In addition to the core users on your account, Instrumentl offers external Collaborator seats. Grant teams using Instrumentl can assign tasks to Collaborators, who will receive email notifications and reminders, as well as access to calendar integration.
All grant Collaborators interact with Instrumentl entirely via email, without ever having to log into Instrumentl. Colleagues and stakeholders can easily engage with grant requests without needing to learn a new platform — Instrumentl seamlessly integrates into Collaborators' existing workflows by connecting with their email and calendars.
Note: Collaborator Seats are available to Nonprofit, Consultant, and University Plans beginning on the Professional Plan and above.
Pro Plan: Includes 10 Collaborator seats
Advanced & Enterprise Plans: Custom amount (or default 20)
Overview: What is a "Collaborator"?
Collaborators are task contributors external to your account, so they function as an extension to your grants management within Instrumentl. Collaborators receive task-related emails and just need to click "Mark Complete" to notify the assigner.
How: Assign tasks to keep your grants pipeline moving smoothly each step of the way, from prospecting to post-award management.
Why: Grant managers need to easily collaborate with stakeholders who don't have Instrumentl seats ("Core Users"), while maintaining centralized tracking of all grant-related tasks.
Who: Loop in finance teams, program staff, or other external partners involved in grant processes — no login required. Assign tasks and share updates directly via email or calendar invites to keep everyone aligned.
Collaborators vs. Core Users
Wondering what the difference is between Collaborators and Core Users on Instrumentl?
Core Users: Have more access to Instrumentl — they can log in, manage grants, and interact across your account's internal workspace.
Collaborators: Function as an extension to your Instrumentl account's team and overall grant work. They do not have login credentials and won't have dedicated access to the account. Involvement is limited exclusively to external task assignments.
Instead, they receive task assignments by email and can complete them directly from their inbox.
Collaborators also don’t need to accept an invite — you can start assigning tasks immediately after adding them to your account.
Value Add
Collaborator Access simplifies and streamlines your grants work by increasing team cohesion. Grant managers can confidently invite external Collaborators based on their access needs and capabilities, ensuring focused and secure project involvement.
Accommodate Collaborators of all levels: Involve finance directors, program managers, and external partners without requiring them to log into Instrumentl or learn a new platform.
Centralization: Keep all grant-related task work across all stakeholders in one place.
Reduce manual work: Reduce manual follow-ups with automated notifications and reminders. You won't need to send a separate email request or go out of your way to create a calendar invite.
Calendar Integration: Collaborators can integrate assigned task deadlines with their existing email and calendar workflows.
Accountability: Stay organized by keep track of deadlines and pending work across teams and individuals.
Getting Started
To enhance your grants work and team outreach, follow the 4 main steps below to add a Collaborator, assign them tasks, and streamline communication via email, allowing them to easily complete Instrumentl assignments.
1. Add a Collaborator
Collaborators cannot log in — they will receive an error message if attempted. All Collaborator work is done via email, so accessing the Instrumentl platform is not necessary.
To invite a Collaborator to your Instrumentl account:
Account owners can head to Account > Manage Team.
Core Users can directly invite them to contribute when creating a task.
Your Team page displays the number of open Collaborator seats.
On the righthand side of the page, Click the + Add Teammate button and select "Add Collaborator". Then enter their name and email to invite them:
Collaborators will show up on your Team page with their role set as "Collaborator" and "Tasks Only" project access.
Delete or Upgrade a Collaborator
Remove a Collaborator: If your invitation was sent in error or no longer necessary, you can easily remove the individual's association with your account.
Upgrade Collaborators to Core User: If you've decided your external Collaborator merits a full time user space and login credentials to work within your account, you can also change their team role if you have open Core User seats.
To remove a collaborator or upgrade their role, open the "User Actions" dropdown menu to the right of their name:
Click "Remove" to delete them as a Collaborator.
Click "Upgrade to Core User" to switch an individual from a Collaborator to a Core User.
Upgrading to Core User will allow the individual access to your Instrumentl workspace. You can then update their User Permissions based on their role in your team's grants work.
2. Collaborator Receives Email Invitation
Adding a Collaborator to your account immediately sends the individual an initial Welcome email from Instrumentl — there's no need to wait for them to accept an invite! You can begin assigning tasks immediately.
Collaborators should retain their Welcome Email instructions for future reference. At the bottom of the email, they'll have the option to set up a one-click Calendar Integration to neatly keep track of task reminders.
Completing Tasks
3. Assign Tasks to Collaborators
Create a task: A Core user should first create a task for the Collaborator to complete, ideally with a detailed description in the Description Field and document Attachments.
Then assign it to the new Collaborator you added. Core Users can also invite an individual as a Collaborator by entering their email when selecting the task's Assignee.
Core Users can then download Task Reports that include Collaborators as well.
4. Email Communications: Complete Tasks Externally
The assigned Collaborator will immediately receive the Instrumentl task via email. They'll see the deadline, contents of the task's Description Field, and any attachments.
No Instrumentl account access is ever required for a Collaborator to complete a task! All communication and task completion all takes place through the email, allowing you to easily streamline grant requests.
Collaborators complete all task assignments externally via the task email:
Reply directly to the email to correspond with the assignee if necessary:
By initiating a conversation with the user who assigned the task, Collaborators can ask for further clarification, provide updates, and vice versa.
Easily send attachments in return to complete certain requests (such as a final budget report).
Once done with an assignment, Collaborators simply click "Mark as Complete" directly within the email — clicking this button automatically updates the task within Instrumentl.
See an example task assignment email below:
Optional: Calendar Integration for Task Deadlines
We highly recommend Collaborators take advantage of our calendar sync feature designed for their role as a task contributor. Collaborators can set up calendar integration to automatically view all assigned Instrumentl task deadlines on their calendar.
Configuring your calendar to include deadline reminders is a one-time process with longterm yield. You'll stay organized and accountable across all responsibilities.
Once a Collaborator is invited, they'll see the option to set up calendar integration in their welcome email:
The one-click option allows Collaborators to add task Reminders from Instrumentl to their Calendar platform of choice — Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar.
You can also choose to integrate your iCal calendar platform manually via a personalized link. This option allows for Apple Calendar in addition to Outlook and Google.
Please refer to the initial Collaborator invitation welcome email for calendar integration setup instructions. To get started, simply follow our step-by-step guide: Calendar Integration Setup for Collaborators.
FAQs
Will adding Collaborators affect my current user seat limit?
Will adding Collaborators affect my current user seat limit?
No — your team's main user seat allotment and Collaborator seats are separate. Adding a collaborator will count towards your Collaborator seat space.
Head to Account > Manage Team to view your Core User and Collaborator seat usage. Currently, the number of Collaborator seats by plan is fixed. However, you may still add more core user seats at any time for just $5/user per month.
Can a Collaborator access or make changes to my account?
Can a Collaborator access or make changes to my account?
Nope! All Collaborators' Users Permissions default to "Tasks Only". They'll exclusively use task emails to collaborate on grants work externally.
Your account data and hard grants work will remain secure and in tact! Learn more about User Permissions here.
How can I send task email reminders to Collaborators?
How can I send task email reminders to Collaborators?
The Collaborator feature is currently in Beta. While there currently isn't an option to customize the existing email reminder cadence per user or task, you can streamline all communications about the assignment within the same email thread.
To learn more about task creation and deadline reminders, see our guide.
To learn more about our Tasks View feature, see our overview.
If you're considering adding Collaborators to your account to maximize your grants work with Instrumentl, you may also be interested in the following articles:
Contact Us 
If you have any questions about Collaborators Seats or managing your team, message our friendly Customer Support team via the chat bubble when logged in, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.