Account Setup

Step-by-step guide to creating your account, configuring your organization, and setting up your first workspace for team collaboration

How Zenhub Organizes Your Work

Before setting up your account, understanding Zenhub's structure helps you make better configuration decisions. Everything follows a clear hierarchy: Organization → Workspaces → Issue Sources → Issues.

Your Organization serves as the top-level container for billing, user access, and administrative settings. Within your organization, you create Workspaces that act as team-specific command centers where groups organize their work. Each workspace connects to Issue Sources including Zenhub repositories (created automatically) and GitHub repositories (connected optionally). Finally, Issues represent the actual work items your team manages.

GitHub connections depend on your plan: Standard plans connect to one GitHub organization, while Enterprise plans support up to 10 GitHub organizations.

Creating Your Zenhub Account

You have three signup options:

• Work email and password for standard account creation

• Google Workspace if your company uses Gmail for business

• GitHub for immediate development integration

Visit app.zenhub.com/signup and select your preferred method. Email signups require verification before accessing Zenhub.

Understanding Organization Assignment

Zenhub automatically sets up your organization based on your email domain. Company email domains may show existing organizations you can join, helping teams avoid duplicate setups. Common email providers like Gmail trigger automatic organization creation, named after your email address (customizable later).

Setting Up Your First Workspace

New organizations go through a three-step workspace creation process:

Step 1: Choose Your Workspace Name Select something descriptive for your team or project. This workspace will be your team's daily collaboration hub.

Step 2: Select a Workflow Template Choose from several pre-configured options:

• Scrum (1-week or 2-week) for sprint-based development

• Kanban for continuous flow workflows

• Scrumban for hybrid approaches

• IT Service Desk for support workflows

• Design for creative project management

Templates provide starting pipeline structures that you can customize later.

Step 3: Set Your Trial Goals Select what you want to accomplish during your 14-day trial, such as breaking projects into tasks, testing reporting features, or working with non-GitHub teammates. This helps Zenhub provide relevant guidance.

Understanding Your Trial Experience

New organizations receive 14-day trials with full feature access. You'll see a Trial Home page with setup guidance and a sidebar banner showing remaining trial days. Complete setup steps like GitHub connection, data import, and team invitations at your own pace.

Connecting to GitHub

GitHub integration is optional but valuable for development teams. When connected, you can view GitHub issues in your workspace, track pull requests alongside project work, and access reporting features with development data.

You don't need to connect GitHub right away. If you created your account with email/password or Google SSO, you can connect at any time by visiting your account settings, scrolling down to Connected Accounts, and clicking Connect next to "Connect your GitHub account."

To connect during initial setup, navigate to Trial Home or account settings and authorize the required GitHub permissions. When you add existing repositories, Zenhub automatically organizes your issues:

• Issues older than 90 days → Icebox

• Recently updated issues → Product Backlog

• Issues with open milestones → Sprint Backlog

• Active pull requests → In Progress

Inviting Your Team

Use "Invite team members" in your left sidebar to send email invitations, copy shareable links, or configure domain settings for automatic team discovery. Adding your company's email domains to the allowed list lets colleagues request organization access during signup, streamlining onboarding for larger teams.

Configuring Issue Types

Issue Types define your team's work hierarchy, from large strategic initiatives down to individual tasks. Zenhub provides default types out of the box, but you can create up to 25 custom types with adjustable names, descriptions, colors, and hierarchy levels.

For full configuration guidance, see Issue Types.

Accessing Organization Settings

Find organization settings through "Account Management" in your profile menu or at app.zenhub.com/settings. Key functions include updating organization names, managing allowed domains, adding or removing members, and configuring issue types.

Zenhub pricing operates per organization, with each organization representing separate billing. You're charged for all licenses regardless of assignment to users, so regular license reviews help optimize costs.

Next Steps

With your organization and workspace configured, focus on customization for daily use:

• Adjust pipeline names to match your workflow terminology

• Establish team conventions for issue creation and estimation

• Explore automation options to reduce manual work

• Connect additional repositories as needed

• Invite more team members as your organization grows

Your Zenhub foundation is ready to support effective project management and team collaboration.

FAQ

Q: Can I change my organization setup after initial configuration?
A: Yes, most settings can be modified including organization name, allowed domains, issue types, and workspace templates. Some changes like billing transitions may require contacting support.

Q: What if I accidentally created a separate organization instead of joining my team's?
A: Contact support@zenhub.com for organization consolidation assistance. While there's no automated merge, support can help get you to the correct organization.

Q: Do I need GitHub organization owner permissions to use Zenhub effectively?
A: While owner access provides the best integration, you can use Zenhub effectively without it. Features like issue type sync have workarounds, and core project management works independently of GitHub permissions.

Q: How do I change my organization name?
A: Navigate to https://app.zenhub.com/settings/profile and click "Settings" in the left panel. From there, you can update your organization name in the organization settings section.

Q: I received an invite but I don't have a Zenhub account yet. What do I do?
A: Click your invite link and you'll land on the login page. Select "Sign up" to create your account — your invite is saved in the browser session, so the invite flow will complete automatically after registration. Make sure to sign up in the same browser tab without closing it first.

Q: I've requested access to my organization. Now what?
A: You'll gain access once your Zenhub organization admin assigns you a license. Check with your admin if you're waiting longer than expected.

Q: Why am I seeing "Account does not exist. Please sign up instead"?
A: You're likely visiting the login page (app.zenhub.com/login) instead of the signup page. Navigate to app.zenhub.com/signup to create your new account.