The Guest User Experience

⏱️ 3 minute read

In Forecast, Admins can give client contacts Guest User access. Guest Users have limited access to the platform. This article outlines how Guest Users use Forecast to collaborate on projects and tasks.

Jump to... 

• What Client Contacts with Guest User Access Can Do
• Guest User Navigation
• Using My Work
• Using Projects and Task Board
• Where to go next 

What Client Contacts with Guest User Access Can Do

Client contacts who have guest user access have limited platform access, restricted to a project's tasks, which are available from My Work or Task Board. 

Depending on their permissions, they can take the following actions on tasks:

• Add a new task
• Add or edit estimates
• Add or remove task assignees
• Assign or edit a task's role
• Adjust task start and end dates
• Create calendar meetings
• Add comments and tag people
• Flag tasks as high priority, bugs, or blocked
• Add labels to tasks
• Add subtasks
• Attach files to tasks
• Delete tasks

Client contacts who have guest user access cannot:

• View or edit a project's Scoping, Sprints, Timeline, Financials, or Settings
• Create or modify workflow columns in Task Board

Guest User Navigation

The navigation ribbon gives client contacts with guest user access a focused set of pages and tools for working within the platform. 

My Work and Projects sit at the top left, providing access to their assigned tasks and projects. 

On the right, next to the profile icon, are the Create button and four additional icons:

• Create: Lets them create new tasks.
• Search (magnifying glass icon): Helps them quickly find their projects and tasks.
• Recent Activity (clock icon): Shows the projects they've recently opened or worked in.
• Notifications (bell icon): Displays in-app notifications, based on the Notification Settings configured in their user profile.
• Help (question mark icon): Opens Forecast's Help Center or lets them submit a support request.

Using My Work

My Work contains My Tasks and My Notifications. My Tasks shows all tasks assigned to a client contact with guest user access, and My Notifications provides access to their in-app notifications.

My Tasks

My Tasks displays all tasks assigned to a client contact with guest user access. Use it to access tasks, review work, and collaborate with the project team.

To access My Tasks:

1. Click My Work in the navigation bar.
2. Select My Tasks from the dropdown.
3. Review tasks, check status, and confirm deadlines.

Note: Overdue tasks have a deadline in the past. This Week includes all tasks due this week or later. Done includes tasks with a Done workflow status.

4. Use the date picker or arrows to scroll back or ahead in time.
5. Apply a filter to find specific tasks by deadline or project.
6. Add or remove columns using the show/hide (Eye) menu.

To access My Notifications:

1. Click My Work in the navigation bar.
2. Select My Notifications from the dropdown.
3. Review notifications, apply filters, or mark all as read.

Using Projects and Task Board

Client contacts with guest user access can access the projects they're assigned to, listed on the Projects page and organized by project stage. 

Expand a stage to view its projects, and switch between list or card view. Use the show/hide (Eye) menu to display project details such as Client, Project Owner, Status, and Dates.

Within a project, they can only access its Task Board, which they can use to access tasks, review work, and collaborate with the project team.

To access Projects and Task Board:

1. Click Projects in the navigation ribbon.
2. Select All Projects from the dropdown.
3. Click a project to open its Task Board.

Where to go next

• Client & Contact Profiles

• Guest User Access for Client Contacts

• Setting up your Profile: Instructions for Guest Users