Company Admin and Contact Types are used to classify users according to the way they represent their company to the organization. In Kavi Members, every user must be associated with a company and must be assigned a Company Admin and Contact Type to define the way they represent their company to the organization. This applies to all users, even users who aren't affiliated with a member company or staff company. These users may be assigned to a "company" that exists only in Kavi Members (and not in the real world), and is added to the database solely to group users so they can be managed effectively. The purpose of this kind of company is usually 'Company for Individuals'.

Company representatives usually acquire basic access through Company Types assigned to their company. Company Admin and Contact Types that correspond to special positions in the organization (e.g., 'Primary Contact') are assigned to users who hold these positions to classify them and confer additional access they require to fulfill the duties of these positions. Administrative and editorial privileges assigned through these types are limited in scope, providing access to a specific company's data, rather than access to the organization's data.

Unlike Company Types or User Types, Company Admin and Contact Types cannot be assigned through membership.

Users assigned certain Company Admin and Contact Types may be required to subscribe to the Members mailing list. When creating or editing a Company Admin and Contact Type, the 'Force Email Subscription' option allows you to configure whether users assigned this type will be allowed to unsubscribe from the Members list or not.

This document assumes you are familiar with Roles and Types.

Classifying Web site users into Company Admin and Contact Types provides a searchable attribute that can be used to quickly retrieve groups of users who have been assigned that type with the User Data Report or other tool. Unlike Company Types or User Types, Company Admin and Contact Types are seldom defined for the sole purpose of grouping users, in most cases, these types are defined to identify company representatives of various types and provide Web site access privileges so the company can pursue its membership benefits through its representatives.

Organizations grant different levels of Web site access privileges to different classes of users. A user who is a Company Representative for a member company will have regular Members Area access, but the user who serves as this company's contact person for the organization will be assigned the 'Primary Contact' Company Admin and Contact Type. In its default form it confers the 'company_admin' role which confers access to Company Admin area and tools used to manage company information. If Kavi® Billing and Kavi® Showcase are installed, they will associate roles with the 'Primary Contact' type, including 'billing_contact' and 'showcase_company_editor', which grant access to the company management tools for these applications.

Company administrators and other kinds of company representatives with special responsibilities frequently require Web site privileges beyond the basic level of access inherited through their company, and must be assigned additional Company Admin and Contact Types in order to acquire the roles they need to perform their duties. These kinds of users often "wear more than one hat," fulfilling multiple administrative or editorial positions. They may be assigned multiple company administration and contact types—or privileged User Types if they belong to a staff company— in whatever combination is necessary to grant them the roles required to fulfill the responsibilities of each of these positions.

Company Admin and Contact Types can be assigned to company representatives automatically as they are added to the database or manually by an administrator through Add a User, Edit a User or Upload Data.

The most important default Company Admin and Contact Types are 'Primary Contact' and 'Company Admin' (a.k.a 'Admin'), both of which confer the 'company_admin' role, which grants access to Company Area tools and permission to manage the company's roster and other information. Company Represenatives who are assigned either of these types can edit the names, contact information and assign similar types to other users who belong to their company.

For a complete list of these default types, see Default Company Admin and Contact Types.

To view all available Company Admin and Contact Types (including sites custom to your site), use the View Access Configuration tools.

Roles associated with Company Admin and Contact Types should provide company-level access only. These roles usually contain 'company' in their name, such as 'company_admin'. Roles that provide administrative or editorial access outside the scope of a specific company should be assigned through User Types.

Company Admin and Contact Types should only confer roles that provide access to company data, as opposed to roles that grant global access. In other words, these types should not be able to edit the data of other companies.

There are no default Company Admin and Contact Types that convey Kavi Edit privileges.

Classifying company contacts or company administrators into Company Admin and Contact Types provides a searchable attribute that allows administrators to search for this type of users quickly through the User Data Report and other tools. The most common use of these types as a semantic classification mechanism occurs in Kavi Showcase, where users may be identified as 'Marketing Contacts' or other kinds of contacts for profiles or items in the catalog so that their contact information can be displayed to people visiting the showcase.