For a person seeking access to an existing organisation, including a future licensed Collaborator. Membership, paid-seat allocation and task permissions are separate decisions.
What you will achieve
Use the supported organisation-matching journey to request access to an existing workspace without accidentally creating a duplicate.
Before you start
Ask whether your organisation already uses Backstory. If you have an invitation, start there. Sign in with the identity your organisation expects and establish who can confirm that a suggested workspace is the correct one.
This flow appears during organisation creation when Backstory identifies a possible match. It is not a public directory search that grants access to any organisation you can name.
Respond to a possible match
- If you reach Create New Organisation, enter the intended organisation name carefully.
- Read any matching-workspace message. A similar name is only a clue; do not disclose business information to a workspace you have not verified.
- Where the domain-match choice offers an existing organisation, review it and select the request-to-join action for the correct candidate.
- Wait for the resulting acknowledgement. Do not press the request action repeatedly while it is sending.
- Read the exact wording. A message saying the request was received does not necessarily mean a pending administrator approval record exists or that an email has been sent.
- Use the offered finish action to return to organisation selection. Membership is not established until the organisation becomes available to you.
- If access is approved, select the workspace and verify the expected identity and organisation before opening records.
If the proposed workspace is wrong
Use the offered back or change-mind route to review the choice. Continue separately only if you have authority to create a genuinely separate organisation. That route can withdraw the pending request created in this journey; do not use it simply to accelerate a delayed approval.
Contact the known organisation administrator through your normal channel when the match or acknowledgement is unclear.
Check it worked
You have a clear acknowledgement and understand whether you are waiting for a decision. After approval, the correct organisation is selectable. Ask the administrator to check any required licence and role separately.
If something goes wrong
| Problem | Next action |
|---|---|
| A similarly named organisation is not yours | Do not request access or copy information into it |
| No matching organisation is offered | Ask your administrator for a direct invitation |
| You appear to have requested already | Use the existing request; avoid repeated submissions |
| The organisation remains unavailable | Ask the administrator to check your exact identity and request status |
Human judgement matters
A matching email domain does not replace the organisation's admission decision. Never claim approval, membership or a guaranteed response time from an acknowledgement alone.
What next?
For the wider context, see Find and organise your work. Once admitted, select the workspace and confirm the tasks your role permits.
Get help
Ask your Organisation Administrator about access or the task owner about the content. For a platform error, include this guide reference, the affected page and a sanitised message. Never share passwords, session details or confidential evidence in an open support request.