External Access Overview

Kazinex Workflows offers three distinct ways to give external parties — clients, contractors, consultants, certifiers — access to project data. Choose the right method based on what the person needs to do.

Comparison: three access methods

Method	Best for	Login required	Scope	Set up by
Guest share	One-time or short-term document/transmittal access	No — link only	Specific document or transmittal	Any Initiator or Project Admin
workflow_responder role	External reviewers who need to respond to workflow steps	Yes	Only their assigned steps	Org Admin
Full member account	Long-term collaborators who need ongoing access	Yes	Project-level (by role)	Project Admin

Guest shares

Guest shares are the simplest option. You generate a token-based link and send it to the external party. They access the shared item in the Guest Portal without creating an account.

Use when:

• A client needs to view or acknowledge a transmittal
• A certifier needs to download a set of drawings for a specific review milestone
• You need to share a document quickly for external comment without onboarding the person

Limitations:

• Access is limited to the specific document or transmittal shared
• Cannot respond to workflow steps
• No notification system — you manage communication outside Kazinex

See Creating Guest Shares and Guest User Experience for full details.

workflow_responder role

The workflow_responder org role is designed for external parties (or internal non-licence-holders) who need to respond to specific workflow steps assigned to them. They have a Kazinex account but very limited access — only their assigned steps, nothing else.

Use when:

• A contractor reviewer needs to approve or reject documents in a formal review workflow
• An external certifier needs to record their approval decision in the audit trail
• You need a documented, attributable response from an external party

Limitations:

• Cannot view the document register, correspondence, or transmittals
• Cannot create documents or start workflows
• Needs to be set up by Org Admin with the workflow_responder org role

Full member account

A full member account is the richest option — the external party gets a named project role (viewer, reviewer, initiator) with the associated permissions. Most appropriate for long-term project collaborators.

Use when:

• A client-side project manager needs ongoing read access (viewer)
• An external design reviewer is a regular participant in formal review cycles (reviewer)
• A sub-consultant needs to upload documents (initiator)

Limitations:

• Requires a Kazinex licence seat (check your plan)
• Requires onboarding the user to the platform

What's next

• Creating Guest Shares — generate tokens, set expiry, monitor access
• Guest User Experience — what the external party sees in the Guest Portal
• Organization Roles — the workflow_responder role explained
• Create a Guest Share tutorial — step-by-step guide