System overview — which application to use
Ethica splits work across several web applications. Each one serves a different audience. You only need the applications that match your role.
Quick reference
| If you are… | Use this application |
|---|---|
| Ethica staff handling customers, investments, finance, or internal administration | The internal ERP (staff system) |
| An Ethica customer viewing investments and account information | The customer portal |
| Someone applying to open an account (before you are a customer) | The customer onboarding site |
| A platform administrator managing organizations and tenant setup | The admin portal |
You do not open a separate “API” or backend product for normal work. The services behind the scenes power these web apps; staff and customers interact only through the browsers or devices your organization supports.
For a step-by-step picture of onboarding through to investment across applications, see Investment journey (workflows).
Internal ERP (staff)
The internal ERP is where authorized staff:
- View and manage customers and related requests (such as profile changes).
- Work with investments (transactions, rate information, portfolio assets).
- Use finance tools (chart of accounts, accounting entries, general ledger, trial balance, audits), subject to access.
- Manage people (staff accounts, branches, roles and permissions), subject to access.
- Review system logs (activity and errors), subject to access.
Not every staff member sees every area. What you see depends on your role and which modules are enabled for your organization. For detail, see erp/README.md and erp/people-and-access.md.
Customer portal
Customers who have been onboarded use the customer portal to:
- Review investment-related information.
- View and maintain account details as your organization allows.
First-time use may include steps such as password change, accepting terms, or setting up additional sign-in security, depending on your policies.
See customer-portal.md.
Customer onboarding
Applicants who are not yet customers use the onboarding site to choose an account type (for example personal, corporate, or kids) and complete the application flow your organization defines.
Admin portal
Platform administrators use the admin portal for organization-level tasks, such as creating or managing organizations. This is separate from day-to-day customer work inside the ERP.
See admin-portal.md.
How these pieces fit together (non-technical)
- Onboarding brings new applicants through account opening; approved customers may later use the customer portal.
- Staff use the ERP to operate the business and to support customers.
- Platform admins use the admin portal to configure which organizations exist and how they are set up at a high level.
Exact handoffs (for example, when an applicant becomes a customer) depend on your internal processes; those can be captured in workflows/README.md as you document them.