Why approvals need a second factor
Why a password is not enough for money, access and catalogue changes, how the five-minute elevation and the one-time proof work, and why support can never act as you.
A password proves someone knew a secret at some point. It does not prove the person approving a payment run right now is you. ChowChirp separates the two.
Two kinds of proof
Session elevation. For most writes, the product asks for a fresh authenticator code, backup code or passkey, and then keeps the session elevated for five minutes. Long enough to finish a task, short enough that a walked-away laptop is not a blank cheque.
Action-bound proof. For the most critical actions, such as approving a payment run, exporting data, approving support access or accepting an installation handover, the code you enter is bound to that one action and consumed when it runs. It cannot be replayed for a second action, even inside the five-minute window.
Password re-entry is deliberately not accepted for either. Passwords are what an attacker is most likely to have.
Why passkeys are recommended
A passkey lives on your phone or laptop and is unlocked with your face, fingerprint or device PIN. It cannot be phished, because it only works on the real ChowChirp domain, and it is the quickest step-up to use every day. The authenticator app is the fallback, and backup codes are the fallback for the fallback.
Why the owner is not automatically operational
Being the owner grants administration, not operation. To ring a sale at the counter, an owner still needs an outlet assignment, a paired device and a shift unlock like anyone else. This keeps the counter's record of who did what honest.
Why support cannot act as you
ChowChirp support never has your password and never impersonates you. When they need to look, they request a session you approve, limited to one outlet, read-only, time-boxed, and shown as a banner to everyone in your organisation while it runs. Device revocation is disabled while a support session is active so that nobody can use support as cover.
What this costs you
A few seconds, a few times a day, for the actions that would hurt most if someone else did them. Everything else, reading, capturing, counting, rostering, needs only your normal login.
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Updated 2026-09-16