Tallyfy guests are external stakeholders who can complete specific workflow tasks through secure email links without needing full accounts or paid subscriptions while maintaining limited access to only their assigned tasks.
Complete guide to guest user management
Need to include external people in your workflows? Guest users let you do exactly that - they can complete tasks without creating accounts or costing you extra. Here’s everything you need to know.
Think of guests as your external collaborators - clients, vendors, contractors - anyone outside your organization who needs to complete specific tasks. They’re:
- External participants who don’t need a Tallyfy account
- Unlimited and free to include in your processes
- Limited to completing only tasks assigned specifically to them
- Identified by their email address
| Feature | Guest Users | Regular Members |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, unlimited | Paid, based on subscription |
| Account needed | No | Yes |
| Can create templates | No | Yes (Standard/Admin) |
| Can launch processes | No | Yes (with permissions) |
| Task visibility | Only assigned tasks | All tasks (based on role) |
| Process visibility | Limited to their tasks | Full process view |
| Authentication | Email-based link | Login credentials |
| Can be assigned tasks | Yes | Yes |
| Can create tasks | No | Yes (with permissions) |
You’ve got two ways to bring guests into your workflows:
-
In a template (for repeatable processes):
- Select a step in your template
- Go to the Assignment tab
- Select “Guest” as the assignment type
- Enter the guest’s email address
-
In an active process (for on-the-fly changes):
- Navigate to the task you want to assign
- Click Reassign
- Select “Assign to guest”
- Enter the guest’s email address
- Click Save
That’s it. No complex setup required.
Here’s what happens when you assign a task to a guest - they’ll receive an email with a secure link straight to their task. No passwords to remember. No accounts to create.
You can:
- Customize the email notification message
- Set up reminder notifications for uncompleted tasks
- Track exactly when they access their tasks
- Keep everything moving smoothly
Want to know how your guests are doing? The Tracker view shows you everything at a glance - which tasks are complete, which are pending, and who’s working on what. You can also check task history to see when guests accessed their work and use comments to keep communication flowing (yes, guests can see @mentions directed at them).
Need customer data? Guest tasks make it simple. Use them to gather information through forms, collect document uploads, get approvals or signatures, and request feedback. Your customers get a clean, professional interface - you get the data you need. Everyone wins.
Sometimes you need outside expertise. Maybe it’s a legal review, technical consultation, or vendor approval. Guest access lets these external experts drop in, contribute their piece, and move on. They provide specialized input, review deliverables, approve changes, or add their expertise to specific steps - all without the overhead of full user accounts.
Here’s where guest tasks really shine. Create an onboarding process that guides new clients through every step they need to complete. They’ll submit required documentation, fill out necessary forms, and receive information exactly when they need it. You’ll capture everything systematically. No back-and-forth emails, no missing paperwork.
Getting “I can’t access my task” messages from guests? Don’t panic. Here’s your troubleshooting checklist:
- Double-check the email address (typos happen more than you’d think)
- Here’s a common gotcha - guest emails can’t be from your company domain. If your organization uses
mydomain.com, guest emails ending in@mydomain.comwon’t work. They’ll need to use a personal email instead. - Check if the task link has expired
- Resend the invitation from the task view
- Make sure the process is still active (completed processes lock everyone out)
- Verify the task hasn’t been reassigned to someone else
Still stuck? The issue is usually #2 - the domain restriction catches a lot of people.
Accidents happen. If a guest clicks “Complete” too soon, you can fix it in seconds:
- Navigate to the completed task
- Click the Reopen option in the task menu
- The task returns to “In Progress” status
- The guest can access it again with their original link
No need to create new tasks or reassign anything.
Wrong email? Easy fix. Just go to the task, click Reassign, enter the correct guest email address, and click Save. Tallyfy sends a fresh invitation to the new address automatically. The old link stops working immediately - good for security.
Tallyfy keeps guest access locked down tight. Here’s exactly what guests can and can’t see:
Guests CAN see:
- Their specific assigned tasks
- Attachments or fields within those tasks
- Comments where they’re @mentioned
Guests CANNOT see:
- Other tasks in the process
- Your templates or organization settings
- Member information or other processes
- Historical data outside their tasks
Simple as that. They see their work, nothing more.
Important security consideration
Here’s something that trips people up: When you make a process Public to the world, the rules change completely.
- Private process (default): Guests see only their assigned tasks. Period.
- Public process: Guests can see all tasks in the Tracker view - including tasks assigned to other guests or members
Why does this matter? Let’s say you have multiple vendors working on different parts of a public process. They’ll be able to see each other’s tasks in the Tracker view. Not ideal if you’re managing competitive bids or confidential work.
Keep processes private when:
- Different external guests shouldn’t see each other’s work
- Task titles or descriptions contain sensitive information
- You need strict task-level access control
Want to keep things secure? Follow these guidelines:
- Share only what’s necessary in guest tasks (less is more)
- Use form fields to collect information instead of exposing sensitive details
- Keep confidential data out of task descriptions and attachments
- Set expiration times on guest task links when dealing with time-sensitive information
- Review and remove guest access when projects wrap up - don’t let old links linger
Sometimes a guest needs more access - maybe a contractor becomes an employee, or a client needs deeper involvement. Converting them is straightforward:
- Navigate to Settings > Members
- Click Invite Member
- Enter the guest’s email address
- Select the appropriate role
- Send the invitation
They’ll get an invitation to create a full Tallyfy account. All their previous guest work stays connected to their new member profile.
Going the other direction? Maybe someone’s involvement is scaling back. Here’s how:
- Go to Settings > Members
- Find the member you want to convert
- Click the three dots menu and select Convert to guest
- Confirm the change
Done. They can still complete guest tasks but won’t have member privileges anymore.
Need to collect information from a large group? You don’t have to assign individual tasks. Instead, create a process with a form, generate a shareable link, and send it out. Anyone with the link can submit the form - perfect for surveys, registrations, or feedback collection. Tallyfy captures every submission automatically.
First impressions matter. When guests interact with your processes, they should see your brand, not ours. Customize the experience with your logo, welcome messages, and branded email notifications. Even the task descriptions can reflect your organization’s voice and style.
The bottom line? Guest users give you flexibility without complexity. You can include anyone in your workflows - clients, vendors, partners - without user management headaches or extra costs. They get a smooth experience, you maintain control, and everyone stays focused on getting work done.
Tallyfy guests enable external clients suppliers contractors and business partners to complete specific workflow tasks and forms through unique secure links without requiring full accounts while maintaining unlimited free access and ensuring all external participation is tracked as integrated parts of larger organizational workflows.
Guests > Assign tasks to guests
This guide explains how administrators and standard members can assign workflow tasks to external guest users by entering their email addresses either when building process templates during active processes or through comment mentions with guests receiving email links to complete tasks without needing full Tallyfy accounts.
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.
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