Vantaca Home: Mimic a Homeowner Portal

Early Access: If your account looks different from what's shown here, don't worry! This update is rolling out gradually and will be available to you soon.

Mimic mode allows you to log in to the Vantaca Home portal as a specific homeowner so you can see exactly what they see, troubleshoot issues, and confirm that pages, payments, and settings work as expected. When you are mimicking a homeowner, a "You are in mimic mode" banner displays at the top of every portal page so you always know whose account you are viewing. This article describes how to enter and exit mimic mode, what you can and cannot do while mimicking, and best practices for using mimic mode in support workflows.

Important: Actions you take while mimicking a homeowner, including making payments, submitting requests, and changing profile settings, are recorded against the homeowner's account. Use mimic mode for troubleshooting and verification, not for performing actions on behalf of a homeowner unless they have explicitly requested it.

Contents

• What Mimic Mode Does
• Enter Mimic Mode
• Exit Mimic Mode
• What You Can and Cannot Do While Mimicking
• Best Practices
• FAQ

What Mimic Mode Does

Mimic mode opens the Vantaca Home portal in your browser as if you logged in as the selected homeowner. You see their property selection, their account balance, their requests, their reservations, their Inbox, and any custom pages enabled for their association. You can navigate every page they can navigate.

Use mimic mode to:

• Verify that a homeowner's account balance and account history are correct.
• Confirm that a request, reservation, or compliance item is visible to the homeowner.
• Reproduce a portal issue a homeowner reports.
• Confirm that custom pages and content display correctly for the association.
• Test payment workflows after configuration changes.

 

Enter Mimic Mode

To enter mimic mode from the homeowner's profile in Vantaca:

1. Navigate to Homeowners > Homeowner Profile for the homeowner you want to mimic.
2. Click the Communication tab, and then Logins.
3. Click Mimic.
   A new browser tab opens to the Vantaca Home portal logged in as the homeowner.

Note: The Mimic button is gated by role permissions. If you do not see the Mimic button, verify your role has mimic permissions in Settings > Roles.

 

Exit Mimic Mode

To exit mimic mode, click Log Out in the left navigation menu or close the browser tab. The mimic session does not affect any other portal sessions you have open in other tabs.

 

What You Can and Cannot Do While Mimicking

While in mimic mode, you can:

• Navigate every page the homeowner can navigate.
• View account balances, account history, statements, and recent transactions.
• View open and closed requests, reservations, compliance notices, and Inbox messages.
• Reply to messages on Inbox items, requests, and compliance items (replies are sent as the homeowner).
• Submit new requests and reservations (recorded as if submitted by the homeowner).
• Make payments and change AutoPay enrollment (transactions process on the homeowner's account).
• Edit profile settings, contact information, and login credentials (changes apply to the homeowner's account).

Use these capabilities with care. Any change you make in mimic mode is a change to the homeowner's real account.

 

Best Practices

• Use mimic mode for verification and troubleshooting first, before changing any setting on the homeowner's behalf.
• Always confirm the Mimic banner is visible at the top of the page before navigating.
• If you must change a setting or submit a request on behalf of a homeowner, document the change in the homeowner's notes or in the action item history.
• Log out of mimic mode when you are finished. Do not leave a mimic session open in an unattended browser.
• Avoid making payments in mimic mode unless the homeowner has specifically asked you to do so and you have their authorization.

 

FAQ

Q: Can I see the same data the homeowner sees, or do I see additional management data?

A: You see exactly what the homeowner sees. Mimic mode does not expose any management-only data.

 

Q: Does the homeowner know I am mimicking their portal?

A: No. The homeowner does not receive a notification when you enter mimic mode. Actions you take while mimicking are logged in the action item or transaction history, which the homeowner can see.

 

Q: If the homeowner is logged in at the same time, will my mimic session interfere with their session?

A: No. The two sessions are independent. The homeowner can use the portal at the same time you are mimicking.

 

Q: I do not see the mimic banner. Am I in mimic mode?

A: If the banner is not visible, you are not in mimic mode. Return to the homeowner's profile in Vantaca and click Mimic again.

 

Q: Why am I unable to mimic an owner?

A: If the Mimic button is missing or does not work, check these three settings:

• Association Status: Confirm the association is set to Live via Association > Association List. The portal is only accessible for Live associations.
• Portal Enabled: Confirm the portal is enabled for the association via Association > Settings > Portal section > Portal Style > Vantaca Home.
• Role Security: Confirm your role has the Portal Login Mimic > Debug permission via Settings > Roles > Support section.

Once all three are verified, mimic via Homeowners > Homeowner Profile > Communication > Logins.

 

Q: Why am I seeing incorrect information when mimicking a homeowner?

A: Clear your browser cache and cookies, then re-enter mimic mode.

 

Q: How do I correct the spelling of an owner's name?

A: Update the Display Name field via Homeowners > Homeowner Profile > Communication > Logins > Edit. The name entered here also controls the Author name that displays on communications from the homeowner within an action item.

 

Q: How do I mimic a non-homeowner board member?

A: Non-homeowner board members cannot be mimicked using the standard Mimic function. To view their portal, log in directly as them using their username and password.

 

Q: Where do homeowners change their password?

A: While mimicking, click the owner's name in the top right corner and select My Profile. On the Profile Settings page, click the Login Info tab to view where passwords can be changed.

 

Q: How do I manually create a login for a homeowner?

A: Open the homeowner's account in Vantaca, click the Communications tab, then click Logins. Click New Login to create the login, then share the credentials with the homeowner.

 

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