No Activity Users on User Type Admin Center Report

In the User Type Report or any user report, users are part of your count which impacts your overall cost, for 365 days after their last interaction with an asset.

When I run the User Type Reports, I have internal and external users with no "Last Activity" date and the # of assets viewed, commented, edit or created the last 90, 180, 270 and 365 are all ZERO. Shouldn't these users no longer be part of your user count?

Also, what does it mean when the "Highest permission given on assets" field says [[ BLANK ]]?

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Accepted answers

Trang Turtletraxx

@Jacob A Yes I know what the blank cells mean, but that would tell me they shouldn't be on the user reports if they aren't shared to any assets and it's been over 365 days. Users stay on user reports until 365 after their last interaction with an asset from what I understand.

Internal collaborators: Internal users who have interacted with a plan's assets in the past 365 days while authenticated using the company's domain or subdomain associated with the plan. Does not include licensed users.
Previously licensed users: Users who had licenses revoked or deactivated in the past 365 days and no longer interact with a plan’s sheets, reports, or other assets. Does not include licensed users or internal collaborators.

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2482743-plan-insights

All comments

mcarlson

Here’s a breakdown of how these reports generally work and what might be going on with your "no activity" users in Smartsheet or similar platforms:

User Count and Activity Threshold:
- Users remain part of your active user count if they have been assigned a license or role, even if they haven't interacted with any assets in the last 90, 180, 270, or 365 days.
- The license typically stays active for 365 days from their last recorded activity or until the license is manually revoked. This policy impacts your overall licensing cost because all licensed users are counted toward the total, regardless of recent activity.
- If these users truly have zero interactions (assets viewed, edited, commented on, or created), you may want to consider revoking or reassigning licenses to avoid unnecessary costs.
"Highest Permission Given on Assets" Field Showing as Blank:
- If the "Highest Permission Given on Assets" field is blank, it usually indicates that the user has not been granted any specific permissions on assets (e.g., sheets, reports, dashboards).
- This can happen if they have a license or role but have not yet been added to any items within the system, or if their permissions were revoked but their user profile remains active.

Recommendations

Audit Users: Regularly review and deactivate any user profiles that have been inactive for extended periods, especially if you have external users or former employees who may no longer need access.
Use Automation to Track Activity: If available, set up automated reports to track users with no activity over a certain threshold (e.g., 180 or 365 days), which can serve as a prompt for further review.
Contact Support if Necessary: If these users should not count against your user limit due to inactivity, you may want to reach out to Smartsheet support to clarify the policy, as it may vary based on the licensing model.

By maintaining an audit of user activity and adjusting licenses accordingly, you can better manage costs and ensure compliance with user licensing policies.

Trang Turtletraxx

Hi @mcarlson

Thanks for your response. I was aware of the timeframe for users to remain on user reports. The reason for my questions is because I'm doing an audit. I recently accepted the role of Smartsheet product owner for my company and looking at a new chargeback cost structure so I'm looking at users, activity, permissions, etc. From all the information you provided, it unfortunately did not explain why I have blank cells under "Last Activity".

Did I understand your response that even if a user is shared to an asset say with Viewer permission, there is no recorded access in the last 365 days - NEVER accesses or log into the Smartsheet application they are still included in the user counts and reports? If that is the case and unless you buy the Event Reporting feature that has an astronomical cost to it, there is no way for us to reconcile these counts if we don't know what asset the user needs to be removed from.

How are we to do an accurate audit and reconciliation if this information is NOT provided by Smartsheet and if there is no way for us to know what asset the user needs to be removed from.?

Also, how do you automate the tracking activity without the use of the Event Reporting feature?

Jacob A

I trust this finds you well?

@Trang Turtletraxx Did you get an answer to your questions? Blank cells under Last Activity means the user has not access any of the assets shared to him/her/them.

@mcarlson Thanks for the explanation. I am a bit curious though as to why unlicensed users, both external and internal, are still showing up days/weeks after their access have been revoked. It's throwing up my reporting as to how many users we have with access to our assets.

You said, if available, to set up an automation to track users with no activity. Do you mind sharing more on that?

Trang Turtletraxx

Internal collaborators: Internal users who have interacted with a plan's assets in the past 365 days while authenticated using the company's domain or subdomain associated with the plan. Does not include licensed users.
Previously licensed users: Users who had licenses revoked or deactivated in the past 365 days and no longer interact with a plan’s sheets, reports, or other assets. Does not include licensed users or internal collaborators.

https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/2482743-plan-insights

Jacob A

@Trang Turtletraxx Thanks for letting me know.

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