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Member deletion

Administrators only

Troubleshooting member deletion

Section titled “Troubleshooting member deletion”

Can’t delete a member from your Tallyfy organization? You must disable a member before you can permanently delete them. Here’s how to fix common blockers.

Quick diagnosis

Section titled “Quick diagnosis”
  1. Check member status - Active, Disabled, or Invited?
  2. Check admin role - Default Admin or Administrator?
  3. Count admins - How many active admins in the organization?
  4. Note the exact error - What message appears?

Common error messages

Section titled “Common error messages”

”Please disable the user before deletion.”

Section titled “”Please disable the user before deletion.””

Tallyfy requires a two-step process - disable first, then delete:

  1. Go to Settings > Organization > Members
  2. Click the member’s name
  3. Click Deactivate Member
  4. Reassign their tasks when prompted
  5. Then permanently delete them

”Cannot modify the default administrator.”

Section titled “”Cannot modify the default administrator.””

The full error reads: “Cannot modify the default administrator. Please assign another member as default administrator first.”

To fix this:

  1. Click a different administrator’s profile
  2. Select Make Default Administrator
  3. Go back to the original member
  4. Proceed with deactivation

No other admins? Promote a Standard member to Administrator first.

”Bot users cannot be disabled.”

Section titled “”Bot users cannot be disabled.””

Bot accounts (like Tallyfy Bot) can’t be removed or disabled. They don’t count toward billing - they handle automated comments and system tasks.

When removing a member through the DELETE /organizations/{org}/users/{user_id} endpoint, you’ll see “You can’t remove a bot user from this organization!” instead.

No other admin available

Section titled “No other admin available”

If you try to disable the only administrator, you’ll get the “Cannot modify the default administrator” error. Promote any Standard member to Administrator first, then remove the original admin.

Special scenarios

Section titled “Special scenarios”

Member shows as removed but still has access

Section titled “Member shows as removed but still has access”
  1. Clear browser cache and cookies
  2. Verify status shows “Deactivated”
  3. Check for active API tokens - revoke them manually
  4. If it’s still happening after 30 minutes, contact support

Can’t find a deactivated member

Section titled “Can’t find a deactivated member”

Tallyfy hides deactivated members by default:

  1. Go to the Members list
  2. Filter by Show: All or Show: Deactivated
  3. Search by name or email

Bulk member removal

Section titled “Bulk member removal”

For multiple deletions via API:

  • Always disable before deleting (two-step process for each)
  • Space out requests to avoid rate limits
  • Process in reasonable batches

System behavior details

Section titled “System behavior details”

Email and name changes

Section titled “Email and name changes”

When permanently deleted, Tallyfy:

  • Appends “(Deleted)” directly to the last name (no space) - e.g. Smith becomes Smith(Deleted)
  • Changes email to {email}.deleted.{user_id} - e.g. john@company.com becomes john@company.com.deleted.12345

This prevents conflicts if you re-invite that person later.

What happens to member data

Section titled “What happens to member data”

Removed immediately:

  • Login access
  • Active sessions

Kept for compliance:

  • Task completion history (name shows with “(Deleted)”)
  • Process participation records
  • Comments and attachments
  • Audit trail entries

Task reassignment

Section titled “Task reassignment”

When no member is available for reassignment, tasks fall to “Tallyfy Bot” (the system user). This commonly happens with API deletions that skip reassignment.

API deletion

Section titled “API deletion”

Two-step sequence:

1. DELETE /organizations/{org}/users/{user_id}/disable
2. Wait for 200 response
3. DELETE /organizations/{org}/users/{user_id}/delete

Single-step with reassignment:

DELETE /organizations/{org}/users/{user_id}?with_reassignment=true&to={new_user_id}

The single-step endpoint handles deactivation and removal together, and reassigns tasks to the specified member.

Edge cases

Section titled “Edge cases”

Organization with a single member

Section titled “Organization with a single member”
  • You can’t delete the last member
  • Contact support for organization closure

Circular admin dependencies

Section titled “Circular admin dependencies”

If Admin A backs up Admin B and vice versa, add a third admin temporarily to break the cycle.

Recovery

Section titled “Recovery”

Accidentally deleted someone? Contact support immediately with:

  • Organization name
  • Member email
  • Deletion date

Recent deletions may be restorable. For older ones, send a new invitation.

When to contact support

Section titled “When to contact support”
  • Error messages don’t match those listed here
  • Server errors (500-series) appear during deletion
  • Deletion seems stuck for over an hour

Provide: organization name, member email, exact error message, screenshot

Prevention tips

Section titled “Prevention tips”
  • Keep at least 2 administrators at all times
  • Document who the default administrator is
  • Use consistent offboarding procedures
Section titled “Related articles”

Members > Remove member

Tallyfy’s API lets you deactivate a member from your organization using a DELETE request with…
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