Roles & Access Control
Overview
autoGMS uses roles to control what each person on your team can see and do. Every team member is assigned exactly one role, and that role determines which pages, features, and actions are available to them.
Why it matters:
- Technicians see only what they need to do their job -- no financial data, no settings
- Service advisors can handle customers and invoices without touching inventory or reports
- Garage Admins can run day-to-day operations without changing billing or subscription settings
- You (the Garage Owner) keep full control over everything
This page explains what each role can access and how to decide which role to give each team member.
Roles at a glance
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Garage Owner | Full access to everything -- settings, finances, reports, team management, and billing |
| Garage Admin | Near-full access to operations and team management, but cannot manage billing or subscription |
| Manager | Full operational access including bookings, jobs, customers, invoices, expenses, analytics, and team management. Cannot manage billing or subscription |
| Service Advisor | Front-desk focused -- bookings, customers, invoices, estimates, deposits and credits, and the reception desk |
| Technician | Workshop focused -- jobs and service bays |
Good to know: You assign roles when adding team members under Workshop settings > People > Team. For step-by-step instructions, see Workshop Settings.
What each role can access
Garage Owner
Full access to every feature in autoGMS. This is the account that created the garage.
- Dashboard and all analytics
- All bookings, jobs, and scheduling
- Full customer and vehicle management
- Invoices, expenses, deposits, and credits
- All financial reports (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, etc.)
- Inventory and purchase orders
- Marketing campaigns and reviews
- Payment dashboard and payment settings (Stripe Connect)
- All garage settings, including billing and subscription
- Team management -- can add Garage Admins, Managers, Service Advisors, and Technicians
Garage Admin
Same access as the Garage Owner with two exceptions:
- Cannot manage billing or subscription settings
- Cannot change the garage owner
Garage Admins are ideal for a trusted co-owner who needs to run the garage but should not control the subscription or payment plan.
Garage Admins can add Technicians and Service Advisors to the team.
Manager
Full operational access, positioned between Garage Admin and Service Advisor:
- Dashboard and all analytics
- All bookings, jobs, bays, and scheduling
- Customer database and vehicle management
- Invoices, expenses, deposits and credits
- Financial reports and analytics
- Inventory and purchase orders
- Garage settings and booking settings
- Technician management
- Booking Widget
What managers cannot access:
- Billing or subscription management
- Marketing campaigns (unless granted in Roles and access)
Managers are ideal for a trusted shop foreman or operations lead who handles day-to-day management.
Service Advisor
Focused on front-desk operations:
- View and manage bookings (create, edit, update status)
- Booking calendar
- Create and manage offline/walk-in bookings
- Customer database (view and edit)
- Business accounts
- Invoices (view and edit by default; can be changed to view-only)
- Deposits and credits (when enabled)
- Estimates (view, create, send)
- Reception desk (dedicated workspace)
What service advisors cannot access:
- Garage dashboard (overview metrics)
- Service bays / jobs board
- Inventory management
- Expenses, analytics, or financial reports
- Marketing campaigns or reviews
- Garage settings, technician management, or booking settings
- Payment dashboard or payment settings
- Booking Widget
Technician
Focused on workshop operations:
- Service bays / jobs board
Technician page access:
Technician accounts stay limited to the workshop workflow and pages intended for that role. Roles and access cannot grant technicians access to Bookings, Customers, Inventory, Estimates, or financial pages.
What technicians cannot access:
- Garage dashboard (overview metrics)
- Invoices, expenses, or any financial pages
- Financial reports
- Marketing campaigns or reviews
- Booking settings or garage settings
- Payment dashboard or payment settings
- Team management
- Business accounts
- Reception desk
Detailed access table
This table shows exactly which features are available to each role. An x means the role has access.
Bookings & Jobs
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookings list | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Booking details | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Create / edit bookings | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Offline / walk-in bookings | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Booking calendar | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Service bays (jobs board) | x | x | x | - | x |
| Reception desk | x | x | x | x | - |
| Estimates | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Services catalog | x | x | x | - | - |
| MOT dashboard (UK only) | x | x | x | - | - |
Inventory
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory management | x | x | x | - | configurable |
| Purchase orders | x | x | x | - | - |
Central Warehouse (Organization-Level)
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warehouse page (organization workspace) | x | x | - | - | - |
| Withdraw from warehouse (garage inventory) | x | x | x | - | configurable |
| Warehouse-assisted job assignment | x | x | x | configurable | configurable |
Good to know: Warehouse-assisted assignment follows the same permission model as job inventory actions. If a role can assign parts on a job, that role can use warehouse shortfall assignment when Central Warehouse is enabled.
Finance
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices — view, download, and export | x | x | x | x | - |
| Edit invoices — create, edit, send, record payments, and use invoice-changing actions or settings | x | x | x | x | - |
| Deposits & credits | x | x | x | x | - |
| Expenses | x | x | x | - | - |
| Analytics dashboard | x | x | x | - | - |
| Payment dashboard | x | x | x | - | - |
| Payment settings | x | x | x | - | - |
Financial Reports
All financial reports require the Financial Reports add-on.
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profit & Loss | x | x | x | - | - |
| Balance Sheet | x | x | x | - | - |
| Cash Flow | x | x | x | - | - |
| Transaction Ledger | x | x | x | - | - |
| Account Balances | x | x | x | - | - |
| Aged Receivables | x | x | x | - | - |
| Aged Payables | x | x | x | - | - |
| Tax / VAT Report | x | x | x | - | - |
Customers
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer list | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Customer details | x | x | x | x | configurable |
| Business accounts | x | x | x | x | - |
| Reviews | x | x | x | - | - |
Marketing
All marketing features require the Marketing add-on.
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live customer targeting | x | x | - | - | - |
| Campaign creator | x | x | - | - | - |
| All campaigns | x | x | - | - | - |
| Message templates | x | x | - | - | - |
| Do-not-send list | x | x | - | - | - |
Settings & Configuration
| Feature | Owner | Admin | Manager | Service Advisor | Technician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garage dashboard (overview) | x | x | x | - | - |
| Garage profile / settings | x | x | x | - | - |
| Booking Widget | x | x | x | - | - |
| Booking rules | x | x | x | - | - |
| Technician management | x | x | x | - | - |
| Billing & subscription | x | - | - | - | - |
Technicians are automatically redirected to the Jobs (service bays) page when they log in. There is no separate "My Jobs" page -- the bays view serves as their primary workspace.
Good to know: "Configurable" means the page is available at the route level for that role, but it is not shown in the sidebar by default. Use the Roles and access card in Workshop settings to grant or revoke access to these pages per role.
Who can add whom
Not every role can add every other role. Here is the hierarchy:
| Your role | Roles you can add |
|---|---|
| Garage Owner | Garage Admin, Manager, Service Advisor, Technician |
| Garage Admin | Manager, Service Advisor, Technician |
| Manager | Service Advisor, Technician |
| Service Advisor | -- |
| Technician | -- |
To add a team member, go to Workshop settings > People > Team and click Add team member. You will only see the roles you are allowed to assign.
There is also a Custom Role option available when adding team members. Custom roles let you define a role name that fits your business (e.g., "Workshop Lead" or "Parts Manager"). Custom roles have configurable page access through the Roles and access card, similar to other non-owner roles.
Good to know: When you add someone, they receive an email with their login credentials and can access the dashboard immediately.
Customizing page access per role
The access tables above show the default permissions for each role. The garage's registered owner, the owning organization's registered owner, or an administrator assigned to that organization can customize access for non-owner roles.
Go to Workshop settings > People > Roles and access. From there you can:
- Tick or untick page access for each role
- Use Preview as a team member to see which pages a person can and cannot open, including unsaved changes
- Save with the Save changes bar; changes take effect immediately on the sidebar and route access
Grey lock cells are fixed for that role and cannot be changed.
For full instructions, see People in Workshop settings.
Good to know: These settings are per garage. If you have multiple garages, you can configure different access rules for each one.
Invoice view and edit access
Invoices and Edit invoices are separate permissions.
- With Invoices on and Edit invoices off, the role can view, download, and export invoices, but cannot create or change them or use invoice-changing actions.
- With Invoices off, the role cannot open the Invoices page. Turning on Edit invoices alone does not grant access.
- Garage Owners, Organization Owners, and Organization Administrators always keep invoice edit access. Garage Admins, Managers, Service Advisors, and Custom Roles follow the saved permissions.
Saving requires actual management scope for that garage: its registered owner, the owning organization's registered owner, or an administrator assigned to that organization. A role label by itself is not enough.
Sidebar navigation by role
Each role sees a different sidebar when they log in. This keeps the interface clean and focused.
Garage Owner, Garage Admin, and Manager see the full sidebar:
- Overview, Bookings & Jobs, Inventory, Finance, Payments, Financial Reporting, and Customers sections
- A Settings button at the bottom of the sidebar opens Workshop settings, Booking Settings, and Booking page and form in Business and Bookings groups. Organization owners also see Organization Workspace
- Multi-garage organization owners also see an Organization group in the Settings menu
Service Advisor sees a simplified sidebar:
- Bookings, Estimates, Customers, Invoices, and Reception Desk
Technician sees a minimal sidebar:
- Jobs (service bays) only. Additional pages can be enabled through the Roles and access card
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I customize what each role sees? A: If you are the garage's registered owner, the owning organization's registered owner, or an administrator assigned to that organization, go to Workshop settings > People > Roles and access. For invoice view-only access, leave Invoices on and turn Edit invoices off.
Q: Can a technician see invoices or financial data? A: No. Technicians have no access to invoices, expenses, revenue data, or financial reports. Their default sidebar shows the Jobs page (service bays), and Roles and access cannot grant them Bookings, Customers, Inventory, Estimates, or financial pages.
Q: Can a service advisor manage inventory? A: No. Service advisors do not have access to inventory management or purchase orders. They focus on bookings, customers, invoices, and the reception desk.
Q: What is the difference between Garage Owner and Garage Admin? A: Garage Admins have the same access as the owner except they cannot manage billing, subscription settings, or change the garage owner. Everything else -- operations, team management, reports, marketing -- is identical.
Q: What is the difference between Garage Admin and Manager? A: Both have full operational access, but Garage Admins can also manage marketing campaigns and reviews. Managers are a step below Garage Admin and are ideal for a shop foreman or operations lead. Both can manage the team, settings, and finances (except billing).
Q: Can I change someone's role after adding them? A: Yes. Go to Settings > Workshop settings > People > Team, click the person, and choose a new Role in their panel. The roles you can assign depend on your own access, and the new role applies everywhere that user has access.
Q: What happens when I remove a team member? A: Their access to your garage is revoked immediately. They can no longer log in and see your garage data. If they belong to other garages, those remain unaffected.
Q: Can a team member belong to multiple garages? A: Yes. A user can be added to multiple garages and can switch between them from the dashboard.
Q: I only see Technician and Service Advisor when adding a team member. Where is Garage Admin? A: The roles you see depend on your own role. Managers can only add Technicians and Service Advisors. Garage Admins can also add Managers. Only Garage Owners can add Garage Admins.
Q: Do feature add-ons affect what roles can see? A: Yes. Features like Financial Reports, Marketing, and Inventory are controlled by your subscription. If a feature is not enabled, no one on your team can see it -- regardless of their role. Once enabled, the feature becomes visible to roles that have permission for it.
Quick Reference
| I want to... | Go here | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| View team roles | Settings → Workshop settings → Team | See all members and roles |
| Change someone's role | Settings → Workshop settings → Team → click the person | Choose a new Role |
| Invite new member | Team → Add team member | Enter name and email, select role |
| Remove team member | Team → click the person → Remove | Confirm removal |
| View role permissions | This doc → Role Hierarchy table | See what each role can do |
| Make someone admin | Team → click the person → Role → Garage Admin | Grants near-full access |
| Restrict to technician | Team → click the person → Role → Technician | Limited to jobs only |
| Set up service advisor | Team → click the person → Role → Service Advisor | Front desk access |
| View my permissions | Account menu | Shows your current role |