This article is about the Proxi admin app at app.proxi.co.
Chasing down current hours, new photos, and "we moved" updates from every business on your map is the job nobody signed up for. The fix is self-service listings: invite each business into your portal so they keep their own info current — and, if you let them, add themselves to more of your maps. Whether you think of it as letting members manage their own listing, crowdsourcing listing updates, or self-serve business profiles, here's the whole setup. We'll use a made-up organization, Riverbend Main Street, as the example.
1. Turn the Portal On
Go to Settings → Portal. Set the Portal switch to On — open so any business you work with can sign in with their email, or On — invite only if you'd rather only invited contacts get in. (More on every switch here: Portal Settings: Control What People See and Edit.)
2. Decide What They Can Add and Change
Still on the Portal settings page, the Contributions section controls how far self-service goes, one collection at a time:
Edit live places — let owners update their listing after it's published. On collections you review first, their change comes back to your queue instead of going straight live.
Allow submissions — let businesses add themselves to a collection that's taking new listings. Flip Allow submissions to all to open everything at once.
Edit while in review — let someone tidy up a submission that's still waiting on you.
Calendars have the same switches for event submissions. Turn on only what fits how much you want to hold the reins.
3. Add the Right Contact on Each Listing
On the Listings page, the contacts button in each row (a small people icon) opens a panel where you add the owner or manager — their name and email, plus a role. Manager lets them edit their listing, which is the right choice for most owners. Admin adds managing other contacts and paying invoices. Adding a contact doesn't email anyone yet, so you can build your whole list first.
4. Send the Invite
Click the send button next to a contact, confirm the Invite to portal? prompt, and hit Send invite. They get a branded email with a Manage your listing button that signs them in with their email and a code. The contact row then shows Invited, and later Last signed in — so you always know who still needs a nudge.
5. Or Share One Link for Everyone
For a newsletter or your website, use the Portal Link button at the top of the Listings page (it's also in Settings → Portal). It copies one branded sign-in link that works for any business you've added. Drop it in your "update your listing" email and let people sign themselves in.
6. See What They See, and Keep Tabs
The listing profile's View as link shows you the exact portal a given contact sees — invaluable on a support call. And because every contact row carries its Invited and Last signed in dates, twice-a-year cleanup is just filtering for who hasn't logged in and resending.
What Happens on Their End
Once in, a business owner updates their name, photos, hours, and details in a couple of clicks, adds themselves to any maps you've opened, and submits events to your calendars — all reviewed by you wherever you asked for it. The full walkthrough of their side is In the Portal: What Your Businesses Can See and Update.
Beyond the map: "You control your own listing" is a genuine membership perk — worth a line in your renewal pitch and your welcome email for new businesses. The day a business joins, add the listing, add their contact, and send the invite: their first taste of your organization is a map they helped build.
Worth a read on the Proxi blog: simplifying member directories, building a digital main street, and charging businesses for ongoing placement. For the map this all hangs on, see Step by Step: A Member Directory Map for Your Chamber or Main Street.