global list. Moving to a different app via the launcher swaps the sidebar contents. For example, inside Helpdesk the sidebar lists ticket queues (All open, Assigned to me, SLA breached, …) plus your saved views; inside RMM it lists Devices, Alerts, Scripts, and so on.
⚠️ Caution. If an app you expect is missing from the launcher it's almost always because that feature isn't enabled in your licence. Admins can review enabled features under Admin → Licence and, on multi-tenant installs, toggle them per tenant under Admin → Tenants → Features. See Licence.
Tenant switcher
If you belong to more than one organisation (e.g. a parent admin tenancy and a customer tenancy) the dropdown lists all of them. The active tenancy is shown in bold. Selecting another tenancy reloads the portal in that context — your URL bar stays the same; only your data scope changes.
User menu
- My profile (
/profile) — name, avatar, contact details - Account settings (
/profile/settings) — password and 2FA - Sign out
Profile
/profile lets you update your account photo, contact details, and
notes that are visible to colleagues across the platform.
Account-level settings such as your password and two-factor
authentication live under Account settings (/profile/settings).
Avatars are stored in MinIO (object storage).
📷 Screenshot placeholder: screenshots/profile.png
Keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd/Ctrl + K |
Focus global search |
What next?
- New here? Read Portal overview.
- Need to do something specific? Jump to the relevant operator guide from the README.