Atteny

How joining works

How an invited person is matched to your company by their email address, and what each message means when joining does not go through.

For adminsFor managers
Updated October 9, 2026

An invitation email carries no code and no personal link. A person is matched to your invitation only by signing up or signing in with the invited email address, once that address is verified. So when a new hire is stuck, compare the address they used with the address you invited first.

What the new hire does#

A phone that has never been signed in opens on How will you use Atteny?. The person taps Create my account on the card I was invited to join a team, types the invited address, and enters the code Atteny emails to it. Only then does the app look for an invitation. A password is offered, and the account created, only when a valid invitation exists for that address.

An address nobody invited gets no account. The employee's side is in Accept your invitation.

What they get when they join#

The person becomes an active member with the role, start date, employment details and work location from the invitation, and the invitation turns Accepted. The name you typed on the invitation is used. If you typed none and they signed up with email and password, they are asked for a first name at first sign-in. The invitation email is in the language you were using in Atteny when you sent it, and a person who joins on a new record starts in that language.

What each message means#

  • No invitation for the address (on the phone, after signing in: No invitation found). No valid invitation matches the address they used. An expired invitation counts as none. Check the exact address and its status under Settings, Invitations, then resend it or invite the right address. A manager cannot open that page: invite the address again instead.
  • There's already an account with this address. The address already has an Atteny account. No code is sent. They sign in instead.
  • You're already part of a company with this email. To join a different company, sign up with a different email address. One login belongs to one company. A person who is already a member somewhere cannot accept your invitation with that login. The exception: a disabled former employee of your company can come back with their old login.
  • Your company's Atteny account is currently inactive, so the invitation can't be accepted right now. Please contact your administrator. Your company is suspended or closed. The invitation stays pending until its 14 days run out, so it can be accepted if the company is active again in time. During sign-up the same case reads You were invited, but that company can't add new people right now. Ask your manager, then try again. and no account is created.
  • Your team is at its plan limit, so the invitation can't be accepted yet. Ask your administrator to free a seat or upgrade, then sign in again. Your seats are full, or the invitation is for a manager or an admin and that role's limit is full. The invitation stays pending until its 14 days run out. Free a seat or upgrade, then have them sign in again.
  • More than one company has invited this email address. Choose the one you are joining. More than one valid invitation is waiting for the address, so nobody is joined automatically. The web shows one button per invitation, labelled with the company's name. The phone has no chooser: it tells the person to choose on the web, then signs them out.
  • We couldn't check whether you have an invitation. Please try again. If you were invited, creating a new company here would stop you from joining your team. (during sign-up: We couldn't check your invitation just now. Please try again.) The check itself could not be made, for example because of the connection. Nobody is let through without a check.
Pending invitations use no seat, so you can send more invitations than you have free seats. Seats are checked again when each person accepts.

Messages you see while inviting#

  • The address belongs to an active person in your company: it cannot be invited.
  • The address belongs to a disabled former employee: an admin is asked whether this is the same person returning. A manager is refused with Somebody with this email worked here before. Only an administrator can invite them again. See When someone leaves.
  • The person's data deletion is scheduled: the address cannot be invited. An admin cancels the deletion first, on the person's Employment tab. With Payroll off the tab is not listed: open the person's profile and replace personal at the end of the address with employment.
  • Too many invitations: invitation emails are limited per hour. The numbers are in Managing invitations.

Expiry, resending and cancelling#

An invitation is valid for 14 days from the moment it was sent or last resent. Resend works on a pending or an expired invitation and starts a new 14 days. A cancelled invitation cannot be resent.

Starter allows 5 people, 1 admin, no managers and 1 location. A seat is one active person: disabled people and invitations that are not accepted yet use none.

The email itself never arrived? See The invitation email never arrived.

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