User Guide 2 – Admin Guide

This guide is for Org Admins. It covers the Admin Console, managing users, configuring the system, and managing disaggregation types, reporting periods, sites and stakeholders. Each section ends with a short exercise.

Opening the Admin Console

The Admin Console is where Org Admins manage users and organisation-wide settings. Open it from your profile menu (the round icon at the top right of the screen) by selecting Admin console. It has the following tabs:

• Configuration: workflow level names, default date, number and currency formats, custom workspace groups, offices, site types, approval types, stakeholder types and reporting periods for aggregated indicators
• Users: invite, manage and deactivate users, and assign Org Admin rights
• User authentication: multi-factor authentication and Microsoft Azure sign-in
• Organisation details: organisation, subscription, contact and IATI details
• Exports: organisation-wide data exports, including IATI and customised exports
• Styles: custom colour styles for dashboards
• Workspace status and Workspace stage: custom status and stage labels for workspaces
• Change log settings: turn on and configure the change log
• Disaggregation types and Reporting periods: define disaggregation types and reporting periods that can be used across all workspaces

More detail is available in the knowledge base: Admin Console Settings.

1. Managing users

1. Invite new users: open the Admin Console and select the Users tab.
2. Click the green Invite users button.
3. Enter the user’s email address and click Add. The user will receive an email inviting them to set up their TolaData account.
4. Deactivate users: you can only deactivate users who have been invited to your organisation unit and have completed their account setup. Open the Users tab of the Admin Console.
5. An orange tick in the checkbox next to a user means the user is active. Untick the box to deactivate the user. A warning message will ask you to confirm.
6. Org Admin rights: you can also assign Org Admin rights to other users from the Users tab.
7. See Annex A below for more information on user accounts and permissions.

Exercise A

• Invite a team member to your organisation account.
• Add them to a workspace team and set their role, using Annex A to choose the correct role.

2. Configuring the system

1. Open the Admin Console and select the Configuration tab to configure the system as described below.
2. Workflow levels: the three workflow levels are named “Workspace”, “Activity” and “Task” by default. To change the terminology used in the system, edit the names and click the green Save button.
3. Note that these names are not translated when a user sets their profile to a different language.
4. Default configurations: set the default date format, number format and currency. Select from the drop-down menus and click Save. Your selections apply to all users in your organisation.
5. Custom workspace groups: define groups to organise your workspaces and make the platform easier to navigate.
6. Click Add new, enter the group name as it should appear in the group filter list, enter the order of the group and click Save.
7. Site types: set the site types users can select when they create a new site.
8. Click Add new, enter the site type name as it should appear in the drop-down list and click Save.
9. Approval types: set the approval types users can select when they create a new approval in the Activities section.
10. Click Add new, enter the approval type name as it should appear in the drop-down list and click Save.
11. Offices: set the offices users can select when they create a new site, to show which office of your organisation manages the site.
12. Click Add new, enter the office name and its country and click Save.
13. Stakeholder types: set the stakeholder types users can select when they create a new stakeholder.
14. Click Add new, enter the stakeholder type name as it should appear in the drop-down list and click Save.
15. Aggregated indicator reporting periods: link reporting period types to all existing and future aggregated indicators in the organisation unit.
16. Open the Link reporting period types drop-down and select a reporting period. To unlink a reporting period from your aggregated indicators, click the unlink icon on the right-hand side.

Workspace status and stage labels are set in their own Admin Console tabs. See Workspace Status, Stage and Groups.

Exercise B

Configure three elements of the platform:

• Create a custom workspace group.
• Create an approval type.
• Create a site type.

3. Organisation details and exports

1. Organisation details: in the Organisation details tab, view your subscription plan (its status, next billing period, next renewal date and number of licences) and enter your organisation, contact and IATI details. Enter an organisation ID code if you need it included in your exports.
2. Exports: in the Exports tab, export your organisation’s data, including IATI and customised exports.
3. IATI export: if your organisation has switched on IATI reporting, you can export your workspace data in the IATI standard. For more on the TolaData–IATI integration, see our free guide: IATI full guide.

4. Custom styles

1. Open the Admin Console and select the Styles tab to create colour packages for use in the Dashboards section.
2. To add a new colour package, click Add new dashboard style, enter a name for your colour scheme and choose a colour for each element.
3. More information: Creating Custom Colour Styles.

Exercise C

• Create a custom dashboard style package.

5. Change log settings

1. Open the Admin Console and select the Change log settings tab to activate and configure the change log.
2. To activate the change log, select Yes in the configuration box. You can then define what to record, such as the change details, the author’s name and the date and time of the change, and which users can view the change log.
3. More information: Activating Change Log.

6. User authentication

1. In the User authentication tab you can configure multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Microsoft Azure single sign-on for your organisation. See Configuring Multi-Factor Authentication.

7. Managing disaggregation types

1. Disaggregation types are managed in the Disaggregation types tab at the workspace level. Org Admins can also define organisation-wide disaggregation types in the Admin Console.
2. Standard disaggregation types are pre-set in TolaData, based on commonly used disaggregation types and global standards such as ISO.
3. Custom disaggregation types can be created for use across all workspaces in your organisation, or for specific workspaces only.
4. Click the green Add new disaggregation button to create a new disaggregation type.
5. Enter the name of the disaggregation type (e.g. Gender) and select its availability. Availability determines whether the type can be reused in any workspace in your organisation or only in the workspace you are currently working in.
6. Enter the disaggregation values. You must enter at least two values; add more by clicking Add new value. When you are finished, click Save.
7. Link disaggregation types to the relevant indicators in the Targets and disaggregations tab of each indicator.
8. More information: Managing Disaggregations.

Exercise D

• Create a custom disaggregation type.
• Link the disaggregation type to an indicator.

8. Managing reporting periods

1. Reporting periods are managed in the Reporting periods tab at the workspace level. Org Admins can also define organisation-wide reporting periods in the Admin Console.
2. Standard reporting periods are pre-set according to the calendar year and are automatically available to all users:

• Annual: 1 January – 31 December
• Semi-annual: 1 January – 30 June; 1 July – 31 December
• Quarterly: 1 January – 31 March; 1 April – 30 June; 1 July – 30 September; 1 October – 31 December
• Monthly: the first to the last day of each of the 12 calendar months

3. Custom reporting periods let you create periods required for a workspace or donor, for example annual periods from 1 July to 30 June.
4. Click the green Add new custom reporting period button.
5. Enter a name for the period type (e.g. Donor1 Annual) and select its availability. Availability determines whether the reporting period can be reused in any workspace in your organisation or only in the workspace you are currently working in.
6. Enter each reporting period in the set, giving it a name (e.g. Donor1 Q1 2026) and a start and end date, then click Save.
7. Add as many periods as you need by clicking Add new period. You can set up periods for the next few years now, then return each year to add more by editing the custom reporting period set.
8. We recommend not deleting past reporting periods, so they are retained for your historical data.

Exercise E

• Create a custom reporting period.

9. Managing sites

1. Sites: manage your organisation’s site library by selecting Workspace in the left-hand navigation panel, then the Sites tab.
2. Click the green Add new site button.
3. Enter the site name, type (managed in the Admin Console, see section 2), office and status. You can also enter contact information.
4. Set the site’s location by choosing the country from the drop-down list and dragging the pointer on the map to the exact location, or by entering the latitude and longitude directly.
5. When you have finished, click Submit.
6. You can edit a site’s details in the library. Changes update the site everywhere it is used in the system.
7. Sites can only be deleted from the library. Deleting a site removes it from all workspaces it is linked to.
8. Once created, a site can be linked to a workspace at the workspace details level.
9. A site can also be linked to an activity at the activity level.
10. A site can also be added to individual collected data items.

10. Managing stakeholders

1. Stakeholders: manage your organisation’s stakeholder library by selecting Workspace in the left-hand navigation panel, then the Stakeholders tab.
2. Click the green Add stakeholder button.
3. Enter the name, ID code, role, type (managed in the Admin Console, see section 2) and country, then click Submit.
4. You can edit a stakeholder’s details in the library. Changes update the stakeholder everywhere it is used in the system.
5. Stakeholders can only be deleted from the library. Deleting a stakeholder removes it from all workspaces it is linked to.
6. Once created, a stakeholder can be linked to a workspace at the workspace details level.
7. A stakeholder can also be linked to an activity at the activity level.

Exercise F

• Create a site.
• Create a stakeholder.

Annex A: User accounts and permissions

There are two types of user account: Org Admins and Org Users.

• Org Admins have access to all workspaces and data, and also manage user accounts, organisation-wide disaggregation types and system configuration. Org Admin status is automatically given to the person who creates the organisation in TolaData. There can be several Org Admins, and Org Admins can assign this status to others in the Users tab of the Admin Console.
• Org Users get access to each workspace by being added to its team with one of four roles, detailed below.

Note: Any Org User can create a new workspace, and the person who creates it becomes its Project Admin. Org Users can only see workspaces created by other users if they are added to the workspace team.

Workspace team roles

Roles are set per workspace on its Team tab. See Manage team members.

• Project Admin: manages permissions and the set-up of the workspace structure. Has full edit rights to workspace data, plus extra rights for data cleaning and validation. A workspace can have more than one Project Admin.
• Edit Access: has full edit rights to workspace data, with some restrictions on what they can edit. Can support workspace set-up and do everything a Data Entry user can.
• Data Entry: can view all workspace data but can’t edit the workspace structure or data. Can input new results, import data tables, request approvals and add document links, but can’t carry out quality checks or validation (such as editing or deleting results).
• View Only: can view all workspace data but can’t edit or add data.

Workspace permissions by role

Area	Project Admin	Edit Access	Data Entry	View Only
Workspace – setup and details	Full access	Full access	View only	View only
Workspace – team permission management	Full access	No access	No access	No access
Workspace – sharing workspace data	Can share own workspace data with any other workspace on the account	View only	View only	View only
Indicators – indicator plan, details and results framework	Full access	Full access, except deleting indicators	View only	View only
Indicators – disaggregation types	Can add, edit or delete disaggregation types for this workspace only	View only	View only	View only
Indicators – results (collected data)	Full access	Full access, except editing or deleting results reported by another user	Input new results; edit or delete own results	View only
Form library – webforms for data collection	Full access	Full access	Input data via webform URL	Input data via webform URL
Data tables – import datasets	Full access	Full access, except editing or deleting datasets imported by another user	Full access, except editing or deleting datasets imported by another user	View only
Activities – activity plans and modules	Full access	Full access	View only, except adding document links in the Documents module	View only
Activities – approvals	Full access; can only submit decisions on approvals assigned to them	Full access; can only submit decisions on approvals assigned to them	Can create approvals and submit decisions on approvals assigned to them	View only, except submitting decisions on approvals assigned to them

Dashboard permissions

Users can create dashboards and include data from any workspace they have permission to access. The user who creates a dashboard is automatically its Dashboard Admin.

Action	Dashboard Admin	Edit Access	View Only
How the role is assigned	Automatically assigned to the dashboard creator	Added through the Team tab	Added through the Settings tab
Share dashboards externally or team-wide	Full access	Full access	No access
Change permissions	Full access (can lower their own role to Edit Access)	View only	No access
Change styles (style packages pre-set by the Org Admin in the Admin Console)	Full access	Full access	No access