# Invites and Joining a Switchboard

> Invite people to a Switchboard, what the invite email says, accepting, expiry, revoking and re-sending, and creating a new Switchboard.

Source: https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/invites

People join a Switchboard by invitation. An Admin sends an invite to an email address, the person
opens the link in that email, and they're in. This page covers every step on both sides, plus
creating a brand new Switchboard of your own.

## Who can invite

An **Admin** can send and revoke invites. Managers can see the **Invitations** list, but their
**Invite** button is greyed out ("Ask an Admin for access") unless an Admin has given them the **Invite
people** permission (see [Permissions](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members#permissions)). A Manager with that permission
can invite people as **Managers** only - inviting another Admin, and revoking invites, stay with Admins.
An invite sent by a Manager stops working if that Manager loses the permission or leaves before it's
accepted. See [Members and roles](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members) for everything each role can do.

## Sending an invite

**1. Step 1**

Switchboard > Invitations">
   Make sure the Switchboard you want to invite into is the one you're currently viewing - the invite
   always goes to the Switchboard on screen.

**2. Click Invite**

The **Invite someone** dialog opens.

**3. Enter their email address**

Type it in **Email** (for example `teammate@company.com`). It must be a valid email address,
or you see "Enter a valid email address".

**4. Pick a role**

Choose **Admin** or **Manager**. **Manager** is selected by default.

**5. Click Send invite**

You see "Invite sent to" followed by the address, and the invite appears in the list as **pending**.

### When an invite can't be sent

| What you see | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| "That email is already a member" ([AVX-2007](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2007)) | That person is already in this Switchboard. | Nothing - they already have access. To change their role, see [Changing someone's role](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members#changing-someones-role). |
| "An invite is already pending for that email" (shown with [AVX-2007](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2007)) | There's already an open invite for that address. | Wait for them to accept, or revoke it and send a new one (see [Re-sending an invite](#re-sending-an-invite)). |
| "Couldn't send that invite" ([AVX-2006](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2006)) | The invite couldn't be created - for example you're no longer an Admin of this Switchboard, or lots of invites were sent in a short time. | Wait a minute, check the address, and try again. If you're a Manager, ask an Admin to send it. |

## The invite email

The person you invite gets a **Team invite** email. It says:

- who invited them (your full name, or your email address if you haven't set a name),
- which Switchboard it's for,
- the role they're invited as (**Admin** or **Manager**),
- a button that opens their personal invite link.

The link is personal to that invite, works once, and only for someone signed in with the invited
address. The email is a mandatory service email - it can't be turned off. See [Emails](https://docs.theavoxai.com/emails) for every email Avox sends.

## Accepting an invite

The link opens the invite page on avox.com, titled **Join** followed by the Switchboard's name. It
shows:

- the Switchboard's name and **Invited by** with the inviter's name,
- small avatars for the people already in the Switchboard (just shapes - no names or emails),
- **Your role**, with what it means: Admin is "Full access - connections, billing, team and every
  setting", Manager is "Day-to-day work - inbox, templates, flows and automations",
- **For** and the invited email address,
- **Invite open for**, a countdown to when the invite expires.

What you do next depends on whether you're signed in:

| Your situation | What the page offers |
| --- | --- |
| Not signed in, already have an Avox account | **Sign in to accept**. You come straight back to the invite after signing in. |
| Not signed in, new to Avox | **New to Avox? Create your account**. The invited address is filled in for you ("We'll fill in your address for you"). |
| Signed in with the invited address | **Accept invite**. Under the button: "By accepting, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy." |
| Signed in with a different address | "This invite is for another account", then **Sign out and switch**, which signs you out and opens sign-in with the invited address. |

After **Accept invite**, the page shows **Welcome to** the Switchboard's name and "You've joined", then
opens your dashboard a moment later. **Go to dashboard** takes you there straight away.

> **Note**
>
> You must sign in with the **exact address the invite was sent to**, and that address must be
> confirmed. If it isn't confirmed yet you see "Confirm your email address before accepting an
> invite"; if you're signed in as someone else you see "This invite was sent to a different email".

### Signing up from an invite

If you create your Avox account while an invite to your address is open, Avox doesn't make an empty
Switchboard for you - you join the one you were invited to as soon as you accept. If you sign up
without an open invite, you get a Switchboard of your own as usual, and accepting an invite later
simply adds a second Switchboard to your list.

### Accepting when you're already a member

Accepting an invite never lowers your role. A Manager who accepts an open Admin invite becomes an
Admin; an Admin who accepts a Manager invite stays an Admin.

## After someone joins

- The Switchboard appears in their Switchboard list. They switch to it from the Switchboard switcher
  in the dashboard header, or from **Settings > Switchboard > Workspaces > Switch to this one**.
- The invite's status changes to **accepted**.
- The person who sent the invite gets a **Team member joined** email with the new member's name,
  email address, and role.
- Their agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy is recorded and shows under
  **Agreements** in their [Profile](https://docs.theavoxai.com/settings/profile) as "when you joined a Switchboard".

## Expiry

An invite stays open for **7 days**. After that:

- The link stops working. Opening it shows "This invite has expired - Invites stay open for 7 days.
  Ask whoever invited you to send a new one."
- The invite's status changes to **expired**.
- The person who sent it gets a **Team invite expired** email (if they're still in the Switchboard),
  with a link back to the team page.

## Revoking an invite

An Admin can withdraw a **pending** invite before it's accepted.

**1. Step 1**

Switchboard > Invitations">
   Pending invites have a **Revoke** button.

**2. Click Revoke**

You see "Invite revoked" and the status changes to **revoked**.

Anyone who opens a revoked link sees "This invite was withdrawn - The Switchboard's admin cancelled
it." No email is sent to them. If revoking fails, you see "Couldn't revoke that invite" - try again.

## Re-sending an invite

There's one open invite per email address at a time. To send a fresh one (for example the email was
lost, or the invite expired):

1. If the old invite is still **pending**, click **Revoke** on it.
2. Click **Invite** and send to the same address again.

The person gets a new email with a new link, open for another 7 days.

## The Invitations list

**Settings > Switchboard > Invitations** shows every invite for this Switchboard, with:

| Column | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| **Email** | The invited address. |
| **Role** | **Admin** or **Manager**. |
| **Status** | **Pending** (waiting), **Accepted**, **Revoked**, or **Expired**. |

If there are none yet, it says "No invitations yet."

## Invite links that don't work

| Page title | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| This invite has expired | More than 7 days passed. Ask for a new invite. |
| This invite's already been used | It was accepted. If that was you, sign in and pick the Switchboard from your list. |
| This invite was withdrawn | An Admin revoked it. Ask for a new one. |
| This invite link is incomplete | Part of the link is missing. Open it again from the button in the email. |
| We couldn't find that invite | The link isn't recognised. Check you opened the whole link. |
| Couldn't load this invite | A temporary problem on our side. Refresh in a moment - the invite is still there. |

## Creating a new Switchboard

A new Switchboard is a separate workspace with its own connections, contacts, templates, Flows,
automations, and team. You become its first Admin - its [Owner](https://docs.theavoxai.com/switchboard/members#the-owner-owner-of-record).

### Before you start

- You need an **active plan**. Without one, the page shows "Subscribe to a plan first" with
  [AVX-2002](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2002) and a **View plans** button.
- Your plan sets how many Switchboards you can create. Every Switchboard where you're an Admin counts,
  including ones you were invited to as an Admin. **Billing** shows "Switchboards created" as
  *used of allowed*. When you've used them all, the **Add another Switchboard** card says you've used all
  the Switchboards your plan allows and shows **Upgrade**. See [Plans](https://docs.theavoxai.com/plans) for each plan's limit.
- Your plan's WhatsApp connections are one shared pool across every Switchboard where you're an Admin.
  Templates, Flows, and automations are counted per Switchboard instead. See [Plans](https://docs.theavoxai.com/plans).

### Steps

**1. Open the new Switchboard page**

Click **New Switchboard** in **Settings > Switchboard > Workspaces**, or **Create new Switchboard**
on the **Billing** page.

**2. Add a logo (optional)**

Click the round upload button next to **Logo** and choose an image. You can also add one later.

**3. Name it**

Type a **Switchboard name** (for example "Acme Support"), 1 to 60 characters.

**4. Click Create Switchboard**

The new Switchboard becomes the one you're viewing, and you go straight to its onboarding questions.

If you don't have a Switchboard at all yet, the same page is titled **Create your first Switchboard**
("You don't have a Switchboard yet - every WhatsApp connection lives inside one"). Once you have one,
it's titled **New Switchboard**, shows **Back to Billing**, and lists **Your Switchboards** beside the
form.

### Errors

| What you see | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| "Give your Switchboard a name" or "Keep it under 60 characters" | Enter a name between 1 and 60 characters. |
| "Couldn't create that Switchboard" ([AVX-2008](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2008)) | Nothing was changed - try again. This also appears when your plan's Switchboard limit is reached. |
| "Switchboard created, but the logo didn't upload" ([AVX-2005](https://docs.theavoxai.com/error-codes/avx-2005)) | The Switchboard exists. Add the logo later from **Settings > Switchboard > General > Change icon**. |