How Roles and Permissions Work
Control what each team member can see and do with MonuDesk roles and permissions.
Written By Dennis Rodin
Last updated 17 days ago
Roles and permissions control what each team member can see and do in MonuDesk. Find them in Settings → Team Members → Permissions. The Permissions tab is owner-only, so only the company owner can change how a role works.
Every team member holds one or more roles, and each role grants a set of permissions. MonuDesk ships with five role presets you can fine-tune: Owner, Office, Sales, Field, and Shop.
The five role presets
Owner has full access to everything. The owner manages the whole team, sees all financial data, configures every setting, and sees all office locations. The owner bypasses every permission check, so role edits never restrict an owner.
Office is for office staff who run the business side. Office has full order management, full contacts, full financial management, and full settings access, and can view and invite team members.
Sales is for salespeople who sit with customers. Sales can create and edit quotes and orders, manage contacts, move orders through stages, and see prices.
Field is for installation crews. Field can view order details and installation schedules, update to-dos, and move orders through stages. No financial or settings access, and no prices by default.
Shop is for production staff. Shop can view order details, update to-dos, and move orders through stages. No financial or settings access, and no prices by default.
How the Permissions editor works
The Permissions tab lists your role presets. Each preset row shows a colored role badge, a short description, a Used by X user(s) count, a Preview (eye) button, and an Edit (pencil) button.
Edit opens the permission matrix for that role. Toggling a permission and saving updates the preset for everyone who holds that role.
Preview lets you see the app exactly as that role would, so you can confirm a role can or cannot reach a page before you assign anyone. Role Preview is owner-only.
Permission categories
There are five permission categories. Each one has View, Create, Edit, and Delete toggles.
View is the master switch. When View is off for a category, Create, Edit, and Delete automatically turn off too. You cannot act on something the role cannot see.
Team Members controls the Team Members area in Settings: viewing the team list, inviting new members, editing their details, and deactivating them.
Order Management controls what a role can do with orders: viewing the order board and orders, creating quotes and orders, editing them, deleting or archiving them, and updating to-dos. This category also gates the to-do toggle that decides whether a role can change an order's to-dos.
Contacts controls the Contacts page: viewing, creating, editing, and deleting contacts (retail customers, monument companies, cemeteries, and funeral homes).
Financial Documents controls financial files inside an order: invoices, receipts, and quote PDFs. With View off, the Financial Documents category is hidden, but non-financial documents (photos, proofs, shop tickets) stay visible.
Settings is the master gate for the Settings area. View, Create, Edit, and Delete control whether a role can open Settings and add, change, or remove vendors, cemeteries, the company profile, and so on.
Order Management View is a real, toggleable permission, not an always-on setting. Field and Shop, for example, are granted order View but not Create or Delete. If a role loses order View, the Orders page redirects them to the dashboard.
Can see prices and Can change stages
Can see prices controls whether the role sees any pricing anywhere in the app. When it is off, the role sees no prices anywhere: the Pricing panel, order pricing, and balance due are all hidden. The role can still see what needs to be built, just never the dollar amounts. This is meant for shop and field workers.
Can change stages controls whether the role can move orders between stages on the board. Turn it off if only managers should advance orders through the pipeline.
Page Visibility and Settings pages
Below the categories you will find two more groups of toggles that hide or show whole pages for a role.
Page Visibility toggles control the Insights and stock pages a role sees: Order Summary, Open Balances, Tax Report, Installations, and Inventory.
Settings pages toggles control which Settings sub-sections appear for a role, such as Company Profile, Billing, Order Management, Custom Line Items, Inventory, Vendors, Office Locations, Cemeteries, Counties, Conversations, Integrations, Documents, and Communications.
Role hierarchy
Roles are ranked, and you can only invite and manage people strictly below your own rank. From most to least authority the order is:
Owner (highest)
Office
Sales
Field
Shop (lowest)
Note that Field outranks Shop. This is what each role can invite and manage:
Owner can manage every role except other owners.
Office can manage Sales, Field, and Shop.
Sales can manage Field and Shop.
Field can manage Shop.
Shop manages no one.
The hierarchy controls who you can invite, edit, and deactivate. It does not change what you can see. A Shop worker with Team Members View on can still see everyone on the team, including the owner.
Why a button is greyed out
Permissions now actually disable controls. If a button or field is greyed out, your role lacks the permission it requires. Hovering shows the message "You don't have permission to do this. Please contact your company owner." If you need access, ask your company owner to adjust your role in the Permissions tab.
Example configurations
Salesperson: Order Management Create and Edit on so they can build and change quotes. Can see prices on so they can price orders. Contacts on so they can manage customers. Financial Documents View on so they can share invoices. Settings and Team Members off.
Shop worker: Order Management View only (Create, Edit, Delete off). Financial Documents View off. Can see prices off. They see what to build but nothing about money or documents.
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