When a client can't find the setting you asked for

You send Dana at Harbor Fitness the steps, and a few minutes later she replies: "I don't see that option." It's a familiar reply, and it's rarely the client's fault. The setting is usually there, just not on the screen she's looking at. It tends to come down to one of a few reasons, and a screenshot often shows which one at a glance. Here's how to spot each, and how to get her moving again in a single reply. Menu names below match each platform's help pages at the time of writing.

The usual reasons

Work through them in this order. Each one takes a single question to rule out.

She's signed in to the wrong account

Plenty of people have more than one account on the same platform: a personal one and a business one, an old store and a new one, or several teams under one login. The steps only work in the account that owns what you need. Vercel's own instructions start with choosing the right team from the team switcher (Vercel), and the same check helps on any platform where one login can see several accounts, stores or teams.

The fix: ask which name or email shows in the account menu, and have her switch to the business account, store or team before trying again.

She isn't the owner or an admin

When a menu is missing or a button is grayed out, her role may not allow inviting people. Each platform limits who can:

WordPress gives a quick tell. Only Administrators can list users on a single site (WordPress.org), so anyone else sees Profile in the menu where an Administrator sees Users (WordPress source).

The fix: ask who set the account up. Dana can forward the steps to that person, or ask them for a role that can invite.

Her plan doesn't include team members

Some plans don't allow extra users at all.

• Vercel: inviting team members needs a Pro or Enterprise plan (Vercel).
• Shopify: stores on the Basic or Starter plan can't add users. That limit applies to staff accounts only, and collaborator accounts don't count toward it, so ask for collaborator access instead (Shopify).
• Netlify: depending on the team's plan, adding members may need an upgrade (Netlify).

The fix: check the plan before you send steps, and send the route that works on it. If an upgrade is the only way, say so plainly, and agree who pays before the client clicks anything.

She's on her phone

Phone apps tend to show fewer settings than the website, and team or user screens may be missing or somewhere else entirely. If the steps mention a menu she can't find, ask whether she's on a phone. If she is, have her open the website in a browser on a computer, which is what your steps describe.

The menu has moved

Platforms rename and move settings, and older instructions don't update themselves. Three current examples:

• WordPress renamed Add New User to Add User, in the menu and on the screen itself, in version 6.8 (6.7 menu, 6.8 menu, 6.8 screen).
• Shopify labels the same page Users on stores in an organization and Users & permissions on others (Shopify).
• GitHub calls the access page Collaborators on a personal repository (GitHub) and Collaborators & teams on one owned by an organization (GitHub).

The fix: check the platform's current help page for the exact label, and date any instructions you send. Our step-by-step pages, such as Shopify, WordPress and GitHub, were checked against each platform's help pages in October 2026.

When the option really isn't there

Now and then the setting truly doesn't exist, because the platform has no way to add a second person. Before you accept a shared password, search the platform's help pages for team, user or delegate settings. If there's really nothing, Stop asking clients for passwords explains the safest way to handle it.

Sending this to a client? Send one link instead

Get her unstuck in one reply

The quickest way out is a screenshot. One picture replaces several rounds of "what do you see now?" Ask for it in a way that's easy and safe:

Tell her to cover anything private, such as card details, before she sends it. Then read it for five things:

Then reply with one precise instruction rather than the whole list again, such as: "You're in your personal account. Open the account menu, switch to Harbor Fitness, then try step 2 again." If a screenshot or two doesn't solve it, offer a short call where she shares her screen and you talk her through it.

Head it off next time

Several of these can be avoided with a few words in the original request:

• Name the account. "Sign in as the Harbor Fitness owner, not your personal account."
• Say who should do it, if you know. "This one needs the Account Holder or an Admin."
• Mention the plan when it matters. "On Shopify's Basic plan, we'll use a collaborator request instead of a staff invite."
• Say the steps are for a computer, not the phone app.
• Date the steps, so everyone knows how recent they are.

Skip the back and forth. Let one link walk your client through it

Doing this for every client?

Get Set Keys gives each client one link that walks them through each platform's steps, with your email and the right role filled in, and checks that each one is done. When they get stuck, Porter answers straight away, and anything it can't answer comes to you. You can reserve a founding place before Get Set Keys launches in November 2026.