Getting Started with Journeybee

This checklist is for workspace admins setting up Journeybee for the first time. Follow the steps in order to avoid redoing stages, fields, portal access, or commission settings later.

You do not need to configure every feature before launch. Start with the essentials, test everything with one partner, then add optional features as your program grows.

Setup checklist

Confirm your partnership types
Complete your company details
Invite your internal team
Review partner and deal stages
Add categories, tiers, and custom fields
Apply your branding
Review your portal rooms and access rules
Add partner-facing resources
Configure any optional workflows and integrations
Test the experience with one partner
Invite the rest of your partner network

1. Confirm your partnership types

Go to Settings → Modules & AI.

Enable the partnership types your program uses:

Referral for partners who send leads or opportunities to you
Reseller for partners who sell your products or services

Partnership types affect the stages, categories, tiers, custom fields, and portal rooms available elsewhere in Journeybee. Set these first so you are configuring the correct program.

Some modules are managed by Journeybee. Contact support if a feature you need is listed as managed or is not available in your workspace.

2. Complete your company details

Go to Settings → Company and review:

Company name
Website
Company description
Contact email and phone number
Country
Currency
Date format
Time format

Set your currency before configuring commissions or payments.

Next, go to Settings → Team to invite colleagues who will manage your partner program. Give each person the access level they need rather than sharing an admin account.

3. Review your program structure

Partner and deal stages

Go to Settings → Stages.

Journeybee creates default stages for new workspaces, so you usually need to review and adjust them rather than create everything from scratch.

Use the two tabs for different parts of your program:

Partners tracks the relationship with a partner, such as Invited, Onboarding, or Published.
Deals tracks the progress of an opportunity, such as New, In Progress, Won, or Lost.

Make sure the stages match the language and process your team already uses.

Categories, tiers, and tags

Go to Settings → Categories & Tiers.

Use:

Categories to group partners by type, industry, region, specialisation, or another meaningful segment
Tiers to represent program levels such as Registered, Silver, Gold, or Platinum
Tags for flexible labels that help with filtering and portal access

Categories and tiers are configured separately for each partnership type. Only add values your team will actively use.

4. Configure your fields

Go to Settings → Custom Fields.

Review the fields for:

Partners
Leads
Deals
Contacts

Add custom fields only when Journeybee does not already provide the information you need. Clear, consistent fields make reporting and integrations easier later.

When configuring a field:

Visible controls whether the field appears.
Required means the record cannot be submitted without a value.
Shared allows the partner to see the field in their portal.

Use required fields carefully. Too many required fields can slow down your team and make partner forms harder to complete.

5. Apply your branding

Go to Settings → Branding to configure the appearance of your partner portal.

Review:

Brand colours
Navigation logo
Logo variants
Background image
Favicon

Use images that remain clear on both light and dark backgrounds.

If you want to use your own portal domain, go to Settings → Partner Portal. Custom domains are not configured under Branding.

Journeybee will show the DNS records you need to add, including the required CNAME and TXT records. Domain verification may take time after the records are added.

6. Review your partner portal

Go to Portals.

Journeybee creates the core portal rooms for new workspaces. Review the existing rooms before creating new ones. Depending on your enabled modules, these may include Overview, Leads, Deals, Payments, Projects, Resources, Contacts, Messages, Brand Guidelines, and Shared Files.

For each room, check:

Content: Does the page tell partners what to do?
Status: A room must be Live before partners can use it.
Access: Should every partner see it, or only specific stages, categories, tiers, tags, or partners?
Navigation: Is the room name clear to someone outside your company?

A partner must match all access conditions applied to a room. If a room has no restrictions, it is available to every eligible partner.

Keep the first version of your portal focused. It is better to launch a small number of useful rooms than a large portal filled with empty pages.

7. Add partner-facing resources

Go to Resources.

Add the material partners need to work with your team, such as:

Program guides
Product information
Sales presentations
Brand assets
Training material
Campaign templates
Legal or compliance documents

Use folders to keep the library easy to browse. You can create resources individually or use Bulk Upload when adding several files.

Before publishing a resource, check:

Whether it should be Shared with partners or kept Internal
Whether it should remain Draft or be set to Live
Which partners should have access
Whether the title makes sense without internal context

8. Configure optional workflows

Set up only the features your program needs.

Forms

Use Settings → Forms to create partner application forms or lead forms. Configure your fields before building forms so submissions collect the right information.

Commissions

Use Settings → Commissions if you pay partners for successful deals. Confirm your currency and deal stages first, then create the relevant commission schemes and incentives.

Integrations

Use Settings → Integrations to connect the systems your team already uses, such as your CRM, communication tools, email provider, or payment provider.

Before enabling a sync, decide which system owns each piece of data. This helps prevent duplicate records and unexpected updates.

9. Add a pilot partner

Go to Partners and select Add partner.

A partner company name and valid contact email are required. Complete any additional fields your workspace marks as required.

Choose how to create the partnership:

Create as Offline Partnership adds the partner without sending an invitation.
Send Invitation creates the partnership and invites the contact to the portal.

Use one trusted partner or an internal test contact for your first invitation. Add the correct partnership type, stage, category, tier, tags, and portal access.

10. Test the partner experience

Open the pilot partner and select Go to partner portal.

Check the experience from the partner’s point of view:

The invitation arrives and the sign-in flow works.
The correct branding appears.
Only the intended rooms are visible.
Room names and instructions are clear.
Shared resources are available.
Internal resources remain hidden.
Forms, lead submission, and deal workflows work as expected.
Required fields are reasonable and understandable.

Fix any issues before inviting the rest of your partner network.

11. Launch your program

Once the pilot experience works:

Add or import the next group of partners.
Assign the correct stages, categories, tiers, and tags.
Send invitations in manageable groups.
Check that partners can sign in and find what they need.
Use the Dashboard to monitor partner, lead, and deal activity.

Continue improving the portal based on real partner questions. If several partners ask the same thing, add the answer to the relevant room or resource.

Common setup problems

A partnership type or feature is missing

Check Settings → Modules & AI. Some modules must be enabled by Journeybee support.

A partner cannot see a portal room

Confirm that the room is Live, then review every access condition. The partner must match all configured conditions.

A partner cannot see a resource

Confirm that the resource is Shared, set to Live, and available to that partner.

A custom domain is not working

Open Settings → Partner Portal and check that every DNS record matches the value shown in Journeybee. DNS changes may not appear immediately.

You cannot create a partner

Check the company name, contact email, and every field marked as required under Settings → Custom Fields.