Standards

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Standards (formerly Tool Stack) gives you a bird’s-eye view of which tools each company in your portfolio has deployed. Define your recommended technology stack, then track deployment status across all companies using a compliance matrix that automatically creates planner items for tracking.

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Overview

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Setting Up Your Standards

Before using the compliance matrix, you need to define the categories and tools you want to track.

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Managing Categories

Navigate to Settings > MSP Tools > Standards to manage your standards.

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Require One of Group

Some categories work as alternatives rather than as a checklist. A “Backup” category might list Datto, Cove, and Veeam, where any one of them satisfies the requirement and a company shouldn’t be penalized for the two it isn’t using. Flip the Require one of group toggle in the category popover to make the category behave as a single check. When the toggle is on:

• The category counts as one required check in compliance scoring, satisfied when any item in the category has status “Deployed”.
• Items inside the category are automatically marked Optional, and the per-item Required switch is disabled. The row shows a “Group” pill instead of “Required” or “Optional”, so the indicators stay consistent with the group rule.
• New items added to a one-of category default to Optional.
• The compliance matrix shows a “1 of N” badge on the category header.
• The Client Health Standards dimension counts the category as one required check rather than counting each item separately, so the score reflects what you actually configured.

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Managing Tool Items

Each tool item has the following fields: The settings page shows summary counters at the top:

• Total number of categories
• Total number of items
• Number of required items

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Syncing to Companies

After defining your standards, you need to sync them to your companies to create tracking records. New tool items are also automatically synced to companies when you add them.

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Using the Compliance Matrix

The compliance matrix is accessed from Standards in the sidebar under MSP Tools. It has its own dedicated page at /standards.

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Reading the Matrix

The matrix displays:

• Rows - One row per company
• Columns - Tool items grouped by category (category names appear as group headers)
• Cells - Color-coded status indicators. Click any cell to navigate to its linked planner item for full details.

Categories with Require one of group turned on show a small “1 of N” amber badge next to the category name, and the items inside that category render without the optional asterisk since the group rule handles their accounting.

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Status Indicators

Each cell shows one of four statuses:

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Summary Statistics

At the top of the matrix, summary statistics show:

• Total number of companies being tracked
• Overall deployment percentage across all companies (required only, excluding N/A and one-of-group items that count as a single check per category)
• Count of deployed required items vs total required checks
• Informational counts of optional items deployed and N/A items

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Updating Statuses

To change a tool’s deployment status for a company:

1. Right-click (or long-press on mobile) the cell you want to update
2. Select from the context menu:
   • Mark Deployed - Tool is fully deployed
   • Mark In Progress - Deployment has started
   • Mark Not Started - Reset to not started
   • Mark N/A - Mark as not applicable

A success toast confirms the update: “Marked as [status]”.

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Searching Companies

Use the search field at the top of the matrix (placeholder: “Search companies…”) to filter the company list. This is helpful when you need to quickly find a specific company’s tool status.

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Planner Integration

When standards items are synced to companies, MSPortal automatically creates corresponding planner items. This means every tool deployment appears as a trackable task in the Planner.

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How It Works

1. When a tool item is synced to a company, a planner item is created with:
   • Title matching the tool name
   • Due date set to the end of the current month
   • Business value set to “Medium”
   • Cost estimate from the tool’s default price
   • Source marked as “Tool Stack”
2. The planner item and standards tracking record are linked bidirectionally:
   • Updating the standards status automatically updates the linked planner item
   • Updating the planner item status automatically updates the standards record
   • Changes flow in both directions, so you can manage from whichever view is most convenient
3. You can view and manage these items in the regular Planner views (list, timeline, monthly).

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Deleting Tool Items

When deleting a tool item that has linked planner items:

• A warning shows how many linked planner items will be deleted
• You must type the item name to confirm deletion
• Both the tracking records and linked planner items are permanently removed

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Impact on Health Scores

The Standards deployment percentage feeds directly into the Standards dimension of Client Health scores:

• Only required items contribute to the score. The denominator is the count of required items that are not marked N/A. The numerator is the count of those that are Deployed.
• For categories with Require one of group turned on, the category contributes a single required check that’s satisfied when any item is deployed (and is excluded entirely if every item in the category is marked N/A).
• The score is a linear mapping: 80% deployed = 80 dimension score.
• Companies with no applicable required checks show N/A for this dimension.

This creates a direct incentive to drive standardization across your client base without penalizing legitimate alternatives.

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Best Practices

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Related Resources