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Launch Center walks you through setting up MSPortal for your team, one step at a time. It checks the connection and data steps against your real configuration as you go. This page is for MSP staff who set up the organization’s portal. It is not the onboarding task list for a company user. For client onboarding, use the client onboarding guides.

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Before you start

  • You need Launch Center read access (read_launch_center), Launch Center manage access (manage_launch_center), or the matching tenant settings access to open it. The primary administrator can always open it. Company users cannot, and anyone without access is sent back to Home.
  • You need manage access (manage_launch_center or tenant settings management) to change anything. With read access only, you can look at every step but you cannot save, confirm, or defer one.
  • Support staff who impersonate your organization can look at Launch Center but cannot change it.
  • Individual steps can need their own settings permissions, such as Standards, ticket settings, branding, or users. The step tells you when one is missing.
  • Have your provider credentials ready before you connect your tools.
  • Connecting integrations, importing users, inviting staff, and changing branding or billing are real changes. Launch Center is not a sandbox.

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Open Launch Center

1

Use the sidebar

Click Launch Center in the Planning section of the sidebar.
2

Or use the Launch pill

Click the Launch pill in the top bar. An amber dot on the pill means a required step needs attention. New organizations land in Launch Center after signup.
Launch Center is hidden from the sidebar and top bar once the launch is complete, once someone dismisses it, and for organizations that finished the previous onboarding process.

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Start setup

On a new organization, Launch Center opens on Set up MSPortal for your team. It lists the five parts of setup, each with its step count.
1

Read the five parts

The parts are Connect your tools, Set your standards, Plan the roadmap, Make the portal yours, and Finish.
2

Click Start setup

You become the launch lead and the first step opens. You can hand the lead role to someone else at any time. If you only have read access, the screen says Ask an administrator with Launch Center access to start setup.
Launch Center no longer asks you to build a plan from a questionnaire. Everyone gets the same steps, in the same order, and you defer the optional ones you do not need. You can leave at any time and Launch Center reopens on the step you last visited.

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What the plan contains

Launch Center has 21 steps in total. Nine of them are required to finish: Connect your PSA, Import or match your clients, Set up tickets, Find your standards, Plans, Plan contents, Detection, Review standards, and Finish launch. Every other step is optional and never blocks the launch. Some steps open only after others are settled. A waiting step shows Opens after and the step names, and you can still open it to read it.
  • Import or match your clients and Set up tickets open after Connect your PSA.
  • Plans and Add-ons open after Find your standards.
  • Billing, Plan contents and Company types open after Plans.
  • Detection opens after Find your standards.
  • Review standards opens after Plan contents and Detection.
  • Plan the roadmap opens after Review standards.
  • Finish launch opens its button after every required step is done or skipped.

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Use the Launch steps rail

The Launch steps rail on the left lists every phase and step.
  • A status icon shows whether a step is done, skipped, needs attention, is waiting, or is the current step. Optional steps show Optional. A step you deferred shows Later, and a step that does not apply shows Not needed.
  • Click a step to open it. The step you are on is highlighted.
  • Some steps list their tasks under them, for example the setup tasks of the PSA you chose. Click the arrow at the right of the step to show or hide its tasks.
  • Click the collapse button at the top of the rail (Collapse launch steps) to shrink it to a strip of status icons. Click Expand launch steps to bring it back.
  • On a phone or tablet, the rail becomes a bar above the step. It shows how many required steps are done, for example 3 of 9 required steps, and the current step. Tap it to open Launch steps in a bottom sheet.

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Work through a step

1

Open a step

Pick a step in the rail, or keep clicking Continue. Each step panel shows the step title, a short description, and a status badge (To do, Done, Skipped, Needs attention, or Waiting). The footer shows your place, for example Step 4 of 21.
2

Do the setup work

Most steps embed the real setting, so you change it in place. The sections below cover each phase.
3

Click Continue

Continue first saves what the step saves, then moves to the next step that still needs work. If saving fails, you see a message and stay on the step. On a step you confirm yourself, the button reads Confirm and continue and marks the step done. On Plan the roadmap it reads Mark done. Inside a connection, it walks through the connection’s tasks (Continue to the next task, then Finish connection setup) before it moves to the next step.
4

Defer an optional step

On an optional step, click Do this later. The step shows Later in the rail and Launch Center moves on. Do this later records the deferral only. It does not save edits you have not saved. Click Resume on a deferred step to bring it back.
5

Go back

Click Back to return to the previous step that is not waiting on another step.
Connection and data steps finish on their own once the app can see the result, for example a healthy PSA connection or an active client company. Steps the app cannot detect, such as reviewing your standards or your portal branding, finish when you confirm them. Without manage access, Continue only moves you on. It does not save or confirm anything, and Do this later is hidden.

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Connect your tools

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Connect your PSA and RMM

1

Choose your tool

Pick your PSA (or, on Connect your RMM, your RMM) from the provider cards. A card shows Connected when your organization already has that integration. On the RMM step you can choose No RMM (We do not use one), and Launch Center then marks the step Not needed.
2

Set it up

For tools that set up inside Launch Center, the setup tasks appear under the step in the rail and you work through them in the panel, for example Connect, Permissions, Choose data, Import or match companies, Import or match users, Import devices, Configure tickets and Review. The chosen tool’s row shows its status, a Setup guide link and Change. For other tools, the panel shows Set up followed by the tool name and in Settings. Click Open setup in Settings, finish there, and you return to Launch Center. A tool that is already connected and syncing says so instead.
3

Finish the connection

On the last task, click Finish connection setup. The step turns done once the connection is healthy and its required tasks are done.
Choosing a tool saves your choice. It does not connect the tool. A provider sign-in or consent screen can still open its own window. To switch tools later, click Change (Change PSA or Change RMM) beside the chosen tool, or Keep current choice to cancel.

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Import or match your clients

Import or match your clients shows three counts. Active companies is how many clients MSPortal holds. Company types found is how many company types MSPortal sees in your PSA, and Unmatched PSA companies is how many PSA companies are not matched yet. When your PSA sets up inside Launch Center, its Import or match companies task is embedded in the panel. Otherwise, click Open Companies to match, import, or tidy up companies in Settings. If you have no companies yet, the panel says No companies yet and offers the same link. In the embedded task, use Import on a row to bring in one company, or Import companies to import several at once. Review the dialog before you confirm. Match a record instead when the company already exists in MSPortal. See Import companies.

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Import or match users

After you import or match at least one company, open the PSA’s Import or match users task to bring in its contacts. Other companies can wait, and you can return later to import more users.
Halo PSA contacts in Launch Center with Import or match users selected and current-page and all-pages selection controls

Halo PSA contact import inside Launch Center on MSPortal Demo.

1

Select contacts

Use Import on a row, or tick contacts. Select current page selects the visible page, and you can then select all pages that match your search. Select all with email selects every matching contact that has an email address.
2

Import them

Click Import selected. Choose the Role, check the import and skipped counts, and confirm.
Contacts without an email address are skipped. You can add an address in the import dialog to include one. See Import users.

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Set up tickets

Set up tickets has three tabs.
  • Statuses: choose which PSA statuses close and resolve a ticket.
  • Delivery: choose how new tickets reach you.
  • Display groups: choose which tickets clients can see. This tab asks you to choose your PSA on the Delivery tab first.
Delivery and display groups need ticket settings access. Without it, the panel offers Open ticket settings.

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Connect security tools and other tools

1

Choose every tool you use

Tick the cards for the tools you want connected. Connect other tools groups them as Productivity, Documentation, Distribution and quoting, Backup, Infrastructure, and Migration from other tools. Your choice saves as you tick.
2

Set each one up

A ticked card shows its status (Ready, Needs attention, Setting up, or Not connected). Click Open on a card to set that tool up. Click All tools to return to the list.
3

Continue

Click Continue when you are done. If you chose no tools, Confirm and continue marks the step done.
For detailed steps, see Choose launch integrations.

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Continue with MCP

After connecting your integrations, open Continue with MCP. This optional step gives your AI assistant the connection instructions and a setup brief.
1

Connect your assistant

Under 1. Connect your assistant, choose your assistant to open its setup dialog. If you prefer, skip ahead and copy the script.
2

Copy the setup script

Under 2. Let your agent connect and help you set up, click Copy setup script and paste the script into your agent. The script includes your portal’s server address, preserves other MCP connections, and explains browser sign-in.
3

Sign in and approve access

Sign in to MSPortal and approve the areas the assistant needs. Ask it to verify the connected user and tenant before changing anything.
4

Describe your preferences

Review each proposed change before it is applied, then let the agent verify the saved result and identify any remaining steps.
Launch Center MCP workspace with assistant connection buttons and Copy setup script.

Continue with MCP inside Launch Center.

The setup brief covers your tenant details, branding, service plans, standards, client access, ticket templates and meetings. What your agent can do depends on your permissions, the access you approve, and the tools your server exposes, so have your agent inspect those first. Copying the script does not grant access or apply changes. You need MCP connection access to use the assistant buttons and the script. Manage MCP connections opens the connection settings in a new tab. Provider sign-in, payment authorization, DNS changes and visual review may still need you in the browser. See MCP Server for client-specific connection steps and access management.
Continue with MCP workspace and assistant choices on a narrow phone screen.

The same workspace on a phone.

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Set your standards

The Standards phase defines what every client should have and how MSPortal checks it. Each step uses the guided Standards setup, so the controls match the Standards settings. Editing standards needs the Standards settings permission on top of Launch Center manage access. Without it, the footer says Editing standards needs the Standards settings permission and Continue stays disabled. See Standards and Manage the Standards catalog for the detail behind each step.
Launch Center with its step list and editable standards suggestions on MSPortal Demo

Find your standards inside Launch Center on MSPortal Demo.

On Find your standards, review the suggestions before you create them, or add standards yourself. Under Anything else?, click Chat about my standards to tell the assistant about tools or services it missed. For a broad vendor request, it can offer product cards for you to choose from. Click Review selected products to send your choices to the chat. This does not save standards. Review the assistant’s proposal and click Apply to save it. See Choose products in the standards chat.

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Plan the roadmap

Plan the roadmap brings roadmap items in and adds the standards each client is missing. It is optional.
1

Ask the roadmap assistant

Use a suggested prompt under Try asking, such as Check what’s already on the roadmap, Import PSA opportunities, Add incomplete standards to the roadmap, or How does the sync work?. Nothing changes until you apply a proposal.
2

Review each proposal

Proposals appear under Proposals to review. Click Apply to accept one or Dismiss to drop it. Importing opportunities needs the Manage planner permission. Adding incomplete standards also needs Manage Standards settings.
3

Click Mark done

Applying any proposal completes the step. You can also click Mark done without applying one.
The standards sync creates one roadmap item for each client and standard. It runs for every client, not only the ones selected in the company selector, and it is safe to run again. If AI is turned off for your portal, the assistant is replaced by Import PSA opportunities and Add incomplete standards buttons that do the same work.

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Set up your portal

The Portal setup phase has four optional steps. The first three edit your settings in place. The fourth is a checklist that links to the larger settings areas.

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Organization and support

1

Confirm your organization

Under Organization, check Organization name, Primary administrator, and Timezone. You pick the primary administrator from your active staff.
2

Set what clients see

Under Client-facing details, fill in Portal name, Support email, Support phone, and Website. Clients see the portal name when they sign in and in emails they receive, and they see the support email when they need help. Enter the website as a full web address, such as https://example.com. Clear a field to remove its stored value.
3

Click Continue

Continue saves your changes, then confirms the step. A short Saved note appears. If a field is not valid, the form shows what to fix and you stay on the step.
Click More organization settings (address, locale, currency) to open the rest of your organization settings in a new tab. Without manage access and tenant settings write access, the step shows the saved values read-only and tells you to ask a teammate with access.

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Brand your portal

1

Open the editor

The step embeds the branding editor. Changes save as you make them, and clients see them on the portal and in reports.
2

Work through the tabs

Set your Colors, upload your logos on Light Mode and Dark Mode, add a Favicon, set the Reports & Certs logo, and customize the Sign-in Page.
3

Confirm the step

Click Confirm and continue. Nothing else needs saving because the editor has already saved.
The custom domain is not part of the embedded editor. Click Custom domain and sign-in options to open the branding settings in a new tab. Setup guide opens the matching guide. If branding cannot load, the step says so and still offers those links. See Configure portal branding for the detail.

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Staff and access

1

Review your staff

The MSP staff list shows each person’s email, role, and a status of Active, Invited, or Inactive. It shows the first 50 people and then and N more.
2

Invite a teammate

Under Invite a teammate, enter Email and Full name, choose a Role, and click Send invitation. The person receives an email invitation to sign in. If no staff role exists yet, the form says to create one in Settings first.
3

Manage users and roles

Click Open on Manage all users to edit, disable, or remove staff and client users. Click Open on Review roles and permissions to check what each role can do. Both open in a new tab. Users and roles guide opens the matching guide.
4

Confirm the step

Click Confirm and continue.
Inviting needs user management access. With read access only, you can see the list but not invite. Launch Center tells you when an email already belongs to someone on your team, or when you sent too many invitations and need to wait a few minutes.

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Portal checklist

Portal checklist is one page that lists the remaining settings for clients. Each row has a tick box, a short description, a status line, a Setup guide link, and an Open settings link that opens the settings page in a new tab. The header shows your progress, for example 4 of 9 done.
1

Open an item

Click Open settings on a row, do the work in the new tab, and come back. Click Setup guide for a step-by-step guide. If you cannot open a page, the row says Ask a teammate with access to these settings to complete this task.
2

Check the status line

Where the app can detect the work, the row shows a live count and Detected, for example 2 active subscriptions or No devices imported yet. A detected item ticks itself and you cannot untick it. The app counts the subscription, client users, devices, team roles, ticket request templates, courses, playbooks and upcoming client meetings. It shows a count only for pages you are allowed to open.
3

Tick what you finished

For an item the app cannot detect, tick the box when you finish it. The tick saves at once, and the row then says Marked done by you. Review a client’s portal access has no count, so you always tick it yourself.
4

Click Confirm and continue

Confirm and continue confirms the whole step. You do not need every box ticked. Click Do this later if the step does not apply yet.
A tick records your review. It does not check every logo, user, training assignment or imported device. Before you invite clients, check the actual records and client permissions.

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Check your progress

  • The header shows 3 of 9 steps, which counts the required steps that are done or skipped.
  • The header shows Complete once the launch is finished, and Needs attention when a required step that used to pass now fails.
  • The rail shows each step’s status. Open any step marked Needs attention and fix the connection or setting behind it.
  • The Finish launch step lists every required step that is still open, with the reason it is waiting.
Launch Center no longer has a separate Live verification list or an Edit launch plan button. The steps and their statuses are the readiness check.

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Review the client experience

The separate Review the client experience step with its Inspect preview is gone. Review the client side from the Portal checklist instead.
1

Open the item

In Portal checklist, find Review a client’s portal access and click Open settings. It opens the client users list in a new tab.
2

Check a client user

Select a client user and review their company and role. Use Impersonate if your role allows it, to see the portal as that person sees it.
3

Exit impersonation

Finish the client check and exit impersonation before you return to Launch Center. Launch Center is read-only while you impersonate.
4

Tick the item

Back in Launch Center, tick Review a client’s portal access.

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Complete the launch

1

Open Finish launch

Open Finish launch in the Finish phase. It shows how many required steps are left, for example 2 required steps are left.
2

Finish the open steps

Click Open beside each listed step and finish it. Steps that are waiting on the listed ones appear in a line below the list. They are not extra actions you need to complete first.
3

Click Finish launch

When the panel reads Ready to launch, click Finish launch in the footer. It is available only to people with manage access, and only when every required step is done or skipped.
Launch Center Finish step showing remaining required setup actions

Finish launch lists the required steps that are left.

After you finish the launch:
  • The Launch pill and sidebar entry disappear.
  • Launch Center shows Your portal is launched with the date, four figures (Required steps done, Connections ready, Standards, Roadmap items), and the five parts of setup.
  • Launch Center rechecks the required steps every night (04:20 UTC). If one fails later, for example an integration disconnects, the status becomes Needs attention. The Launch pill returns with an amber dot, Launch Center shows the failing step, and the launch lead receives a notification titled Your portal launch needs attention. It returns to Complete once the required steps pass again.
Completing the launch does not send client invitations. To change an answer after launching, click Reopen setup (managers only). Your progress is kept.

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Change the launch lead

1

Find the control

In the Launch Center header, find Launch lead. It shows the current lead, or No lead yet.
2

Choose a person

Click the control and pick a person. You can search by name or email.
3

Confirm the result

Wait for the save, then check that the new name shows.
Only the current lead, the primary administrator, or the tenant owner can reassign, and not while impersonating. For everyone else, the header shows the lead’s name as text. This hands over launch responsibility, not ownership of the tenant.

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Dismiss Launch Center for everyone

1

Open the confirmation

Click Dismiss in the Launch Center header. This is for managers only.
2

Confirm

Read the message, then click Discard to remove Launch Center. Click Keep it to cancel.
This removes Launch Center from the sidebar and top bar for everyone in your organization. It does not delete your setup progress or disconnect any integration. To bring it back, open the Launch Center page again from a saved link and click Restore Launch Center.

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Troubleshooting

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Frequently asked questions

No. It is an MSP setup workflow. Client onboarding has separate portals, tasks, and access.
No. Only the nine required steps block the launch. Use Do this later on any optional step and return when you are ready.
No. It records the deferral and moves on. Use Continue to save a form first. Settings that save as you go, such as the branding editor, stay saved either way.
No. It proves the checked evidence is in place. Review a real client user in the portal checklist before you invite clients.
No. Invitations and client emails are separate actions.
No. It only hides Launch Center. Saved configuration stays in place.
No. Changing a step needs manage access, and each step can need more permissions.