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User Accounts

A User Account gives a person the ability to log in to GatherCMS. Not every profile needs a user account — only people who need to access GatherCMS require one. Profiles and user accounts are separate things: a profile is a record of who someone is, and a user account is the login credential that lets them in.

Profiles vs. User Accounts​

  • A Profile stores someone's personal information (name, email, birthday, etc.). Every person in your congregation has a profile.
  • A User Account is a login credential tied to a profile. It stores the person's login email address, whether their login is enabled, and what roles they have.
  • One profile can have one user account, or no user account at all.
  • Creating a user account does not change or replace the profile — the two records are linked.

Creating a User Account from a Profile​

Any staff member with edit access to profiles can create a user account for a person.

Before you begin: The profile must have a primary email address on file. If no email address exists, the Create User button will not be visible.

  1. Navigate to People > Profiles and open the profile of the person you want to give access.
  2. Click Edit in the top-right corner.
  3. Click the Create User button (visible when the profile has no existing user account and has a primary email address).
  4. The user account is created automatically. A welcome email is sent to the person's primary email address with a link to set their password.
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The person will receive a welcome email prompting them to set a password before they can log in. They do not need to contact you for a temporary password. This link is valid for 7 days. If they do not set their password within 7 days, they will need to reset their password from the login screen.

Managing an Existing User Account​

To view or manage a person's user account:

  1. Navigate to People > Users in the Staff Portal.
  2. Find the person by searching their name or email address.
  3. Click their row to open the user account detail view.
  4. Click Edit to make changes.

Enabling or Disabling Login Access​

The Enabled toggle controls whether a person can log in to GatherCMS.

  • Enabled on — The person can log in normally.
  • Enabled off — The person cannot log in, even if they know their password. Their profile and account record are preserved.

Use this to temporarily suspend access without deleting the account — for example, if someone is no longer an active member but their record should be kept on file.

Changing the Login Email Address​

The Email field on the user account is the address the person uses to log in. This may differ from their profile's primary email if you need to change it separately.

  1. Open the user account (via People > Users).
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Update the Email field.
  4. Click Save.
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After updating the login email, the person must use the new address to log in. Let them know so they aren't locked out.

Assigning Roles​

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Assigning roles requires administrator-level access. If you don't see the Roles field when editing a user account, you may not have permission to change it.

Roles determine what areas of the Staff Portal a person can access and what actions they can perform.

  1. Open the user account.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Use the Roles field to select one or more roles.
  4. Click Save.

Roles are defined by GatherCMS. For a complete list of available roles and what each one allows, see Roles and Permissions. Contact your system administrator if you're unsure which role to assign.

Frequently Asked Questions​

The Create User button isn't showing on the profile. Why?

The button only appears when two conditions are both true: the profile does not already have a user account, and the profile has a primary email address on file. If the profile already has a user account, navigate to People > Users to find it. If there is no email address, add one in Planning Center and wait for it to sync.

A person says they can't log in. What should I check?

Check three things: (1) Is the Enabled toggle turned on for their user account? (2) Are they using the correct email address — the one shown on their user account, not just their profile? (3) Have they set a password yet? If they never clicked the link in their welcome email, they may need a new password reset link. You can prompt one by having them use the Forgot Password option on the login page.

Someone received a welcome email but the link no longer works. What do they do?

Welcome email links expire after a period of time for security. Have the person use the Forgot Password link on the GatherCMS login page to receive a fresh password reset link.

Can I see which users are currently logged in or have recently been active?

The People module does not currently show login activity. Contact your system administrator if you need that level of detail.

Can I delete a user account?

Instead of deleting, consider disabling the account using the Enabled toggle. This prevents login while preserving the account record. Contact your system administrator if a full deletion is needed.