Roles & Permissions
Official guide · English · Version 9c253d0cf11816df
DirectSale uses a role-based access control (RBAC) system to determine what each team member can see and do in the dashboard. This page provides a complete reference of all available roles and their permissions.
Available Roles
There are six roles in the system, listed from most to least privileged:
| Role | Icon | Color | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Shield | Purple | The account creator; access still depends on enabled plan modules and operation requirements. |
| Admin | Shield | Blue | Broad tenant administration; owner-only actions, including Linked Stores, remain restricted. |
| Manager | Settings | Green | Broad operational access to products, orders, services, shipping, analytics, and more. |
| Accountant | -- | -- | Focused access to accounting and financial features. |
| Operator | Chat | Orange | Day-to-day operational access: conversations, orders, shipping, and appointments. |
| Viewer | Eye | Gray | Read-only access to view data without making changes. |
Info: The Owner role is automatically assigned to the person who creates the account. It cannot be assigned to anyone else or transferred. There is exactly one Owner per account.
Detailed Role Descriptions
Owner
The Owner is the person who registered the DirectSale account. They manage the enabled tenant features, including:
- All dashboard features and settings
- Team management (invite, remove, change roles)
- Billing and subscription management
- Account deletion
The Owner role cannot be changed or removed.
Admin
Admins have broad administrative access within this tenant, but do not inherit owner-only actions such as account deletion or Linked Stores authorization. They can manage the areas permitted to their role, including:
- All operational features (products, orders, services, etc.)
- Team management (invite, remove, change roles)
- Settings and configuration
- Billing management
Admins are ideal for co-founders, business partners, or senior managers who need full platform access.
Manager
Managers have broad operational access but cannot manage the team or billing. They can work with:
- Dashboard and analytics
- Products and media
- Orders and returns
- Coupons and cart recovery
- Shipping and logistics
- Services and appointments
- Integrations and multichannel
- Conversations
- App store and storefront
- Accounting
- Deploy, published website content, reviews, notifications, settings and support where available
Managers are ideal for operations leads, store managers, or department heads.
Accountant
Accountants have narrowly focused access to financial features:
- Dashboard (overview only)
- Accounting module
- Multichannel (for financial tracking across channels)
- Account usage, notifications and support
Accountants cannot access products, orders, conversations, services, team management, or settings.
Operator
Operators are focused on day-to-day customer-facing operations:
- Dashboard (overview only)
- Conversations (live chat and messaging)
- Orders (view and process)
- Media library
- Shipping
- Appointments
- Accounting
- Multichannel
- Notifications and support
Operators are ideal for customer service representatives, fulfillment staff, or front-line employees.
Viewer
Viewers have read-only access to a limited set of features:
- Dashboard (overview only)
- Conversations (view only)
- Analytics
- Media library
- Account settings
- Notifications and support
Viewer is intended for reading business data. It does not grant product/order editing; personal preferences and permitted support actions are separate from editing commercial records.
Full Permissions Matrix
The table below summarizes dashboard destination access. Enabled modules, regional availability and operation-specific permissions also apply. A visible page does not authorize every action on that page; Linked Stores authorization remains owner-only.
| Dashboard Section | Owner | Admin | Manager | Accountant | Operator | Viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard (Overview) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Analytics | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | Yes |
| Products | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Media Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| Orders | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | -- |
| Returns | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Coupons | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Cart Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Shipping | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | -- |
| Shipping - Carriers | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Shipping - Product Rules | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Services | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Appointments | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | -- |
| Integrations | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Multichannel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- |
| Conversations | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes | Yes |
| App Store | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Storefront | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Accounting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- |
| Account usage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | Yes |
| Settings | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Deploy | Yes | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- |
| Notifications / Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Team Management | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Billing | Yes | Yes | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Info: The "Shipping" section has granular sub-page access. Operators can view the Shipping overview and shipments list, but only Managers and above can access the Carriers configuration and Product Rules pages.
Role-Specific Behaviors
Read-Only Mode for Viewers
When a user with the Viewer role accesses a page they are permitted to see, they see all the data but:
- Edit buttons are hidden or disabled
- Action menus (delete, update, toggle) are not visible
- Forms are not accessible
- Status change buttons are not shown
Appointments: Action Restrictions
On the Appointments page, users with the Viewer or Accountant role see a "-" in the Actions column instead of the confirm/complete/cancel buttons. Only Owner, Admin, Manager, and Operator roles can take actions on appointments.
Team Management: Action Restrictions
Only the Owner and Admin roles can:
- See the "Invite Member" button
- See the three-dot action menu on team member cards
- Change roles, activate/deactivate, or remove members
- Resend invitations
Other roles do not receive team-management controls. Navigating directly to a page does not bypass API authorization.
Changing a Team Member's Role
If you are an Owner or Admin:
- Navigate to Dashboard > Team.
- Find the team member whose role you want to change.
- Click the three-dot menu on their card.
- Select the desired role from the list (e.g., "Change to Manager").
- The role updates immediately.
Warning: Be careful when assigning the Admin role. Admins have full access to your account including the ability to manage other team members, view financial data, and change settings.
Choosing the Right Role
Use this quick guide to determine which role to assign:
| Scenario | Recommended Role |
|---|---|
| A business partner who needs full access | Admin |
| A store manager who handles daily operations | Manager |
| A bookkeeper or accountant tracking finances | Accountant |
| A customer service agent handling chats and orders | Operator |
| A stakeholder or auditor who needs to see reports | Viewer |
| A warehouse worker processing shipments | Operator |
| A marketing team member managing products and coupons | Manager |
| A temporary intern observing operations | Viewer |
Security Recommendations
- Limit Admin access: Only assign Admin to people you fully trust with your business data.
- Use Operator for front-line staff: Operators have just enough access to handle customer interactions without being able to modify products or settings.
- Regularly audit roles: Review your team list periodically and downgrade or remove access for people who no longer need it.
- Deactivate instead of removing: If a team member is on leave, deactivate them rather than removing them. This preserves their data and makes it easy to reactivate later.