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Post-Installation Setup ​

After successfully installing Growstack CRM, follow this guide to configure your application so your team can start using the CRM immediately.

Table of Contents ​

  1. First Login
  2. General Settings
  3. Email Configuration
  4. Payment Gateway Setup
  5. Module Settings
  6. User Management
  7. Cron Jobs Configuration
  8. Queue Worker Setup
  9. Storage Configuration
  10. Security Checklist
  11. Quick Setup Checklist

First Login ​

Accessing the Admin Panel ​

  1. Navigate to: https://yourdomain.com/login
  2. Enter your admin credentials:
    • Email: The email you used during installation
    • Password: The password you created
  3. Click Login

After login, you are redirected to the CRM Dashboard at /admin/crm.

Dashboard Overview ​

The CRM Dashboard shows:

  • Pipeline Value — Total value of open deals
  • Deals Won (MTD) — Closed deals this month
  • New Leads (7d) — Leads created in the last 7 days
  • Conversion Rate — Lead-to-deal percentage
  • Activities Due — Overdue follow-ups
  • Pipeline Funnel — Deal count by stage
  • Lead Sources — Where leads are coming from

Initial Admin Account ​

Your installation created a Super Admin account with full system access and all permissions enabled.

General Settings ​

Accessing General Settings ​

  1. Go to Settings → General
  2. Or navigate to: /admin/settings/general

Essential Configuration ​

App Name ​

  • Your company or product name
  • Used in emails, notifications, page titles, and the admin header
  • Example: Acme Corp CRM

Logo Upload ​

  1. Click Upload Logo
  2. Select your logo file (PNG, JPG, or SVG recommended)
  3. Recommended sizes: Header logo 200×50px, Full logo 300×100px
  4. Click Save

Favicon ​

  1. Upload a favicon (16×16 or 32×32 PNG)
  2. This appears in browser tabs and bookmarks

Timezone ​

  • Select your server's timezone
  • Important for scheduled email sequences, activity reminders, and report timestamps

Contact Information ​

  • Email: Primary contact email
  • Phone: Contact phone number
  • Address: Business address

Click Save to apply changes.

See Also: General Settings

Email Configuration ​

Email is required for:

  • Lead assignment notifications
  • Activity reminders
  • Password resets
  • Support ticket updates
  • Email sequences (when using the email engine)

Accessing Email Settings ​

  1. Go to Settings → Email Settings
  2. Or navigate to: /admin/settings/email

SMTP Configuration ​

Mail Driver: Select SMTP (recommended for production)

SMTP Settings:

FieldDescription
HostSMTP server (e.g., smtp.gmail.com)
Port587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
UsernameYour full email address
PasswordEmail password or App Password
EncryptionTLS (port 587) or SSL (port 465)
From AddressEmail address to send from
From NameName shown in the "From" field

Gmail / Outlook OAuth ​

Growstack CRM supports Gmail and Outlook OAuth for sending emails from connected accounts. Configure at:

  • Settings → Email Settings → Gmail OAuth → /oauth/gmail
  • Settings → Email Settings → Outlook OAuth → /oauth/outlook

Testing Email ​

  1. After configuring, click Send Test Email
  2. Enter a test email address
  3. Check if email is received
  4. Check spam folder if not received

Common Email Providers ​

Gmail:

Host: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 587
Encryption: TLS
Username: your-email@gmail.com
Password: App Password (required if 2FA is enabled)

Outlook/Hotmail:

Host: smtp-mail.outlook.com
Port: 587
Encryption: TLS
Username: your-email@outlook.com
Password: Your password

cPanel Email:

Host: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 587
Encryption: TLS
Username: your-email@yourdomain.com
Password: Your email password

See Also: Email Settings

Payment Gateway Setup ​

Configure payment gateways for:

  • Invoices and quotes paid online
  • Appointment bookings (paid appointments)
  • Products and services (if e-commerce modules are enabled)
  • Donations (Causes module)

Accessing Payment Settings ​

  1. Go to Settings → Payment Gateways
  2. Or navigate to: /admin/settings/payments

Supported Gateways ​

  • Stripe (recommended)
  • PayPal
  • Authorize.Net
  • Razorpay
  • Mollie
  • Square
  1. Sign up at stripe.com
  2. Go to Developers → API Keys
  3. Copy the Publishable Key and Secret Key
  4. In Growstack CRM admin: enter both keys and set mode to Test or Live
  5. Click Test Connection to verify

See Also: Payment Gateways

Module Settings ​

Growstack CRM includes many modules that can be enabled or disabled:

Accessing Module Settings ​

  1. Go to Settings → Module Settings
  2. Or navigate to: /admin/module-settings

Default Module Profile ​

Fresh installs use a CRM-first profile:

Enabled by DefaultDisabled by Default
CRM, Users, Pages, MediaBlog Posts, Products
Tickets, QuotesPricing Plans, Courses
Appointments, ServicesProjects, Events, Causes
Task ManagerJobs

Enabling/Disabling Modules ​

  1. Find the module in the list
  2. Toggle the switch to ON to enable or OFF to disable
  3. Save — the module appears in or disappears from the navigation menu immediately

Optional Modules Available ​

  • Content: Blog Posts, Testimonials, FAQs, Knowledge Base
  • E-Commerce: Products, Pricing Plans, Services
  • Learning: Courses (LMS)
  • Projects: Portfolio Projects, Case Studies, Events
  • Business: Causes/Donations, Jobs/Careers

See Also: Module Settings

User Management ​

Creating Sales Team Users ​

  1. Go to Users → Users or /admin/users
  2. Click Create User
  3. Fill in:
    • First Name, Last Name, Email
    • Password
    • Role (see below)
  4. Save

CRM Roles ​

Recommended roles for a sales team:

RoleDescription
AdminFull system access
Sales ManagerAll CRM permissions except pipeline management and deletions
Sales RepView/create/edit own contacts, leads, and deals
Support SpecialistTicket management

Managing Roles ​

  1. Go to Users → Roles or /admin/roles
  2. Click Create New Role to define a custom role
  3. Assign permissions from the CRM permission group (view/create/edit/delete contacts, leads, deals, etc.)

See Also: User Management and Roles & Permissions

Cron Jobs Configuration ​

The Laravel scheduler handles:

  • Email queue processing
  • Activity reminders (daily at 8:00 AM)
  • Scheduled email sequences
  • Cleanup tasks
  • Report generation

Setting Up Cron Job ​

In cPanel ​

  1. Go to Cron Jobs
  2. Set schedule to Every Minute (* * * * *)
  3. Add command:
    bash
    php /home/username/public_html/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1
    (Replace path with your actual installation path)

Via SSH ​

bash
crontab -e

Add:

* * * * * cd /var/www/growstack-crm && php artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Queue Worker Setup ​

Growstack CRM uses queues for:

  • Email sending (SMTP and OAuth-connected accounts)
  • Email sequence processing
  • Background jobs and notifications

Option 1: Cron Job (Simple, shared hosting) ​

Add to cron jobs (every 5 minutes):

bash
*/5 * * * * cd /path/to/growstack-crm && php artisan queue:work --stop-when-empty

Create a Supervisor config:

bash
sudo nano /etc/supervisor/conf.d/growstack-crm-worker.conf
ini
[program:growstack-crm-worker]
process_name=%(program_name)s_%(process_num)02d
command=php /var/www/growstack-crm/artisan queue:work --sleep=3 --tries=3
autostart=true
autorestart=true
user=www-data
numprocs=2
redirect_stderr=true
stdout_logfile=/var/www/growstack-crm/storage/logs/worker.log
stopwaitsecs=3600

Start:

bash
sudo supervisorctl reread
sudo supervisorctl update
sudo supervisorctl start growstack-crm-worker:*

Storage Configuration ​

If not already done by the installer:

bash
php artisan storage:link

This links storage/app/public to public/storage, making uploaded files (logos, avatars, media) accessible from the web.

File Permissions ​

Ensure storage directories are writable:

bash
chmod -R 755 storage
chmod -R 755 bootstrap/cache

Cache Configuration ​

Configure in .env:

CACHE_DRIVER=file

Options: file (default), redis (better performance), memcached

For Production: Use Redis for better performance:

bash
sudo apt install redis-server

Update .env:

CACHE_DRIVER=redis
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PORT=6379

Security Checklist ​

Complete these security steps after installation:

  • [ ] Enable SSL/HTTPS on your domain
  • [ ] Set APP_URL to https:// in .env and clear config cache
  • [ ] Set proper file permissions (directories: 755, files: 644, .env: 600)
  • [ ] Set a strong admin password
  • [ ] Configure firewall (allow only ports 22, 80, 443)
  • [ ] Set up regular backups (database + storage/ directory)
  • [ ] Configure email so you can receive security alerts
  • [ ] Review user roles — only grant necessary permissions
  • [ ] Monitor error logs at storage/logs/laravel.log

Quick Setup Checklist ​

Essential (Complete Before Going Live) ​

  • [ ] General Settings configured (app name, logo, timezone)
  • [ ] Email (SMTP) configured and tested
  • [ ] Cron job set up (* * * * *)
  • [ ] Queue worker running
  • [ ] SSL/HTTPS enabled
  • [ ] Storage link created (php artisan storage:link)

CRM Setup ​

  • [ ] Sales team users created with appropriate roles
  • [ ] Default pipeline reviewed (Settings → CRM → Pipelines)
  • [ ] Lead sources configured
  • [ ] Notification settings reviewed
  • [ ] Test lead created and assigned

Optional ​

  • [ ] Payment gateways configured (if using invoicing/billing)
  • [ ] Additional modules enabled as needed
  • [ ] Branding (logo, favicon, colors) updated

Next Steps ​

After completing post-installation setup:

  1. Read the Getting Started Guide for a walkthrough of the CRM workflow
  2. Explore CRM Module documentation
  3. Review Settings documentation
  4. Check the Troubleshooting Guide if you encounter any issues

Released under the MIT License.

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