Managing Team Roles

LiteWork uses roles to control what team members can do. Each person in your organization has exactly one role—Owner, Admin, Member, or Viewer. Understanding roles helps you give people the right level of access.

The Four Roles

Owner

The person who created the organization. Full control over everything:

• Manage billing and subscription
• Delete the organization
• Transfer ownership to someone else
• All Admin permissions

Every organization has exactly one owner. You can transfer ownership but can’t have multiple owners.

Admin

Trusted team members who manage operations:

• Create and edit all documents
• Manage all contacts
• Invite and remove team members
• Change roles (except to/from Owner)
• Connect and manage Xero
• Create and delete companies
• All Member permissions

Admins can do almost everything except manage billing or delete the organization.

Member

Regular team members who do day-to-day work:

• Create and edit invoices and quotes
• Create and edit contacts
• Send emails to clients
• View sync status

Members can create and edit documents but can’t manage team settings or Xero connections.

Viewer

Read-only access for people who need to see but not change:

• View all invoices and quotes
• View all contacts
• View sync status and history
• Export data

Viewers can see everything but can’t create, edit, or delete anything. Good for accountants or stakeholders.

Permissions Comparison

Permission	Owner	Admin	Member	Viewer
View documents	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Create/edit documents	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Delete documents	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Manage contacts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Send emails	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Export data	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Invite team members	Yes	Yes	No	No
Change roles	Yes	Yes*	No	No
Remove members	Yes	Yes	No	No
Manage Xero	Yes	Yes	No	No
Create companies	Yes	Yes	No	No
Delete companies	Yes	Yes	No	No
View billing	Yes	No	No	No
Manage subscription	Yes	No	No	No
Transfer ownership	Yes	No	No	No
Delete organization	Yes	No	No	No

*Admins can change roles to/from Admin, Member, Viewer—but not to/from Owner.

Changing Someone’s Role

Owners and Admins can change team member roles:

1. Go to LiteWork Settings → Team
2. Find the person in the Active Members list
3. Click the role dropdown next to their name
4. Select the new role
5. Confirm the change

Role changes take effect immediately. The person will be notified by email.

Role Change Restrictions

• Only owners can transfer ownership — Admins can’t promote someone to Owner
• Can’t demote the owner — The owner can’t be changed to Admin, Member, or Viewer without transferring ownership
• Can’t change your own role — Another Admin or the Owner must change it

Choosing the Right Role

Make them Admin if:

• They need to manage the team (invite/remove members)
• They need to connect or manage Xero
• They’re a business partner or office manager

Make them Member if:

• They create invoices and quotes as part of their job
• They need to add and update contacts
• They don’t need to manage team settings

Make them Viewer if:

• They only need to see documents (not create them)
• They’re an external accountant reviewing your books
• They’re a stakeholder who wants visibility

Related Articles

• Inviting Team Members — Add people to your team
• Removing Team Members — Remove access
• Transferring Ownership — Change the organization owner
• Understanding Organizations — How roles fit into organizations