How to set up your instance for the first time
Go from your first sign-in to a working portal in four short wizard steps. You confirm your company info, see the modules you have, preview the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace connections and pick the voice Elise writes in. Then a checklist on your dashboard takes you the rest of the way.
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How to do it
Sign in for the first time and click "Let's get started" on the welcome screen.
The welcome screen greets you by your portal name, with four reasons to continue: Elise runs in the background, one platform instead of seven tabs, built for speed, and MSP-grade security. The note under the button reads "4 quick steps · all editable later in Settings".
Confirm your company info, then click Save & continue.
Step 1 of 4 has four fields, pre-filled from your signup: Company name (used in customer-facing emails and the portal header), Portal name (defaults to "<company name> Portal"), Timezone (used for ticket timestamps, SLA windows and report cycles) and Owner email (where billing and critical alerts land). The same fields live on Settings > Company > Company Profile afterward.
Review the modules you have, then click Continue.
Step 2 of 4 only shows what you have, and never asks you to choose. Core ("Tickets, clients, users, billing, time, knowledge base and AI. Always on.") is always listed. An MSP instance also shows MSP ("Pods, dispatch, RMM tool slots, SLAs, technician workflows. The default for managed-service shops."). Modules are set when your instance is provisioned. To add one later, contact GoTenix support at [email protected].
Preview the optional identity provider connections, then click Continue.
Step 3 of 4 is marked optional. Microsoft 365 ("Sync users and groups. Single sign-on for your whole team.") and Google Workspace ("Sync users, groups, and OUs. Single sign-on with Google.") both read "Available from Integrations right after setup". Nothing is connected here, so Continue skips nothing. A note explains that sign-in links come from the platform's sender address until you connect a mailbox in Integrations > Microsoft 365.
Pick a voice for Elise, then click Save & continue.
Step 4 of 4 shows three voices, each with a sample reply: Professional ("Polished and respectful. Default - good for client-facing replies."), Friendly ("Warm and conversational. Better for clients you have a personal rapport with.") and Direct ("Short, technical, no fluff. Best for internal notes and power users."). Professional is pre-selected. Elise drafts replies, internal notes and summaries in this tone, and learns your real voice as you edit her drafts. Fine-tune it later on Settings > AI Assistant > Identity > Voice & Tone, which also has Technical Depth and Custom Notes.
Read the completion screen, then click "Take me to my checklist".
The screen reads "You're all set". It says Elise is briefing your dashboard now and your first proactive suggestions show up within a minute of landing. A "Next up" card previews your checklist, which lives on the dashboard and ticks itself off as you go. "or browse all the setup wizards" opens the full list of wizards (articles on Connect Microsoft, Connect your mailboxes, and Set up Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace walk three of them), and the page heads to your dashboard on its own after 10 seconds.
What you will have
- Finish the four-step first-time wizard: company info, modules, identity provider preview and Elise's voice.
- Know where each choice lives in Settings so you can change it later.
- Land on a dashboard checklist that ticks itself off as the real work gets done.
Why it works this way: How to set up your instance for the first time
Each wizard step saves real settings when you click Save & continue. Company info lands on Settings > Company > Company Profile, and the voice lands on Settings > AI Assistant > Identity. There is no draft to publish afterward.
The modules and identity provider steps are previews. Your modules are set when your instance is provisioned, and the identity provider cards point you to Integrations once setup is done.
The company info step opens pre-filled from your signup, so it is a quick check, not a form to fill from scratch.
When you finish, you land on a dashboard checklist called Get set up. It ticks each item off when the real work is done, not when you say you are.
Other ways to do this: How to set up your instance for the first time
Settings > Company > Company Profile
Edit company name, portal name, timezone and the other basics the wizard wrote.
Settings > Company > Branding
Upload your logo and favicon and set a brand accent color. The wizard has no branding step.
Settings > AI Assistant > Identity
Change Elise's name and tone beyond the three preset voices.
Settings > System > Setup Wizards
Run the guided wizards for one area at a time, such as Connect Microsoft, Connect your mailboxes, Set up Elise, Set up your business, Branding & notifications, Set up billing or Bill your first client. There is an article on each wizard.
Ask Elise
Ask "What is my timezone set to?" or "What controls how Elise writes?" and Elise looks up the setting, its current value and where to change it (settings.lookup, read-only). Ask her to change one low-risk registered setting and she shows the current and new value, then waits for your one-tap approval (settings.set). She refuses owner-only, sensitive and high-risk settings in chat and points you to the Settings page instead.
If it did not work: How to set up your instance for the first time
- If you land on the dashboard and not the welcome screens, open Settings > System > Setup Wizards, or go to /welcome.
- If you leave a step without clicking Save & continue, that step's edits are not kept. Only a step you saved is written.
- If you skip the identity provider step, nothing is connected. Connect Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace later from Integrations, or from the Connect Microsoft item on the dashboard checklist.
- If a module you need is not listed, it cannot be added from the wizard. Contact GoTenix support at [email protected].
Questions this page answers
What is the Company section for?
Settings → Company → Company Profile stores your MSP's core identity: company name, product name, contact phone, currency, and default timezone. The phone prints on invoice and quote PDFs. Your logo, favicon, and brand accent color live on the Branding page, and the support address now derives from your connected Help Desk mailbox rather than a typed setting.
Where are the global timezone and currency set?
Right here on Company Profile, alongside your company name and contacts. Default Timezone is the instance-wide clock: rendered dates and ticket timestamps, cron schedules, manual time-entry day bucketing, and the SLA business-hours fallback all follow it. Rendered dates and time-entry bucketing pick up a change immediately; cron job schedules re-read it when the cron container next restarts. Ticket auto-close timing is set on Settings → Service Desk → Ticket Review, and invoice cadence and numbering on Settings → Billing & Pricing → Invoice Settings.
Where do the logo and favicon appear?
Company Logo shows in email headers, on invoice and quote PDFs, and on the client sign-in screen. Those are white or light backgrounds. Logo for Dark Backgrounds is optional. Upload one only if your main logo is hard to see on a dark background. It shows on the dark sidebar. It also replaces your main logo on the sign-in page's dark left panel. Leave it blank and both places use your main logo instead. Favicon shows in the browser tab. It can differ from the logo. It is also used as the agent's tray and desktop icon. All three fall back to defaults when blank. All three update right away when you save - no redeploy needed.
What happens if I skip this / what breaks without an AI key?
The AI assistant, chat, ticket triage, drafting, auto-summaries, and dispatch suggestions, stays completely inactive; every AI-dependent feature simply does nothing rather than erroring loudly, so it can look like the portal is just missing those features rather than needing a key. Add the key here whenever you're ready; every AI feature turns on immediately once it's saved, no restart or additional setup needed.
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