Can I use Numa on a shared phone, tablet or kiosk?

Time estimate:
5 minutes

Difficulty:
Easy

Introduction

Do you have an older smartphone laying around that's not being used? Does your business have a shared employee tablet sitting next to the register? Installing Numa on shared devices is a great way to provide access to any employee who might not otherwise install Numa on their personal phone.

It's a common misconception that Numa can only be installed on individual's phones or that Numa only works on devices that themselves have cell service or a phone number. Numa works great on any device that has internet access, including WiFi-only devices.

Approaches for setting up shared devices

This article describes two recommended approaches for incorporating shared devices into your Numa Messaging account.

Approach #1: Invite each shared device as a new user

This is the most common approach and is appropriate for most businesses.

Pros:

• Easy to set up
• Once set up, nobody has to log in or out. The device is always ready to use

Cons:

• Can't track which employee sends each message -- all employees will be messaging from a shared account
• Requires you to have an extra unused email address you can assign to the device

Steps:

1. Within Numa, go to Set up Numa > Manage Staff (requires manager permissions)
2. Create a new user with a memorable name (e.g. "Company iPad") and an unused email address
3. Check the email address you provided for an invitation to create a password and join Numa
4. Download the Numa app onto the shared device
5. Use the email address and password you created to sign in to Numa on the shared device. Done!

Approach #2: Employees log in and out of the shared device using their own accounts

This approach is appropriate for businesses that need a higher level of tracking over which employees are responding to which messages.

Pros:

• Can easily track which employee sent each message or handled each conversation
• When signed in, each employee gets their own familiar view of their inbox, settings, and available permissions

Cons:

• Employees have to be diligent about remembering to log in and out on the shared device
• Switching accounts can become tedious if multiple employees are sharing the device during one shift

Steps:

1. Download the Numa app onto the shared device
2. When an employee wants to use Numa on the shared device, they simply sign in to their individual Numa account
3. When the employee is done using Numa for the day, or it's time for another employee to use Numa, they sign out