An important part of any work process is controlling who has access to create, view, and edit data. SmartSuite provides you all the tools that you need to ensure that your data is secure while making it easy to give the appropriate people access when they need it.

SmartSuite offers two levels of permissions:

Roles represent user "types" and capabilities they have within SmartSuite. Roles determine whether the user has general end-user capabilities, the permission to create and modify Solutions, or permission to administer the entire SmartSuite workspace. There are four Roles that define a user's level of system access and capability:

Assigning a Guest role allows the user to view only the records that are assigned to them in a view-only state. They are only able to change the associated status using "My Work,” can modify checklist items assigned to them, comment on assigned records, and edit the Signature field.

The guest user offering is based on plan type, including:

The most common user role, General Access provides users access to SmartSuite and its content. Users can see and interact with content that is assigned to the default Everyone Team, and also Solutions they are specifically added to by Solution Managers or Administrators. General users can be made Solution Managers for specific Solutions by another Solution Manager or an Administrator.

Assigning the Solution Creator role tells SmartSuite that the user is allowed to create new Solutions, either from Solution Templates or from scratch. Just like General users, Solution Creators can be added as Solution Managers for Solutions created by other users, but they do not have these permissions by default (like Administrators do).
​

The highest level of permission in SmartSuite is granted to users assigned the Administrator role. These users have access to all SmartSuite workspace settings - even billing and plan configuration - and can view, create, modify, or delete any Solution (or its data).

The Guest user role is a free user type who has limited access to the system's features and functions. They are able to only view and comment on records they've been assigned through our Assigned To field, and through our "My Work" feature are able to change the associated status of what they've been assigned. Guests can also modify checklist items assigned to them.

The General Access role is assigned to most Members, providing them access to Solutions, Tables, and their data as assigned to them or one of their Teams. General users cannot modify SmartSuite Solution configuration or change permissions but can take advantage of communications functions, @mentions, starred items, and much more.

Note: General Access users can perform additional functions if they are assigned Solution Manager permissions in a given Solution. Solution Creators can lose access to Solutions they’ve created if another Solution Manager removes them.

Examples of General Access capabilities:

The Solution Creator role expands on General Access capabilities by allowing users to create new Solutions.

Solution Creators:

Examples of Solution Creator capabilities:

The Administrator role gives a user the highest level of access to your SmartSuite workspace, allowing them to perform every system function, view and edit any information in SmartSuite, and configure administrative settings such as subscription plans and payment methods.

Administrator capabilities include:

The "Solution Manager" permission is a specific assignment for managing public views, Tables, and their fields within assigned Solutions. Solution Managers:

For more information about Solution Managers, please refer to the article Becoming a Solution Manager.

SmartSuite user interfaces and functions focus on making work easier, information more transparent, and every user experience intuitive. For the majority of collaborative work, the default All Access permission level works great. Individual users can make updates without complex approval processes, while accountability is ensured through history logs, notifications, and real-time visibility of edits.

When work becomes more sensitive, it's easy to restrict access to just the people who need it.
​

For larger teams, SmartSuite encourages managing Solution Permissions at the Team level instead of for individual Members. Teams allow for easy membership updates without modifying multiple Solution permissions.

Example: If someone moves from the Sales Team to the Marketing Team, simply update their Team membership instead of adjusting permissions in several Solutions.

Administrators have significant power to modify customer-facing settings, all Solutions, and all data. Ensure that users assigned Administrator-level profiles are well-educated about SmartSuite’s configuration and take care when making updates.

Best Practice: For larger organizations, Administrators should use a secondary account with lower permissions for tasks that do not require full administrative access.