Users are discrete identities authorized to log into a business hosted in either the server or cloud editions of Manager. They might be individual persons; or, they might be groups of coworkers sharing an account. They are granted permissions by an administrator consistent with their assigned duties. Creation and management of users are covered in this Guide. Assignment of user permissions is covered in another Guide.
Examples
- An accountant might host Manager services for several clients under one cloud account. She could create separate users at each client business and assign them access to only the business where they are employed.
- A holding company might own three businesses and have them share a Manager server installation. But access to each business would be restricted to the accounting personnel designated as users for that business.
- A single company might create all its personnel handling sales, purchasing, production, payroll, and inventory as users, giving them access to necessary forms and transactions through its local network.
Create a new administrator user
Administrator users have full access to everything. They can create new users, set permissions for existing users, enable new tabs, create and review all reports, and adjust settings. There are two types of administrator users:
- The default user named Administrator built into the program. This administrator user can control the Manager server or cloud account, and cannot be deleted or renamed. This user’s password can and should be updated, however, from the one assigned at initial setup.
- Optional, additional administrator users created after initial setup by any other administrator user. These users can be renamed and deleted. Of course, their passwords can be changed. They will have the same authority as the default administrator.
Caution
Administrator users will have access to all businesses under the server or cloud account. Therefore, they should not be created to administer a single business when multiple businesses are hosted under one account, such as by an accountant or bookkeeper. Instead, a restricted user with full access should be created. (See below.)
To set up a new administrator, you must first be logged in as an administrator user. Go to the Users tab at the top of the Manager window, then click New User:
Enter the administrator’s Name, Username, and Password. Select Administrator in the dropdown box for Role. Click Create:
Note
Both Username and Password are case sensitive.
Example
The administrator of a cloud account creates Kristin as a second administrator user:
Create a restricted user
Restricted users have limited authority within a single business or multiple businesses. You can control not only what they can see, but also what they can do, in great detail. Typically, you should create most new users as restricted users. When creating a restricted user, select Restricted user in the Role field. Then select businesses they should have access to. Multiple businesses can be selected.
Example
Kristin (created in the example above as an administrator user) now has control over two businesses: Northwind Traders and Brilliant Industries. These business share common ownership, but are separate legal entities. She creates Jeffrey as a restricted user for both:
Kristin also creates Aminata and Jennifer as restricted users for Northwind Traders only.
When restricted users are created, administrator users can see them under the Users tab with the names of businesses to which they are allowed any form of access.
Example
Kristin returns to the Users tab to review identities and access for all users on the account:
Modify or impersonate users
Modify user names, usernames, passwords, and business access by clicking on a name under the Users tab. You will be returned to the user form where you originally created the user. Edit and update the user there.
Administrator users can impersonate a restricted user by clicking Impersonate. Doing so bypasses the restricted user login process and allows the administrator to see and do what the restricted user can.
Note
After impersonating a restricted user, you cannot return to the Users tab, because restricted users cannot see that tab. You will need to log out as the restricted user. However, you will automatically be logged back in as the administrator user.
Duplicate users
Manager will not prevent an administrator from creating duplicate users. However, the program will highlight duplicate usernames in red to help find and correct problems.
Example
Kristin creates a second user with the Name Jeffrey and Username jeffrey. But she does not yet assign the second one to any business:
The presence of duplicates does not necessarily indicate a problem. For example, unrelated businesses hosted under a common server or cloud account may actually have users with identical names and may desire the same usernames to be assigned. While such a situation could be confusing, assignment of the restricted users to different businesses should generally resolve any problem.