When you create a brand-new Rhythm account, CRM does not start empty. Within moments, Rhythm adds a small starting set of contact roles, web forms, and a settings record so staff can create the first contact or organization right away. Members also get a profile form to complete on their first Portal visit. This article explains what that starting set includes and when an account does not receive it.
Why This Happens
You need a web form to create a contact, and Console pages need settings that tell them which form to use. Without those pieces in place, an administrator would have to build a form and configure settings before anyone could enter the first person. That is a frustrating first experience for a newly onboarded association.
The starting set removes that extra setup step. Before an administrator configures anything, a new account can create contacts and organizations, and members can update their own information in the Portal. Portal sign-up follows the same self-service approach. When someone creates a Portal login and Rhythm cannot find an existing contact record with a matching email, the person can continue by creating a new contact record.
What Gets Created
For an ordinary new account, Rhythm creates three kinds of records together, in this order:
Two Contact Roles
Rhythm creates two contact roles. Both roles are administrative, and both are assigned automatically to every new contact. Administrative means a contact with either role has full Portal permissions for their organization. Assigned automatically means every contact created afterward receives both roles without anyone selecting them.
Both starting roles are named Billing Contact, but they are separate roles with different underlying identifiers. Because they share a name, they are hard to tell apart in pickers and reports until an administrator renames one of them. One of the duplicated roles carries the underlying identifier for what should be labeled “Admin Contact.” If you see two Billing Contact roles in your account, one of them is meant to be the Admin Contact role, and its label should read that way. You can review and rename these roles in your account’s contact roles setup, and you can change whether each role is administrative or assigned automatically.
Because both roles are administrative and automatic, every contact created after account setup can manage their organization’s information in the Portal until an administrator changes the roles or the contact’s assignment. If you do not want every new contact to have that level of Portal access, review the two starting roles early, before your account has many contacts.
Four Web Forms
Rhythm creates four web forms: one for creating and editing contacts in the Console, one for creating and editing organizations in the Console, and one Portal form for each record when a member updates their own profile or their organization’s profile. These forms are ready-made starting points. An administrator can keep them as they are, copy them as the starting point for a new form, or replace them with forms built from scratch.
The two Portal forms start with the same name. Until you rename them, tell them apart by the kind of record they edit, contact or organization, rather than by name.
A Settings Record
Rhythm creates a settings record that names most of the four forms as your account’s defaults. These include the Console create and edit forms for contacts, the Console create and edit forms for organizations, and the Portal forms a member uses to update their own contact information and their organization’s information. This lets Create Contact and the Portal profile pages work immediately. Without a settings record that names a form, those pages have nothing to show.
One default is not set during this starting setup: the form a member sees the very first time they enter the Portal. If your account has never set that separately, review your CRM settings to confirm it names a form.
When This Setup Is Different or Skipped
- An account migrated from another system. If your account’s CRM data was brought over from MemberSuite, Rhythm does not create the two starting contact roles, because a migrated account already has its own roles from that system. The starting forms and settings record are still created as usual.
- A test or trial account created for internal use. Some accounts created purely for testing receive none of this starting setup: no roles, no forms, and no settings record.
What This Means for You
If your account is new, expect to see the two Billing Contact roles, four starting forms, and a settings record pointing to them the first time you look. This is not unusual, and it does not mean anything was misconfigured. It is the standard starting point every new Rhythm account receives, except in the situations described above.
As part of your CRM setup, review and adjust these records. Rename or reshape the two starting roles, replace the starting forms if they do not match how your association works, and confirm your settings name the forms you want staff and members to use.