Account Contacts and Users - Managing People Associated with an Account

Accounts are linked to people (users) who can make purchases, receive billing communications, and access subscription benefits. Managing these relationships correctly ensures the right people receive invoices, can place orders, and are covered by the account's memberships.

Understanding the Relationship Between People and Accounts

Each person in the system can be linked to an account through two mechanisms:

• Individual membership — the person is added directly to the account's user list
• Organization membership — the person belongs to an organization that is linked to the account

Both types of users appear in the account's Users tab, but they are managed differently.

Viewing Account Users

To see all people associated with an account:

1. Open the account from the Accounts page
2. Select the Users tab

The description reads: "These users are eligible for this account's subscription and membership benefits. They can only purchase from this account if their billing setting is set to this account."

Each user row displays:

• Remove — a checkbox for individually-added users; organization users show "Company*" and cannot be removed from this tab
• Edit — link to the person's record in admin editing
• First and Last — the person's name
• Title — job title
• Email — email address
• Phone — phone number
• Organization — the organization name (if applicable)
• Billing — checkbox indicating this person is a billing contact for the account
• Co./Individual — whether the person was added individually or through a company/organization link

Adding a User to an Account

To add an individual user:

1. On the Users tab, click the Add button
2. Use the search form to find the person you want to add
3. Select the person and click Add

The add form description reads: "Use this search to find and include a current user in the account. To add a new user, first create the user then return here and include that user in this account."

If the person does not yet exist in the system, create their People record first through the admin editing interface, then return to the Users tab to add them.

Removing a User from an Account

To remove an individually-added user:

1. On the Users tab, check the Remove checkbox next to the user
2. Click Remove from Account

Users added through an organization link show "Company*" in the Remove column and cannot be removed from this tab. To remove an organization-linked user, either remove the organization from the account's Organizations tab or edit the person's record to de-select the organization.

Setting the Primary Contact

The Primary Contact is the person responsible for account management. To set or change the primary contact:

1. On the Account Details tab, locate the Primary Contact dropdown
2. Select the person from the list

The help text reads: "The individual responsible for account management. To be in this list, the person has to be added to Account Users in the 'Users' tab."

Only people who appear in the Users tab are available in this dropdown. If the person you need is not listed, add them to the account first using the Users tab.

Setting Billing Contacts

The Billing Contact is the person who receives invoices and billing communications. There are two ways to designate billing contacts:

From the Account Details Tab

The account-level billing contact (billingMemberId) and CC billing contact (ccBillingMemberId) are set on the main account record. These determine who receives invoices and statements.

From the Users Tab

Each user has a Billing checkbox on the Users tab. Checking this box marks the person as a billing contact. Multiple users can be marked as billing contacts.

1. On the Users tab, check or uncheck the Billing checkbox next to each user as needed
2. Click Save to save billing checkbox changes

Managing Organizations

The Organizations tab links organizations to the account. When an organization is linked, all people who belong to that organization are automatically included as account users.

1. Open the account and select the Organizations tab
2. Add or remove organization links as needed

Organization-linked users appear in the Users tab with "Company" in the Co./Individual column. They cannot be individually removed from the Users tab — instead, manage the organization link.

How Users Relate to Purchasing

Being listed as an account user does not automatically allow a person to make purchases on the account. For a person to purchase from a specific account, their individual People record must have the account set in their billing configuration. The Users tab description notes: "Being in this list does not allow them to purchase from this account. A person purchases from the account set in the Billing tab of their person record."

Account Manager Assignment

The Account Manager field on the account record identifies the staff member responsible for managing this account. This is a separate concept from the Primary Contact (who is the customer-side contact). Account managers are internal staff who oversee the relationship.

Tips

• When an account has both individual and organization users, review the Users tab periodically to ensure the correct people have access to subscription benefits
• Billing checkbox changes on the Users tab are saved independently with the Save button — they do not require saving the entire account record
• If a person needs to be both a user and a billing contact, add them as a user first, then check their Billing checkbox