If your company’s just bought into Zerobounce and you’re the unlucky soul tasked with sorting out who gets access to what, this guide’s for you. Permissions and team management aren’t glamorous, but get them wrong and you’ll be cleaning up messes for months. This walkthrough is aimed at admins and IT folks managing complex teams—whether you’re wrangling a handful of power users or dealing with dozens of regional marketing managers who “just need to upload one file.” Let’s get your Zerobounce setup working for you, not against you.
1. Understanding How Zerobounce Handles Teams and Permissions
First things first: Zerobounce (zerobounce.html) bills itself as a “team-friendly” platform, but its access controls are pretty basic compared to dedicated identity management tools. There are roles, but not much in the way of fine-grained permissions, and there’s no built-in SSO unless you’re on a bigger plan (and even then, it’s not perfect).
Here’s what you can do: - Invite multiple users to your account - Assign preset roles (Admin, Manager, User, Billing) - Control who can see/export data, manage billing, or change account settings
Here’s what you can’t do: - Create custom roles or permissions per feature - Restrict access to just certain lists or projects (it’s all-or-nothing) - Set up detailed approval workflows within Zerobounce itself
Pro tip: Don’t assume Zerobounce will handle all your compliance or security needs out of the box. If you need to lock down access tightly, you’ll want to supplement with your own processes.
2. Map Out Your Team Structure First
Before you start clicking around, sketch out who actually needs access and why. This saves you from a permission mess down the line.
Ask yourself: - Who needs admin rights? (Probably just a couple people.) - Who only needs to upload and clean lists? (Most users.) - Who handles billing or invoices? (Finance folks.) - Who shouldn’t see customer data at all? (Maybe your contractors.)
Common roles: - Admins: Full access, can add/remove users, change settings, see everything. - Managers: Can invite users and handle most tasks, but can’t nuke the account. - Users: Limited to uploading, validating, and downloading their own lists. - Billing: Only sees payment stuff, can’t access email data.
Don’t just mirror your org chart. Instead, match roles to what people actually need to do. Fewer admins = less risk.
3. Setting Up Team Access in Zerobounce: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Prep Your User List
You’ll need names and email addresses for everyone who needs access. If you’re dealing with a big crew, get this in a spreadsheet first.
- Double-check emails—Zerobounce will send invites here and the link expires after a bit.
- Decide each person’s role up front. Saves hassle later.
Step 2: Add Users to Your Zerobounce Account
- Log in as an Admin.
- Go to My Team (sometimes called “Users”).
- Click Invite User.
- Enter the email address and assign a role.
- (Optional) Add a custom message—honestly, most folks will ignore it, but it can cut down on “is this real?” Slack messages.
- Click Send Invite.
Repeat as needed. Zerobounce doesn’t have bulk invite, so if you’re onboarding dozens, this gets tedious. No way around it unless your plan supports API access (see below).
What about bulk invites?
If you have API access (on enterprise plans), you can script user invites. For most, you’re stuck with manual invites. Not ideal, but it is what it is.
Step 3: Set Roles and Double-Check Permissions
Once users accept their invites, go back to My Team and review the list.
- Make sure no one is an Admin who shouldn’t be.
- Confirm billing-only folks can’t see data.
- Remove any ex-employees or randoms who slipped through.
Pro tip: Schedule a quarterly review of who’s got access. People leave, change jobs, or just accumulate permissions over time.
Step 4: Set Up SSO (If You Have It)
If your company’s big enough, you might have SSO (Single Sign-On) as part of your Zerobounce plan.
- Find SSO Settings in the admin section.
- Zerobounce supports SAML 2.0—so it’ll work with Okta, Azure AD, etc.
- Follow the prompts to connect your identity provider.
Caveats: - SSO setup is clunky and documentation is sparse. Be ready for some back-and-forth with their support team. - SSO doesn’t always sync roles—double-check after connecting.
If you’re not on an enterprise plan, skip this. You’re stuck with email/password logins.
4. Managing Permissions: What Works, What Doesn’t
What Works
- Role-based access: Decent for most teams. Keeps billing and sensitive settings out of most hands.
- Audit trails: You can see recent activity, which helps if something goes sideways.
- Password resets: Easy for Admins to trigger, users to manage.
What Doesn’t
- Granular permissions: No way to let someone manage just one list or limit exports for specific users.
- Approval workflows: Zerobounce won’t stop someone from downloading data, even if you wish it would.
- De-provisioning: Removing users is manual. No automated sync with HR systems.
Ignore: Fancy permission diagrams or overcomplicating your setup. Zerobounce isn’t built for it, and you’ll just frustrate yourself.
5. Handling Offboarding and Audits
People come and go. If you’re not careful, ex-employees can linger with access they shouldn’t have.
Offboarding Steps
- Remove departing users right away. Don’t wait till the next quarterly review.
- Rotate shared credentials. If you have “shared” logins (not recommended, but it happens), change them.
- Check activity logs to make sure nothing odd happened before their departure.
Auditing Access
Once a month (or at least quarterly), review your team list: - Are there users you don’t recognize? - Has anyone’s role changed? - Any generic or shared accounts? Lock these down.
Pro tip: Keep a checklist for onboarding/offboarding. Saves you headaches and “whoops, forgot to remove Jane from Marketing” moments.
6. Dealing With Edge Cases
No guide would be honest without talking about the weird stuff.
- Contractors or temporary users: Set them up as Users, not Admins. Remove when done.
- Multiple teams, one account: Zerobounce doesn’t do sub-accounts. If you need true separation, consider multiple Zerobounce accounts (not cheap, but the only way).
- API access: Only available on higher-tier plans. Great for automating list uploads or results downloads, but doesn’t add much for access control.
7. Keeping It Simple: Best Practices for Large Orgs
- Don’t give out Admin rights casually. Fewer cooks, fewer problems.
- Document who has access and why. Even a simple Google Sheet works.
- Review permissions regularly. More often if you have high turnover.
- Train users on what they shouldn’t do. Like exporting customer lists to their desktop.
- Have a plan for emergencies. Who can lock down the account fast if something goes wrong?
Wrapping Up
Zerobounce’s team access features aren’t fancy, but they’re enough for most big organizations—if you keep things tidy and don’t expect miracles. Don’t overthink it: set clear roles, review access often, and don’t rely on the tool for security or compliance stuff it wasn’t built for. Get the basics right, fix what breaks, and keep your process as lightweight as you can. If you need more, supplement with your own policies or external tools—just don’t wait until after something’s gone sideways to get it sorted.