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Back-office desk
Some shops include a back-office desk — a full web-based ERP workspace for warehouse, accounting, and advanced stock work. This guide explains when your team should use it versus the merchant dashboard, and where to find official ERPNext how-to material.
Before you start
Back-office desk access is not included on every plan. If your onboarding form asked about desk access for staff and your D4 contact confirmed it, you will receive a separate sign-in URL and credentials. Shops on the standard online-only plan manage catalog and orders entirely in the merchant dashboard.
What the back-office desk is
The back-office desk is ERPNext Desk — the standard Frappe/ERPNext web interface. It is the same system that stores your product catalog and sales orders behind the scenes. Staff with desk accounts can open sales documents, run stock transactions, and use accounting reports that are not available in the merchant dashboard.
Your merchant dashboard (D4 Connect) remains the primary place for day-to-day online shop work: products, categories, inventory receives, orders, specials, and fulfilment queues.
Who should use which tool
| I need to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Add or edit products and categories | Merchant dashboard — Products and Categories |
| Receive stock or adjust counts for the online shop | Merchant dashboard — Inventory |
| View and fulfil online orders, print labels | Merchant dashboard — Orders and fulfilment queues |
| Run percentage specials on products or categories | Merchant dashboard — Specials |
| Create delivery notes, invoices, or accounting entries | Back-office desk |
| Advanced warehouse moves, stock reconciliation, or company reports | Back-office desk |
| Workshop / job-card floor workflows | ERP Jobs — repair job cards, quotations, and collection (separate Jobs workspace) |
Good to know
Changes you make in the merchant dashboard are saved to the same back office your desk users see. You do not need to duplicate product or stock work in both places. Train staff: manage the online catalog in the dashboard; use the desk for warehouse and accounting tasks your plan includes.
Signing in
| Merchant dashboard | Back-office desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Shop owner and managers | Warehouse, accounts, or ops staff (when enabled) |
| Sign-in | Email invite from D4 (Clerk) | URL and username/password from your D4 contact |
| Typical URL | Link in your go-live email | https://yourshop-erp… (your D4 contact provides the exact address) |
The two systems use different logins. Losing merchant dashboard access does not automatically reset desk passwords — contact your D4 sales rep or support channel for either.
Common desk tasks
These tasks are documented in the official ERPNext manual. Use the links below for step-by-step detail — do not expect the same screens in the merchant dashboard.
| Task | ERPNext manual |
|---|---|
| Overview of Desk and navigation | Introductionhttps://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/introduction |
| View or edit a sales order | Sales Orderhttps://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/selling/sales-order |
| Record stock in or out | Stock Entryhttps://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/stock/stock-entry |
| Ship goods (delivery note) | Delivery Notehttps://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/stock/delivery-note |
| Manage items (advanced) | Itemhttps://docs.frappe.io/erpnext/user/manual/en/stock/item |
Online orders placed on your D4 storefront appear as sales orders in the back office. Your fulfilment team can match the order reference from the merchant dashboard when opening the document in Desk.
Getting help
- Dashboard how-to: Merchant dashboard guides
- Desk access or new staff accounts: your D4 sales rep or agreed support channel
- ERPNext feature depth: links in the table above
Next steps
- Merchant dashboard — products, inventory, and orders
- Getting started — day-one checklist after go-live
- ERP Jobs — workshop repair workflows (D4 Connect relationship)
Riv staff
Provisioning, URLs, roles, and D4 integration: internal ERPNext Desk doc.