What’s the difference between an account and a profile?

One person, one account

Your account represents you as a person. It is your personal login to Paperstac and holds your personal details. Each person has one account.

You may also hear your account called your identity or your login. In this context, those terms all refer back to you, the person using Paperstac.

A profile may represent you doing business as yourself or a business you work with. Your account and that profile still serve different purposes: your account identifies the person signing in, while the profile identifies the participant doing business.

Members connect people to profiles

A member is a person’s account that belongs to a profile. Members manage and work through that profile according to their permissions.

• One account can belong to several profiles. You use the same login for the profiles you belong to.
• One profile can have several members. A team can work together through the same profile.
• Each member uses their own account. Sharing a profile does not mean sharing a login.

You do not need a separate account for every business you work with, or for offering another service. Your membership and permissions determine what you can do within each profile.

A practical example

Imagine Alex has one Paperstac account and belongs to two profiles:

• Alex Morgan, a profile Alex uses to do business personally.
• Oak Street Investments, a business profile Alex manages with Jordan.

Alex signs in once with Alex’s own account. Jordan signs in with Jordan’s own account. Both are members of Oak Street Investments, so they can work through that profile within their respective permissions. Jordan’s membership in Oak Street Investments does not make Jordan a member of Alex’s personal profile.

Profiles participate. People manage them.

Your personal account works across Paperstac and Paperstac Partners. Partners Profiles represent your service business; membership in a marketplace Profile does not automatically give you membership in a Partners Profile.

Products belong to a Partners Profile. Its authorized members manage products and fulfill orders for that business. Each member uses their own login, and access follows their role and the workflow requirements.

Where to manage things

• Account Settings is for your personal account, including your name and login details.
• Profile Settings is for the profile’s details.
• Profile Members is for the people who belong to that profile and their permissions.
• My Orders and My Products are where you work with your Partners business.

When you are in the account settings area, selecting a profile changes which profile the profile settings links refer to. You are still signed in as the same person; you have not changed accounts.

For help with your personal name, see Verify your identity and update your name.