Guests

Guest functionality for external collaboration

Guests let you include clients, suppliers, and partners in your workflows without giving them full Tallyfy accounts. They complete specific tasks through secure email links - and it’s completely free with unlimited access. Simple.

Think of it this way: You’re running a 20-step approval process, but steps 5 and 12 need client input. Instead of managing those separately, guests complete their parts right within your workflow. Everything stays tracked in one place.

Member vs. Guest: Employee Badge vs. Visitor Pass

Here’s an easy way to think about the difference:

• Member: Like an employee with a company ID badge. They log into Tallyfy, have a specific role (Admin, Standard, or Light), and can access different parts of Tallyfy based on their role, just like an employee uses their badge to get into different office areas
• Guest: Like a visitor given a temporary visitor pass for one specific meeting or task. They don’t get a full login or badge. Their pass is the unique forever link¹ sent in their email. This link lets them access only the specific task they need to work on, like a visitor pass only works for one specific room. They can’t access other tasks or processes

This lets you work with outside people on specific tasks without giving them access to your whole Tallyfy account.

Assigning workflow tasks to external guests

Just assign any step to an email address outside your organization - that person becomes a guest. It’s that straightforward.

When you’re building your template, you’ve got three assignment options:

• Specific people or teams in your organization
• Job titles like “Account Manager” or “Project Lead” (great for role-based workflows)
• External email addresses for clients and partners who need to complete certain steps

Here’s what’s interesting: Every guest task must also have an internal assignee. Why? You need someone inside your organization keeping tabs on external participation. Makes sense, right?

Security and access features

Secure access for guest users

• Unique Access Links: Each guest gets their own private link to access tasks. We call it a “forever link” because it stays the same unless you change their email or manually reset it. No passwords needed.
• Frictionless Access: Click the link, complete the task. Done. No account creation, no login screens - just direct access to what they need to do.

Your clients will love how easy this is. And you’ll love that it’s still secure.

Visibility and delegation capabilities

• Controlled Visibility: Guests only see their specific tasks - nothing else. Got a 20-step process where the client handles steps 5 and 12? They’ll only see those two steps. Your internal workflow stays confidential. (Quick note: If you make a process public, guests can see everything in the Tracker view.)
• Flexible Task Delegation: Sometimes your client contact is out sick. No problem - guests can reassign their tasks to colleagues by adding their email addresses.

Perfect balance: Clients get what they need, you keep control of the bigger picture.

Internal oversight with guest assignments

• Mandatory Internal Assignment: Remember how every guest task needs an internal assignee too? That’s by design. Someone in your organization always has visibility into what’s happening with external tasks.
• Automated Communication: Tallyfy sends reminder emails automatically. You won’t need to chase clients for responses - the system handles it.

This dual-assignment setup keeps everything on track without extra effort from you.

Customization and management options

• Email Customization: Your guests control how often they hear from Tallyfy. They can switch to daily digests if they prefer fewer emails. It’s their choice.
• Communication History: Need to check what emails went to a specific guest? Head to Settings > Guests and you’ll see everything - every reminder, every notification. Great for audit trails.
• Language Flexibility: Working with international clients? Guests can change their display language, and if you’ve set up automatic translation, they’ll see task instructions in their preferred language too.

Guests get the flexibility they want. You get the tracking you need.

Guest email preference limitations

Limited control compared to members: Guests have restricted email preference options.

What guests CAN control:

• Daily digest emails (on/off) - Combine all notifications into one daily summary
• Marketing communications (on/off) - Control promotional emails

What guests CANNOT control:

• Individual task notification emails - Always sent when tasks are assigned
• Comment notification emails - Always sent when someone comments
• Process status update emails - Always sent for major status changes
• Deadline reminder emails - Always sent as deadlines approach

Why these limitations exist:

• Simplified experience - Reduces complexity for occasional external users
• Ensures task completion - Critical notifications can’t be accidentally disabled
• System design - Granular preferences require full member dashboard access

For more email control: If a guest needs detailed email preferences, consider:

• Converting them to a Light member² role (view-only access)
• Using member-level permissions instead of guest access
• Managing notifications at the process level through automation rules

Guest task completion experience

Making task completion clear for guests: Tallyfy designs the guest interface to be intuitive and action-oriented.

How guests complete tasks:

• Email notifications include clear instructions and a prominent link
• The green Complete button is prominently displayed on every task
• Automatic reminders are sent based on your configured cadence
• Task descriptions can include step-by-step instructions for clarity

Tips for clearer guest tasks:

• Add explicit instructions in the task description like “Click the green Complete button when done”
• Use numbered steps in task descriptions for complex actions
• Include screenshots or examples when helpful
• Set appropriate deadlines to create urgency

Alternative: Expiring tasks for optional guest work

For low-priority guest tasks that might not get completed, use expiring tasks that auto-complete on the deadline:

1. In the template, set the task type to Expiring
2. Set an appropriate deadline (e.g., 3 days)
3. The task automatically completes if the guest doesn’t respond
4. Perfect for optional feedback requests or “nice to have” input

This prevents processes from getting stuck on unresponsive external parties. Learn more about task types.

To learn more about guests:

• Assign tasks to guests
• Assigning guests
• Get a guest's unique link
• Re-open tasks as a guest
• The guest view
• What is a guest

Related articles

Guests > What is a guest

Tallyfy guests are external collaborators like clients suppliers and contractors who complete specific workflow tasks through secure email links without needing accounts or paid seats while maintaining limited access only to their assigned tasks.

Guests > Assigning guests

Guest users in Tallyfy allow external collaborators like clients vendors and contractors to complete assigned tasks through secure email links without creating accounts or incurring costs while maintaining limited access to only their specific assigned work.

Features > Customer facing

Tallyfy’s Guest feature allows external stakeholders like customers vendors and partners to participate in workflows through secure email links without needing accounts while maintaining professional branding and unlimited free access.

Guests > Assign tasks to guests

Tallyfy allows you to assign tasks to guest users by simply entering their email address when assigning any task which sends them a secure link to complete their work without requiring an account creation.

Footnotes

1. Unique guest_code URL parameter that persists unless manually reset or email changed ↩

2. View-only role with full dashboard access but no task completion permissions ↩