Merchant Portal
Franchise Role and Merchant Portal
The franchise role does not have access to the primary Catch-e system. It is used in a separate system called the Merchant Portal.
The franchise role is not a standard role and is only created when a Merchant Portal is being set up for your business.
Merchant Portal Overview
The Merchant Portal allows users to:
Raise approvals
Edit approvals
Finalise approvals
This is done without needing to contact a Maintenance Controller for authorisation.
Approvals are controlled using:
Client approval limits
Contract approval limits
Edit tolerance limits
Finalise tolerance limits
These controls allow automatic approval when validation rules are satisfied.
Approval Workflow
Approvals are created in a 2-step process.
Raise Approval
User raises a new approval — Estimates are entered for each job.
Notes
Vehicle lookup is not available
Users must know the registration number
Purpose is to raise maintenance approvals for booked vehicles
Outcome
If validation passes: approval becomes Active
If validation fails:
User must contact Maintenance Controller
Or approval is rejected via phone/email
Finalise Approval
After work is completed, final values are entered.
Actions
Users can:
Update Approvals — Edit estimated values
Finalise — Update costs and close approval
Capped Price Services
Capped Price Services use:
Service Groups (Parts Explosion)
VMRS codes with Capped Price Service flag enabled
Configuration Rules
VMRS Group must exist
Service Group relationship table is optional
VMRS Group must have capped price flag enabled
Behaviour
When Capped Price Service flag = YES:
Amount fields become read-only during finalise
Quantity fields become read-only
Total is pre-populated from original approval estimate
Example Query
SELECT t2.vmrs_code AS 'VMRS Group', t2.description AS 'VMRS Group Description', t2.capped_price_service_flag, t4.vmrs_code AS 'Group Items', t4.description AS 'Group Items Description', t4.capped_price_service_flag FROM fm_vmrs_groups t1 INNER JOIN fm_vmrs_codes t2 ON t2.vmrs_code_id = t1.vmrs_code_id INNER JOIN fm_vmrs_group_items t3 ON t3.vmrs_group_id = t1.vmrs_group_id INNER JOIN fm_vmrs_codes t4 ON t4.vmrs_code_id = t3.vmrs_code_id WHERE t2.capped_price_service_flag = 'yes' AND t2.vmrs_code = '10C'; Example Output
Validation Rules
Contracts Available on Portal
Contract must be active (no suspend date)
"Allow External Approvals" must be selected
Optional Restriction
gb_control approvalsfranchiseserviceprofilerequired_flag = yes restricts access to contracts with service profiles.
VMRS Codes Availability
VMRS codes are only available when:
gb_control externalroleaccess_flag = yes
approvaljobtype_id is populated
approvalitemjobtypeid is optional
Approval Validation Rules
An approval may be automatically approved if:
Client approval limit is not exceeded
Contract vehicle approval limit is not exceeded
Job Type, Description, and Estimated Retail Cost are completed
No duplicate service detected
No duplicate VMRS code detected
VMRS code is not excluded
Posting class is authorised for supplier
If not, approval status becomes Requested.
Finalise Validation Rules
When finalising an approval:
Must not exceed controller approval limit
Must re-check client and contract limits
Labour tolerance checks applied
GST tolerance checks applied
All amounts must be positive
Reference number must be populated