Custom roles
Available on Scale
Write your own roles with the permission picker, and manage them over time.
When the five built-in roles do not fit, you can write your own. For example, a supervisor who may adjust stock but not change prices.
Who can do this: the Administrator, and staff whose roles let them create or edit roles. Nobody can put a permission into a role that they do not hold themselves. Writing roles depends on your plan (see the badge at the top of the page). On a plan without it, the built-in roles still work, and the app says: "Your plan includes the built-in roles. Upgrade to create and edit custom roles."
Before you start#
- Read Roles & permissions first. It explains scope and how roles add up.
- Decide if the role is for global staff or for staff in one store. You cannot change this later while anyone holds the role.
Create a role#
- Go to Staff > Manage role.
- Select Create role.
- Type a Role name. Add a Description that says what the role is for. Colleagues see it in the roles list.
- Choose the Scope: Global (all stores) or Store-scoped. For a store role, pick the Store, or Common (any store) to use it in every store.
- Turn on the features the role needs, then pick the permissions inside each one. Every permission has a short description. View permissions let people see. The others let them act.
- Save the role.
Fields#
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Role name | Required. Up to 50 characters. |
| Description | Optional. Up to 200 characters. |
| Scope | Global or store. Cannot change while anyone holds the role. |
| Full access | "Grants every permission in every feature, now and as new features are added." Only a global role can have it. |
| Permissions | At least the ones the role needs. Store roles have a limit, see below. |
Behind the scenes#
- Store roles have a ceiling. Some features belong to the whole business: the product catalogue, categories, images, discounts and the stores themselves. A store role can only view these. A change made from one store would change every store.
- You can only give what you hold. If you try to save a role with a permission you do not have, the save is refused and the message names that permission.
- Changes apply at once. When you edit a role that people hold, their access changes from that moment. You do not need to assign it again.
Manage roles over time#
Each role's menu on Manage role has these actions:
- Disable role stops the role giving anything, for everyone who holds it. The dialog counts them, for example: "3 staff members will lose this access immediately. Re-enabling the role restores it."
- Enable role gives everyone their access back.
- Delete role works only when nobody holds the role.
Watch out#
Troubleshooting#
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The save is refused and names a permission. | You do not hold that permission yourself. | Remove it from the role, or ask the Administrator to save the role. |
| A permission is missing from a store role. | It belongs to a business-wide feature, and store roles can only view those. | Make it a global role, or give the person a global role for that part. |
| Delete role does nothing or is greyed out. | Someone still holds the role. | Remove the role from those staff, or disable it instead. |
| Create role is missing. | Your plan includes only the built-in roles, or your roles do not allow it. | Check Comparing plans, or ask the Administrator. |
Related pages#
Roles & permissions · Permissions reference · Comparing plans