# Getting Oriented

What this guide covers, the CBM CRM at a glance, and how to sign in as an administrator.

# About This Guide & the CBM CRM Setup

## Who this guide is for

This guide is for the **CBM CRM administrator** — the staff member(s) responsible for keeping the Cleveland Business Mentors CRM running smoothly day to day: adding and removing users, adjusting settings, importing data, and handling the occasional problem.

It assumes you're comfortable using web applications, but **not** that you're a server or database expert. Where a task is genuinely technical (server upgrades, recovery), this guide summarizes it and points you to the right person or runbook rather than asking you to do it yourself.

If you're a **mentor** or a member of the **Client Administration** or **Mentor Administration** teams, the guides on the other shelves are for you — this one is specifically about *administering* the system.

## What the CBM CRM is

The CRM is the central system that holds CBM's people and activity — mentors, clients, the engagements that pair them, the sessions they hold, and the supporting records around them. As administrator, you don't change *what* the CRM tracks day to day; you keep the system healthy and help users get their work done.

## Two environments: Production and Sandbox

There are **two** copies of the CRM, and knowing which is which is the single most important thing in this guide:

| | Address | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| **Production** | `crm.clevelandbusinessmentors.org` | The **real, live** system. Everyone's actual work and real data live here. |
| **Sandbox** | `crm-test.clevelandbusinessmentors.org` | A **safe copy** for trying things out. Nothing here affects real data. |

> **The golden rule:** when you're about to make a change that isn't routine — a settings change, a configuration tweak, a bulk data operation — **try it in the Sandbox first**, confirm it does what you expect, *then* do it in Production. [Chapter 3 — Configuration & Customization](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization) covers this sandbox-first workflow in detail.

## How the system is maintained

A few things are handled *outside* the CRM's own screens, so you don't have to:

- **Configuration** (custom fields, layouts, new record types) is applied through CBM's implementation process and tooling, not hand-edited in Production. See [Chapter 3 — Configuration & Customization](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization).
- **The server, hosting, backups, security certificates, and software upgrades** are managed at the infrastructure level. You don't log into servers; [Chapter 6 — Operations & Maintenance](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/operations-maintenance) explains what's automated and who handles the rest.

## What's in this guide

- **[Chapter 2 — Users, Roles & Access](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/users-roles-access):** add and remove users; manage who can see and do what.
- **[Chapter 3 — Configuration & Customization](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization):** settings, the navigation menu, and the sandbox-first change process.
- **[Chapter 4 — Managing Data](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/managing-data):** importing, exporting, duplicates, and cleanup.
- **[Chapter 5 — Integrations](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/integrations):** Google, email, the website, and this documentation site.
- **[Chapter 6 — Operations & Maintenance](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/operations-maintenance):** backups, updates, and routine upkeep.
- **[Chapter 7 — Troubleshooting, Recovery & Reference](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/troubleshooting-recovery-reference):** fixing problems, recovery options, and where everything lives.

> **When in doubt, slow down.** Most administrative actions are easy to reverse, but a few (bulk deletes, resets) are not. If a task in this guide carries a warning, take it seriously — and if you're unsure, see [Getting Help and Next Steps](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/link/60) at the end of the guide.

# Signing In & the Administration Panel

## Signing in as an administrator

1. Open the CRM in your browser:
   - **Production:** `https://crm.clevelandbusinessmentors.org`
   - **Sandbox:** `https://crm-test.clevelandbusinessmentors.org`
2. Enter your **administrator** username and password.
3. You'll land on a dashboard like any user — your *administrator* access simply adds an extra **Administration** area.

> Administrator accounts can change settings and see everyone's data. Keep your credentials secure, never share the admin login, and give each person their own account (see [Chapter 2 — Users, Roles & Access](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/users-roles-access)) instead of sharing one.

## Opening the Administration panel

Click your **avatar / initials in the top-right corner**, then choose **Administration**. (Only users with admin access see this option.)

The Administration page is a grid of labeled sections. You won't need most of them often — here are the ones this guide uses, and where each is covered.

## The areas you'll use

**Users and access**

- **Users** — the people who can sign in. *([Chapter 2](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/users-roles-access))*
- **Teams** — groups used to organize people and control visibility. *([Chapter 2](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/users-roles-access))*
- **Roles** — what a user or team is allowed to see and do. *([Chapter 2](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/users-roles-access))*

**System and customization**

- **Settings** — system-wide options. *([Chapter 3](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization))*
- **User Interface** — the navigation menu / tab list, including the **Documentation** tab. *([Chapter 3](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization))*
- **Entity Manager / Layout Manager** — the structure of records and forms. **Changed through the sandbox-first process, not casually here.** *([Chapter 3](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization))*
- **Label Manager** — the wording shown around the interface. *([Chapter 3](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/configuration-customization))*

**Data**

- **Import** — bring records in from a spreadsheet. *([Chapter 4](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/managing-data))*

**Email**

- **Outbound Emails, Email Accounts, Email Templates** — how the CRM sends mail. *([Chapter 5](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/integrations))*

**Maintenance**

- **Scheduled Jobs, Jobs, Auth Tokens** — background tasks and sessions; mostly informational. *([Chapter 6](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/operations-maintenance) – [Chapter 7](https://docs.clevelandbusinessmentors.org/books/espocrm-system-guide/chapter/troubleshooting-recovery-reference))*

> **A note on the powerful areas:** *Entity Manager*, *Layout Manager*, and the bulk data tools can change the CRM for everyone at once. Treat them as read-only until you've read the chapter that covers them — and remember the golden rule: **Sandbox first.**

## Finding your way back

Wherever you are in Administration, the **CBM logo (top-left)** returns you to the main CRM, and the **avatar menu → Administration** brings you back here.