> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://schoolmanagerp.gitbook.io/schoolmanagerp-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://schoolmanagerp.gitbook.io/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/settings/roles.md).
# Roles and permissions
Compare what each role in the school can see and do, on one page.
**Go to:** **Administration → Roles & access** in the left menu. View this page on a computer. **Before you start:** be an Admin. The menu of every other role does not have this page.
Every staff member has one **role**, such as Teacher or Accountant. The role decides what they see and do in the app. This page only shows; there is no button on it, and nothing changes. A person's role is chosen when you add them on the [**Staff**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/staff.md#task-main) list.
[Read the page](#task-main) · [Who can do what, in short](#matrix) · [Problems and fixes](#trouble)
**On this page**
* [See the permissions of one role](#task-main)
* [How to know you are on the right card](#confirm)
* [Who can do what, in short](#matrix)
* [Other situations](#other)
* [Problems and fixes](#trouble)
* [Who can do what](#roles)
* [Learn more](#more)
***
## See the permissions of one role
1. Press **Administration** in the left menu, then press **Roles & access**.
→ The title **Roles & access** at the top, and below it "What each role can see and do in this school. Read-only." Then seven cards, one for each role: **Admin**, **Accountant**, **Academic coordinator**, **Teacher**, **Exam controller**, **Office staff**, **Committee member**.
2. Find the card of the role you want to see.
→ The card shows the role's name, one line about its work, its data access (for example **Whole school** or **Assigned sections only**) and the total number of permissions, for example **18 permissions** on the Exam controller card.
3. Press a group under the card, for example **Fees (…)**. The number in brackets is how many permissions are in that group.
→ The group opens and every permission in it is shown in plain words. Press it again to close it.
> **Remember:** these cards come from the same list the school's system uses to check every action. So what the card says matches what the app allows. A Teacher's permissions still work only inside their own sections.
This page does not save anything, so there is no "was it saved" state to check.
***
## How to know you are on the right card
The card has the role's name at the top and a number such as **18 permissions**. When you open a group, the number in brackets after its name equals the number of permissions listed inside it. This page never saves anything, so there is no "saved" message to look for.
***
## Who can do what, in short
The full list is on the cards. Here are the main points.
**Data access.** Every role sees only its own school's data. Nobody can ever see another school's data.
| Role | How much data they see |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| Admin, Accountant, Academic coordinator, Office staff, Exam controller, Committee member | Whole school |
| Teacher | Assigned sections only |
A teacher sees the students, attendance and marks of only the sections given to them ([**Teacher assignments**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/teaching-assignments.md)). If no section is given, the list is empty. If they open the page of someone outside their sections, they get "not found".
**What each role mainly does**
| Role | What they can do | What they cannot do |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Admin | Everything in the school: staff, students, guardians, fees, payments, exams, results, routines, printing, settings, backups, the activity log. Only the Admin can approve money-risk actions and cancel payments. | — |
| Accountant | Create and change fee structures, generate fee bills, take payments, invoices, discount rules, automatic billing, finance reports, send messages. Add and edit students and guardians, import students from a file, print ID cards. | Approve fee actions, cancel payments, delete students or fee structures, exams, settings |
| Academic coordinator | View students, results, marks and reports; import students from a file; approve staff leave; view applications and decide on them; run programs; change a student's status (for example left school); issue certificates; send alerts. | Take money or generate bills, enter marks, settings |
| Teacher | In their own sections: take attendance, enter marks, give and view homework, arrange the syllabus, write student notes, write program progress. View their sections' students, guardians and fees. | Anything outside their sections, take money, publish results |
| Exam controller | Arrange exams for the whole school, seat plans, enter marks as backup when a teacher is absent, generate and publish results, print documents. | Money, add students |
| Office staff | View admission applicants, add and edit students and guardians, import from a file, student records, send messages, printing and certificates, view applications and decide at their own step. Only view fees and invoices. | Take money, delete students, settings |
| Committee member | View only: dashboard, committee reports, staff evaluations, calendar. | See student details, change anything |
Every staff role except Committee member can mark and view their own attendance, and can apply for themselves ([**Applications**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/applications.md)).
**Notices** (in the **Communication** group): every role can read the notices sent to them. Admin, Academic coordinator, Teacher and Office staff can post notices; a teacher posts only to their own sections. Only the Admin and the Academic coordinator can manage everyone's notices and approve a notice's SMS.
***
## Other situations
* **A role you expected is missing:** the school has seven fixed roles. There is no way to add one here.
* **A permission seems missing from a group:** groups only show permissions the role has. A permission the role does not have is not listed.
***
## Problems and fixes
| What you see | What to do | Who can help |
| ---------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ |
| **Roles & access** is not in the menu | This page is for the Admin only. If you are not the Admin, ask the Admin to show you your role's card. | Admin |
| A staff member does not see a button | Check whether their role's card has the permission for that action. If it does not, this is correct behaviour. | Admin |
| You want to change someone's role | You cannot do it from this page. See the [**Staff**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/staff.md) page. | Admin |
| A teacher says their list is empty | Check whether any section is given to them: [**Teacher assignments**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/teaching-assignments.md). | Admin |
| You want a new role or permissions of your own | Not possible. The school has these seven roles, and the permissions of each are fixed. | — |
If a page or button is missing, see [Why can't I see this?](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/help/cant-see-this.md).
***
## Who can do what
| Role | See this page | Change anything |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------- | -------------------- |
| Admin | Yes | Nothing changes here |
| Accountant, Academic coordinator, Teacher, Exam controller, Office staff, Committee member | No | No |
Opening this page needs the permission to view the staff list, which only the Admin has. If another role opens the address directly, the page does not open; a message appears instead.
**Hiding a part of the system from a role.** Only the Admin can open **Settings → Modules & words**. There, **Who can't see it** on a module hides that module from the roles the Admin ticks. It never hides a module from the Admin. See [**Modules and words**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/settings/modules-and-words.md#task-hide).
***
## Learn more The parts of the page — Roles & access
1. The title **Roles & access** and the "Read-only" line.
2. The role card — name and a one-line description.
3. Data access — **Whole school** or **Assigned sections only**.
4. The number of permissions.
5. The permission groups — for example **Fees**, **Attendance & leave**, [**Applications**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/applications.md); press one to open it.
How roles work — who sees how much
How much each role sees
* **One person, one role:** in one school a staff member has one role.
* **Permissions are checked twice:** the menu shows only the pages you have permission for. If someone opens an address directly, the school's system checks again and blocks the action.
* **Super admin:** this is a platform role that no school can give. So it is not on the cards.
* **Parents and students:** they are not staff. They use the same app, but after sign-in they land on their own **portal** pages ([**Overview**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/overview.md)), and they see only their own family or their own information.
**Related pages**
* **Role pages** — one page for each role, with its first day and common tasks: [Admin](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/admin.md), [Accountant](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/accountant.md), [Academic coordinator](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/headmaster.md), [Teacher](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/teacher.md), [Exam controller](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/exam-controller.md), [Office staff](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/office-staff.md), [Committee member](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/committee.md), [Guardian](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/guardian.md), [Student](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/roles/student.md).
* [**Staff**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/staff.md) — add staff and choose the role.
* [**Teacher assignments**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/students/teaching-assignments.md) — which teacher sees which section.
* [**Modules and words**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/settings/modules-and-words.md) — hide a module from some roles.
* [**Activity log**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/settings/audit-logs.md) — who changed what, and when.
* [**Applications**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/applications.md) — which role decides which application.
* [**Changing the school's settings**](/schoolmanagerp-docs/en/settings.md) — Set the school's profile, academic rules, fee rules, communication, printing, sign-in, backup and alerts on one page, in nine categories.
***
*Version 0.1.0 · Last checked 2026-10-25*
