What You'll Learn:
Understand the difference between data exports for internal use versus client-facing exports.
Learn how to prevent sensitive information (like costs, margins, and internal notes) from being included in Customer Portal downloads.
Best practices for managing data visibility.
This article helps you control what information is visible when you or your clients export data from Uptick, ensuring sensitive business data remains confidential.
Understanding Data Export Permissions
In Uptick, the data you can see and export is often different from what your clients can access through the Customer Portal. This is an intentional security feature.
Internal Users (Uptick Web Platform): When you are logged into the Uptick web platform, you have access to a wider range of data, including financial details like costs, profit margins, and internal-only notes. Exports generated from the web platform by your staff will contain this detailed information.
Client Users (Customer Portal): Clients using the Customer Portal have a more restricted view. By design, they cannot see sensitive data like your internal costs, margins, or private notes in the portal interface or in the data they export from it.
A common point of confusion occurs when an internal user "assumes the identity" of a client to view the Customer Portal. Even when assuming a client's identity, an internal user's permissions may still allow them to see and export sensitive data that the actual client cannot.
Key Takeaway: Always test data visibility by logging in as an actual client user, not by using the "assume identity" feature from an admin account.
How to Prevent Exporting Sensitive Data
The most common area of concern is the data your clients can download from the Customer Portal. Here’s how to ensure sensitive information is not shared.
1. Verify What Your Client Sees
Before directing clients to the download feature, it's crucial to verify what their exports will contain.
Log in directly to the Customer Portal using a test client account or an actual client's credentials (with their permission).
Navigate to the relevant section (e.g., Properties, Remarks, Quotes).
Use the Download function to export the data to a CSV file.
Open the file and review the columns to confirm that sensitive data (like
Total material cost,Total labour cost,Subtotal margin, orInternal Notes) is not present.
This process confirms that the system's built-in permissions are correctly hiding sensitive columns from your clients.
2. Be Mindful of "Internal Notes"
The "Internal Notes" field on properties, assets, and other items is intended for your team's eyes only. While these notes are generally hidden from clients, a recent issue showed they could appear in exports under certain conditions.
Best Practice:
Do not place any information in the "Internal Notes" field that would cause issues if a client were to see it.
Use the dedicated "General Notes" or "Critical Notes" fields for information that is safe to share with clients.
3. Reviewing Quote and Financial Data Exports
Financial data is the most sensitive. Customers have reported that exports from the Customer Portal have sometimes included columns for material/labour costs and margins.
Current Status: This is recognized as a critical issue. The intended behavior is that clients cannot see your costs or margins in their exports.
Action: If you find that a client's export from the Customer Portal contains your cost or margin data, please contact Uptick Support immediately. This is not the intended behavior of the system.
Data Exports for Internal Use or Transfer
When you need to export a complete data set for internal analysis, auditing, or transferring a property to another company, you can use the Download CSV buttons found throughout the Uptick web platform or the Uptick API.
These exports are comprehensive and will include sensitive data.
For Internal Analysis: Use the filters on pages like Customer Data > Routine Servicing or Insights & Reports to narrow down your data before clicking Download CSV.
For Transferring to Another Company: You will need to export multiple CSV files (e.g., Properties, Assets, Remarks) and provide them to the new company to import into their system. Be aware these files will contain all data visible to you.
If you require a complete backup of all your data, you can request this from Uptick Support or use the API to generate CSVs for each data endpoint.