Your user setup is a critical step in ensuring your ongoing success in Beacon. Use this guide to make sure your users are setup correctly with all necessary data assigned.
Part 1: User Roles and Creation
Part 1: User Roles and Creation
Beacon uses role-based access control to ensure users only see and interact with relevant data.
1. Understand the Roles
Admin/Operations: Back-office users who manage settings, inventory creation, and organization-level data.
Regional Manager: Sits above Distributors; manages sales and inventory across specific geographic regions but does not hold inventory.
Distributor: High-level field users who manage a group of sales reps. They can view reports and often act as a central "warehouse" for their team.
Sales: The primary field users. They are the "custodians" of inventory and record surgical case data.
Facility Manager: A customer-facing role. These users represent a specific facility (e.g., a hospital) and can view cases and inventory specific to their location.
2. Creating a User
Navigate to Users in the left-hand navigation.
Click Add Users > Invite/Add User.
Add User: This is often the preferable option, where you add the user and setup all their data before they login so they will be ready to go when they do log in. This means creating their directory assignments, checking their user settings, and transferring them inventory. Otherwise the users will login and not be able to be actionable. When it is time for the user to claim their account, they may do so using the forgot password link on the login page.
Invite User: You may send users an email invite. If you choose this option, then it is best practice to setup the user data immediately and inform them that their data is still being setup. This means making Directory assignments and transferring them inventory.
Enter their email, select their Role, and provide their name.
Critical Step: Before the user can log in, you must toggle Training Complete to "On" in their profile settings. Beacon prevents access until this is marked to ensure data integrity.
Note: If a user's email address or role must be changed, this must be submitted as a Beacon support ticket and may not be changed by Organization admins.
Part 2: Distributor Groups and Shared Inventory
Part 2: Distributor Groups and Shared Inventory
One of Beacon's most powerful features is the ability to model how inventory is shared within a distributorship.
1. Setting up Distributor Groups
To link sales reps to a distributor:
Open the Distributor’s user profile.
Go to the Assigned Users section.
Add the relevant Sales users to this list. This establishes the reporting hierarchy.
2. Enabling Shared Inventory
By default, inventory is locked to a specific custodian. To allow reps to use inventory held by their distributor:
In the Distributor’s profile, find the setting Share Distributor Inventory.
Toggle this On.
Benefit: This allows sales reps to pull items from the distributor’s warehouse in Beacon as if it were in their own trunk stock. This eliminates the need for constant internal "transfers" every time a rep grabs a box from the warehouse.
Part 3: Directory Assignments
Part 3: Directory Assignments
The Directory is your "Source of Truth." Assignments act as a filter so field users aren't overwhelmed by thousands of entries.
1. Facility and Physician Assignments
To ensure a user sees only their customers:
Navigate to the Users section and select a user.
Scroll to the bottom to Directory Assignments.
Click Add Assignment.
Assign Facilities: Select the hospitals or surgery centers where this user operates.
Assign Physicians: Select the surgeons this user supports.
Other Assignments:
Products
Preference Cards
Manufacturers
Part 4: User Setup Checklist
Part 4: User Setup Checklist
Before considering a user "Active," ensure you have completed the following:
Account Created: Role selected and email entered.
Training Complete: Toggled to "On" in the user settings.
Directory Assigned: Facilities and Physicians assigned so the user can schedule cases.
Inventory Transferred: Inventory has been transferred into their custody so they can enter sales.
Contact Info: Phone number and Zip Code entered (Zip Code is required for the Inventory Optimization Report to calculate distances).
Hierarchy Established: Sales reps assigned to the correct Distributor.
Shared Inventory: Toggled "On" if the distributor group uses a shared pool.
Read more in our expanded User Setup Checklist.