Accounts, login & onboarding
How clients log in (and what to do when the code doesn't arrive), how to add and onboard clients the right way, and how teams and logins work.
Accounts & login
How do my clients log in to the app?
Clients download your branded app from the App Store or Play Store (or TestFlight before launch),
enter the email on their profile, and get a 6-digit code by email, with no password. Logins last
about a year. Phone and SMS login works where enabled, but the client’s full international number
(+44…, +381…) must be saved on their profile first, or the system creates a new empty account.
You choose which methods are offered under My App → Authentication.
My client didn’t get the 6-digit login code, what now?
Have them enter their email again in the app. That always sends the code, and it sends the same code as long as it is still valid, so the one in their welcome email keeps working and they don’t have to guess which of several emails is current. On the code screen, Resend does the same thing and shows a 60-second countdown so they can see it worked.
If it still hasn’t arrived, the usual causes are a full mailbox, the sender being blocked, the code threaded under an older email, or a trailing space when pasting. Check spam. As a fallback, open the client’s record and use Login code on the three-dot menu in the header (or Personal → Actions → Access → Generate Auth Code) and have them type it.
Tell them what to look for. Since 20 August 2026 every email we send on your behalf leads with your own app name in the subject, for example “Trener Nikola: your login code” rather than a generic “Protocol” one. If your app has no name set yet, your business name is used instead. That makes the email far easier to find, and much less likely to be dismissed as spam by a client who has never heard of Protocol. Set it under My App → General → App Name.
The emails are sent from no-reply@protocolcrm.com, so it is worth telling clients to add that
address to their contacts.
Codes are limited to a few sends an hour, and a handful of wrong attempts will retire a code, so ask them to request a fresh one rather than keep guessing.
Why does a client end up with two profiles (one phone, one email)?
This used to happen when a client logged in with a phone number on an email-created account, or the other way round. Keep clients on the login method their profile was created with. To clean up a stray profile, open it and use Personal → Actions → Danger zone → Delete Client.
Why can’t some of my migrated clients log in?
Older systems often used usernames, not emails. A client migrated without an email can’t log in until you add one: open the client and set their email address on Personal → Contact.
Can clients use Protocol on a laptop instead of the phone app?
Yes. A web client app can be set up for your tenant that looks and works like the mobile app with most of the same features. Mobile is the primary experience; share the web link for clients who need desktop, or whose phones aren’t supported.
Should my whole team share one login, or have separate logins?
For most teams one shared login is simplest, since everyone can view and edit all clients either way. Separate logins matter only if you want isolated calendars and tasks or different access rights, and you can switch to per-user later.
How do I add teammates and give each coach their own clients?
Invite via My Organization → Team → Invite member. In Individual mode all data is shared across the team; in Team mode each coach sees only their own clients plus team-shared resources, and clients can be reassigned between coaches. Team mode is also what turns on the Team tabs in the Vault. See Training templates.
Can I invite a coach who already uses Protocol on their own?
Yes. Invite them the same way, at the address they already use. They get a second account inside your team, separate from their own: their own clients, templates and calendar stay where they are and nobody on your team can see them.
After they accept, signing in asks which business to open, and an organisation switcher appears in the sidebar under the logo so they can move between the two. Coaches with only one account never see either, so nothing changes for the rest of your team.
They set up the new account from the invitation email, including its password, which is separate from the one on their own account.
If I give everyone one shared access code, what’s the downside?
A single shared code gets forwarded, so lots of people can end up watching your content for free and you lose any real count of paying clients. Use one account per buyer, or deliver through the app or web app, which also unlocks progress tracking and push notifications.
Onboarding clients
I added a client but they got no email, how should I onboard clients?
The Add client dialog decides that, with two switches: Send app invite now, which emails an access code and how to download your app, and Ask for the intake form first, which sends the onboarding questionnaire. The dialog’s subtitle spells out what the client will actually receive before you confirm. With both off, adding a client sends nothing.
The simplest flow is still to have the client download your app and sign up, which auto-creates their account and onboarding form.
How do I send a client the initial questionnaire right now?
Open the client and go to Personal → Actions. The Re-onboarding card offers four ways in:
| Choice | What it does |
|---|---|
| Form Onboarding | Emails an onboarding form, app access instructions, or both |
| Copy Link | Picks a form and copies its link, so you can send it however you like |
| Transcript Onboarding | Reads a meeting transcript and fills the profiles from it |
| Custom Instructions | Takes what you already know, pasted in, and builds the profiles |
Use Schedule for recurring or future forms, and a client Todo for a one-off form now.
How do I create a client straight from a consultation form?
Set up an automation in Vault → Automations: on form submit, create the client and fill their data. Then just send the form link, and the client’s answers are sorted into their new profile.
Why didn’t my onboarding form’s answers fill in the client’s profile?
The form has to go out through the Add client dialog, or through Personal → Actions, which generate a client-specific link the system uses to attach and sort the answers. A plain published link still collects submissions, but won’t link them to a client. Copy Link on the Actions tab gives you that client-specific link to paste anywhere.
What does a non-client see if they try to register, can I customise it?
Yes. Turn on Disable registration under My App → Authentication, and only pre-created clients can log in. Registration disabled message is the text everyone else sees, so put a contact route in it, such as your WhatsApp, and failed sign-ups become leads.
My client on Hotmail/Outlook isn’t getting the onboarding email, what do I do?
Microsoft inboxes sometimes reject automated mail. As a fallback, use Copy Link on the client’s Actions tab and send the onboarding link over any messenger.
A client’s questionnaire seems to have “disappeared”, where did it go?
Submissions are kept, not deleted, so a missing one almost always means it was never actually submitted in the app. The client likely filled an older external form instead.
What shouldn’t I change during a migration, and when should I go live?
Once your final data export is pulled from the old system, stop editing programs and data there, because later edits won’t carry over. And don’t go live on your weekly-report day; pick a day just before or after so no reports are lost mid-switch.
Which date drives the “current week” of a plan?
Protocol counts the active week from the plan’s start date, not the purchase or activation date. When migrating, map your old system’s start dates explicitly so week numbers line up.
See also: Adding & onboarding clients.