What Permissions Can I Assign to My Team Member?

Collaborate and work together with others on your business by inviting them into your account as a Team Member. Adding Team Members is a paid add-on that can be added or removed from your subscription anytime with the steps here.
You can invite your Team Members as an Admin, Employee, Contractor or Accountant, depending on what kind of role you want to give them. You can also customize these roles further with Client Access and Project Manager settings.
 
If you’re looking for an Accountant that’s FreshBooks certified, reach out to us so we can help you get matched with someone from our Accounting Partner Program based on your geographical location, industry and your accounting needs.
 
 

Overview of Permissions

Different levels of access and permissions are determined by the role you assign your Team Member. Use the symbols to see what sections in the FreshBooks account they have access to, and jump to any role to learn the specific details of what they're able to do.
 
All roles except Contractors use your business’ account; Contractors get their own separate account where some shared Time Tracking and Project information will be visible in their account.
 
When you’re ready, use these steps to invite a Team Member. If you delete a Team Member, you'll also need to downgrade your account to remove any empty Team Member seats.
 
Legend
  • Checkmark symbol (✓) - They can see the section and have full access to it, including the ability to create, edit and delete in that section
  • X symbol (X) - They cannot see that section, therefore they do not have any access to actions inside that section
  • Exclamation point symbol (!) - They can see the section but have limited access inside it - go to the specific team member role for details
 
  Business Owner Admin Manager Employee Accountant ContractorUnassigned
Settings!!X!XX
DashboardXXXX
Clients!XXXX
InvoicesX!XX
Payments!!X!XX
Expenses!!!XX
EstimatesXXXX
Time Tracking!X!X
Projects!X!X
Reports!X!XX
Accounting!!XXXX
 

Role Details

Business Owner

A Business Owner is the one who has created the FreshBooks account. The Owner has full access to everything in their account, and can enable Advanced Accounting for Accountant-specific access like managing the Chart of Accounts and creating Journal Entries.
 

Admin

When an Admin logs into the business’ account, they can see the below sections. Some limitations apply in specific sections:
Navigation view as an Admin.
  • Settings
    • Settings - Account, Business, Logo & Theme, and Email Notifications
    • Billing & Upgrade - Can’t cancel the FreshBooks account
    • Bank Connections
    • Apps - Only add, manage, or remove their own Apps
    • Emails & Templates
    • Item & Services - Also import CSV file of Items
  • Dashboard
  • Clients - Manage Clients, can import CSV of Clients, export Clients into CSV, and manage Credits
  • Invoices - Can add and manage Invoices and payments, and see Received Invoices (To Me)
    • Retainers
  • Payments - Can add and manage Invoice Payments, Other Income, and Checkout Links
    • Can’t set up Online Payment options or process Refunds
  • Expenses - Can create new Expense Subcategories and import CSV file of Expenses
    • Bills
    • Vendors
    • Uploads - Can upload and manage uploaded Documents
  • Estimates - Can also enable eSignatures on Proposals
  • Time Tracking - Can manage both their and team’s time entries
  • Projects - Can manage Project Settings and see Project Profitability graphs & Team Cost Rates
  • My Team - Can add, invite and manage unassigned and assigned Team Members, can't access Payroll section
  • Reports - Can see all Reports including amounts on Time Entry Details Report and access Select Reports like FreshBooks Payments Report and Payment Fees Report
  • Accounting - Can manage Bank Reconciliation and view Accounting Reports, can’t create custom Accounts in Chart of Accounts, can’t create Journal Entries
    • Chart of Accounts
  • Add-ons - Can use Advanced Payments
 

Manager

When a Manager logs into the business’ account, they can see the below sections. Some limitations apply in specific sections:
Navigation menu as a Manager.
  • Settings
    • Settings - Account
    • Item & Services - Can't import CSV file of Items
  • Clients - Dependent on Client Access, can create, archive and delete, can import CSV of Clients and export Clients into CSV
  • Invoices - Can add and manage Invoices, and payments
    • Retainers
  • Payments - Only manage Other Income tab and can create Checkout Links
    • Can’t see Invoice Payments or view Checkout Link Payments
  • Expenses - Only their own Expenses, can import CSV file of Expenses
  • Bills - Only their own Bills
  • Estimates - Can enable eSignatures on Proposals
  • Time Tracking - Can add and edit both their and team’s time entries
  • Projects - Can manage Projects but Project Profitability including Team Costs is not visible
  • Reports - Only the Accounts Aging, Accounts Payable Aging (for their own Bills only), Time Entry Details (including Billable Rates only) and Retainer Summary Reports
  • Add-ons - Can use Advanced Payments

Employee

When an Employee logs into the business’ account, they can see the below sections. Some limitations apply in specific sections:
Navigation menu as an Employee.
Can see all Clients when tracking time by default, access to Clients can be managed if Client Access is available.
  • Settings
    • Settings - Account
  • Time Tracking - Only their own time entries
  • Projects - Only Projects they’re invited to, can view Project-related Invoices and Expenses if assigned as Project Manager
  • Expenses - Only their own Expenses, can’t import CSV file of Expenses
    • Bills - Only their own Bills
 

Accountant

Invite up to 10 Accountants per business at no extra cost, on Plus, Premium and Select plans. If your Accountant wants to learn more and familiarize themselves with FreshBooks’ accounting features, they can sign up for the Accounting Partner Program to become a FreshBooks certified partner along with other benefits. If you don’t have an Accountant yet, reach out to us and we can help you get matched with one of our partners based on your geographical location, industry and your accounting needs.

When an Accountant logs into the business’ account, they can see the below sections. Some limitations apply in specific sections:
Navigation menu as an accountant.
  • Settings
      • Settings - Only access Account
  • Dashboard
  • Invoices - Only view Invoices and manage Payments to Invoices
  • Payments - Only manage Other Income
  • Expenses - Can’t manage Bank Connections, create Recurring Expenses or import CSV file of Expenses
    • Bills
    • Vendors
    • Uploads - Can upload and manage uploaded Documents
  • Reports - no access to Retainer Summary, Profitability Summary or Profitability Details Reports
  • Accounting - can access Bank Rec
    • Chart of Accounts - Can manage the Chart of Accounts and create Journal Entries
 

Contractor

A Contractor has their own separate FreshBooks account, and you can share specific access with them:
Navigation menu as a Contractor.
The navigation is the same as any other FreshBooks Business Owner. They also see specific shared information from your account:
  • Time Tracking - Can also track time for any specific Projects they’re invited to
  • Projects - Can also see any Projects they’re invited to, can only see time entries logged by them inside shared Projects
 

Unassigned

An Unassigned Team Member has no access to your FreshBooks account and can be added at no extra cost. The Team Member Profile is only stored in your account to help you keep track of all your Team Members in one place. When you’re ready to work with them in FreshBooks, assign them a role with the steps here to get started.
 

Extra Settings

Client Access

 
Client Access is only available for certain users and Select plans.
 
Client Access allows you to choose which Clients you want your Manager and Employees to have access to. This will restrict how much information they can see based on what Client(s) they have access to.
 
Settings for My Team
To change the default Client access for any new Team Member, use the below steps:
  1. In the My Team section, click on the gear icon next to My Team
  2. Click on Client Access
    Settings panel next to My Team header in account.
  3. For when a new team member is invited, choose whether you want them to see all clients or won’t see any clients in their account
  4. Click Save to finish.

Settings for a Team Member
Once a Team Member has accepted their invitation, you can click on their name to view the Team Member’s profile and adjust their Client Access, including access to specific Clients with these steps:
  1. In the My Team section, click on the team member that you want to view details for
  2. Under Team Member Settings, click on Client Access
    Team member profile with settings menu with Client Access option highlighted.
  3. Whatever you’ve chosen as the default setting for My Team will apply here, otherwise you can choose between All Clients Visible or Only Specific Clients Visible
  4. Click Done to save the Client Access
  5. If All Clients Visible is chosen, click on the plus + button next to All Clients Visible, Except…
    1. Choose a Client or type in the Client
      A new field to specify client to hide from this team member.
    2. Click on the checkmark button to save and this Client will be hidden from the Team Member
  6. If Only Specific Clients Visible is chosen, click on the plus + button next to Only Specific Clients Visible
    1. Choose a Client or type in the Client
      A new field to specify client to reveal to this team member.
    2. Click on the checkmark button to save and this Client will be visible to the Team Member
  7. Then click on Save to confirm the Team Member profile changes.
 
Note: You can add up to 2500 specific Clients to be hidden or visible to the Team Member. If no specific Clients are added, the Team Member will either see all or none of the Clients in your account.

Project Manager

Project Managers are an extra level of access that can be assigned to any existing Team Member (except Contractors) on any project. Anyone except the creator of the Project can be assigned as Project Manager, and once assigned, will be able to:
  • Manage the Project by editing it as needed
  • View Invoices and your Expenses associated to the Project
  • Generate Invoices for the Project including rebilling all associated Expenses created by the team
  • View all time entries for the Project - both theirs and the team’s
 
A Project can only have one Project Manager at a time. To assign a Project Manager on your Project, use these steps:
  1. Go to the Projects section
  2. Click on a Project you want to add a Project Manager to
  3. Then click on the Edit button
  4. In the Project Team Members section, click on the + plus button
  5. Hover over the Team Member you want to designate and click on the PM button
    PM button next to team member in list of members on project.
  6. The PM button will display a checkmark next to it to confirm your selection
    PM confirmed button next to team member.
  7. Click on Update Team Members to finish.
 

FAQs

Can I switch my team member’s role after they’ve been assigned one?
Changing your Team Member's role is possible between the Admin, Manager and Employee roles only. If you have a team member in one of those three roles, switching can be done with these steps:
  1. Click on My Team
  2. In the All Team Members section, click on the member you want to change roles for
  3. Then in the Edit Team Member view, click on the Admin, Manager or Employee role
    Change team member role dropdown inside team member profile.
  4. Choose the new role to switch them to
  5. Click Save to finish, and the Team Member will receive an email about the role changes.