Setup: Team Database Structure

Database structure determines who works on which contacts. This is the most important decision in your team setup — and one of the hardest to change after the fact. Get this right before adding your first team member.

Why This Matters

Once team members have contacts and activity in the system, changing database structure requires deleting team members, losing their templates and settings, and manually reassigning data. Plan carefully now to avoid that process later.

Watch & Learn

🎥 Video: Teams Overview

The Three Structures

Shared database — The Owner, Administrators, and Team Players all see and work the same contact list. Best for offices where everyone serves all clients — medical practices, law offices, service businesses.

Separate databases — Independent Users and Power Users each have their own contact list that other team members cannot see. Best for sales territories, real estate agents, insurance agents, or any model where client relationships belong to specific individuals.

Mixed — Some team members share the Owner's contacts while others have independent databases. Best for businesses that have both shared support staff and independent salespeople.

How to Choose

Ask yourself two questions:

Who owns the client relationship — the company or the individual? If clients belong to the business and multiple people serve them, use a shared database. If clients have a relationship with a specific person who might take them if they left, use separate databases.

Does Team Member B need to see Team Member A's contacts? If yes — for coverage, collaboration, or reporting — use a shared database. If no, separate databases are appropriate.

How Database Groups Work in Practice

The Owner's database group includes the Account Owner, all Administrators, and all Team Players. Everyone in this group sees the same contacts, works the same deals, and can use shared templates.

Each Independent User gets a completely separate database. They cannot see the Owner's contacts or any other Independent User's contacts. Administrators can view their database, but no one else can.

Each Power User gets their own database and can add Team Players who share that database. This creates a mini-team within your larger organization. A franchise with three locations, for example, would have three Power Users — each running their own operation independently while the Account Owner maintains visibility across all of them.

Critical Warnings

⚠️ You cannot convert a Team Player to an Independent User (or vice versa) without deleting and recreating their account, which loses all their templates, calendar appointments, and settings.

⚠️ Contacts cannot be automatically synced between separate databases. If you need the same contact visible to multiple people, use a shared database — not separate databases.

⚠️ Administrators can view all databases regardless of structure. Individual team members can only see their own database.

Questions and Answers

Q: What if I'm genuinely unsure which structure to use?

A: Default to shared database. It is easier to split contacts later than to merge them. Take time to think through your business model before committing either way.

Q: Can I have a mixed structure where some Team Players are shared and others are independent?

A: No. All Team Players share the Owner's database. Anyone who needs a separate database must be an Independent User or Power User.

Q: Should franchise locations be Independent Users or Power Users?

A: Power Users. They get their own automation systems and can have their own Team Players. Independent Users cannot have sub-teams or their own automations.

Q: Can an Administrator see a Power User's separate database?

A: Yes. Administrators have visibility into all databases regardless of structure.

Q: What if I start with a shared database and want to give someone their own database later?

A: That requires deleting their Team Player account and recreating them as an Independent User or Power User, which loses their templates and settings. This is why planning before setup matters.

Guide Type: One-Time Setup Task

Estimated Time: 20 minutes (planning time)

Video Transcript

Teams let several people work in the same database, each with their own sign-in. Everyone signs in as themselves, so you always know who did what.

To see your team, click your profile picture and choose My Team. This chart shows everyone on your team and how they're connected. You're the Account Owner, at the top.

Each team member has a level, and their level decides what they can see and do. There are four levels to choose from.

An Administrator helps you run the account. Administrators share your contacts, can change any setting, and can add and remove team members. The only thing they can't touch is your billing and plan.

A Team Player works on your contacts with you, like an assistant or office staff. Team Players share your contacts and use your automation, but they can change only a few settings.

An Independent User has their own contacts, kept separate from yours. This fits someone like a salesperson who looks after their own clients.

A Power User also has their own contacts, and runs their own automation, like their own landing pages. A Power User can even have Team Players of their own, a bit like a branch office.

Who sees which contacts is the most important part, so let's look at that on the chart. You, your Administrators and your Team Players all share one set of contacts. Each Independent User and each Power User has a separate set, marked with this database icon. A Power User's Team Players share that Power User's set. You and your Administrators can see every set.

Choose carefully whether each person shares your contacts or has their own, because that can't be changed later. To change it, you'd have to remove the person and add them again.

Beyond their level, you can also fine-tune what each person can do. Click Manage Team Settings, then click a team member's name. These permissions let you decide exactly what this person can do, like deleting contacts, sending an email blast or sharing templates. Each one is set to Grant or Deny, and you can change it at any time.

When you're ready, the next step is adding your first team member.