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See who is actually in the group on Google or Entra

4 steps 7 min Updated 4 November 2026

The Members tab shows who should be in a group. The Cloud tab shows who Realsmart last recorded in the real group on your connected platform, compares the two, and explains each difference where it can — useful when a member seems to be missing from Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra, or when someone is in the platform group who shouldn't be.

Nothing on the tab changes any data on the platform. Check now asks Google or Entra for the current member list and updates Realsmart's record of it; it never adds or removes anyone.

Before you start

  • You must be an admin with the Manage users & groups permission for the current school.
  • The school must sync to Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra. The Cloud tab only appears when at least one of them is switched on — see Enable sync services.

Steps

Step 1: Open the group

Select Groups in the left sidebar, find the group and select its name to open it.

Step 2: Switch to the Cloud tab

Select the Cloud tab. It loads on demand, so it may take a moment the first time.

Step 3: Choose the platform

If the school syncs to both platforms, pick Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra from the list at the top right. Schools with only one platform go straight to it.

Step 4: Check now, if the record looks old

The header says when the record was last read (for Entra it says Last change recorded until a check has run). If that was a while ago, or you have just made a change, select Check now. You see Check queued — reading this group from Google Workspace now (or Microsoft Entra). Realsmart asks the platform for the group's current members and updates the record — usually within a few seconds; the button reads Checking…, the tab refreshes itself while it waits, and a line under the header says who checked and when. After a check finishes the button is greyed out for about 30 seconds, so you can't press it twice by accident.

Check now also works while cloud sync is paused — it only reads, so it isn't held back. Each check is logged on the group's Logs tab as Cloud check of ….

Check now reads only. It does not add or remove anyone on the platform. If the group has never been recorded, the same button appears in the empty state and reads it for the first time.

What you see

  • The group's own identifier — the Google group email address, or the Entra group's Microsoft ID.
  • How many members were recorded on the platform (N recorded on Google), how many are in the Realsmart group (N in the Realsmart group), and when the record was last read.
  • Compared with the Members tab — three counts: members in both, members missing from the platform, and members extra on the platform. A red count shows how many differences need a look.
  • Missing from Google / Entra — people on the Members tab who are not recorded in the platform group, each with the reason where Realsmart can tell.
  • Extra on Google / Entra — accounts recorded in the platform group who are not on the Members tab, each with the reason where Realsmart can tell.
  • Recorded on Google / Entra — a table with a row per recorded member: their Realsmart name and username (select the name to open that user in a new tab), plus a Realsmart column saying whether they are In group, Extra or a Nested group. Google rows also show the email address, the role (Member, Owner or Manager) and the type (User, or Group for a group nested inside this one); Entra rows show the Microsoft user ID.

What the verdicts mean

Every difference carries one of three labels:

  • Explained — there is a valid reason and nothing needs doing. For example: the person was added after the last read; they have no Google or Entra account yet; they are suspended in Realsmart (Google groups drop suspended users); they are in the group through a nested group; they belong to another school on a shared domain; sync is switched off for the group, or the group's type isn't selected for group sync; or the school's cloud changes are held for the provisioning window.
  • Needs a look — Realsmart found something worth your attention: the last sync attempt for that person in this group failed or was skipped, Realsmart recorded adding or removing them but the platform record disagrees, or someone is on the platform whom Realsmart has not removed and no removal is in the logs. Start with Check now — if the difference survives a fresh read, see the group's Logs tab and Sync errors.
  • Unexplained — no reason found in the data. Select Check now for the current picture, then check the Logs tab.

A note above the lists covers whole-group reasons — sync switched off for the group or the school, a group type that isn't selected, a deleted group, or a provisioning hold — because those explain every difference at once.

How fresh is it

The tab is Realsmart's record of the last read of the group, not a permanently live view. The header says when that read happened. A change you made a moment ago will not appear until the next sync has read the group back — or until you select Check now, which reads it straight away.

Nested groups look different on each platform

Putting a group inside another group reaches the two platforms differently, and the Cloud tab is where you can see it:

  • Google Workspace nests genuinely, so the inner group appears as a single row of type Group rather than as its people. Its members are not listed as missing — they are reachable through the nested group.
  • Microsoft Entra can't hold one group inside another, so the inner group's people are listed individually, and the comparison expects them there. If one of them is missing, the Missing list labels them Via the nested group they came from.

Both are correct. The people end up in the group either way.

Troubleshooting

  • "Nothing recorded yet" — Realsmart has no record of this group on that platform. Select Check now to read it. The result badge tells you what happened:
    • Not found — the group doesn't exist on the platform. For Google the message reads "No Google group exists at …"; for Entra "Realsmart has not created an Entra group for this group yet". If Realsmart can't create it because its address already belongs to something else, see Group addresses in use.
    • Not set up — sync is off for the group or the school, for example "Sync to Google is switched off for this group, so Realsmart does not manage its Google group", "Group sync to Google is switched off for this school", "Google sync is not live for this school" or "Entra is not configured for this school." Check the group's Details tab and your sync settings.
    • Check failed — the platform couldn't be read and the record is left as it was. The message says why, for example "Could not read … from Google just now. The record is unchanged — try again shortly.", "Invalid Entra client secret — re-enter it in settings." or "Access denied — the app lacks permission to read this group (admin consent may be missing)." See Sync errors. Also check the group's Logs tab.
  • "Not matched" — the account is in the cloud group but does not correspond to a Realsmart user at this school. This usually means it was added to the group by hand on the platform, belongs to another school on the same domain, or is a nested group. Realsmart leaves these alone.
  • A member is on the Members tab but not here — read the reason on the Missing list. Most often the change has not synced yet (select Check now), the person has no platform account yet, the group has Sync this group to Google / Sync this group to Microsoft Entra switched off (see Group membership options), or the sync failed — the reason then quotes the last log entry.
  • Someone is here but not on the Members tab — read the reason on the Extra list. They may be there through a nested group or another school on a shared domain (Realsmart keeps those), or they were added directly on the platform. If the label says Needs a look, Realsmart has not removed them yet: select Check now first, then look at the Logs tab.
  • "Checking … isn't available right now." — Check now couldn't be queued (the sync service isn't ready to take checks, or the platform was switched off). Try again shortly, and tell Realsmart support if it keeps happening.
  • "Didn't finish" — a check was requested but never came back within 30 minutes, usually because the sync service was busy or restarting. Select Check now again.
Groups A teacher is missing from a Google Classroom (or no classroom was created for them) Groups Add a teacher to a Google Classroom — one class or many Groups Create a Google Classroom for any group (a bespoke or combined class) Groups Edit a group — name, status, settings, or delete it