# MSP Owner Account Setup & First Login

This article explains how MSP accounts are provisioned, what happens during the first login, and how MSP Owners should complete initial account setup before onboarding users or managed companies.

:::info Who This Is For
**MSP Owners** and/or **Administrators** responsible for onboarding and MSP Portal Management
:::

# Requesting MSP Access
Access to the WatchDog MSP Portal is **not self-service**. An MSP tenant is created after the partner onboarding process is completed.

To request an MSP account:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Submit the partner application form">
      Submit the partner application form or schedule a discussion directly with the WatchDog team.
  <div style="white-space: nowrap;margin:20px">

  <a href="https://calendly.com/watchdogsecurity/watchdog-partnership-discussion"
     target="_blank" rel="noopener"
     style="display:inline-block; text-decoration:none; padding:8px 16px; font-weight:600;
            border-radius:8px; background:#6f5af8; color:#fff;
             margin-right:10px;">
    Book a Call
  </a>
    
  <a href="https://watchdogsecurity.io/partners/"
     target="_blank" rel="noopener"
     style="display:inline-block; text-decoration:none; padding:8px 16px; font-weight:600;
            border-radius:8px; background:transparent; color:#6f5af8;
            border:1px solid rgba(111,90,248,0.12);">
    Partners Page
  </a>

</div>
  </Step>
  <Step title="Complete the onboarding discussion">
    During the discussion, the WatchDog team will review requirements and prepare your MSP environment.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Provide the primary administrative email address">
    During onboarding, provide the email address that will be used for the initial MSP administrator.
  </Step>
</Steps>

# First Login & Initial Setup

After provisioning, the MSP Owner receives an **invitation email** to access the MSP Portal.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Accept Invitation">
    Open the invitation email and set your account password.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access the MSP Portal">
    After setting the password, you can immediately sign in. The account is automatically verified.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure Multi-Factor Authentication">
    On your second login you will be prompted to configure MFA.  
:::tip[]
You may skip this prompt up to five times before it becomes mandatory. For detailed MFA setup instructions, see the **MFA Setup Guide**.
:::
  </Step>
  <Step title="Complete Initial Environment Setup">
    After signing in, configure the MSP environment before onboarding customers:  
    <CardGroup cols={3}>
      <Card title="Configure Billing" href="/billing-usage-overview#configure-billing" icon="lucide-credit-card">
        Set up the billing profile required before onboarding customer organizations.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Create Child Nodes" href="/create-msp-node" icon="lucide-boxes">
        Segment your MSP into teams or downstream partners using node hierarchy.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Define Custom Roles" href="/add-custom-role" icon="lucide-key-round">
        Create role-based permissions to control what MSP users can see and manage.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Add Users" href="/add-msp-users" icon="lucide-user">
        Invite administrators and technicians to access the MSP Portal.
      </Card>

      <Card title="Create Managed Companies" href="/create-managed-company" icon="lucide-building-2">
        Add customer organizations and begin managing their environments.
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>
      </Step>
    </Steps>

# NFR Licenses

Each MSP environment includes **10 NFR licenses** for internal testing and evaluation.

NFR tenants:
- Do not require billing configuration
- Are intended for training and platform familiarization
- Should not be used for production customer workloads

:::tip[]
You can create a test tenant immediately using NFR licenses to explore the platform before onboarding customers.
:::

# Security & Permission Enforcement

All access in the MSP Portal is governed by role-based access control (RBAC).

- Permissions are evaluated at the MSP node level
- Permission changes apply immediately
- The interface may require a refresh after role updates

<Card title="MSP Permissions" href="/role-management#msp-portal-permissions" icon="lucide-key-round">
    Set up the billing profile required before onboarding customer organizations.
</Card>