How to Use Ninety's Directory Tool
The Directory tool is the central location to manage all the users on your Ninety account. Owners, Admins, Coaches, and Managers use the Directory to add and manage users, while every user can view it to look up teammates. Managers can invite users but cannot add licenses, so a Manager can only invite into licenses that are already available.
What is the Directory?
The Directory lists every user on your Ninety account in one place. Use the Directory to:
Add users to Ninety.
Change user roles and permissions.
Assign users to teams.
Deactivate users (remove their paid license).
Delete users (remove them from your account).
View user bios.
Changing a user's permissions role
Owners, Admins, and Coaches can change user roles. Owners can change any user's role, including other Owners. Admins and Coaches can change any role except an Owner's, and cannot elevate someone to Owner. Managers cannot change anyone's role, including their own team members' — a Manager who needs a role changed should ask an Owner or Admin.
To change a user's role:
Click Directory from the left navigation.
Locate the intended user (you may need to search for them first).
Click the dropdown in the Role access column.
Select the desired user role.
For a full breakdown of what each role can do across all tools, see User Roles and Permissions.
Adding inactive users (no email required)
To add someone to the Directory without giving them platform access — a contractor, a board member, or an employee who should appear on the Org Chart but doesn’t use Ninety:
Click Directory from the left navigation.
Click + Add Person in the upper right.
Set Role access to Inactive.
Enter the person’s first and last name. An email address is optional for inactive users.
Click Save.
Inactive users appear in the Directory and can be assigned to Seats on the Org Chart, but they cannot log in to Ninety and cannot be added to teams. An inactive person’s name doesn’t appear in the Teams drop-down anywhere in Ninety, including the drop-down on their own Directory row. To place them on a team, activate them first with the Invite to Ninety button on their Directory row, then choose their teams during the invite.
Editing user information after sending invitations
If an invitation is pending (it has been sent but not yet accepted), the inviter can modify the new user's details. To do this, the user who sent the invitation should:
Click Directory from the left navigation.
Click on the pending user's name to open their information menu.
Click the pencil icon in the top right corner to edit their information.
After making changes, click the checkmark to save.
After a new user accepts their invitation, they gain full control over editing their personal information.
Inviting users from another company using Ninety
If you invite a user who already exists within another company on Ninety, the inviter cannot edit that user's information. The user's details are managed by the individual or their original company.
What's in the Directory
Adding and Inviting Users to Your Account — How to add new users, activate Inactive users, update email addresses, and resend invitations.
Importing a Bulk Set of Users — Add several users at once with the Data Upload tool and a CSV template.
User Roles and Permissions — What each role can view and edit across every Ninety tool.
Creating New Teams — Create new teams and choose the right team type: Leadership, departmental, Project, or Private.
Adding Users to a Team — Assign existing users to teams from Company Settings or the Directory.
Removing Users from a Team — Take a user off a team without removing them from Ninety.
Inviting Your Coach — Add your coach or advisor as a free user with account-wide access.
Deleting or Deactivating a User — Remove someone's access when they no longer need Ninety.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn’t an inactive user’s name appear in the Teams drop-down?
Inactive users can’t be added to teams, so Ninety leaves them out of the Teams drop-down. The Inactive role has no login access — it exists so someone can hold a Seat on the Org Chart or appear in your Directory without using a paid license. To put that person on a team, click Invite to Ninety on their Directory row, give them a role that has login access, and select their teams during the invite. Making an existing user inactive works the same way in reverse: they are removed from every team they were on, and any Rocks they owned move to the Shared Rocks section at the bottom of that team’s Rocks page.
How do I change a user's team or role after they've been invited?
Use the dropdowns next to their name on the Directory page. The Role access dropdown changes their role, and the Teams dropdown changes their team assignments.
How do I invite a user if I do not see Invite or Re-invite in the Directory?
If the Directory does not show Invite or Re-invite on a user's row, that person is already an active user on your account.
Which user roles are free, and what’s the difference?
Ninety has two free roles. An Observer can log in and view content on the teams they belong to, but can’t create or edit anything and can’t own Rocks, To-Dos, or Issues. An Inactive user can’t log in at all — the role exists so someone can appear in your Directory and hold a Seat on the Org Chart without using a paid license. Every other role (Owner, Admin, Manager, and Team Member) uses a license. See User Roles and Permissions.
Why can't I complete an invite as a Manager?
Managers can invite users, but only into licenses that are already available. Adding a license is an Owner or Admin action on the Billing page, which Managers cannot access. If your account has no available licenses, ask an Owner or Admin to add one from Billing > Manage licenses, then send the invite. See Adding, Removing, and Reassigning Licenses.