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

# Connect portals

> Let an AI agent download invoices from your customer accounts on supplier websites.

Some suppliers don't email their invoices. They sit in your customer account on the supplier's website, and you have to sign in every time to download them. A portal does that for you: an AI agent uses your session to sign in, downloads the invoices and files them as documents in Billpal.

<Note>
  Only workspace admins and owners can connect portals. Members can see portals and their runs but can't add one.
</Note>

## Connect a portal

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the portal">
    Go to **Portals** and click **Add portal**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the details">
    In "Connect a portal", enter:

    * **Portal name**: How the portal shows up in your list, for example the supplier's name.
    * **Portal URL**: The address where you sign in or find your invoices, for example `https://acme.com/billing`.
    * **Start date**: The agent downloads invoices from this date on, newest first. Choose "Current month", "Last 30 days", "Last 90 days", "This year" or "Custom date". A custom date can be up to 730 days ago.
    * **Schedule**: How often the agent checks in on its own. See below.
    * **Agent notes**: Optional. Anything the agent should know, for example which menu the invoices are under or which customer account to pick if you have several.

    Then click **Connect**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in to the portal">
    Billpal opens the website in a sign-in window. Sign in as usual, including a code if the portal asks for one. To use a password from your password manager, copy it and click **Paste**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm you're signed in">
    Once you're in, click **I'm signed in**. The agent takes over and starts the first run.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The sign-in window closes after 10 minutes without activity. Shortly before that, Billpal asks "Still there?". Click **I'm still here** if you need more time. If the window has closed, restart with **Continue setup**.

### What Billpal stores

Billpal does not store your password. It keeps only the session created when you signed in, so later runs don't need a new sign-in. If that session expires on the supplier's side, you sign in once more.

## Schedule

Under **Schedule** you choose how often the agent runs:

* **None**: The agent only runs when you start it. Every new portal starts here.
* **Weekly**: Once a week on the weekday you pick.
* **Monthly**: Once a month on the day you pick. This suits most suppliers, since invoices usually arrive monthly.

To start a run right away, hover over the portal and click **Run**. You can also open the portal and click **Run now**. Each portal allows up to seven manual runs per day.

## Follow runs

**Run history** shows recent runs across all portals: when they ran, whether they were scheduled or manual, how long they took, how many files the agent downloaded and how many new documents came out of it.

* **Watch live**: Watch the agent while it works. You only watch; the agent stays in control.
* **Watch replay**: See what the agent did after the run. Useful when a run failed.
* **Show new documents**: Opens the documents this run created.

The agent doesn't file invoices that are already in Billpal a second time. You can remove runs from the history. The documents stay in the workspace.

## Portal status

| Status | Meaning | What to do |
| - | - | - |
| Pending | Sign-in isn't finished yet. | Click **Continue setup**. |
| Authenticated | You're signed in; the first run hasn't finished yet. | Wait a moment or click **Retry**. |
| Enabled | The portal runs on its schedule. | Nothing. |
| Failed | The last run didn't work. | Watch the replay, add to the agent notes if needed, and click **Retry**. |
| Expired | The session with the supplier expired. | Click **Reconnect** and sign in again. |
| Disabled | You paused the portal. | Click **Enable**. |

The agent stops when it isn't sure what to do next, or when the website asks for a new sign-in or a code. You'll see that in the status and in the run's replay.

## Edit, disable or delete a portal

Click a portal to open **Portal settings**. There you can change the name, URL, start date, schedule and agent notes. After the first run, you can only pick an earlier start date.

* **Disable** stops scheduled and manual runs. Documents already imported stay untouched.
* **Delete** removes the portal entirely. Here too, all documents stay in the workspace.

## Trial

During the [trial](/en/billing#trial) you can connect up to three portals. With a subscription there is no limit. Once the trial ends or its 50 documents are used up, portals only run again after you subscribe.

## When a portal is worth it

If an email only links to a button like "View invoice" and the invoice sits behind a login, Billpal can't take it from the email. Billpal then shows you a notification suggesting a portal. For suppliers that do this every month, a portal saves you the manual download.


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