How to — Operating Guide

Step-by-step instructions for everyone who uses the portal. Pick your section:

Portal address: portal.bchem.com · works on phone and computer. Questions or problems → sign in and use the Feedback page.

👤 For employees — your portal

1 · Getting in (first time)

1. HR sends you an email titled "Welcome to the Blue Line portal" (check spam too). It contains a link — open it and set your password. The link works for 7 days; if it expired, ask HR to resend.
2. Go to portal.bchem.com and sign in with your email and the password you just set.
3. The first screen asks you to complete your profile: mobile number, emergency contact, bank name and IBAN (used only for your salary), and home address. Fill it once and press Send to HR. HR verifies it — you're done.

2 · Your documents and records

Your page shows your employment record and your documents (passport, visa, Emirates ID, labour card, medical insurance) with the days left before each expires. An expired document shows a red EXPIRED — renew now badge, and the portal reminds both you and HR every week until it is renewed. When you renew a document, press Upload renewal on it, enter the new number and expiry, attach the scan (PDF or photo) and send — HR verifies it and the record updates. If any other detail is wrong, choose "Correct my record" in the request form.

3 · Making a request (leave, letters, expenses…)

1. On your page, find New request. Choose the type: annual/sick/unpaid leave, medical, expense claim, air ticket, loan/advance — or a letter: salary certificate, salary transfer letter, NOC, experience letter.
2. Fill the dates or amount, write the reason, press Submit. Your annual leave balance shows at the top of your page — it accrues monthly (2.5 days a month on the standard 30-day entitlement) and goes down automatically when a leave request is approved.
3. Your request travels automatically: Finance → General Manager → Chairman (letters have a shorter path). You can see its live status under My requests, and you get a notification at every decision. No chasing anyone.

📩 Messages — everyone's inbox

Every portal user has Messages in the left menu: Inbox, Sent, Drafts and Deleted. Company announcements, your monthly salary notice (sent automatically when payroll is approved) and HR notices all arrive here — important ones are mirrored to your email too.

1. Send a message: press ✍️ Compose, tap the people you're writing to, write, Send. They get a notification and an email. Replies come back to your Inbox — two-way, inside the company.
2. Drafts: "Save draft" keeps an unfinished message under Drafts; open it later and continue. Deleted messages sit in Deleted and can be restored.
3. Employees: the quick links at the top of your inbox take you straight to leave/expense/HR request forms and your documents.
4. Announcements (Marketing & management only): tick "Send as company-wide announcement" in Compose — it reaches every active user.

📣 For Marketing — newsletters, campaigns, SEO

1. Newsletters & campaigns: ERP → Sales → 📧 Newsletter & targeted emails → Compose. Pick a template (monthly newsletter, product spotlight, offer, announcement, greetings), fill the boxes, Preview, Send test to me, then send. Audiences: all customers, leads by stage, and your own contact lists.
2. Contact lists: Messages → 👥 Groups & lists. Internal groups (portal users) for internal messages; external lists (name + email per line) become audiences in the campaign composer. Every external email carries an unsubscribe link automatically.
3. Open & click rates: each sent campaign shows 👁 open % and 🔗 click % in the history — that is how you judge what worked.
4. Campaigns & win rate: create campaigns under 📣 Marketing campaigns, tag leads to them, and the win-rate per campaign calculates itself.
5. SEO: ERP → SEO Studio — add target keywords, write one article per keyword (plain text; ## = heading, - = bullet), Publish → live at portal.bchem.com/insights. Watch reads per article; once Search Console is connected you'll see real Google clicks per keyword.

🦺 HSE — report it, close it

1. Anyone can report: ERP → HSE → + Report — incident, near miss, observation or inspection finding, with severity and location. Takes a minute. Near misses count — report the accident that almost happened.
2. HSE is notified instantly; high-severity reports and incidents also alert the GM and Chairman automatically.
3. HSE head: every report stays OPEN until you close it with the corrective action taken — your name and date are recorded. Keep the open list short.
4. HSE manuals live in the Vault folder HSE — Manuals & Procedures, readable by all department heads.

🧑‍💼 For HR / PRO — onboarding, documents, records

Sign in at portal.bchem.com → left menu → ERP → HR & Payroll. Your home page shows headcount, open requests, and the documents expiring within 90 days list — that list is your PRO to-do list; check it every Monday.

1 · Onboarding a new employee (the full process)

1. Add the record: Employees & documents → + Add employee → fill name, entity (UAE-BLI or UAE-JB), designation, department, joining date, salary. Save.
2. Get the hire approved: go to Requests → choose the employee → type "New hire approval" → write position and agreed salary in details → Submit. It goes Finance → GM (Ali) → Chairman. Wait for approval before step 3.
3. Give portal access: open the employee's record → Portal access line → type their email → Onboard — send invite. They get the welcome email; you also get a backup link to send by WhatsApp if needed.
4. Enter their documents: on the same record, add passport, visa, Emirates ID, labour card, medical insurance, contract — each with its number and expiry date, and attach the scan (📎). The expiry alarms only work if the dates are entered. The portal notifies you and the employee weekly about anything expired or expiring within 30 days; employees can upload renewals themselves — those arrive marked "uploaded by employee — verify": check the scan, then press Verify & save.
5. Verify their profile: after their first login they submit phone/bank/address details. You'll get a notification — open the record and press Verify profile after checking the IBAN against their bank letter.

2 · Approving newly submitted documents & corrections

When an employee submits their profile, verify it (above). When an employee raises a "Correct my record" request, it arrives in the approval chain — once approved, make the actual change on their record under Employees & documents. Keep the record matching reality; the audit log records every change under your name.

2b · Leave balances

Every employee record shows an annual leave balance. It credits automatically each month (entitlement ÷ 12) and deducts automatically when a leave request is approved. Your job is the starting point: open each record and press adjust to correct the balance for leave already taken this year before the portal existed — write the reason in the note, it is kept forever in the history. Sick leave is counted separately and never reduces the annual balance; unpaid leave touches nothing.

3 · Performance reviews

On each employee record → Performance → + New appraisal: period (e.g. 2026 H2), objectives, rating 1–5, strengths, improvements. Keep it draft while discussing; switch to final when agreed — the employee then sees it on their own page.

4 · Triggering the monthly payroll

1. Open Vault → Finance Templates → download BLI_Payroll_TEMPLATE.xlsx.
2. Fill one file per entity for the month. Important: leave salary and air tickets go ONLY in their own two columns ("Leave Salary (Annual)" / "Air Ticket (Annual)") — never inside basic, gross or net. Keep the GRAND TOTAL row correct.
3. Go to Approvals → New submission → type Monthly payroll → select the entity and period → attach the file → Submit.
4. The chain runs automatically: Finance cross-checks → GM endorses → Chairman approves. Fix-and-resubmit if anyone rejects it. Submit by the 25th of each month.

💰 For Finance — cross-checking payroll (review step)

1. You get a notification: "Approval needed: payroll …". Open it (or Approvals → the payroll item).
2. The page shows the automatic payroll review: headcount vs last month, net payroll with month-over-month change, annual benefits (leave pay + tickets) separated from salaries, joiners and leavers by name, salary changes, people paid with zero worked days, and whether the sheet's totals reconcile. Red flags = stop and check.
3. Cross-check against the bank transfer total and the HR joiner/leaver list. Use the Ask box for questions like "did salaries increase vs last month".
4. Decide: Approve (sends it to the GM), Reject with a note (HR fixes and resubmits), or Pending to hold it while you verify something. Never approve if the reconciliation flag is red.

🏭 Production & QC — runs, tests, certificates

Sign in → ERP. Production (Prasad) uses Inventory; QC (Prabhat) uses Production & Quality.

1. Production (Prasad): at the end of every run, go to Inventory → + Production entry — Consumed lines (raw material, warehouse) and Produced lines (finished goods, warehouse). The loss shows as you type. Stock updates instantly and the run appears on the Production page with its yield %.
2. QC (Prabhat): each run shows QC PENDING on the Production page. Press enter QC, pick the product — the test parameters and limits load automatically from the spec — and type the lab results. Each parameter shows PASS/FAIL as you type; one failure fails the batch and management is alerted immediately. A failed batch must not be dispatched.
3. Certificate of Analysis: on a passed batch press + CoA, enter the customer and order reference — the portal issues a numbered certificate (COA-1, COA-2…) ready to print and send with the delivery.
4. Specs: the test parameters per product live under Product specs — QC maintains them (the API barite spec is pre-loaded). Change a limit there and every future test uses it.

🧾 Sales & CRM — quotes, orders, credit

Sign in → ERP → Sales, CRM & Marketing. You see your own company's customers and orders (BLI or Jumbo Bags).

1. Every enquiry goes in the Pipeline (+ New lead): company, contact, product, estimated value. Move it with one click: lead → quoted → won or lost. Nothing lives only in WhatsApp.
2. Quote: + New quote → pick the customer, add product lines and prices → Save. Open SO-x and press Print for a quotation on letterhead.
3. Confirm: when the customer agrees, press Confirm order. The portal checks their credit: what they already owe (from the weekly net worth) plus this order against their limit. Inside the limit → confirmed instantly. Over the limit → it goes automatically to Finance and the Chairman; you'll be notified of the decision.
4. Dispatch: goods leave only by an issue note linked to the order (stores pick "SO-x" when issuing). The order shows delivered % automatically — no more guessing what's left to ship.
5. Customers: keep contacts, TRN and payment terms updated; the "owes" figure and over-90-days warning come straight from the approved weekly net worth.

🛒 Procurement — requests, POs, receiving

Sign in → ERP → Procurement & Suppliers. Procurement is run by Finance; stores, HR and the GM can raise requests.

1. Need to buy something? Press + New purchase request: what, how much, estimated price, and why. It travels automatically: Procurement review → GM endorsement → Chairman approval. Watch its status on the same page.
2. Approved → issue the PO (Procurement): press + New PO, pick the supplier and link the approved request, enter the agreed prices and terms. The portal numbers it (PO-1, PO-2…) — open it and Print to send to the supplier.
3. Add suppliers once under Suppliers — name, contact, payment terms. POs can only be issued to registered suppliers. New companies can be invited to register themselves with the Send invite box.
4. Tendering (RFQ / RFP): press + New RFQ / RFP — title, closing date, the lines (RFQ) or scope of work (RFP), terms — then tick the suppliers to invite (plus any extra emails). Each supplier receives a letter with a private link where they submit their price online; quotes appear in the comparison automatically, cheapest first, and the portal reminds non-responders before closing. Press Award → PO on the winning quote: the PO is created from it, the winner gets the award letter and the others get a polite regret letter — all automatic.
5. When the goods ship, stores registers the shipment with reference PO-x and receives it into a warehouse — the PO page then shows how much of the order has actually arrived, and the GRN is the proof for paying the invoice.

📦 For stores & logistics — daily stock discipline

Sign in at portal.bchem.com → ERP → Inventory, Stores & Logistics. The page shows every item, its quantity in each warehouse (Shade, Weatherford, Hangar 1, Hangar 2, M2), the total value, and whether it reconciles with the weekly net worth.

1. Goods arrive → make a GRN. Press + New GRN, enter the supplier and reference (PO number, delivery note or BL), add one line per item — which warehouse it went into and the quantity — and save. The portal gives it a number (GRN-1, GRN-2…); open it and press Print for the driver to sign. Stock updates instantly.
2. Goods go out → make an issue note. Press + New issue note, enter who received the goods and the reference, add the lines, save, print, get it signed. The portal refuses to issue more than the warehouse holds.
3. Moving stock between warehouses → use Quick movement → Transfer. Counting differences → Adjust with the reason written in (the reason is compulsory and kept forever).
4. New material we never stocked before → + New item above the stock table: name, category, unit, cost per unit in AED.
5. Production (grinding, bagging): at the end of each run press + Production entry — add the Consumed lines (raw material, which warehouse) and the Produced lines (finished goods, which warehouse). The form shows the processing loss as you type.
6. Incoming cargo: register the shipment under 🚢 Incoming shipments as soon as it's booked — supplier, PO reference, vessel, BL number, FOB cost per tonne, and the freight/customs/port charges. When it discharges, press Receive → GRN: stock goes in and the item's cost is updated to the true landed cost automatically.
7. Monthly count: under 📋 Stock counts, pick a warehouse and type what you physically counted. Small differences apply immediately; big ones go automatically to Finance and the Chairman for approval — the book stock only changes once approved.
8. Minimum levels: click set min next to any item to set its reorder level. Items below minimum turn red and the portal reminds you and Finance weekly until stock is replenished.
9. The rule: every physical movement is recorded the same day. The stock value on this page is checked against the weekly net worth submission — a growing gap means missing paperwork.

✅ For the GM — endorsing hires and payroll

1. You are the endorsement step: things reach you after Finance has cross-checked. You get a notification with a direct link; everything waiting for you also shows on your Dashboard as YOUR TURN.
2. New hires: confirm the position is really needed, the salary matches what was agreed, and the entity is right. Approve to send to the Chairman, or Reject with the reason.
3. Payroll: Finance has already checked the numbers — your check is business sense: headcount changes you didn't expect, overtime that looks wrong, names you don't recognize. The review page highlights exactly these.
4. Your three buttons: Approve (forward to Chairman), Reject (back with a note), Pending (hold with a note). Approving your own submission is impossible — the system blocks self-approval.

👑 For the Chairman — final approval

Everything above lands with you last, with the full trail visible: who initiated, who reviewed, who endorsed, with timestamps and notes. Your decision closes the file — approval publishes the figures (payroll, net worth) to the dashboards automatically. You can also decide early at any step (override) — the skipped reviewers are notified. The Pending button holds anything without closing it.