Each person on your team has one role, and that role decides what they can see and do in Worksuite. When roles match the work people do, approvals, invoices and onboarding keep moving and nobody lands on a "Permission denied" page. This article explains how roles work, lists the main permissions, and shows which permission to check when a button or page is missing.
Who can do this: Team members with the Administrator role. If you aren't an administrator, ask one of your administrators to make these changes.
Availability: Available in every account. The permission sections you see depend on the features your account uses, such as Contracts, Tasks or Expenses.
Your workspace may use different names for Partners, Contracts, Tasks or Teams, such as Freelancers or Engagements. The labels below use the default names.TABLE OF CONTENTS
- How roles work
- Change a team member's role
- Create a role
- Edit a role
- Main permissions
- Why don't I see this?
- View-only access
- Good to know
- Related articles
- Support/Resources
How roles work
- Every team member has exactly one role.
- A role is a set of permissions. Every account has two predefined roles: Administrator, which can do everything, and Regular user. Administrators can add custom roles.
- Predefined roles can't be renamed or deleted, and the Administrator role can't be edited.
- Editing a role changes access for every team member on that role.
- To change access for one person only, move them to a different role, or create a role for them. Don't edit a role that other people share.
- Roles work together with Teams. Some permissions limit a person to the records assigned to their Team. See Teams & Dashboards.
Change a team member's role
To move someone to a different role:
- Go to Settings → Team → Teammates.
- Find the team member in the list.
- In the Role column, select the role you want.
You'll see "Role has been updated." The team member gets the access of the role the next time they load a page. You can't change your own role, so ask another administrator to do it.
To give someone the same access as a colleague, give them the same role and the same Team. You can set the Team in the Team column of the same list.
Create a role
- Go to Settings → Team → Roles and Permissions.
- Click Add Role.
- Enter the Role name.
- Tick the permissions the role needs. Some permissions depend on another one, and they stay greyed out until you tick that one first.
- Click Create.
You'll see "Role updated successfully", and the role shows in the list. You can select it in the Role column on the Teammates page.
A role you create starts with Can edit Partners profiles ticked. Untick it if the role shouldn't change talent profiles.Edit a role
Important: Changes to a role apply to every teammate assigned to it and can affect their access to items they're working on. Check the Teammates count next to the role before you edit it.- Go to Settings → Team → Roles and Permissions.
- Click the role's name, then click Edit Role.
- Tick or untick permissions.
- Click Update.
You'll see "Role updated successfully". The role's Activity log tab shows who changed it and when.
Main permissions
| Section | Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|---|
| Contracts | Can access and manage all Contracts | See every Contract and create Contracts. They can only edit Contracts they created, and they can't see Draft Contracts that other people created. |
| Contracts | Can access and manage Contracts they created, plus Contracts they participate in that are assigned to their Team or to no Team | See Contracts they created or take part in, for example as a signer, approver or workflow stage manager. Editing is limited to Contracts they created. |
| Contracts | Can view and edit Contracts assigned to their Team | Edit Contracts assigned to their Team, even ones a colleague created. Needs the permission above, and can't be combined with Can access and manage all Contracts. Other people's Draft Contracts stay hidden. |
| Contracts | Can access and manage EOR Contracts they have access to | See and manage Employer of Record (EOR) Contracts. Shows only if your account uses EOR Contracts. |
| Invoices | Can access and edit all Invoices | See and edit every invoice. |
| Invoices | Can access and edit Invoices they created, or where they are set as Task Managers | See and edit only invoices they created and invoices on Tasks where they're a Task Manager. The approve, schedule and reject permissions need this one first. |
| Invoices | Can approve Invoices, Can schedule Invoices, Can reject Invoices | Approve, schedule or reject the invoices the person can access. |
| Agreements | Can access and manage non-confidential Agreements | View, upload and send agreements, including uploading a signed agreement. |
| Insights | Can access Insights | Open the Insights reports. |
| Partner Management | Can add Partners | Add talent to your account. |
| Partner Management | Can send invites to Partners | Email talent an invitation and add them to workflows. Needs Can add Partners. |
| Partner Management | Can edit Partners profiles | Change the details on a talent profile. |
| Partner Management | Can assign Relationship Managers | Set who gets updates about each talent. |
| Partner Management | Can access Partners Tax information | See the tax information on a talent profile, such as a W-9. |
| Partner Management | Can archive Partners, Can delete Partners, Can change Partners type | Archive, delete, or change the type of talent profiles. See Talent Profile Statuses, Duplicates, Archiving and Deleting. |
Other sections, such as Tasks & Projects, Documents, Expenses and Job openings, follow the same pattern: one permission controls access, and separate permissions control actions like approving or publishing.
Why don't I see this?
| What the team member sees | What to check |
|---|---|
| Can't make a Draft Contract live, or gets an error when they click Make live | Making a Contract live needs edit access to it. Check whether they created it. See Why Can't I See or Edit a Contract? |
| A workflow stage or summary page opens blank from an email link | The role can't open that Contract or workflow. Check the Contracts permissions and the person's Team. |
| Can see a Contract's workflow stages but can't act on them | To complete a stage, the person must be a manager of that stage, and their role must include the Contracts permissions for the Contract. |
| "Permission denied" or "no access" on an approval or onboarding page | Their role is limited, for example to signing Contracts only. Move them to a role with the approval permissions they need. |
| Can't approve invoices | The role needs Can approve Invoices plus an Invoices permission that covers the invoice. |
| Gets an approval email but can't approve | The email reached them because of how the stage or approver is set up. Their role still controls what they can do. Fix the role, not the email. |
| Can't see or edit EOR Contracts | The role needs Can access and manage EOR Contracts they have access to. |
| No Add partner button | The role needs Can add Partners. |
| No option to email talent and invite them to join, or can't add talent to a workflow | The role needs Can send invites to Partners. |
| Can't save changes to a talent profile | The role needs Can edit Partners profiles. |
| Uploading a signed agreement shows "You don't have permission to upload Agreements. Ask your admin to update your role." | The role needs Can access and manage non-confidential Agreements. |
| Internal note option missing on a talent profile | Compare their role with a colleague who sees the option. If the roles match, contact Worksuite Support. |
| Insights is missing, or shows "Permission denied" | Turn on Can access Insights on the role. If the message stays, contact Worksuite Support to connect your account or the team member to Insights. |
View-only access
A view-only role lets someone see Contracts, talent, Tasks and invoices without creating, editing or approving anything. Some accounts already have one. If yours doesn't, contact Worksuite Support. To limit which Contracts a view-only user sees, put them on the right Team.
Good to know
- Only administrators can change roles. Team members without the Administrator role don't see Teammates or Roles and Permissions in Settings.
- If you aren't sure who your administrators are, contact Worksuite Support and we'll tell you.
- Roles control what someone can do. They don't decide which emails someone gets. See Notification Emails: Who Gets Them and How to Start or Stop Them.
- To stop a team member from editing talent profiles while keeping their other access, move them to a role without Can edit Partners profiles.
Related articles
- How to Invite and Remove Team Members: add colleagues and choose their role when you invite them.
- Teams & Dashboards: group team members and limit records by Team.
- Why Can't I See or Edit a Contract?: how roles and Teams decide who sees and changes each Contract.
- Relationship Managers: choose who gets updates about each talent.
- How to Get Reports and Export Data from Worksuite: get access to Insights and download reports.
Support/Resources
Still have questions about roles and permissions? Click Support in the bottom-left corner of Worksuite to contact our Support team, or email support@worksuite.com. Including a link to the page you're on and a screenshot helps us answer faster.