Accounts and Projects: Who Manages What
An account exists for the following purposes: billing, managing users within the account, and authentication security settings. The user who manages the account is called the 'admin' within Dedoose.
A project is where the research happens, and is owned by the user who created the project. That user is the project owner, and they, not the account administrator, decide who can join the project, what they can see, and what they can do within the project.
Account Admins can see the titles of projects and who has access to each project, but do not have access to project data by default. They must be invited as a user to the project by the project creator or another project collaborator.
Account vs. Project Management
Understand the difference between accounts, users, and projects.
| Component | What it is |
| Account | The container for billing and authentication security settings. An individual user can have their own account and be responsible for their own billing, or they can be part of an account group which holds a set of users and an account administrator. The account administrator pays for the service on behalf of an organization or team. |
| User | A person with a Dedoose login. Each user has one email address on file and belongs to one account. |
| Project | The workspace where uploaded files, coding, and analysis happen. Each project is managed by the user who created the project and that user has full ownership of the project. |
The structure runs in one direction: an account includes users, and each project is owned by the user who created it. An account can have one or more users, and each user can create and own up to 50 projects. Because projects belong to their creators, the account does not control them, as the rest of this guide explains.
Account, User, and Project Diagram
In the example diagram above, there are 2 separate Account Groups displayed. Each group has an Account Admin.
Each project sits underneath the user who created it. User A3 has access to Project 2 and Project 5 because their owners, User A1 and User B2, invited them to the project. User A4 is disabled, so Account A is not billed for that user.
Account administration
The account administrator manages the users under their account. The role of 'Admin' can be granted to any user in the group and adds an extra layer of responsibility surrounding user access, sign-in security, and payment.
What the account administrator does:
- Adds users to the account so they are covered for payment
- Enables, disables, and removes users from the account group
- Manages the account's authentication security settings (login settings)
- Pays for the service on behalf of an organization or team
Important: Account administrators can see project names and who has access to each project, but not the project data, unless they have been granted access by the project creator. Being the account administrator does not let you manage the projects your users create; that belongs to each project's owner.
Note: In many groups, the account administrator is also a researcher with their own projects. In that case they hold two separate roles: account administrator for the account, and project owner for the projects they create. Their access to project data comes from being a project owner or invited collaborator, not from being the account administrator.
Enabled and disabled users
Every user on an account is either enabled or disabled. Only the account administrator can disable a user.
| User state | Can log in | Counted for billing | Their work (coding, etc.) |
| Enabled | Yes | Yes | Available |
| Disabled | No | No | Still available to other users |
Good to know: Disabling a user is not the same as deleting their contributions. A disabled user stays on the account and their work remains available to the other people in the projects they were part of.
Administrators also have the option of 'removing' a user from their account. This would remove the user completely from the account group, and that user would now be responsible for their own individual billing.
Removing a user from your Account Group does not impact any project access or any work they have done.
How the number of enabled users sets the billing rate
An account's billing rate is determined by its number of enabled users, not its total users. For example, an account with 10 users, 5 enabled and 5 disabled, will be billed at the small group rate of $15.95 per user.
| Account type and billing rate | Enabled users |
| Single user ($17.95) | 1 |
| Student (subtype of single user $12.95) | 1 |
| Small group ($15.95) | 2–5 |
| Large group (13.95) | 6+ |
Note: Adding or enabling a 6th user on an account instantly converts an account to a large group; disabling or removing users to reach 5 or fewer instantly converts it back to a small group. This can happen any number of times.
Projects are their own entity
A project is not governed by an account. It sits underneath the user who created it, and that user governs it as the project owner. Any user can create projects, and they are the owner of each project they create.
What the project owner does:
- Invites users to collaborate on a project from anywhere in the Dedoose enabled-user ecosystem
- Oversees collaboration within the project and role-based permissions for users via the Access workspace
- Owns the data in the project and controls the ability to Copy or Delete the project
Collaborating across accounts
Because projects are governed by their creators rather than by accounts, collaborating on a project has nothing to do with membership in an account. A user belongs to exactly one account, but can be invited into any number of projects, in any account, without joining those accounts.
In practice: A single project might include its creator, a colleague from the same account group, and collaborators from a completely different account groups at other organizations. Each person's own account pays for them; the project owner decides who is in the project.
Side by side: account administrator vs. project owner
| Account administrator | Project owner |
| Adds users to a single account for payment | Invites users to a project from anywhere in the Dedoose ecosystem |
| Enables, disables, and removes users | Oversees collaboration within a specific Dedoose project |
| Sets passwords and manages authentication security settings | Manages access to what users in a project can/cannot see and do |
| Pays for the service on behalf of the organization, team or individuals | Is the user who created the project |
| Can see project names and who has access, but not project data | Owns the project, separately from any account administrator |
A helpful way to picture it: the account contains its users, and each project sits underneath the user who created it. The account administrator manages the users; each project owner manages their own projects.
Common questions
Can my account administrator see my project?
Your account administrator can see your project's name and who has access to it, but not the project data itself. The project is controlled by you, the user who created it.
Who do I ask to join a project, or to change my access within one?
The project's owner, the person who created the project. Account administrators do not manage project membership or access.
Can I work on a project that belongs to a different account?
Yes. You can be invited into any number of projects in any account. You stay a member of your own account, which continues to pay for you.
If my account administrator disables me, is my work lost?
No. A disabled user can no longer log in and is not counted for billing, but their work, such as coding, remains available to the other users in the project. Likewise, if the disabled user is the owner of the project, collaborators on the project can still login and work on the project.
Who sets my sign-in security settings, or enables and disables my login?
Your account administrator.
Next Steps and Other Helpful Resources
Account Administration Part II: Understand how to navigate the 'Account Workspace' and Add Users, Disable/Enable Users, and/or Remove users.
Overview of Billing and Payment Options: Understand different payment options and how to pay via the app.
Project Access: Learn how to add someone to your Dedoose project
Key Points & Takeaways
Adding Someone to a Project
When you add someone to a project:
- You are inviting them to collaborate on that specific project
- You are not responsible for their fees or subscription
- Their billing remains tied to their own account/account group
Project access controls collaboration only. It does not impact billing.
Adding Someone to an Account Group
When you add someone to your account group:
- You become responsible for their associated fees
- Billing for that user is consolidated under the group
Being in the same account group:
- Does not grant access to any projects
- Does not change existing project permissions
Account groups impact billing and authentication (login) settings only, not access to projects.
- Account groups exist solely to consolidate billing
- Project access must always be granted by the project creator
- Users do not need to be in the same account group to collaborate on a project
- Users in the same account group do not automatically see or access each other’s projects
- The student rate cannot be applied to account groups. Student pricing is available only for individual accounts that qualify for the student rate.