---
title: "1.1 Vendor/Client Gateway Overview"
slug: "11-vendorclient-gateway-overview-1"
updated: 2026-10-29T17:05:25Z
published: 2026-10-29T17:05:25Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/11-vendorclient-gateway-overview-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 1.1 Vendor/Client Gateway Overview

**COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

**1.1 Vendor/Client Gateway Overview**

*Module: Vendor/Client Gateway › Step 1: Vendor/Client Gateway Configuration › 1.1 Vendor/Client Gateway Overview*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. Custom fields are configurable, so the exact field list on a contract category record may vary between environments.

# 1. Overview

The **Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG)** is the separate portal that vendors and clients sign in to. It is a scoped-down view of the application, built around what an outside company should see and do: submit requests, respond to solicitations, manage their own contact and company records, upload files, and handle their own approval and signature steps. Everything about it is configured from one Administration screen: behavior, sign-in, fields, record tags and sign-up forms. Its left-hand menu is managed separately, as its own workspace under **Administration → Navigation Menu**.

# 2. Key Elements

- **Administration → Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG)**, under the **Gateways & Portals** category, is the single configuration hub.
- Its five tabs are **Settings**, **Sign-in**, **Fields**, **Record tags** and **Sign-up forms**.
- **Settings** are grouped into Access, Content, Emails, General, Initial Setup, Notification and Surveys. Changes are kept with **Save changes** or undone with **Discard**.
- **Fields**, **Record tags** and **Sign-up forms** save each change as you make it.
- The Gateway has its own left-navigation menu, assigned as a distinct workspace (**Vendor/Client Gateway**) separate from the internal **Core Application** menu.
- Gateway menu groups include Contracts, Requests, Solicitations, Contacts/Users, Electronic Documents, Purchase Orders and Reports.

# 3. Navigating to the Gateway Configuration

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click the **Administration** icon at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
2. Scroll to **Gateways & Portals** and click **Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG)**.

![Administration page with Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG) highlighted](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-01-admin-gateway.png)

# 4. Gateway Configuration Tabs

## 4a. Settings

The **Settings** tab controls what Gateway users can see and do. The count beside the tab shows how many settings are available.

1. Review each setting in its group (for example, **Access**). Use the toggle to turn a setting **On** or **Off**, or pick a value from its dropdown (for example, **Allow submission of Contract Requests**).
2. Settings marked **Managed by CobbleStone** can only be changed by contacting support.
3. Click **Save changes** to apply your edits, or **Discard** to undo them.

![VCG Settings tab](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-02-settings-tab.png)

## 4b. Sign-in

1. Click the **Sign-in** tab.
2. Set the **VCG Login Method**: **Standard** (user name, password and company ID) or **Simplified** (email address and password).
3. If contacts share a sign-in name, a warning lists them. Simplified sign-in can't be switched on until each one has a unique name. Click **Give each a name of their own** to rename them; each person with an email address is emailed their new name.
4. Click **Multifactor authentication for Gateway users** to set how the second sign-in check works.

![VCG Sign-in tab](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-03-signin-tab.png)

**Note:** SAML or ADFS single sign-on for Gateway users is set up separately, on **Administration → Single Sign-On** → **Vendors & clients (Gateway)** tab.

## 4c. Fields

1. Click the **Fields** tab and choose an **Area** (for example, **Contract Details**) and a **Record type**. Each area, and each record type, has its own Gateway field set.
2. Under **Not shown**, use **Find a field** and click **« Add** to move a field into **On the Gateway**. Drag fields there to reorder them.
3. Use **Add every field** or **Remove all fields** to change the list in one step, or **Start from another type** → **Copy its fields here** to reuse another record type's list.
4. Use the **Requests they can raise** sub-tab to choose which requests Gateway users can submit for this record type.

![VCG Fields tab](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-04-fields-tab.png)

**Note:** If no fields are chosen, the Gateway shows **every** field for that record type. Changes on this tab save as you make them.

## 4d. Record Tags

1. Click the **Record tags** tab and choose an **Area** (Contracts, Requests, Vendors / customers or Employees) and a **Record type**. **Default (every type)** applies to every type without tags of its own.
2. Choose the field for each tag from its dropdown. Use the trash icon to remove a tag.
3. Click **Add a tag** to add another, or **Standard tags** to return to the standard set.

![VCG Record tags tab](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-05-record-tags-tab.png)

## 4e. Sign-up Forms

1. Click the **Sign-up forms** tab to see the registration forms a company can pick from when it signs up, along with what each form **Creates**, its **Steps**, **Fields**, and whether it is offered **On the Gateway**.
2. Click **Open** to edit a form, or **Add form** to create a new one.

![VCG Sign-up forms tab](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-06-signup-forms-tab.png)

# 5. Gateway Navigation Menu

1. From **Administration**, open **Navigation Menu** (under Configuration & Fields).
2. On the **Menu items** tab, set **Workspace** to **Vendor/Client Gateway** to see the Gateway's own menu groups and sub-items.
3. Use **Add item** or **Add sub-item** to extend the menu. If items point to pages that aren't available, click **Review them**.
4. Use the **Workspaces & who sees them** tab to control which workspace is assigned.

![Navigation Menu with Vendor/Client Gateway workspace](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/vcg-07-nav-menu-gateway-workspace.png)

# 6. Quick Reference Summary

| Task | How to Complete It |
| --- | --- |
| Open Gateway configuration | Administration → Gateways & Portals → **Vendor/Client Gateway (VCG)**. |
| Change Gateway behavior | **Settings** tab → toggle or choose values → **Save changes**. |
| Set how users sign in | **Sign-in** tab → **VCG Login Method** (Standard / Simplified); MFA via **Multifactor authentication for Gateway users**. |
| Choose visible fields | **Fields** tab → Area → Record type → **« Add** fields to **On the Gateway**. |
| Set record tags | **Record tags** tab → Area → Record type → **Add a tag**. |
| Manage sign-up forms | **Sign-up forms** tab → **Open** or **Add form**. |
| Edit the Gateway menu | Administration → **Navigation Menu** → Workspace: **Vendor/Client Gateway**. |