This guide walks you through connecting your Coupa account through Makini Link.
Set aside about 15 minutes. You'll need your Coupa login and the phone that has your authenticator app on it (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, or similar).
Use a shared company account if you can. Part of this setup changes how the Coupa account signs in. If you use your own personal login, the connection breaks whenever you change your password or reset your phone - and it stops working entirely if you leave the company. A shared account set up for integrations avoids all of that.Have your authenticator app ready. You'll be asked to enter a code from it partway through, so keep your phone next to you.Which way should you connect? Makini Link offers two connection methods for Coupa:
User Account
A Coupa login plus the key behind its authenticator codes. The steps in this guide get you running right away.
User API
Coupa's own API connection, which skips all the authenticator steps, but Coupa has to turn it on for your company first, and that takes a request to them. See "Connecting with User API instead" below. You can switch to it later without redoing anything else.
Coupa requires a 6-digit code every time you log in. For the connection to work on its own, it needs the key that those codes are generated from.Open a new browser tab and log in to Coupa, then:
1.
Go to your user account settings, then Security (this is where your multi-factor authentication settings live).
2.
Click Change authentication app. It's a blue link just below the checkbox.
3.
Enter the current 6-digit code from your authenticator app to confirm it's you.
4.
A QR code appears, with a long string of letters and numbers underneath it. That string is what we need. Copy it and paste it somewhere safe for a moment - a password manager is best.
5.
Scan the QR code with your authenticator app. This adds a new entry for Coupa.
6.
Coupa will offer you recovery codes. Copy and save these. They're how you get back in if you lose your phone.
You'll now have two Coupa entries in your authenticator app — the old one and the new one. Compare the 6-digit codes they show:
If the codes are different: normal. Delete the old entry and continue.
If the codes are identical: this happens sometimes with Coupa. The connection will still work fine, so go ahead and continue - but let your IT or security contact know, because it means Coupa didn't actually issue a new key. Delete the old entry either way.
Treat that long string like a password. Anyone who has it can generate valid login codes for the Coupa account. Keep it in a password manager. Don't email it, don't put it in a chat message, don't save it in a shared document.
Things that will break the connection
Changing the Coupa password: redo Step 2 with the new password
Setting up the authenticator app again on that Coupa account: redo Steps 1 and 2
The Coupa account being disabled or deleted: you'll need a new account, then start again from Step 1
Don't turn on the sync settings yet unless someone has confirmed your workflow is the standard one. Getting connected and configuring what actually syncs are two separate things, and the second one depends on how your business handles purchase orders and invoicing.
Once Coupa has turned on API access for your company, a Coupa administrator can set up an API client for Makini. Coupa calls it an OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect client, and it uses the client credentials grant. Ask your Coupa administrator or your Coupa contact to create one and give you its client ID and client secret.Then choose User API as the connection method in Makini Link and fill in:
Instance Domain: the address of your Coupa instance, for example https://your-company.coupacloud.com
Client ID: the client ID of that API client
Client Secret: its client secret
Click Connect. This method doesn't depend on anyone's password or authenticator app, so it keeps working through staff changes and password resets. It stops working if the client secret is regenerated or the client is removed in Coupa; enter the new values if that happens.
