# Set up Roles Choose which clients a colleague can work on and what they can see or change. Source: https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/roles A Partner manages role definitions in **Settings → Roles**. Open a role and select **Edit**, or select **New role** to create one. For a worked example, follow [Create a Senior role](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/create-a-senior-role). ## Role details | Field | What to enter | | --- | --- | | **Role name** | The name colleagues see when selecting a role. Built-in role names are locked. | | **Description** | An optional explanation of who should use the role and what they are responsible for. | Changing an existing role changes access for everyone who uses it. Check the change summary and the number of affected colleagues and invitations before **Save changes**. A new role has no members until you assign it. ## Understand access types Each permission offers one of these sets of choices: - **No access / View / Manage:** hide the relevant screen, allow reading, or allow reading and ordinary changes. - **Not allowed / Allowed:** withhold or permit a particular action, such as inviting a colleague or deleting a Service. - **No access / View:** used by **View usage**, which has no editing option. **Manage** does not include separate delete permissions or other **Sensitive powers**. A separate action set to **Allowed** can still work when its parent screen is set to **View**. For example, someone with **Services → View** and **Delete services → Allowed** can delete Services without editing them. ## Grant reference The sections and permissions below follow the order in the Role editor, including its **Sensitive powers** groups. Expand a permission for its screens, choices, and limits. Some controls appear only when the corresponding feature is enabled for your firm. ## Which clients Choose who the role can work on before choosing what it can do. | Choice | What it means | | --- | --- | | **No client access** | Client and Entity permissions have nobody to apply to. Firm-wide Settings access can still be granted separately. | | **Only clients they are assigned to** | Work on assigned Contacts and Entities. Even with **Clients → Manage** and **Entities → Manage**, the colleague cannot create new ones. | | **Every client in the firm** | Work across the firm's Contacts and Entities. Creating a Contact or Entity also needs **Manage** for that permission. | This scope also limits **Assign team members to clients**, **Delete client contacts**, and **Terminate entities**. It does not limit firm-wide permissions, such as editing Services or viewing Billing, to assigned clients. ## Clients & entities ### Clients **Where:** the client list and Contact records. A [Contact](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/contacts-and-entities) is the person you communicate with. - **No access:** no access to Contact records. - **View:** read Contacts within the selected client scope. - **Manage:** edit those Contacts. Creating a new Contact also needs **Every client in the firm**. Sending a proposal also needs **Fees and financial data → View** or **Manage**. Without Fees access, a colleague who can create clients can save the Contact, Entity, and Services, but cannot complete the proposal send step. ### Entities **Where:** the businesses and individuals receiving Services, opened from the client list or a Contact's record. See [Contacts and Entities](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/contacts-and-entities). - **No access:** no access to Entity records. - **View:** read Entities within the selected client scope. - **Manage:** edit those Entities. Creating a new Entity also needs **Every client in the firm**. Editing an Entity does not by itself allow editing its fees, assigning colleagues, or terminating it. Those actions have separate permissions below. ### Assign team members to clients **Where:** team assignment controls on a Contact or Entity. **Allowed** lets the colleague assign team members to records within their client scope. **Not allowed** hides those assignment controls. The role also needs access to **Clients** or **Entities** so the colleague can open the relevant record. **No client access** leaves this permission with nobody to act on. Assigning someone to a client is different from changing their firm role in [Team](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/team-and-roles). **Sensitive powers** ### Delete client contacts **Where:** the delete action on Contact records. **Allowed** permits deletion of a Contact within the role's client scope, once every business under that Contact is **Terminated**. **Not allowed** withholds the delete action. This requires access to **Clients**. **Clients → View** is enough to open the record; the separate **Allowed** choice can still permit deletion. This action removes the Contact. To close a business, use **Terminate entities** instead. ### Terminate entities **Where:** the termination action on an Entity. **Allowed** permits termination within the role's client scope. This moves the Entity to **Terminated**, stops its recurring work, and archives its folders. Termination cannot be undone from the Entity screen. The role must have **Entities → Manage**. Until then, **Allowed** is disabled. Reducing Entities access resets this permission to **Not allowed**. The editor explains that change in its summary. ## Tasks & deadlines ### Firm deadline templates **Where:** **Settings → Firm Deadlines** and the Firm Deadlines list. This guide calls these [Job Templates](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/job-templates). - **No access:** the template lists cannot be opened. - **View:** read the templates without adding or editing them. - **Manage:** create and edit templates, including their submission requirements and dates. This controls the reusable templates. It is not a separate permission for each individual Job. Deleting a template requires the permission below. **Sensitive powers** ### Delete firm deadline templates **Where:** the delete action in the Firm Deadlines list. **Allowed** permits removing a Job Template and stopping future Jobs from that template. **Not allowed** hides the delete action. The role also needs **Firm deadline templates → View** or **Manage**. With **View**, deletion can still be allowed even though ordinary template editing is unavailable. ## Documents, forms & templates ### Document filing rules **Where:** **Settings → Document Filing**, when Document Filing is enabled for the firm. - **No access:** the settings screen cannot be opened. - **View:** see filing folders and naming rules. - **Manage:** change filing locations and document name templates. This controls the firm's [filing rules](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/document-filing), rather than permission to review a particular client's document. ### Firm email templates **Where:** **Settings → Email templates**. **Allowed** opens the screen and permits adding and editing the firm's email wording, including acceptance, rejection, engagement continuity, and deadline messages. **Not allowed** hides the screen. This is separate from **Firm settings**, **Automations**, and Job Template access. See [Email templates](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/email-and-automations#edit-an-email-template). ## Fees & financial data **Sensitive powers** ### Fees and financial data **Where:** client Service fees, proposal amounts, and the firm's financial figures. - **No access:** fee amounts are hidden, and the colleague cannot finish sending a proposal. - **View:** see fees and send proposals where the colleague has the necessary client access. - **Manage:** see and edit fee amounts where the colleague has access to the record. Editing Service defaults also needs the relevant **Services** access. This permission is separate from **Billing**: access to fees does not itself allow issuing invoices. ### Billing **Where:** Billing, invoice records, and **Settings → Billing**. This permission appears when Billing is enabled for the firm. - **No access:** no access to Billing. - **View:** read invoices without billing actions. - **Manage:** change billing setup and use invoice actions, including preparing and issuing invoices. Billing is firm-wide, rather than limited by **Which clients**. Check this separately from **Fees and financial data**. See [Set up Billing](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/billing) and [Create and issue bills](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/create-and-issue-bills). ## Firm setup, integrations & storage ### Custom fields **Where:** **Settings → Custom fields**. - **No access:** the definitions list cannot be opened. - **View:** read the optional field definitions. - **Manage:** add and edit definitions, including the Client Types and companies they apply to. This controls the firm's [field definitions](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/other-settings), rather than granting access to the clients where their values appear. ### Services **Where:** **Settings → Services**. - **No access:** the Services settings list cannot be opened. - **View:** read Service settings without adding or editing Services. - **Manage:** create and edit Services. Fee controls also depend on **Fees and financial data**, and billing controls on **Billing** access. Changes to the [Service catalogue](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/services) are firm-wide. Deleting a Service has its own permission below. ### Firm settings **Where:** **Settings → General** and **Settings → Automations**. - **No access:** those two screens cannot be opened. - **View:** read the firm's details and automation settings. - **Manage:** edit those details and settings. Other Settings sections follow their own permissions. For example, someone can have **Firm settings → No access** and still open Firm Deadlines with **Firm deadline templates → View**. See [General](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/general) and [Automations](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/automations). ### Registered companies **Where:** the **Registered Companies** section in **Settings → General**. **Allowed** permits adding and editing the legal identities the firm uses on generated documents. **Not allowed** withholds those changes. The role also needs **Firm settings → View** or **Manage** to open General. With **View**, the colleague can read the page and use this separately allowed action. See [Registered Companies](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/general#add-another-issuing-company). **Sensitive powers** ### Delete services **Where:** the delete action in **Settings → Services**. **Allowed** permits removing a Service from the firm's catalogue. **Not allowed** hides the delete action. The role also needs **Services → View** or **Manage**. **View** with deletion **Allowed** permits deleting without editing the Service. Check this choice separately from ordinary Service management. ### Connected storage **Where:** the storage section in **Settings → Integrations**. **Allowed** permits connecting, reconnecting, or disconnecting the firm's document storage. **Not allowed** hides that section. This permission can open Integrations without **Accounting integrations**. It affects the firm's storage connection, not just the colleague's assigned clients. See [Connect integrations and storage](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/integrations). ### Accounting integrations **Where:** the accounting section in **Settings → Integrations**. **Allowed** permits connecting accounting software and synchronising its organisations. **Not allowed** hides that section. Integrations is hidden when both this permission and **Connected storage** are **Not allowed**. Granting either one opens its own section. See [Connect integrations and storage](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/integrations). ## Team & roles ### Team list **Where:** **Settings → Team**. - **No access:** the Team list cannot be opened. - **View:** see colleagues and their firm roles without changing those roles. - **Manage:** assign non-Partner roles to colleagues, including changing your own non-Partner role. Only a Partner can assign **Partner** or change a Partner's role. Inviting someone requires **Team invitations** as well. See [Manage your team](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/team-and-roles). ### Team invitations **Where:** the invitation controls in **Settings → Team**. **Allowed** permits sending invitations. **Not allowed** hides that action; it does not hide the Team list by itself. The role also needs **Team list → View** or **Manage**. **View** with invitations **Allowed** lets the colleague invite without gaining ordinary role-changing access on the Team list. Partner assignments remain restricted to Partners. ## Reports & analytics ### Shared saved views **Where:** saving views in the Tasks list, called [Jobs views](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/filters-and-saved-views) in this guide. **Allowed** permits creating and editing views that everyone in the firm can use. **Not allowed** still permits personal views and opening shared views created by others, but not creating or editing shared ones. Sharing a view does not grant access to the clients shown by its filters. **Sensitive powers** ### View usage **Where:** **Settings → Usage**. **View** permits reading the firm's platform usage and allowance comparisons. **No access** hides the screen. There is no **Manage** option. This is firm-wide information. See [Check Usage](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/usage). ## Check client scope and commercial access Read the warnings beside permissions and in the change summary. A permission can be saved but do nothing if its screen is unavailable or its client scope is **No client access**. For example, allowing invitations without access to the Team list does not make invitations usable. **Terminate entities** is stricter: the editor will not allow it without **Entities → Manage**. Role definitions are managed by Partners. **Roles and permissions** is therefore not an editable permission on this form, and **Partner** access is fixed. The firm must keep at least one active Partner. When the role is ready, follow [Manage your team](https://ziffa.io/user-guide/settings/team-and-roles) to assign it. Then check client assignments separately; assigning a firm role does not assign clients.