Who can see and do what¶
Two settings on each person's page under Team decide what they can see and do in Firmdesk: their Access (Owner, Admin or Member) and their Title (Partner, Manager, Senior, Staff or Administrative). Together they give one of five levels, and each level can do everything the ones before it can. To change them for someone, see Change someone's access or title.
Pick a person¶
Click a title and an access to see that person's level, the sidebar they get, and how much of Firmdesk opens for them. The rest of the page follows your choice.
Owner and Admin access give their level whatever the title. A member's title sets theirs: the Administrative title isn't Admin access, and gives the Team level.
The five levels¶
Someone below a page's level who opens it gets You can't open this, with the reason.
| Level | Who | Adds |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Everyone | Home, My work, Deadlines, Clients, Contacts, Inbox, Documents, Requests, Reminders, Emails sent, the Team list, their own tasks and time |
| Reviewer | Seniors, managers, partners, admins, owners | Sharing documents with clients and asking them to sign, when Only reviewers can share is on |
| Manager | Managers, partners, admins, owners | Everyone's tasks and time, approving timesheets, billing, invoices and payments, letters, budgets and capacity, a request or portal invites to many clients at once |
| Admin | Admins and owners | Settings, billing rates, the team, importing clients, setting up services for many clients at once, exports, the activity log, deleting a client, the plan |
| Owner | Owners | Making other owners, changing or removing one, deleting the firm |
The Reviewer level comes from a person's title, not from the Reviewer role on a client's team (Clients and contacts).
Every page and action¶
Each bar starts at the least level that can use it and runs to Owner. A striped bar is a narrower version, usually only their own. Click a row for the details.
Rules that aren't a level¶
- Owners are protected. Only an owner can make someone an owner, change or remove an owner, or reset an owner's two-factor sign-in. A firm always keeps one active owner (Owners are protected).
- Sharing can be kept to reviewers. With Only reviewers can share on in Settings › Portal settings, sharing a document with a client and asking a client to sign need the Reviewer level. Everyone can still upload documents, firm only, for a reviewer to share. It's off until you turn it on (Choose what the portal shows).
- Your plan can hold the whole firm back. While a firm is read-only, every page opens for everyone and nothing changes; once it's locked, only paying and exporting are left (Read-only and locked).
- Engagement letters and Capacity come with the Advanced plan, and with a trial. Letters you sent before stay, and your clients can still sign them (What the Advanced plan adds).
- An AI assistant is its person. It acts as whoever connected it, with their level, and what it sends to a client or deletes waits for their approval (AI assistants).
- Two-factor goes with the sign-in. A person signs in the same way to every firm they're in, so an owner or admin resets a lost phone only for someone at no other firm (When someone loses their phone).
- Signed documents are kept six years. Nobody can delete a signed copy from the documents pages until six years after the year it was signed (How long signed documents are kept).
Outside your team¶
- Your clients' contacts sign in to the portal only, one client at a time. They see what you shared with that client and what they sent themselves: never your firm's pages, notes, time or tasks, and never another client's documents. Whether the portal also shows deadlines, invoices and their team is up to you (The client portal, as your clients see it).
- Someone on your team who is also a client's contact signs in once, and keeps the two roles apart.
- Firmdesk staff have no sign-in to your firm. When support needs to look at your firm's data, it's with your permission. What we do for your firm, such as importing the files you send us for your move, is in the activity log, as by Firmdesk.