Permissions in SmartSuite are set at three levels: the solution, the table and the field. Each level narrows the one above it. Nothing at a lower level can give more access than the solution allows.
Here is the test. Who should open the solution at all? That is solution permissions. Who should do more, or less, in one table? That is table permissions. Which single values need hiding or locking? That is field permissions. Workspace roles set the ceiling; permissions work inside it.
Example: a Vendor Management solution. The Security Team holds Full Access. The Procurement Team and the Finance Team read the solution. Procurement edits the Contracts table. Only Security sees the Security Risk Notes field on the Vendors table.
The four layers, role, solution, table and field, with the Vendor Management cast: the Security Team at Full Access, Procurement as Editor on Contracts, Security Risk Notes visible to Security only.
Plan Availability | Solution permissions, the Advanced permissions mode included, on all plan types. Table and field permissions on Professional, Enterprise and Signature. Signature provides the same capabilities as Enterprise, but this is where our GRC and IT Service Delivery products can be licensed. These products can not be licensed for Team, Pro or Enterprise plans. |
Permissions | Account Administrators and Solution Managers set permissions at every level. |
Platform | Web |
Related Reading |
How the three levels fit together
A member's workspace role comes first. An Account Administrator reaches everything. A Solution Manager reaches everything in the solutions they manage. Everyone else holds what the three levels below give them. See Roles and Permissions Overview.
Solution permissions decide who can open the solution and the level each person or Team holds in it.
Table permissions can replace that list for one table, with a different set of people or levels.
Field permissions hide or lock one field for chosen members or Teams, on top of the two above.
Two rules run through all three. The highest level a member holds from any source wins, so a member on two Teams gets the higher of the two. And a field permission only matters for a member who can already reach the table.
Note: A table override replaces the solution's permission list for that table. A member left off the override loses the table, Account Administrators and Solution Managers excepted.
Solution permissions: the Solution Permissions dialog
Open the solution, select the arrow next to its name and select Permissions. The dialog offers four modes, in this order:
Private to me: the default for a new solution. The creator and Account Administrators only.
All Members have full access: every member of the workspace creates, reads, updates and deletes every record.
Only these Teams have full access: the Teams you pick get full access; nobody else opens the solution.
Advanced permissions: each member or Team gets its own level, from Full Access down to Viewer.
The Solution Managers section at the bottom of the same dialog, shown in every mode, names who can change the solution and its permissions. There is no Save button; each change applies at once. The steps, mode by mode, are in Solution Permissions: who can see and edit. The seven levels, one by one, are in Permission levels: Full Access to Viewer.
The Solution Permissions dialog on Advanced permissions, with the Security Team at Full Access and the Procurement Team at Viewer.
Table permissions: the Table Permissions window
Select the arrow on a table's tab and select Permissions. The window offers two options. Inherit from Solution, the default, makes the table follow the solution's list. Override Solution Permissions gives the table a list of its own: you add members or Teams, pick a level for each and select Save. Only members and Teams that already reach the solution can be added.
The table levels are the solution levels plus one, Assignee +, which exists at table level only. An Assignee + member views and edits the records assigned to them, and new records they create are assigned to them through the selected Assigned To field. A second tab in the same window, Dynamic Record Permissions, holds rules that limit which records a member can view, edit, create or delete based on field values. The rules narrow the first tab's levels and never widen them. See Table Permissions and Dynamic Record Permissions.
The Table Permissions window on Override Solution Permissions, with the Procurement Team at Editor.
Field permissions: the Edit Field Permissions dialog
Open a field's column menu in Grid View and select Edit Field Permissions. The dialog asks two questions: Who can View this Field? and Who can View and Edit this Field? Each has the same four answers: Everyone, Everyone except, Selected Members or Teams and Nobody. The picker names members or Teams, never a role or a level. See Field Permissions.
Note: Five system fields always stay Everyone and cannot be changed: Record Title, Auto Number, First Created, Last Updated and Open Comments.
What each role can do
Account Administrator: opens every permissions dialog in every solution.
Solution Manager: opens every permissions dialog in the solutions they manage, and always keeps full access to their records and configuration.
Solution Creator: a Solution Manager of the solutions they create. On a solution where they are not one, the Permissions item is not shown.
General Access: opens none of the dialogs; holds the levels given to them.
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.
Using permissions day to day
Told once, top to bottom, with the Vendor Management cast.
Solution. The Security lead sets Advanced permissions: the Security Team at Full Access, the Procurement Team and the Finance Team at Viewer. The auditor is added at Viewer for the audit window; as a Guest, they see and comment on the records assigned to them.
Table. The Contracts table overrides the solution: Security at Full Access, Procurement at Editor, Finance at Viewer. Procurement now edits contracts and still only reads vendors.
Field. On the Vendors table, Security Risk Notes is visible to the Security Team only. On the Contracts table, Annual Contract Value is editable by Procurement only; Finance reads it and sees a lock icon.
Tip: Grant to Teams, not to people. A new hire gets the right access by joining the Team, and Solution Access on Manage Members shows the result for any one member, level by level.
Changing permissions later
Each dialog is reopened from the same menu. Removing a Team from a list removes what that Team granted; a member keeps what another Team still grants. A check once a quarter with Solution Access catches the rest. See Solution Access: see everything a member can reach.
Frequently asked questions
Which plans include which level?
Which plans include which level?
Solution permissions, the Advanced permissions mode included, are on all plan types. Table and field permissions are on Professional, Enterprise and Signature; the pricing page calls these Advanced Permissions. Dynamic Record Permissions start with the Enterprise plan.
Do table permissions add to or replace solution permissions?
Do table permissions add to or replace solution permissions?
Replace, for that table. A member not on the override list loses the table, Account Administrators and Solution Managers excepted.
Can a General Access member set permissions?
Can a General Access member set permissions?
No. Only Account Administrators and the solution's Solution Managers see the Permissions items.
I removed a member but they can still open a solution. Why?
I removed a member but they can still open a solution. Why?
They belong to another Team that holds a level in it. Check the Teams in the dialog, or remove them from that Team.
Where do I see everything one member can reach?
Where do I see everything one member can reach?
On Manage Members, open the member's row menu and select Solution Access. See Solution Access: see everything a member can reach.
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Last verified 1 Nov 2026.