A Solution Manager is a member who can change one solution: its tables, fields, views, automations and permissions. Think of the keys to one building, not the master key to the whole site.

Here is the test: does this person need to change how a solution is built, not only the records in it? If yes, make them a Solution Manager of that solution. If they need that in every solution, that is the Solution Creator or Account Administrator role.

Example: in Vendor Management, the Security lead who built the solution is its first Solution Manager. When Procurement's lead needs to add fields to the Contracts table, the Security lead adds them as a second Solution Manager. Finance and the auditor only read, so they are never on the list.

Plan Availability	All plan types.
Permissions	Account Administrators and existing Solution Managers grant the permission; a Solution Creator holds it on the solutions they create.
Platform	Web
Related Reading	Add or remove a Solution Manager Solution Permissions Roles in SmartSuite.

What a Solution Manager can do

The permission covers one solution and everything in it:

Add, change and delete tables and fields, and arrange fields on the record page.
Create and change the solution's public views and automations.
Set the solution's permissions: at the solution, table and field level.
Add or remove other Solution Managers.
Restore the solution's deleted items from the Recycle Bin.
Reach all of the solution's data.

A Solution Manager has access to every folder in the solution; the permission cannot be limited to part of it. To give someone part of a solution, use Solution Permissions instead.

The Solution Permissions dialog with the Solution Managers footer: the + control, the Security lead's pill and the Security Team pill.

Who grants the permission

Account Administrators, on any solution. They hold the permission on every solution without being listed.
Existing Solution Managers, on the solutions they manage.
Solution Creators, on the solutions they created, because they are the first Solution Manager of each one.

Who can receive it: any member with the General Access or Solution Creator role. The member who created the solution is listed first, whatever their role. Guest: A Guest sees and comments on the records assigned to them, cannot be granted any other permission, even through a Team, and does not use a paid seat. So a Guest cannot be made a Solution Manager.

Note: A Solution Creator holds the permission on their own solutions from the start. Another Solution Manager of that solution can remove it. The Solution Creator role stays; only the permission on that solution goes.

Becoming a Solution Manager

Only a Solution Manager or an Administrator of the solution can add you. They open the solution, select the chevron next to the solution name in the top bar and choose Permissions. The Solution Permissions dialog opens. The Solution Managers section sits at its foot, under the heading's subtitle "Solution Owners have full access to this Solution". They select + at the left of the pill row and pick you, or a Team you belong to. You are a Solution Manager the moment they do; the dialog has no save button. The steps with images are in Add or remove a Solution Manager.

The Solution Managers section shows in every permission mode, including Private to me. A solution set to Private to me is open only to its creator and to Administrators. While Private to me is selected, only one Solution Manager remains and the control to add another is not shown. Pick another mode first to add a Solution Manager.

Solution Managers by Team

A Team can be a Solution Manager. Every member of the Team holds the permission, now and as the Team's membership changes. When Teams are provisioned by SCIM, the list follows your directory. A person who joins the Team gains the permission; a person who leaves it loses it, with no change made in SmartSuite. The picker lists Teams and members in two groups; each Team shows as a pill with the Team icon and an x at its right end.

Note: The Everyone Team cannot be chosen as a Solution Manager. The permission never goes to the whole workspace by accident.

In Vendor Management, the Security lead adds the Security Team to the list from the picker's Teams group. Every security analyst can then maintain the solution, and a new analyst gets the permission the day they join the Team.

What each role can do with the permission

Account Administrator: holds it on every solution without being listed, and grants it anywhere.
Solution Creator: holds it on the solutions they created, can lose it there, and can be given it elsewhere.
General Access: can be given it on any solution, and gains configuration rights in that solution only.
Guest: A Guest sees and comments on the records assigned to them, cannot be granted any other permission, even through a Team, and does not use a paid seat. A Guest cannot be made a Solution Manager.

Using the permission day to day

Name at least two Solution Managers per solution, so work continues when one is away and the last one can always be replaced. Give the permission for a purpose and take it back when the purpose ends. In Vendor Management, the Security lead added Procurement's lead for the Contracts build and removed them after go-live. Where a whole group maintains a solution, name the Team rather than its members.

Tip: Add a second Solution Manager on day one. The last Solution Manager cannot be removed, and a second one keeps the solution maintainable when the first is away.

Losing the permission later

A Solution Manager loses the permission when another Solution Manager or an Administrator removes their pill from the list, with the x at its right end. That includes the member who created the solution. After removal they keep whatever access the solution's permission levels give them, which may be read-only. The last Solution Manager cannot be removed, by themselves or by an Administrator, until a replacement is added.

A drawn diagram: the workspace role as the ceiling, and the Solution Manager permission on one solution. The Security lead and the Procurement lead on Vendor Management, and nothing on a second solution.

Frequently asked questions

Is Solution Manager a role?

No. The four roles are Account Administrator, Solution Creator, General Access and Guest. Solution Manager is a permission on one solution.

Can a Solution Manager see every record in the solution?

Yes. The permission includes access to all of the solution's data.

Can a Solution Manager add another one?

Yes. Any Solution Manager of a solution can add or remove other Solution Managers of that solution.

Does a Solution Creator stay a Solution Manager of what they create?

Not for certain. They start as the first Solution Manager, and another Solution Manager can remove them later.

Can a Team be a Solution Manager?

Yes. Every member of the Team holds the permission while they belong to the Team. The Everyone Team cannot be chosen.

Last verified 30 Oct 2026.