How to Fix Login Issues When a Contact Record is Deleted

When a Partner or Customer user suddenly cannot log in to your portal and receives an error message saying "Your account may be temporarily disabled, please contact the administrator," the cause is often a deleted or missing Contact record in your CRM. This article explains why this happens and how to restore user access.

Why This Happens

Partner and Customer users in Magentrix must be associated with Contact records in your connected CRM system (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or HubSpot). This association is essential for data security and access control - it determines what data users can see based on their Account and Contact relationships.

When a Contact record is deleted from your CRM, Magentrix prevents the associated user from logging in as a security measure. This ensures that users cannot access portal data without proper CRM associations that control their data visibility.

Common causes of deleted Contact records:

• Accidental deletion during data cleanup
• Removing duplicate records and deleting the wrong one
• Merging contacts and deleting the contact that was associated with the user
• Bulk data operations that unintentionally included active user contacts

Prerequisites

To fix this issue, you need:

• Administrator System Role permissions
• Access to your CRM system (Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or HubSpot)
• The affected user's name and email address

Step 1: Check the Recycle Bin First

Before creating a new Contact record, check if the deleted Contact can be restored from the Recycle Bin. This is the fastest solution and preserves all historical data.

To check the Recycle Bin:

1. Navigate to your CRM system (Salesforce, Dynamics, or HubSpot)
2. Access the Recycle Bin or Deleted Items
3. Search for the deleted Contact by name or email
4. If found, restore the Contact record
5. Wait a few minutes for synchronization, then have the user attempt to log in again

If the Contact is not in the Recycle Bin or cannot be restored, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Create a New Contact Record (If Needed)

If the Contact record cannot be restored, you'll need to create a new one in your CRM system.

To create a new Contact:

1. Navigate to the Contacts section in your CRM
2. Search for the Contact by name to verify they don't already exist
3. If the Contact is not present, click New Contact
4. Fill in the required information:
   • First Name
   • Last Name
   • Email address (must match the user's email in Magentrix)
   • Account association (critical - must be the correct Account)
   • Any other required fields for your CRM
5. Click Save

Step 3: Associate the User with the Contact Record

Now that a Contact record exists (either restored or newly created), you need to link it to the user account in Magentrix.

To associate the user with the Contact:

1. Navigate to Setup Home page > Security > Manage Users
2. Use the Search Bar to locate the affected user
3. Click on the user's name
4. Click Edit
5. In the Contact lookup field, search for and select the Contact record you just created or restored
6. Click Save

The user should now be able to log in successfully.

Step 4: Verify User Access

After completing the association:

1. Have the user attempt to log in
2. Verify they can access the portal successfully
3. Confirm they can see appropriate data based on their Account association

If the user still cannot log in, proceed to the Troubleshooting section below.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Contact field is not visible on the user edit page

Solution: The Contact field should be visible by default for Partner and Customer users. If it's missing:

1. Click Edit Layout in the top right corner of the user edit page
2. Under Fields on the left, locate the Contact field
3. Drag the Contact field into the User Information section
4. Click Save & Close
5. Now you can edit the user and select the Contact

Issue: User still cannot log in after associating the Contact

Solution:

• Verify the Contact record exists in your CRM and is not deleted
• Confirm the user is marked as Active in Magentrix
• Check that the user has an appropriate Security Role assigned
• Verify you have available licenses for this user type
• Wait 5-10 minutes for synchronization between systems

Issue: Cannot find the Contact record in the lookup

Solution:

• Verify the Contact exists in your connected CRM
• Ensure CRM synchronization is working properly
• Try refreshing the entity schema: Navigate to Extend > [Your CRM] and refresh the Contact object
• Check that the Contact's email matches the user's email exactly

Issue: User can log in but cannot see any data

Solution:

• Verify the Contact is associated with the correct Account record
• Check the user's Security Role permissions
• Confirm the Account association matches the user's actual organizational relationship

Issue: Multiple users are affected

Solution: If many users suddenly cannot log in due to deleted Contacts:

• Check if a bulk deletion or data cleanup operation was performed in your CRM
• Review the CRM Recycle Bin for multiple deleted Contacts
• Consider restoring Contacts in bulk if available in your CRM
• Contact Magentrix support if you need assistance with bulk user restoration

Prevention Tips

To avoid this issue in the future:

Before deleting Contacts:

• Always check if the Contact is associated with an active portal user
• In Magentrix, navigate to the Contact record and check for associated users before deletion
• Create a policy requiring verification before Contact deletion

When merging duplicate Contacts:

• Identify which Contact record is associated with the portal user
• Keep the Contact that has the user association and merge the duplicate into it
• Verify the user can still log in after the merge operation

Regular audits:

• Periodically review active users and their Contact associations
• Check for orphaned users without Contact records
• Maintain documentation of Contact-User relationships for critical users

CRM permissions:

• Limit Contact deletion permissions to users who understand the portal implications
• Implement approval workflows for bulk Contact deletions
• Train CRM administrators on the relationship between Contacts and portal users

Understanding Contact-User Relationships

For Partner and Customer users, the Contact record serves several critical purposes:

1. Data Filtering: The Contact's Account association determines what data the user can access
2. Security: Without a Contact, the system cannot properly filter data, so login is prevented
3. User Profile: The Contact record stores business information about the user
4. CRM Integration: The Contact maintains synchronization between Magentrix and your CRM

Employee users work differently - they do not require Contact associations because they have organizational-level access rather than account-based access.

Related Topics

For more information about users and CRM integration, see:

• About Magentrix Users
• Creating and Enabling Users
• Understanding Security for External Users
• Configuring User Accounts
• About Security Roles