Setting up Certifications for the first time means working through configuration steps in the right general order and deciding which colleagues need access. This article explains the Setup overview that guides your setup work and the ready-made roles you can grant for day-to-day use.
What It Controls
The Setup overview gives you a fixed checklist of every Certifications configuration step in a sensible order, with a link to each step. It does not track whether you have completed those steps. Separately, four ready-made roles control what staff can see and do in Certifications day to day, from read-only access through full administration.
Where to Find It
Go to Certifications › Setup to open the Setup overview. You grant ready-made roles through your Rhythm account's staff role assignment, outside Certifications itself.
Prerequisites
- You need access to Certifications Setup to open the Setup overview.
- Changing the account-wide settings record and contact role permissions requires its own permission, separate from general Setup access.
The Setup Overview's Checklist
The Setup overview groups its steps under nine headings, in the order shown below. The account-wide settings record appears third, right after program groups and programs, because Certifications needs that record before any process can take payment.
| Group | Covers |
|---|---|
| Basic Certification Settings | Program groups, programs, and the account-wide settings record |
| Credits & Activities | Credit types, activity types, and reporting processes |
| Courses & Training | Course types, instructors, the course catalog, course custom fields, forms, and registration processes |
| Training Providers | Training provider custom fields and provider records |
| Exams | The exam catalog, custom fields, forms, notices, testing facilities, and registration processes |
| Applications | Application custom fields, forms, fees, reference types and processes, status reasons, expiration rule sets, and application processes |
| Certifications | Certification custom fields, page layouts, status reasons, notices, and directories |
| Billing | Billing templates and recurring billing runs |
| Almost Done... | Coupons and contact role permissions |
Tip
The checklist links to most Setup pages, but not every page available from the Setup menu. A few pages, such as 360° screen designers, notice page layouts, and some custom-field lists, are available only from the Setup menu itself.
Why You Might Not Be Able to Open Setup or Settings
Access to the Setup overview is separate from access to the account-wide settings record and contact role permissions. Because those permissions are separate, a staff member might see the Setup menu and overview but get refused when they open Settings or Contact Roles. The reverse can also happen, depending on the permissions their role grants. If a colleague sees an access-denied message on one of these pages, check that their role includes permission for that specific page, not just general Setup access.
Grant a Ready-Made Role
| Role | What it grants |
|---|---|
| Certifications Read Only | View-only access to your Certifications records, plus the ability to run Certifications queries and reports. It does not include administrator-level views such as the course or exam catalogs |
| Certifications Day-to-Day User | Everyday Certifications user actions, plus queries and reports |
| Certifications Power User | Finance & Billing access instead of Certifications day-to-day access. Grant it with the Day-to-Day User role if you want both |
| Certifications Administrator | Complete control of Certifications, including Setup, the account-wide settings record, and contact role permissions |
Warning
The Power User role does not grant everyday Certifications access by itself. If a colleague needs both Finance & Billing access and ordinary day-to-day Certifications access, grant them the Day-to-Day User role as well.
Dependencies and Precedence
- The account-wide settings record must exist before Certifications can take payment. Because Configure App Settings is the third checklist step, working through setup in order naturally puts it before anything that needs it.
- The Certifications Administrator role grants the most access, including the ability to change where Certifications payments are deposited. Grant it carefully.
Change Impact and How to Revert
Granting or removing a ready-made role changes what that staff member can see and do the next time they navigate in the Console. To revert the change, remove the role or grant a different one.
Permissions
Only staff who already have complete Certifications administration can grant these roles to others through your Rhythm account's staff role assignment.
Validation and Errors
| Behavior | Cause | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Access-denied message on opening Setup, Settings, or Contact Roles | The signed-in staff member's role does not grant the specific permission that page checks | Grant a role that includes permission for that page, such as Certifications Administrator |