Published at: 2026-10-12

Configure External Settings

Configure basic External information for your enterprise, Account Security, and registration rules.

Before you begin

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  • Required Role: Use an External Administrator account responsible for your enterprise’s External Settings. WeChat Official Account authorization requires its administrator’s assistance.
  • Activation: Contact ShareCRM sales to activate the required capabilities. Confirm applicable connected-enterprise, channel user, and downstream tenant quota.
  • Business preparation: Determine whether downstream enterprises have independent tenants and who maintains their accounts. Decide whether to use WeChat Service Account, Self-Registration, and organization management.
In Setup, go to External Management > External Settings. Review the Basic Settings, Security Settings, Registration Configuration, and Operation Records tabs in order.
Tab Configuration content
Basic Settings Basic Info, Invitation Notification, WeChat Official Account, Business Plugin, and template enterprises
Security Settings Password strength requirements and account binding security
Registration Configuration Platform registration settings and their Applicable Scope. Defaults cover related Accounts, Related Partners, and terminal users
Operation Records Trace External User operations
For initial configuration, follow this tab order. Connect to an upstream enterprise only when your enterprise needs such a connection. Enable official accounts, plugins, template enterprises, and Self-Registration according to your business requirements.

1. Basic Settings

On the Basic Settings tab, configure Basic Info, Business Plugin settings, and template enterprises in the displayed order.
External Settings tabs and Basic Settings

1.1 Review External quota

Confirm how many downstream enterprises you can connect and which account types you can activate. Also confirm whether your entitlement supports independent downstream tenants.
  1. Under Basic Settings > Basic Info, review the External User License and check usage and totals for each quota.
  2. Match the required quota to the downstream operating model.
  3. For channel edition entitlements, open Usage Records and check activated downstream enterprises.
Quota Business Scenario and counting rules
1+N connected enterprises Connect downstream enterprises with independent ShareCRM tenants. Each External Organization with a tenant consumes one connection
Channel users channel users without tenants use upstream External Apps. Each corresponding External User consumes one entitlement
Terminal users Supports terminal-facing External business, primarily ShareService terminal user scenarios
Downstream quota package Used when the upstream enterprise activates independent downstream tenants. Determines CRM edition and user count. All downstream enterprises under one upstream select the same product
Non-paying enterprises without quota can request a connection using a paying enterprise’s invitation code. When enterprise A connects using enterprise B’s invitation code, B’s External quota is consumed. A’s quota is not consumed.
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Disconnecting an upstream-provisioned tenant reclaims its downstream CRM quota. The associated entitlement expires within two weeks.
To continue using its CRM, the downstream enterprise must activate the relevant edition.
Restoring the Interconnection does not restore reclaimed CRM quota.

1.2 Set the enterprise name and Logo

Configure the upstream enterprise information shown when downstream users access External services.
  1. Under Basic Settings > Enterprise Information, click Settings and enter the enterprise name.
  2. Configure the enterprise Logo.
  3. Set Name Display to Show, Show Multi-Org Names, or Hide. Set Logo Display to Show or Hide.
  4. Check the preview and confirm the displayed content.
Enterprise name and Logo settings
Partner Portal displays upstream enterprise information according to these settings. Disable the corresponding display option to hide the name or Logo. Maintain dedicated login-page or site branding through its respective configuration entry.

1.3 Connect to an upstream enterprise

Configure an upstream connection when your enterprise participates as another enterprise’s downstream enterprise. You do not need an additional upstream connection just to offer services to your own downstream enterprises.
  1. In External Settings, enable Connect to Upstream Enterprise.
  2. Open External Management > Upstream Info. On Upstream Enterprises, review existing connections or click + to enter an invitation code.
  3. Submit the code provided by the target upstream enterprise and wait for its approval.
Maintain upstream relationships in the separate Upstream Info menu, rather than an External User tab. Check Connect to Upstream Enterprise before submitting a request there. After connecting, review your management model, External Users, and External Roles within that upstream relationship.
For complete connection and approval instructions, see Manage External Organizations, departments, users, and roles.

1.4 Set Invitation Notification

Prepare notification content before activating accounts so new users understand their account information and business entry points. Invitation Notification includes activation notifications and invitations for Not Activated External Users.
  1. Under Invitation Notification, Edit Invitation Notification After External Account Activation.
  2. Set the text content and insert variables, such as Mobile and initial password, from the template.
  3. Edit Invite Not Activated External Users. Set the content and insert the Mobile variable as needed.
  4. Configure SMS or system Email signatures according to activated services.
Invitation Notification after account activation
Brand signature Purpose and dependencies
Custom SMS signature Helps downstream recipients identify the sending enterprise. Requires CRM Platform Management > Business Plugin Management > SMS Service
Custom Email signature Sends invitations from your enterprise’s system mailbox. Requires Email Management > System Mailbox
Match notification content to the actual activation method and business entry point. Selecting a signature does not establish that outbound services work when SMS Service or the system mailbox is inactive.

1.5 Bind a WeChat Official Account and configure guidance

Bind a service account here when downstream users access External services through a WeChat Official Account. Then configure account binding guidance for followers.
  1. In WeChat Official Account binding settings, click Bind Now.
  2. Ask the official account administrator to scan the QR Code in WeChat and authorize access.
  3. After authorization, find the new record in WeChat Service Account.
  4. Open service account menu and template message settings as required.
  5. Configure follow-up guidance messages to help users bind their external accounts.
WeChat Official Account follow guidance
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This entry supports WeChat Service Account authorization, but not subscription account authorization.
Following an account, binding an account, and obtaining app authorization are separate steps. Users still require authorization for External services.
For integration with configured apps and portals, see Configure WeChat channels. This guide covers binding and guidance within External Settings.

1.6 Configure Business Plugin settings

Under Basic Settings > Business Plugin, review these seven items from left to right and top to bottom. Configure them according to account maintenance and organization management requirements. Configure password and WeChat binding restrictions on the Security Settings tab.
Current Business Plugin order and template enterprises

1. Sales representatives activate external accounts

Use this when sales representatives directly manage downstream Accounts and need to activate external accounts while maintaining Account records.
  1. In Business Plugin, enable Sales Representatives Activate External Accounts.
  2. Check Activate External Account and Disable External Account operations on Accounts, Partners, and Contacts.
  3. Configure buttons, layouts, and functional permissions for these objects according to sales responsibilities.
Once enabled, sales representatives can activate related External Organizations and users after creating Account, Partner, and Contact records. They assign roles and provide downstream users with access information. An External Administrator does not need to maintain each account separately.
Add an External usage component to Account or Partner details to help sales representatives understand downstream usage.

2. Account update synchronization

Keep External Organization, department, and user information consistent with related business records. Specify which party maintains basic account information.
  1. Enable Account Update Synchronization and click Parameter Settings.
  2. Review the six rules below according to each party’s maintenance responsibilities.
  3. Confirm the effects of updates, deletions, invalid records, and administrator identity synchronization. Then click OK.
Account update synchronization parameters
Display order and rule Effect and selection criteria
1. Synchronize Account, Partner, and Contact deletions or updates to External Organizations, External Departments, and External Users Uses business records as the source. Deleting or updating records updates the corresponding external information
2. Synchronize External Organization, External Department, and External User updates to related object Names Synchronizes updates back to related Account, Partner, and Contact Names. Prevent unintended business-record changes. This rule covers updates
3. Synchronize downstream enterprise and employee deletions or updates to External Organizations, External Departments, and External Users Updates upstream external information when a downstream tenant maintains its own organization and personnel
4. Synchronize upstream External Organization, External Department, and External User deletions or updates to managed downstream enterprises and employees Affects enterprise and employee records and status in managed downstream enterprises. Confirm the upstream management responsibility
5. Automatically disable, Void, and delete External Organizations and users with invalid associations from the recycle bin Processes External Organizations and users when related business records become invalid. Suitable for enterprises with controlled associated-record maintenance
6. Set the corresponding downstream employee as the downstream tenant’s system administrator after the upstream administrator sets a primary owner Links primary owner assignment to the downstream system administrator identity. Requires a downstream tenant and a corresponding employee identity
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upstream account disabling can affect downstream employees. Voiding related records can invalidate active external accounts.
Rule 6 also changes downstream system administrator identity. Confirm both parties’ management responsibilities before enabling it.
External Organization primary owner and downstream system administrator are different responsibilities. They are not always the same person. Rule 6 explicitly links these identities. They can still differ if the downstream enterprise assigns another administrator. Screenshot selections reflect the example enterprise’s settings, not universal defaults.

3. Guest User

Open selected services to unauthenticated Visitors. Examples include ShareService terminal equipment records, equipment queries, inspections, and ShareOrder product forwarding.
  1. Enable Guest User.
  2. Confirm the guest’s related Account and available apps.
  3. Check guest access through the enabled entry points.
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Do not delete the guest’s related Account. Guest access becomes abnormal if it is deleted.
Guest parameters used by sites are shared across portals. Check the effects on other portals when changing them.
Guests access only services opened to them, rather than all enterprise Business Data.

4. External User initialization Data Permission

Configure initialization Data Permission when creating External Organizations, External Departments, or External Users. Newly activated users start with the specified initial scope.
Under External User Initialization Data Permission, click Parameter Settings. Set the initial scope according to your activation method and data management requirements. Initialization does not replace subsequent role, object, or External Data Permission management.

5. Custom login error messages

Provide your enterprise’s login error message and Contact Information.
  1. Under Custom Login Error Message, configure the message text.
  2. Set a Customer Service Phone as needed.
  3. Choose whether to hide other system messages.
Custom login error message settings
When system messages remain visible, the custom message is prominent and system messages are secondary. When hidden, only the custom message appears. Contact Information should help downstream users resolve account or login problems.

6. External Department

External Department is available to all enterprises. Enable it when larger downstream organizations need department-specific Data Range.
  1. Enable External Department.
  2. Maintain enterprise, organization, and department hierarchy in the new External Department object.
  3. Set primary and Secondary Departments for External Users.
An External Organization can contain multiple departments. Each department can contain multiple users. See Manage External Organizations, departments, users, and roles for complete configuration instructions.

7. Vendor login agreement

Vendor login agreements are available to all enterprises. Display your enterprise’s own agreement on login pages.
  1. Enable Vendor Login Agreement.
  2. Open parameter Settings and enter the agreement name and content.
  3. Check the agreement name and content on the login page.
Applicable login agreements include the ShareCRM service agreement, privacy agreement, and vendor-configured agreement.

1.7 Manage template enterprises

A 1+N scenario with downstream tenants requires both 1+N Connected Enterprises and applicable Downstream Quota. Template enterprise management appears in External Settings after activating downstream quota.
  1. Under Template Enterprise, confirm the enterprise whose configuration you want to copy.
  2. When creating an External Organization with a tenant, select that template enterprise to copy configuration into the new tenant.
  3. To update existing downstream enterprises, Distribute configuration through the template enterprise’s External Change Set.
Template copies can include License configuration, reducing individual downstream tenant initialization work. Both tenant activation and configuration copying must succeed before normal use.
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Do not delete template enterprises without checking their purpose.
The default template enterprise Quantity is typically one. Follow the existing product support process for additional templates or special adjustments.

2. Security Settings

On Security Settings, configure External User passwords and account binding security policies. These settings no longer appear as Business Plugin settings under Basic Settings.
Password strength and account binding security

2.1 Set password strength requirements

  1. Under Password Strength Requirements, click Settings.
  2. Set the minimum password length and complexity according to enterprise requirements.
  3. After configuration, check the displayed requirements.
If a password does not meet the latest requirements, the system requires a password change after identity verification. The screenshot requires a minimum of 8 characters, including letters and numbers. This Numerical Value is the example enterprise’s setting, not a platform-wide default or fixed requirement.

2.2 Set account binding security

Enable Account Binding Security as needed and check the current setting. When enabled, each external account can bind to only one WeChat account. Use it to reduce shared accounts and prevent sales representatives from operating through downstream accounts.
Authorize WeChat Official Account integration under Basic Settings. Account binding security restricts the relationship between external accounts and WeChat accounts.

3. Registration Configuration

Create downstream accounts directly when you or sales representatives centrally maintain them. Enable Self-Registration when users need to submit their own information for activation.
Open Registration Configuration to review all platform registration settings. Three default registration types appear below. Select settings by Applicable Scope. You do not need to enable all types or apply one type to every entry point.
Default registration information Account and Applicable Scope
Related Account user Self-Registration Enterprise external accounts for Dealer and Service Provider businesses linked to Accounts, such as ShareOrder and ShareService downstream Service Providers
Related Partner user Self-Registration Enterprise external accounts for related Partner businesses, such as SharePartner
Terminal user Self-Registration Individual external accounts for consumers and individual terminal users, such as ShareService terminal user services
Setup provides shared registration parameters for apps within the Applicable Scope. Dedicated app or site registration parameters take precedence. Otherwise, the corresponding Setup configuration acts as the fallback. Check the registration object, Applicable Scope, and any dedicated configuration for each entry point.
Registration type and Account Name creation rules are different dimensions. The first determines which business scope uses each parameter set. The second determines how users enter or select Account Names.

3.1 Configure enterprise account registration

This example uses General Configuration for Related Account Enterprise Apps. For Related Partner accounts, open their corresponding configuration and maintain the actual object parameters. Do not directly reuse Account Fields.

Configure Basic Info and Self-Registration methods

  1. In Registration Configuration, find the configuration for related Account enterprise apps and click Settings.
  2. Under Basic Info, check Configuration Name and Applicable Apps. Confirm that you are changing the intended configuration.
  3. Under Self-Registration Page Layout Parameters, review the Account and Contact Record Type and layout summaries. Click Preview or Settings as needed.
  4. Under Self-Registration Method, select methods supported by your business entry points.
  5. Under Assign Roles to Self-Registered External Users, set Assign Role and optionally Assign Enterprise Group.
  6. Check the Applicable Scope, methods, and authorization results. Click OK.
Related Account registration Basic Info, methods, and role and enterprise group assignment
Self-Registration method Business Scenario and behavior
Allow Self-Registration using Account and Contact records users complete external account information for the Account and Contact before entering an External App. Use this to collect complete business records
Allow Just-in-time external account generation with Mobile or Email login Unregistered users conveniently register through Mobile or Email login. Supports lightweight registration
Allow external account generation when logging in with third-party OpenID Unregistered users conveniently register through OpenID in third-party official account and Mini Program login scenarios. Supports lightweight registration
Each method has its own checkbox. Select methods for your enabled entry points. Lightweight registration does not require a complete Account and Contact Form at every entry point. After lightweight registration, assigned roles and app permissions still determine available services.
Assign Role determines the user’s External business permissions after registration. Assign Enterprise Group determines group membership. Screenshot roles and groups are examples. Select values appropriate to your business.

Set Self-Registration page layout parameters

To configure the registration Form, click Settings under Self-Registration Page Layout Parameters. Open External Account Self-Registration Configuration.
  1. Under Configure Account Object Layout Parameters, select Record Type and Layout. Select Show Required Fields Only as needed.
  2. Set the Account Owner to Fixed Single User or Round-Robin Multiple Users and select the corresponding personnel.
  3. Set Duplicate Logic to Exact Search or Fuzzy Search.
  4. Under New Record Rules, select how users enter or select Account Names.
  5. Under Configure Contact Object Layout Parameters, select Record Type and Layout. Select Show Required Fields Only as needed.
  6. Check that Contact Owner defaults to the related Account owner, and Mobile uses Login Mobile (Mobile1).
  7. Click Refresh under Layout Preview and check the visible fields. Click OK, return to the registration dialog, and confirm it.
Related Account and Contact registration layout parameters
Parameter description
Record Type and layout Determines where Account and Contact records are written and which registration Form fields appear. Maintain each object’s layout separately
Show Required fields Only Hides optional layout fields to simplify the Form
Account owner Fixed Single user or Round-Robin Multiple users responsible for follow-up
Duplicate Logic Searches Account Name exactly or approximately. Fuzzy searches can return more candidates; choose according to your Account database standards
New record Rules Determines whether users enter Account Names, select existing Accounts, or use Business Registry Lookup
Contact owner Defaults to the related Account owner. Do not assign separate personnel
Login Mobile (Mobile1) Writes the verified Mobile number to the Contact’s login Mobile field
Layout preview Checks the actual Form fields. Refresh the preview after parameter changes
Select Account Name rules for each registration configuration. Confirmed options include user input, existing Accounts only, Business Registry Lookup only, or existing Accounts followed by Business Registry Lookup if absent. The screenshot uses Business Registry Lookup only. It is not the rule for every configuration.
Dedicated app or site registration parameters still take precedence. For site registration pages, see Manage sites.

3.2 Configure individual account registration

Individual accounts serve consumers and individual terminal users. They are currently created by Self-Registration, rather than manual administrator creation.
Set applicable registration methods and default roles. Confirm that registered users can enter the enabled services. Individual accounts are not associated with External Organizations. Do not configure their organization membership like enterprise employee accounts.

4. Operation Records and configuration verification

After configuration, open External Settings > Operation Records to trace External User operations. Review these records when investigating historical account maintenance issues.
Check results for the features you enabled:
  • quota supports your downstream model, with or without tenants.
  • Enterprise name, Logo, Invitation Notification, and signatures match the actual business.
  • upstream connection requests, service account binding, and follow guidance are complete where required.
  • Business Plugin status, synchronization directions, and Data Range match each party’s maintenance responsibilities.
  • Template enterprise selection, activation, and copying succeed when independent downstream tenants are required.
  • Password strength and binding security meet enterprise policy. Noncompliant passwords complete identity verification and required changes.
  • Self-Registration entry points use applicable parameters. Verify each enabled method and the resulting roles and enterprise group membership.
Return to the relevant setting when changes are needed. Before disabling plugins or changing account synchronization direction, check accounts and business services that depend on those settings.

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Manage External Organizations, departments, users, and roles