The Django administration interface provides superuser-level access to data and settings that are not available through the Platform Admin (/platform-admin/). This document describes what is available there, how access works, and which functions are exclusive to it.
Access
The Django admin is available at /admin/.
Important: The Django admin login form is disabled. Visiting
/admin/without an active superuser session returns a 404 Not Found — the interface does not reveal its existence to unauthenticated or non-superuser users.
To access the admin you must:
- Log in to CheckTick through the normal application login (
/accounts/login/) - Your account must have
is_superuser = Trueandis_active = True - Navigate to
/admin/— you will be granted access directly
To create your first superuser:
docker compose exec web python manage.py createsuperuser
Platform Admin vs Django Admin
CheckTick has two administration interfaces:
| Interface | URL | Access | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform Admin | /platform-admin/ |
Superusers | Day-to-day organisation and user management |
| Django Admin | /admin/ |
Superusers | Low-level data access, financial exports, and tasks with no Platform Admin equivalent |
The Platform Admin covers most operational tasks. The Django admin should be used only for the specific functions listed below.
Functions Exclusive to Django Admin
The following features are only available through the Django admin and have no equivalent in the Platform Admin.
VAT / Payment Records
URL: /admin/core/payment/
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| View all payment records | Invoice number, date, user, tier, amount, VAT, status |
export_to_csv action |
Export selected records to a PII-stripped CSV for HMRC VAT returns |
export_quarter_to_csv action |
Export a full quarter of invoices in one action |
| Amount display fields | amount_ex_vat, vat_amount, amount_inc_vat — all sortable |
For VAT compliance: The CSV export action is the primary mechanism for producing records suitable for HMRC VAT submissions. There is no equivalent export in the Platform Admin.
User Profiles and Account Tiers
URL: /admin/core/userprofile/
Allows manual adjustment of a user's account tier, subscription status, payment provider, and the date the tier was last changed. This is the only interface for these fields.
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
account_tier |
Upgrade or downgrade a user's plan manually |
subscription_status |
Override subscription state (e.g. active, past_due, cancelled) |
payment_provider |
Record which payment provider manages the subscription |
tier_changed_at |
Audit timestamp for tier changes |
User Email and Language Preferences
URLs: /admin/core/useremailpreferences/ and /admin/core/userlanguagepreference/
Allows inspection and manual editing of per-user notification settings and language preferences. There is no equivalent view in the Platform Admin or user-facing settings.
Site Branding
URL: /admin/core/sitebranding/
The singleton branding record can only be created or edited here (or via the /branding/ UI and the configure_branding management command). The Django admin enforces the singleton pattern — it prevents adding a second record and disallows deletion.
See Theme Configuration for the recommended approach using the branding UI.
Data Export Audit Trail
URL: /admin/surveys/dataexport/
Lists all data export records: which survey was exported, who created the export, the response count, whether it was encrypted, and the download status. This is the only UI for inspecting export records.
| Permission | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| View / filter | All superusers |
| Add / change | Disabled — exports are created through the survey interface only |
| Delete | Superusers only — use with care |
Dataset Publishing and NHS Data Dictionary Enforcement
URL: /admin/surveys/dataset/
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
publish_datasets action |
Mark selected datasets as published and set published_at |
create_custom_version_action |
Generate a customisable copy of a global dataset for an organisation |
| NHS DD read-only guard | Datasets sourced from the NHS Data Dictionary become fully read-only — all fields are locked to prevent accidental modification of upstream data |
Dataset browsing for end users is available through the surveys interface; the publishing workflow and NHS DD guard are Django admin only.
Raw Survey and Question Editing
URLs: /admin/surveys/survey/ and inline question editing
Provides a direct editing interface for surveys and their questions, bypassing the normal survey builder. Intended as a superuser support and debugging fallback — for example, to fix a malformed question or unlock a survey stuck in an unexpected state.
Survey Progress and Response Inspection
URLs: /admin/surveys/surveyprogress/ and /admin/surveys/surveyresponse/
Read-only debugging views showing incomplete survey sessions (progress records with expiry timestamps) and submitted responses. Useful for diagnosing user-reported issues. There are no equivalent views in the Platform Admin or any user-facing interface.
Collection Definitions
URL: /admin/surveys/collectiondefinition/
Allows inspection and editing of collection structures (repeating groups) and their items. This is a low-level debugging tool with no front-end management equivalent.
Functions with Platform Admin Equivalents
The following Django admin sections exist but are fully or largely covered by the Platform Admin at /platform-admin/. Prefer the Platform Admin for day-to-day use.
| Django Admin | Platform Admin Equivalent |
|---|---|
| Organisation CRUD | /platform-admin/organizations/ |
| Generate checkout / invite links | /platform-admin/organizations/<id>/invite/ |
| Send invite emails | /platform-admin/organizations/<id>/send-invite/ |
| Toggle organisation active/inactive | /platform-admin/organizations/<id>/toggle-active/ |
| Recovery request management | /surveys/recovery/ (Platform Recovery Console) |
| Identity verification approve/reject | Handled through the Platform Recovery Console |
| Organisation statistics | /platform-admin/stats/ |
| AuditLog viewing | /platform-admin/logs/ — the AuditLog is not in the Django admin; the platform logs view is the only UI for it |
Full Django Admin Feature Reference
The table below covers every registered ModelAdmin for reference.
| Model | Admin URL | Key Features | Django Admin Only? |
|---|---|---|---|
SiteBranding |
/admin/core/sitebranding/ |
Singleton branding record; singleton and delete guards | Partially — also editable at /branding/ |
UserEmailPreferences |
/admin/core/useremailpreferences/ |
Per-user notification flags | ✅ Yes |
UserLanguagePreference |
/admin/core/userlanguagepreference/ |
Per-user language setting | ✅ Yes |
UserProfile |
/admin/core/userprofile/ |
Account tier, subscription, payment provider | ✅ Yes |
Payment |
/admin/core/payment/ |
Invoice records; VAT CSV export actions | ✅ Yes |
DataSet |
/admin/surveys/dataset/ |
Publish action; NHS DD read-only guard | ✅ Yes (publishing) |
Organization |
/admin/surveys/organization/ |
Full CRUD + member inline | Platform Admin preferred |
QuestionGroup |
/admin/surveys/questiongroup/ |
Basic listing | ✅ Yes |
Survey |
/admin/surveys/survey/ |
Raw survey + question inline editing | ✅ Yes |
SurveyResponse |
/admin/surveys/surveyresponse/ |
Response inspection | ✅ Yes |
SurveyProgress |
/admin/surveys/surveyprogress/ |
Session/progress inspection | ✅ Yes |
CollectionDefinition |
/admin/surveys/collectiondefinition/ |
Collection structure + items inline | ✅ Yes |
PublishedQuestionGroup |
/admin/surveys/publishedquestiongroup/ |
Template status/field editing | Partially |
RecoveryRequest |
/admin/surveys/recoveryrequest/ |
Bulk approve/reject/execute actions | Platform Admin preferred |
IdentityVerification |
/admin/surveys/identityverification/ |
Bulk verify/reject actions | Platform Admin preferred |
RecoveryAuditEntry |
/admin/surveys/recoveryauditentry/ |
Immutable audit log — read-only, no add/delete | Inline in recovery admin |
DataExport |
/admin/surveys/dataexport/ |
Export audit trail; superuser-only delete | ✅ Yes |
Security Notes
- The Django admin login form is disabled. A 404 is returned to any user who is not already authenticated as a superuser — the admin URL is not publicly advertised and does not prompt for credentials.
- Access is restricted to accounts with both
is_active = Trueandis_superuser = True. Staff-only accounts (is_staff = True) are not granted access. - All actions in the Django admin are performed under the authenticated superuser's session and are subject to the same audit logging as other application actions.
- Superuser accounts should use strong, unique passwords and, where possible, should have two-factor authentication enabled.