Support Pin

Confirm you are talking to the real account holder before you touch their account, with a per-client support PIN.

What it does

A caller who knows a client's name and a few account details can sound convincing enough to talk a support agent into a password reset or an account change that was never theirs to ask for. Support Pin gives every client a private PIN of their own, visible on their dashboard, so your staff have a quick way to confirm a support request is really coming from the account holder before acting on it.

Once installed, each client's PIN shows up on a widget on their own dashboard and on that same client's profile in your staff area, so whichever side of a support conversation you're on, the PIN is one glance away. Staff can also flip it around: type a PIN into the admin search bar and jump straight to the client it belongs to, so a caller who leads with their PIN is identified in a single step.

Key features

• Per-Client Support PINs: Every client gets their own support PIN on their dashboard, so your team can confirm a caller or ticket really is the account holder before making any changes.
• Staff Verification Widget: A widget on the staff client profile shows that client's current PIN and how long it stays valid, letting your team verify identity at a glance without leaving the page.
• Instant Reverse Lookup: Staff can type a PIN into the admin search box and jump straight to the client it belongs to, so a caller who leads with their PIN is identified in one step.
• Configurable Length and Character Pool: Choose how long PINs are and exactly which characters they are built from, so they suit reading out over the phone or typing into a chat.
• Rotating or Permanent PINs: Set how many minutes a PIN stays valid before it refreshes itself, or set the duration to zero for a static PIN that never changes.
• Regenerate on Demand: Staff and clients can both replace a PIN immediately from their widget, with a confirmation prompt making it clear the old PIN stops working the moment they do.
• One-Tap Copy for Clients: The client widget has a copy button that puts the PIN on the clipboard, so it goes into a ticket or chat without transcription mistakes.
• Per-Staff-Group Permissions: Searching by PIN, viewing a client's PIN and regenerating it are separate permissions you grant to whichever staff groups should have them.

Installing Support Pin

Before you start

• Version 3.x requires Blesta 6.0 or later. On a Blesta 5 install, use version 2.x instead.
• If you are on the leased (subscription) licence, the Blesta Club Subscription Manager must be installed and your subscription active. The owned and owned-source licences have no such requirement.

1. Upload the files

Upload the extension folder into your Blesta installation so it lands under your Blesta directory at:

plugins/support_pin/

For example, on a typical install: /var/www/html/blesta/plugins/support_pin/

2. Install it in Blesta

1. Log in to your Blesta admin area with a staff account that has the Plugins permission under the Settings group in Manage Staff Groups.
2. Go to Settings > Company > Plugins and click the Available tab.
3. Find Support Pin in the list and click Install. A PIN is generated for every existing client the moment installation finishes, so your current client base is covered right away.

3. Configure it

There are no API keys and no external accounts to set up. Back on Settings > Company > Plugins, on the Installed tab, click Manage next to Support Pin to set:

1. Length - how many characters a PIN has.
2. Pin Duration In Minutes - how long a PIN stays valid before it automatically regenerates. Set this to 0 for a static PIN that never expires.
3. Character Pool - which characters a PIN is built from.

The rotation itself runs automatically on Blesta's cron once installed, so there is nothing further to schedule.

4. Grant staff permissions

Blesta ticks Support Pin's staff permissions automatically only for the staff group of the person who installed it. Every other staff group starts without them, so the client-profile widget and the reverse search stay hidden for those groups until you turn them on:

1. Go to Settings > System > Staff > Staff Groups.
2. Edit each other staff group that should use Support Pin.
3. Under the Support Pin Client Widget and Support Pin Search sections, tick the permissions you want that group to have (viewing a client's PIN, regenerating it, and searching by PIN are each their own checkbox), then save.

You're ready to go - see the usage guide for a walkthrough of day-to-day use.

Support Pin Plugin - Update Guide

Keeping your Support Pin Plugin up-to-date ensures you have the latest features and security improvements. Follow these steps to update your plugin:

Update Steps

1. Backup Existing Plugin Files:

   • It's always a good practice to backup your existing plugin files before making any updates.

2. Download the Latest Version:

   • Download the latest version of the Support Pin plugin files from the client area.

3. Upload New Plugin Files:

   • Upload the new plugin files to your Blesta plugins directory, overwriting the existing files:

     /var/www/html/blesta/plugins/support_pin/

4. Log in to Blesta Admin:

   • Log in to your Blesta admin account.

5. Navigate to Plugins:

   • Go to Settings > Company > Plugins.

6. Update the Plugin:

   • Find the Support Pin Plugin and click the "Update" button.

Important: Updating to 3.0.0

Version 3.0.0 requires Blesta 6.0 or later - upgrade Blesta first, then the plugin. Blesta 5 installs should stay on 2.x. Nothing changes in your data, settings or permissions: every client keeps their current PIN, and the settings page, the client-profile widget and the PIN search page simply take on the Blesta 6 admin theme, including dark mode.

Important: Updating to 2.0.0

Version 2.0.0 adds three features: a manual Regenerate PIN button (for staff on the client-profile widget and for clients on their dashboard widget), a static PIN option (set Pin Duration In Minutes to 0 under the plugin's Manage screen to stop automatic rotation), and a copy-to-clipboard button beside the client's PIN.

The staff Regenerate button is gated by a new Regenerate a Client's Support Pin permission. Blesta registers new permissions unchecked, so after updating, staff who can already view the Support Pin widget will still need this new permission granted before the Regenerate button works. Go to Settings > System > Staff > Staff Groups, edit each group that should have it, and tick Regenerate a Client's Support Pin under the Support Pin Client Widget section.

Important: Updating to 1.1.0

Version 1.1.0 introduces staff permissions for the Support Pin search and the client-profile Support Pin widget. Blesta registers new permissions unchecked, so immediately after the update no staff group (administrators included) will see the Support Pin widget or the Support Pin search option until you grant them.

To grant them, go to Settings > System > Staff > Staff Groups, edit each group that should have access, and tick the permissions under the Support Pin Client Widget and Support Pin Search sections.

No additional changes are needed outside of updating the files. Any breaking changes will be communicated to clients.

Keep your Support Pin Plugin up-to-date to ensure you have the latest features and improvements.

Contact Us

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improving the plugin, please get in touch with us. We are committed to providing robust updates and welcome customer feedback.

Using Support Pin

For your staff

Viewing a client's PIN

Open any client's profile and the Support Pin widget shows their current PIN alongside Valid From and Valid Until times. If you'd rather issue a fresh PIN right away, click Regenerate PIN; a confirmation prompt warns that the client's current PIN stops working the moment you confirm.

Looking up a client by PIN

Click the search icon in the top right of the admin area, choose Support Pin Search from the search dropdown, and enter the PIN the caller gives you. It takes you straight to the client it belongs to, so a caller who leads with their PIN is identified in one step.

For your clients

Your Support Pin

On their dashboard, clients see a Support Pin widget showing their current PIN and how long it stays valid. A copy button next to the PIN puts it on their clipboard so it goes into a ticket or chat without a transcription mistake. Clicking Regenerate PIN issues a new one immediately, with the same confirmation warning that the old PIN stops working right away.

Good to know

• A PIN is created automatically the moment a client account is added, and removed when the account is deleted, so there's nothing to maintain by hand as your client base changes.
• Setting Pin Duration In Minutes to anything other than 0 rotates PINs automatically in the background - a PIN nobody has looked at in a while may already have changed by the time someone asks for it.
• Staff and clients see the exact same PIN value at the same time, so whichever side of a support conversation you're on, it's the same number to check against.