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comrce Hubcomrce HubAdmin Guide

Help a customer from inside their account

A customer asks for help, and a screenshot never shows the detail that matters. With their service PIN you impersonate them: you work in their account, in their company, and see what they see. The PIN is their consent, and they can end your session at any time. Every step is recorded under the customer’s name, together with your identity.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
You needWhere it lives
The Supporter, Admin or Super Admin roleYour team member page under Hub Team. The staff role Partner and the content roles cannot impersonate.
Your own session, fully signed inIncluding two-factor authentication if you use it, and with no impersonation already running
The customer’s service PINTheir settings in the customer area, card Service PIN
An active customerTheir membership in the PIN’s company is Active, and so is the company’s owner. Neither account is scheduled for deletion.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

  1. Ask for the service PIN. The customer opens their settings in the company they need help with. They read out the PIN from the card Service PIN, or copy it into the chat. A PIN is the letter S plus seven capital letters or digits, valid for 14 days.

  2. Find the customer by PIN. Open Users and paste the PIN into the search. The list shows exactly that customer, even with a common name. Open them with the arrow. Users explains the rest of the list.

    Step one of a support impersonation: the Users screen with the customer's Service PIN S7K4P2QX pasted into the highlighted search field "Search users". Because the whole search text equals a valid Service PIN, the table shows only the person the PIN belongs to: Lena Hoffmann, lena.hoffmann@example.com, 2 organizations. The arrow at the end of her row opens her user tab, where the Impersonation card is. An expired PIN finds nobody this way.Step one of a support impersonation: the Users screen with the customer's Service PIN S7K4P2QX pasted into the highlighted search field "Search users". Because the whole search text equals a valid Service PIN, the table shows only the person the PIN belongs to: Lena Hoffmann, lena.hoffmann@example.com, 2 organizations. The arrow at the end of her row opens her user tab, where the Impersonation card is. An expired PIN finds nobody this way.
    The PIN identifies the customer, so you open exactly the account that asked for help.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Users
    Highlighted
    “Search users”: finds the one customer who owns the PIN
    Also visible
    One row: Lena Hoffmann
    Purpose
    finding the customer who asked for help

  3. Check the account before you start. The customer’s tab shows the account status, every company with its membership status, and open sessions. A colleague’s session in the sessions table means someone is already in. A customer user’s details explains each card.

  4. Start the impersonation. In the card Impersonation, enter the PIN in Service PIN and select Start impersonation. Your admin tabs close, and the app reloads as the customer with Impersonation started

    Lena Hoffmann's user tab. In the right-hand column, the lower card, "Impersonation", says "Enter the Service PIN provided by this user to start impersonation." Its "Service PIN" field contains S7K4P2QX; the field turns whatever you type into capital letters. Below it the highlighted "Start impersonation" button signs you in as Lena Hoffmann in the company where she created the PIN. Above, the card "Two-Factor Authentication" shows Enabled, Authenticator and the "Disable 2FA" button.Lena Hoffmann's user tab. In the right-hand column, the lower card, "Impersonation", says "Enter the Service PIN provided by this user to start impersonation." Its "Service PIN" field contains S7K4P2QX; the field turns whatever you type into capital letters. Below it the highlighted "Start impersonation" button signs you in as Lena Hoffmann in the company where she created the PIN. Above, the card "Two-Factor Authentication" shows Enabled, Authenticator and the "Disable 2FA" button.
    Type or paste the PIN and start. The session opens in the company the PIN belongs to.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Lena Hoffmann
    Highlighted
    “Start impersonation”: opens a session as the customer
    Also visible
    Service PIN field with S7K4P2QX; 2FA card above
    Purpose
    starting the impersonation

  5. Work as the customer. You see their tools, dashboard and settings, in the PIN’s company. There is no banner, only End impersonation in the top bar. A few actions are blocked, so you cannot lock the customer out. Working in a customer’s account with a service PIN lists them.

    The customer area of comrce Hub while a staff member impersonates Lena Hoffmann. The sidebar shows the four tool icons, Dashboard, Marketplace and Account, and the Company tab is open with the details of Nordwind Handels GmbH. In the top bar, left of Lena's avatar, lena.hoffmann@example.com and the company name, is the highlighted "End impersonation" button; it is the only sign of impersonation. The company name is plain text, not a company switcher, and the account menu has no "Log out" entry.The customer area of comrce Hub while a staff member impersonates Lena Hoffmann. The sidebar shows the four tool icons, Dashboard, Marketplace and Account, and the Company tab is open with the details of Nordwind Handels GmbH. In the top bar, left of Lena's avatar, lena.hoffmann@example.com and the company name, is the highlighted "End impersonation" button; it is the only sign of impersonation. The company name is plain text, not a company switcher, and the account menu has no "Log out" entry.
    While impersonating, End impersonation in the top bar takes you back to the admin console.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Nordwind Handels GmbH
    Highlighted
    “End impersonation”: ends the impersonation and returns to your staff session
    Also visible
    The customer's sidebar with their tools; Company name without a switcher
    Purpose
    working inside the customer's account

  6. End the impersonation. Select End impersonation in the top bar. You are back in the admin console as yourself. A colleague can also end a session from the sessions table on the customer’s tab, after a confirmation.

    The confirmation dialog that opens from "End impersonation" in the sessions table. It uses the generic title "Are you sure?" and the text "This action cannot be undone." At the bottom are "Cancel" and the highlighted "Confirm" button. Confirming ends the impersonation session, deletes the Service PIN that started it, and the staff browser that was working in the customer account is signed out of it and returned to its own session.The confirmation dialog that opens from "End impersonation" in the sessions table. It uses the generic title "Are you sure?" and the text "This action cannot be undone." At the bottom are "Cancel" and the highlighted "Confirm" button. Confirming ends the impersonation session, deletes the Service PIN that started it, and the staff browser that was working in the customer account is signed out of it and returned to its own session.
    Ending a session from here also invalidates the PIN that opened it.
    What this screenshot shows
    Screen
    Lena Hoffmann
    Highlighted
    “Confirm”: ends the session and deletes its PIN
    Also visible
    Title Are you sure?; Cancel button
    Purpose
    ending an impersonation from the customer tab

  7. Show the customer what you did (optional). Open View Logs on the customer’s tab. Every action from your session carries the Impersonated badge under the customer’s email. Logs explains filters and columns.

What happens next

Section titled “What happens next”

The session ends at once, and comrce Hub deletes the PIN that opened it. The customer’s settings show a new PIN from now on. The session row disappears from their card with the support sessions.

The logs keep the trail: Impersonation by PIN succeeded for the start and Token revoked for the end. The customer’s colleagues with access to the Logs see the badged entries too.

Options

Section titled “Options”

Some requests need no impersonation. They are changes an Admin or Super Admin makes in the console.

ChoiceWhen to pick itEffect
Change one person’s membershipThe customer wants to block one colleagueThat person is signed out of this company at once. Their other companies are not affected. A user’s membership in a company
Change the owner’s membershipThe whole company must be blockedA company’s status is its owner’s status. Every member is signed out until the owner is active again
Transfer ownershipSomeone else should be responsibleThe new owner accepts within 48 hours. Never delete the owner instead: the company becomes read-only. A company’s details

Tips

Section titled “Tips”
  • Tell the customer when you start and when you end. Their settings list your session with your staff email, browser and start time.
  • Prefer looking to changing. Every change appears in their Logs under their name, with the Impersonated badge. The customer may ask what you did.
  • Change only what they asked for. Name, photo and password changes still work. A password change signs out every session of the account, yours included.
  • Always end the session. A PIN opens the account again until it expires. Ending the session is what deletes it.

If something goes wrong

Section titled “If something goes wrong”
SymptomWhat to checkFix
The provided PIN is invalid. twice, although the customer reads the PIN correctlyStop trying. Check the membership and owner status on the customer’s tabFive failures lock you and the customer for five minutes. The exact reason is in the Logs under Impersonation by PIN failed
The card Impersonation is missingDoes the customer have an active membership? Is the account scheduled for deletion?Reactivate the membership first. A deletion must be settled before anyone can impersonate.
Company switching is not available during impersonation.You tried to switch company. The PIN opens only its own companyEnd the session and ask for a PIN from the other company
You suddenly land on your staff sessionThe customer or a colleague ended the session, or a password change signed everyone outAsk the customer for the new PIN if you need to go on
Section titled “Related”