Account Troubleshooting: Login & Password Reset

Most login problems are fixed by checking what the customer is typing, then resetting their password. Work through the six steps below in order, and only contact support once each one has been tried.

Use this article when a customer can't log in, has forgotten their password, or isn't receiving their reset email.

First, ask whether they're logging in on the web portal or the app, and whether they can log in on the other one. If the portal works but the app doesn't, their email and password are fine, so go straight to Step 4.

Step 1: Check they're typing their details correctly

A typo is the most common cause of the "Invalid email or password" message. Before anything else, ask the customer to check:

• Email address: the one they signed up with, spelled in full, with no space before or after it.

• Caps Lock: passwords are case-sensitive, so make sure Caps Lock is off.

• Copy and paste: pasting a password can add a hidden space or miss a character. Ask them to type the password in by hand instead.

• Autofill: their browser or phone may be filling in an old saved password. Ask them to clear the field and type it in by hand.

• Which email: if they have more than one email address, ask them to try each one.

Step 2: Reset the password

If the details look right but login still fails, walk the customer through a password reset:

1. Go to the login page and click Forgot password?

2. Enter the email address on the account and submit. They should see: "We have sent a password reset link please check your inbox."

3. Open the email and click Reset Password. If the button doesn't work, copy the full link from the email and paste it into the browser.

4. Enter a new password and confirm it. It must be at least 5 characters, with at least one upper-case letter and one number.

5. Go back to the login page and sign in with the new password.

If the customer is already logged in and just wants a new password, they can use Change Password in their account settings instead.

Step 3: If the reset email doesn't arrive

Ask the customer whether the reset email has arrived. If it hasn't after a few minutes:

• Check spam, junk and promotions folders. Ask them to mark the email as "not spam" so future emails arrive in their inbox.

• Confirm the email address. If they mistyped it on the reset form, the email went nowhere. Ask them to request the reset again, typing carefully.

• Try other email addresses. The account may be under a different address, such as a work or partner's email. You can verify this by checking the email on their parent record in your admin login.

• Use the most recent email. If they asked for a reset more than once, they should use the link in the newest email.

If the email reset still doesn't work, skip to Step 5 and send a temporary password via SMS instead.

Step 4: Portal works but the app doesn't

If the customer can log in on the web portal but not the app, their email and password are correct. The problem is usually the organisation code, or an old session stuck in the app.

Check the organisation code

The app asks for an organisation code as well as an email and password. A wrong code stops login even when the email and password are correct. Ask the customer to check:

• It's the right code for the organisation they're a member of. If they're not sure, the organisation can confirm it.

• There are no spaces before, after or inside the code. Copying and pasting often adds a space at the end.

• Every character matches exactly, for example the letter O and the number 0.

If they belong to more than one organisation, they need the code for the one they're trying to log in to.

Refresh the app

If the code is correct, the app may be holding on to an old session. Ask the customer to:

1. Log out of the app, if it lets them.

2. Fully close the app, not just switch away from it. On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause, then swipe the app away. On Android, open recent apps and swipe the app away.

3. Reopen the app and log in again.

4. As a final step, turn the phone off and on again, then try once more.

Step 5: Send a temporary password via SMS

If the email reset doesn't work, staff can send the customer a temporary password by text message from their parent profile:

1. In the Lists menu, click Active Students.

2. Search for the student and click the parent's name.

3. In the parent profile, click Send Temporary Password via SMS, then click Yes.

4. Ask the customer to log in with the temporary password from the text, then set a new password they'll remember using Change Password in their account settings.

If the text doesn't arrive, check that the mobile number on the parent profile is correct and current. If more than one temporary password was sent, the customer should use the one in the latest text.

Step 6: Possible duplicate accounts — contact support

If none of the steps above work, the customer may have more than one account. This often happens when someone signs up twice with different email addresses. Signs to look for:

• They can log in, but their details, history or bookings are missing.

• The reset email arrives at one address, but they expect to use another.

• They see "Email address already exists" when trying to sign up again.

Don't ask the customer to create another account, as this adds a further duplicate. Contact support so they can find and sort out the accounts.

What to send to support

Include these details so support can help without having to come back with questions:

• Customer's full name and organisation

• Every email address and mobile number they might have used

• Whether they can log in on the web portal, the app, or neither (and which phone, for the app)

• The exact error message, or a screenshot

• Which of Steps 1–5 they've already tried, and what happened