All About Users & Permissions

All About Users & Permissions

Understanding User Permission Levels

Your system includes six distinct permission levels that control what each user can see and do. Assigning the correct permission level ensures that employees only have access to the features they need for their role, protecting sensitive business data like cost of goods and financial reports.

The six permission levels, ranked from most access to least, are: Owner, Buyer, Customer Service, Finance, Lab Tech, and Clerk.

Important: Permission levels are assigned when creating or editing a user. Choose the level that most closely matches the employee's day-to-day responsibilities.

Owner (Full Administrator)

The Owner is the top-level administrator account. It is automatically assigned to the very first user created on the account.

• Has unrestricted access to every section, setting, and feature in the system.
• There is nothing an Owner cannot see, change, or do.
• Has one exclusive ability: Only the Owner can transfer ownership of the account by assigning the Owner role to another user. No other permission level can perform this action.

Warning: Transferring ownership to another user will change your own permission level. This action should be performed with care, as only the current Owner can initiate it.

Buyer (Manager / Secondary Administrator)

The Buyer role functions as a manager or secondary administrator. Despite its name (which originates from e-commerce purchasing workflows), this role has evolved into a full management-level permission.

• Has access to all the same features and sections as the Owner.
• Can create and manage other user accounts.
• Can create custom items on the fly during a transaction.
• Can apply price changes or special discounts to items while in the cart.
• One restriction: A Buyer cannot assign the Owner role to themselves or to any other user.

Tip: The Buyer role is ideal for trusted managers who need full operational control of the system without the ability to transfer account ownership.

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Customer Service (Returns & Issue Resolution)

The Customer Service role is designed for staff who handle post-sale issues — think of the returns counter at a retail store. It includes all the capabilities of a Clerk (see below), plus the authority to manage returns and order corrections.

• Can perform partial refunds.
• Can perform full refunds.
• Can void orders.
• Retains all standard Clerk abilities (processing sales, managing customers, viewing inventory).

Note: A standard Clerk cannot process refunds or void orders. If an employee needs to handle returns, they must be assigned the Customer Service level at a minimum.

Finance (Reporting & Accounting)

The Finance role is tailored for accountants, bookkeepers, or anyone who needs to review the financial health of the business without making changes to products or settings.

• Has access to reporting tools.
• Has access to payments data (useful for reconciling daily transactions with credit card statements).
• Has access to shopping cart / order data.
• Has access to the Customer section.
• May be able to view the cost of goods for margin evaluation.
• Cannot edit products, pricing, or inventory.

Tip: This is the best role for an external accountant or bookkeeper who needs visibility into your sales and financial data without the risk of accidentally modifying your product catalog.

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Lab Tech (Photo Orders Only)

The Lab Tech role is a specialized, narrowly scoped permission level designed exclusively for the photo services side of the business.

• Can view and manage photo orders.
• Can upload files to pro events and related photo workflows.
• Cannot see hardware pricing, general merchandise, or other non-photo sections of the system.

Note: This role is only relevant for businesses that offer photo lab or printing services. It has no access to general retail or POS functions.

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Clerk (Basic Sales Associate)

The Clerk is the most restricted permission level, designed for frontline sales associates whose primary job is to serve customers and process transactions at the point of sale.

What a Clerk CAN do:

• Open and close a register (can work independently).
• View inventory, including pricing and stock levels across multiple locations.
• View, create, and edit customer records (name, email, phone number, etc.).
• Create a shopping cart — add items, attach a customer, and process the checkout.
• View sales in progress from both online and in-store channels, and complete those transactions with a customer.
• Accept payments via any enabled payment method (cash, credit, etc.) and provide a receipt.

What a Clerk CANNOT do:

• ❌ Edit product quantities or pricing.
• ❌ View the cost of goods (protects margin information).
• ❌ Process refunds, returns, or void orders.
• ❌ Create custom items or apply special discounts in the cart.

Quick Reference Summary