Depending on your organisation’s structure and activities, and the way that you utilise your system, you may find it necessary to provide third parties (i.e. people who are not part of your organisation) with access to your Activ system. This might include (e.g.) contractors, temporary auditors (if you are being audited remotely), or consultants (if they are supporting your system). As with employees, these individuals must be provided with their own login before they can access your system. This allows you to ensure that everyone who is accessing your system only has visibility to appropriate areas (as determined by their system permissions), and that their activities are properly logged within Activ’s automatic audit trails.
To help you keep track of precisely who has access to your system, and which of these users are part of your organisation, Activ offers three different types of system user (see System Users – Overview) and displays each of these types within a separate register. Amongst these types is the Third Party group: a user type that includes all individuals who are not directly employed by your organisation, but who need access to areas outside of their own company’s file (see Extranet Login and Add an Extranet User if the third-party only needs access to their own company’s information). Once set up, these third party users function in the same manner as your normal users, and can be granted access to any part of your system. In addition, as with your normal users, they can be provided with the full range of system permissions for each module. However, their user details are held separately to your employees’, avoiding any confusion over their relationship with your organisation.
Most third party users will be added to your system by your organisation, and will be chargeable at the normal user rates. However, it is important to be aware that the following individuals may also be displayed within your Third Party users register:
- Members of the MyActiv support team;
- Consultants or auditors who are part of the Amtivo group (if you are receiving support from, or being audited by, members of the Amtivo group); and
- Members of your Reseller’s team (if you have Activ through a Reseller).
These individuals will be added to your Third Party tab by MyActiv or your Reseller (as appropriate), and will have non-chargeable access. Their system permissions are controlled by MyActiv or your Reseller (as appropriate), and cannot be edited by your organisation. These individuals are displayed within your register for transparency, and their activities are automatically recorded within all audit trails as they would be had you added them to your system yourself.
Adding a third party user of your own is a simple and secure three step process. These steps are:
- 1 – Account Setup
- 2 – Generate Validation Link
- 3 – Validate Account
The first two stages are completed by a System Administrator, and the third is completed by the user themselves.
This article focuses on the initial account setup (step one). See Send an Account Validation Link to a User and Validate your Account for guidance on steps two and three.
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To add a third party user to your system, open the System Administration module on its Login Permissions tab and click on the Third Party button at the top of the screen. This will open a register of all third party users that have previously been entered into your system. Click on the Add button.
This will open a blank Add Users and Employees tab for you to populate. For convenience, this form is divided into three sections:
- An (unnamed) Personal Details section, which allows you to record the user’s basic personal details.
- The Login Details panel, which allows you to configure the account’s basic settings.
- The System Permissions panel, which allows you to set module permissions for the user (see System Permissions).
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Personal Details
The Personal Details panel does not have a heading, but consists of the individual’s basic personal details, including the key contact information. It includes up to eleven fields:
First Name / Last Name* – enter the user’s first and last names.
Telephone / Mobile / Fax– enter the user’s main contact numbers.
Email* – enter the user’s main contact email.
Team* – only available if Teams is enabled within your system. Use the magnifying icon to select the Team that the user belongs to.
Notes – use this field to enter any applicable notes against the user.
Has Login?* – automatically populated with ‘Yes’ and cannot be changed. This field specifies that the user will have their own login (chargeable user licence) to Activ.
User Type* – automatically populated with ‘Third Party’ and cannot be changed.
Show in Dropdowns?* – automatically populated with ‘Yes’ to confirm that the new user will be listed in drop-down menus throughout Activ’s other modules. If required, you can set this field to ‘No’, preventing the user from appearing in dropdown menus. This means that it will not be possible to assign items (e.g. reviews, Improvement Logs, Tasks, etc) to the user.
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Login Details
The Login Details panel records the user’s key system details, and consists of nine fields:
Username – enter a provisional Username for the user. Note that this must be unique, and that the user will be able to change it when they validate their account. It is typically recommended that you enter the individual’s work email address as their username.
Notifications Managed* – use the dropdown to specify whether the user’s notifications will be configured by a system administrator, or whether they can be controlled by the user themselves. Note that the user will not be able to edit their own notification settings if you select ‘By Administrator’.
Time Zone / Locale / Language – use these fields to set the user’s time, locale, and language.
Single Login?* – automatically set to ‘yes’, meaning that only one login session can be active at any one time. This field cannot be changed.
Chargeable?* – automatically set to ‘yes’, meaning that you will be charged for the user. This field cannot be changed.
Disable On – an optional field that can be used to specify when the user account should automatically be disabled (preventing the user from logging in), if the user account has been created to provide temporary access. See Expiring User Logins: Automatically Disable a User on a Specified Date for more information.
Disabled On / Disabled By – automatically records who disabled the user and when the user was disabled.
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System Permissions
The System Permissions panel records the user’s permissions to each module within your system, and determines what areas of the system they will be able to view and modify. Each Area shown within the panel relates to a module within your system, and the Areas displayed will depend on the modules that are included within your package. Use the plus icon next to each Area to view the available permissions, and the Radio buttons to select the level of access the user should have (see System Permissions).
Activ also provides you with the option to schedule a one-off or repeating formal review of the user’s system permissions. This can be set up now, or at a later date (see Schedule a Formal Permissions Review).
Click on Save once you have finished entering the user’s account details.
If adding the user will require you to purchase a new Activ User Licence (i.e. take you over your inclusive user allowance), Activ will take you to a new page outlining your updated billing levels and asking you to confirm the addition. Once you have confirmed, you will be taken to the new user’s Login Permissions tab and will be able to complete the setup of their account.
