CompassHQ gives admins fine-grained control over who can join an organization and how their access is managed. This guide covers access policies, membership statuses, and member management.
Access Policies
Every organization has an access policy that determines how new users gain access. You can change the policy at any time from Admin > Organization > Edit.
Open (Anyone with company email)
Any user who signs in with a Google account matching your organization’s domain is automatically added as an active member. This is the fastest way to onboard your team — no admin action required.
Approval Required
Users with a matching domain email can request access, but they land in a Pending state until an admin approves or denies them. This gives you visibility into who is joining while still allowing self-service sign-up.
Invite Only
Only users who have been pre-provisioned by an admin can join. When an admin creates a user account with a specific email address, that account is placed in Placeholder status. When the real user signs in with Google using that email, they claim the placeholder account and become active.
This is the most restrictive policy and is best suited for organizations that need tight control over who has access.
Membership Statuses
Each member in your organization has a status that reflects their current access level:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | Full access to CompassHQ. Can sign in and use all features available to their role. |
| Pending | The user has requested access but has not yet been approved by an admin. Only applies when the access policy is set to “Approval Required.” |
| Placeholder | A placeholder account created by an admin. The user has not yet signed in to claim it. Used with the “Invite Only” access policy. |
| Archived | The user’s access has been revoked. They can no longer sign in. An admin can reactivate them at any time. |
| Denied | The user’s access request was denied by an admin. They cannot sign in. An admin can reactivate them if needed. |
Managing Members
From Admin > Organization, you can manage members in several ways:
Approving Pending Users
When the access policy is “Approval Required,” new sign-ups appear with a Pending badge. Click Approve to grant access or Deny to reject the request.
Archiving Members
To revoke a member’s access without deleting their data, click Archive. Archived members can be reactivated later.
Reactivating Members
Both Archived and Denied members can be restored to active status by clicking Reactivate.
Adding Users
Click Add User to pre-provision a user account. Enter their email, name, and role. The account starts in placeholder status until the user signs in with Google.
Editing Users
Click Edit on any member row to update their name, role, job title, or reporting manager.
Deleting Users
To permanently remove a user, open the edit panel and click Delete User. This action cannot be undone.
Seat Counting
Only Active members count toward your plan’s seat limit. Pending, placeholder, archived, and denied members do not consume seats.