In this guide, you will do the following:

• Install and configure a local webserver (XAMPP)
• Setup MySQL Database
• Install Grow CRM

Installing XAMPP

This is the first and most important step. Grow CRM has many server requirements, which are easily met by the application XAMPP

NOTE: There are processes and configurations that are done by the installation wizard and as such just running php artisan serve on your local folder will not work.

1. Download a copy of XAMPP (PHP 7.3.x) version from their website https://www.wampserver.com/en/
2. Run the installation file and finish
3. Startup XAMPP and make sure Apache & MySQL are running

Create A MySQL Database

Now that you have installed XAMPP,  open your browser to the url shown below

http://localhost/phpmyadmin/index.php?route=/server/privileges&adduser=1

• Fill in the form, as shown below.
• This will let you create a MySQL user, complete with a new database

INSTALL GROW CRM

You can now install Grow CRM.

• Unzip your Grow CRM package
• Copy and paste the contents into the htpdocs folder of your XAMPP installation. For windows users, the folder is usually C:\xampp\htdocs
• See image below for an example

• Open your browser to http://localhost
• Follow the installation wizard. You will be asked for the MySQL database details (which you created previously)

You should now have Grow CRM installed and working

You will also now be able to run php artisan command from within your IDE

The post 6. Installing & Developing Locally first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

Grown CRM is built on the Laravel framework and in order to install it on an Nginx web server, you will need to make these changes on your server.

Edit Virtual Host Config File

You will need to edit the nginx config file for your website. This is typically found in the /etc/nginx/conf.d directory. You add the following code, which will direct all requests on your website to inded.php

For effecting security of your website, you must add these directives in the order they are listed below.

#VERY IMPORTANT: protect the applications core directory
location ~ /application/* {
       deny all;
}

#direct all urls to index.php
location / {
     try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
}

You must then restart your Nginx webserver

systemctl restart nginx

Set Folder Permissions

The following folders must be writable

If you do not set writable permissions as show below, you will get a 504 Gateway Time Out error.

You can set writable permissions via FTP or via SSH

Depending on how your web server is setup, you can try setting permissions as follows. Try the lowest level first, if it does not work, try the next permission level.

• 0755
• 0770
• 0777

THESE FOLDER MUST BE WRIATBLE

/updates 
/storage 
/storage/avatars 
/storage/logos 
/storage/logos/clients 
/storage/logos/app 
/sorage/files 
/storage/temp 
/application/storage 
/application/storage/cache
/application/storage/cache/data
/application/storage/debugbar 
/application/storage/logs 
/application/storage/temp
/application/storage/app 
/application/storage/app/public
/application/storage/framework 
/application/storage/framework/cache
/application/storage/framework/cache/data
/application/storage/framework/sessions
/application/storage/framework/testing
/application/storage/framework/views
/application/bootstrap/cache

THESE FILES MUST BE WRIATBLE

/application/.env

You can also get more information on Laravel and Nginx here.

You will now be able to continue with the rest of the Installation Instructions

The post 3. Nginx Server Instructions first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

Download Updates

To check for new updates, go to the settings section of your app, as shown below.

Once you have downloaded the update, you must unzip the folder. You will then need to connect to your server/website, using an FTP client. You can download a free FTP client like FileZilla

• Enter your FTP login details, as shown above (1 – 3). These are usually the same as your Cpanel or web hosting panel logins.
• You must navigate the right window (this is your remote site) until you are in a directory with content similar to illustration (5), as shown above
• You will then upload the contents of the updates folder into your server, as shown in illustration (4) above

After you have finished uploading, your CRM will have been updated.

The post 5. Installing Updates first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

This documentation is also available online

https://growcrm.io/documentation

For help, please send us an email, at support@growcrm.io

The post Introduction first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

These errors are normally caused by a server that does not meet the minimum server requirements.

Blank white page

If you are getting a blank white page, be it during setup or when using the application, it means that the application has encountered an error, however, your web hosting server is not set to display the error(s) on the screen. You can instead take a look at the error logs, to identify the error.

A system error occurred whilst trying to process this request

If you get this error when you are just starting the installation process, clear your browser cache and then try again.

Request Could Not Be Completed

If you get a popup that says that the request could not be completed, it usually means that an error was encountered when processing your request/action. Please download the error logs to see more details about the actual error.

500 Server Error

If you are getting a 500 Server Error message, please check the error logs to get details about the error.

504 Gateway Timeout Error

This error usually indicates that the application is failing to write files to certain folders. You must set writeable permissions of the following files and folders. You can do this via your FTP client (right-click the folder and select ‘permissions’) or via SSH, using the **chmod 0777** command.

NOTE:

Some require permissions to be set to 0755 and not 0777. Typically you willknow because you will get a 500 Server Error.

CHMOD THESE FOLDER - 0777

/updates	
/storage	
/storage/avatars	
/storage/logos	
/storage/logos/clients	
/storage/logos/app	
/storage/files	
/storage/temp	
/application/storage
/application/storage/app	
/application/storage/cache	
/application/storage/debugbar	
/application/storage/framework	
/application/storage/logs	
/application/storage/tinx	
/application/bootstrap/cache

CHMOD THESE FILES TO - 0777

/application/.env

The post 4. Common Installation Errors first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

Please ensure that you have first read the Server Requirements

UPLOADING TO YOUR SERVER

1. Start by download the package zip file from your Codecanyon dashboard.
2. Once you have downloaded it, you must unzip the folder
3. You must then upload the contents of the unzipped folder, onto your server, using an FTP Client, such as Core FTP.

The image above shows a typical connection to your web site’s server. For detailed instructions on how to connect via FTP, please see your web hosting providers’ documentation.

• (1) This is your local computer. In this case, the unzipped Grown CRM folder is on the desktop
• (2) & (3) You will drag and drop all the contents of this folder, into your server (usually into a folder called public_html)

NGINX SERVER

If your server is running Nginx, you will need to follow additional instructions. Please see the section titled Nginx Server Instructions.

Note: These instructions do not apply if your web hosting is based on the standard Apache server (e.g. Cpanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin etc)

FOLDER & FILE PERMISSIONS

The following folders must be writable

If you do not set writable permissions as show below, you will get a 504 Gateway Time Out error.

You can set writable permissions via FTP or via SSH

Depending on how your web server is setup, you can try setting permissions as follows. Try the lowest level first, if it does not work, try the next permission level.

• 0755
• 0770
• 0777

THESE FOLDER MUST BE WRIATBLE

/updates 
/storage 
/storage/avatars 
/storage/logos 
/storage/logos/clients 
/storage/logos/app 
/storage/files 
/storage/temp 
/application/storage 
/application/storage/cache
/application/storage/cache/data
/application/storage/debugbar 
/application/storage/logs 
/application/storage/temp
/application/storage/app 
/application/storage/app/public
/application/storage/framework 
/application/storage/framework/cache
/application/storage/framework/cache/data
/application/storage/framework/sessions
/application/storage/framework/testing
/application/storage/framework/views
/application/bootstrap/cache
/application/storage/app/purifier/HTML

THESE FILES MUST BE WRIATBLE

/application/.env

SETUP WIZARD – WELCOME

Once you have finished uploading your files, open your browser to the URL of your website. You will be presented with the setup wizard, as shown below. This is the first page of the setup wizard.

Click on the Start Installation button, to continue.

SETUP WIZARD – REQUIREMENTS

This next step of the installation wizard checks if your web hosting server meets all the Server Requirements. If any item is marked with a cross, you will need to contact your web hosting provider for assistance. You can send them a screenshot of this page.

You can set folder permissions via FTP or via SSH. Depending on your server’s setup, the permission levels can be an of the ones shown below (always try the lowest permission level first)

• 0755
• 0770
• 0777

If everything checks out ok, click on the continue button.

SETUP WIZARD – DATABASE

This next step will require you to have your database information ready. Most web hosting providers control panels, have a section that allows you to do the following.

• Create a new MySQL database.
• Create a new database user.
• Add the database base use to the database.
• Grant full permissions to the database use, on the database.

The screen above, shows the database form, for you to enter your MySQL database details.

• (1) Database Server
  • This is usually just localhost, unless if your web hosting provider has told you otherwise.
• (2) Server Port
  • This is usually 3306, unless if your web hosting provider has told you otherwise.
• (3), (4) & (5) Database Details
  • These details have been explained in the section above.

SETUP WIZARD – SETTINGS

On the screen above, you will need to enter the following information:

• Company Name
  • This is the name that will be displayed throughout the application (e.g. on Invoices)
• Timezone
  • It is usually best to set your timezone to UTC. You can, however, set it to a timezone that best suits you and your customers

SETUP WIZARD – ADMIN USER DETAILS

On this screen,  you can now enter your details (as the admin). Click continue.

SETUP WIZARD – FINISH SETUP

You will now be able to login the dashboard as an admin user and you can start creating your client accounts and your users accounts.

Please note, the dashboard url’s are the same for all users (team & client)

Example: http://www.yourdomain.com/login

The post 2. Installation first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.

Grown CRM is built using the Laravel Framework (version 7)

Minimum Server Requirements

• PHP >= v7.2.5 (but not PHP 8)
• BCMath PHP Extension
• Ctype PHP Extension
• Fileinfo PHP extension
• JSON PHP Extension
• Mbstring PHP Extension
• OpenSSL PHP Extension
• PDO PHP Extension
• Tokenizer PHP Extension
• XML PHP Extension
• MySQL Database
• GD Library >= v2.0

Recommended Web Hosting Provider

Our recommended shared web hosting provider is Host Gator. Their standard packages meet all the server requirements for running Grown CRM.

The post 1. Server Requirements first appeared on Grow CRM - A Self Hosted CRM & Project Management Software.