SmartSimple 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

SmartSimple Cloud is the grants and funding management platform that many foundations, research funders and government programs run. You don't sign in to SmartSimple itself: you sign in to the system your organization or funder runs on it, as staff, a reviewer or an applicant. There's no two-factor switch for you to flip. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is set per role by the system's Global Administrator, who picks which roles get codes from an authenticator app and which get a code by email or text message (SmartSimple, SmartSimple). If your role is on the authenticator list, SmartSimple asks you to set it up the next time you sign in.

This guide covers that first sign-in, with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way. Administrators will find the settings near the end.

How we checked this guide: the SmartSimple steps come from SmartSimple's own pages, linked below. Its SmartWiki turned away our automated reader, so on October 21, 2026 we read the wiki article as an archived copy on web.archive.org, saved in November 2024; the article says it was last changed in August 2024. We read the Trust & Security page live on the same day. We haven't tested the steps in a SmartSimple system, and your organization may have changed its sign-in pages, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Set up the authenticator app at sign-in

Once an administrator adds your role to the authenticator list, the setup screen appears after your next sign-in with your email address and password (SmartSimple):

1. Sign in to your organization's SmartSimple system as usual. A page titled Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication opens with instructions.
2. Click Show TOTP Key and QR Code. SmartSimple shows a QR code and a text key, which it calls the TOTP Secret Key.
3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. If you'd rather type the key, tap +, then Enter key manually in Novaz. Put SmartSimple or your organization's name in Service, your email in Account, and the secret key in Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
5. Type the code Novaz shows into Enter Verification Code, then click Submit.

SmartSimple's wiki doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer route, because it carries those settings to the app. A key typed by hand always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds in Novaz.

When SmartSimple asks for a code

The wiki doesn't spell out how often the code is asked for when nothing else is set, so expect it when you sign in. Your administrator can turn on Enable Trusted Device, which skips the code on a device where you've already entered one, for a number of days the administrator sets in Trusted Device Expiry. A setting of one day means a code every day, five days means a code every five days (SmartSimple).

If you sign in through your organization's single sign-on (SSO), the administrator can let those sign-ins skip SmartSimple's own MFA.

No backup codes

The wiki article doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, or say whether a role on the authenticator list can fall back to an email code. Unless you've made a Novaz backup, its keys exist only on your iPhone, and the administrator reset below is your way back in, so know who runs your system before you need them.

If SmartSimple rejects your code

The wiki has no advice for rejected codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Also make sure you're reading the entry for the right SmartSimple system, if you have accounts with more than one funder. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Lost phone or new phone

You can't reset this yourself. If your phone is lost, the authenticator has to be reset by a Global Administrator or by someone in a role allowed to reset it for your role (SmartSimple). Contact the organization that runs your SmartSimple system, not SmartSimple. The wiki doesn't say what proof they'll want or how long it takes.

After the reset, you sign in and get the Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication screen again, where you add the account to the new phone. The same route works for a planned phone change if you have no Novaz backup: ask for a reset once the new phone is ready. With iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead and skip the reset. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone and Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

For administrators

SmartSimple's security page says MFA is on in every SmartSimple Cloud system and is assigned by role (SmartSimple). The wiki gives this path (SmartSimple):

1. As a Global Administrator, open the menu icon and go to Global Settings.
2. On the Security tab, open Password and Activation Policies. Under Authentication Options, turn on Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
3. Add roles to Roles with Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP). A role in both this list and the email or SMS list uses the authenticator app only. Choosing Everyone covers roles you create later.
4. Optionally turn on Enable Trusted Device and set the expiry, then click Save.

To reset a user, open their profile, choose Edit Roles and Access from the Actions menu, and select Reset TOTP. To let another role do resets, edit it under Global Settings > Users > Roles > Permissions and fill in Roles this role can reset TOTP for. That role also needs permission to activate the same users. SmartSimple suggests giving this only to internal roles.

Official SmartSimple help

• Multi-Factor Authentication (SmartWiki, archived copy)
• Trust & Security - Security