How We Add People to Basecamp Projects
When we onboard someone into the AI Apprentice program, the DFY Google Knowledge Panel package, a monthly agency retainer, or a Power Hour, we create a dedicated Basecamp project for them.
This project becomes the central workspace for communication, deliverables, approvals, and documentation.
As part of setup, we add the relevant team members and collaborators so everyone involved has the right level of access from day one.
This article explains how people are added to those Basecamp projects and how access is managed over time, including archived projects.
Adding people to an active project
Once a Basecamp project is created, access is managed directly from the project itself.
Open the project and look at the top of the screen, where you’ll see people’s avatars.
Click the Set up people button next to them to open the project’s access settings.
This screen shows everyone who can currently see the project, including both active participants and followers. This makes it easy to confirm who is involved and who is simply observing progress.
To add someone new, click the Add people button at the top of the page.
Start typing the person’s name rather than their email address.
Basecamp will automatically suggest users on the account who do not yet have access to the project.
You can include an optional note with the invitation before confirming. Once added, the person will immediately have access to the project.
If a client or external collaborator needs access, make sure they are already set up on the Basecamp account with the correct role before adding them to the project.
Reviewing who has access
The project access screen provides a single place to review visibility.
This is especially useful when projects span multiple services or involve different internal teams, such as strategy, content, and technical implementation.
A quick review here helps ensure that the right people are included and that access remains intentional.
Adding people to archived projects
Archived projects are managed at the account level and can only be modified by account owners and admins. This is useful when someone new joins the team and needs historical context on past client work.
To grant access, go to Adminland and open Manage people.
Find the person whose access you want to change, click the three-dot menu on the right, and select Change access.
At the bottom of the page, you’ll see the option to grant access to archived projects.
Before confirming, you can preview exactly which archived projects the person will gain access to by clicking See all archived projects. This helps prevent accidental overexposure. Once confirmed, the access change applies immediately.
Why this process matters
Each Basecamp project represents a real client engagement or paid program.
Managing access carefully keeps communication clean, protects sensitive information, and ensures accountability across teams.
When access is set up correctly at onboarding, projects move faster and require less cleanup later.