The Portal shows your own information because your sign-in is connected, or linked, to one contact record in CRM. This article explains how Rhythm makes that connection the first time you sign in and what it means afterward.
How the Portal Recognizes You
The first time you sign in to the Portal, Rhythm looks for a contact in your association’s Rhythm account with the same email address. It checks both the contact’s main email address and any alternate email addresses on file.
If Rhythm finds exactly one active matching contact, the Portal links your sign-in to that contact. After that, the Portal already knows which contact record is yours each time you sign in, so it does not search again.
Once your sign-in is linked to a contact, that link stays in place. You do not need to do anything to keep it, and future sign-ins go straight to the same contact record. If your association’s staff set up your Portal access by linking a new login to your existing contact record, that link points to the same record. It does not create a second contact that would need to be merged later.
Elsewhere in Rhythm, an email lookup checks the email address on your contact record, which is not always the same address you use to sign in. If those addresses differ, you can still sign in to the Portal successfully, even if a lookup using your current sign-in email does not find your record.
When More Than One Contact Matches
If more than one contact in your association’s Rhythm account has your email address on file, Rhythm chooses which contact to link in this order:
- An active contact is chosen over one that is inactive, deceased, or marked as a duplicate.
- Among active contacts, one where your email is the main address is chosen over one where it is only a secondary or alternate address.
- If contacts are still tied after that, the one most recently updated is chosen.
The Portal does not show you the other matches, and you cannot choose a different contact yourself. If the wrong contact was linked, contact your association’s staff.
If the Only Matching Contact Is Inactive
Rhythm will not link your sign-in to a contact whose status is not active. If the only contact with your email address on file is inactive, deceased, or marked as a duplicate, Rhythm does not make a link.
If you believe your contact record already exists but you cannot get into the Portal, ask your association’s staff to check the contact’s status.
If Your Record Had No Email Address
If the contact you are linked to has no email address on file, Rhythm fills in the blank with the email address you used to sign in. Rhythm does not replace an existing email address this way.
What Happens After You're Linked
After the Portal knows which contact record is yours, it loads your organization and membership details for the rest of your visit. Each self-service page you open then reflects your record without asking again.
If your record changes during your visit, the Portal may not show the change right away. For example, if staff move you to a different organization, you may need to sign in again or start a new visit before the Portal reflects that change.
Your sign-in activity also becomes visible to your association’s staff through a Contacts query, depending on how that query is set up, rather than only on your contact record.
Related
If no contact matches your email address, Rhythm offers to sign you up as a new contact instead of linking you to an existing one. If you need to connect your sign-in using a different email address than the one on your contact record, your association’s staff can help you claim your record through that address.