Understanding and Managing External Users
Overview
External User is a network role for people outside your organization like investors, consultants, and contract employees who do not share the same company domain as yours. These people can be added to preferred groups and boards in your Zoho Connect network and will have limited access to your network based on the policies set by the network admin.
For example, a project consultant whom your team is working with can be added as an external user and given access only to groups, boards, related to the project. This way, it is easier for your team to collaborate with the consultant while still keeping the rest of your network hidden.
The external user feature is available only for internal networks.
Who are external users?
External users are collaborators outside your organization who need limited access to your network.
- They appear under the External Users tab in the People Directory.
- Their profile is visible to all network members.
- Their access is restricted to only what is explicitly allowed.
External users have access only to groups that they are added to and they have access to all the apps enabled in the Network, except for channels.
External users need to have a Zoho account in order to be added to a network. If an user does not have a Zoho account, the user will be prompted to create one while accepting the invite.
Access and permissions
External users do not have full network access. What they can see and do depends on the permissions set by the network admin.
Adding external users
Only network admins can add external users.
External users must have a Zoho account. If they don’t have one, they’ll be prompted to create it when accepting the invite.
Who can add external users to a network?
Only the network admins can add external users.
What they can access | What they cannot access or do |
Groups and boards they are added to | Create groups, boards, town halls, surveys, or manuals |
Network apps (based on enabled permissions) | Become admins of any group, board, or manual |
Network wall and forums (if allowed) | Access channels |
One-on-one chats after mutual contact approval | Access custom apps |
How to manage the permissions for External Users
The network admins can control what apps within the Network the external users can access from the Policies page.
To do this:
- Click the gear icon in the right menu.
- Select Settings from the dropdown.
Under Policies, select Expand near External Collaborators.
Choose your preferences.
Pricing
You can add up to five external users per member licenses. Let's say you have purchased 50 member licenses for your network. This means you can add 250 (i.e: 50*5) external users to your network.
We hope this guide was useful! For more details or feedback, reach out to us at support@zohoconnect.com. We're happy to help!