This article is for customers on Pro and Enterprise plans. It covers the two ways to create custom access levels.
Before you read
- Target audience: This article is for users with System Administrator access.
- Plan variations: All Deputy plans include built-in access levels. Pro and Enterprise plans include the ability to create custom access levels.
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Feature update: Custom access levels has a new look in Business settings. This change is being gradually rolled out to all eligible Deputy accounts. If you're not on the new experience yet, check out Classic custom access levels and permissions (Discontinuing).
This article covers:
- What are custom access levels?
- How do I create a custom access level from scratch?
- How do I create a custom access level from an existing one?
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Understanding the "Reports to / Also reports to" hierarchy
What are custom access levels?
Custom access levels are a flexible alternative to Deputy’s default access levels (marked by a icon). They let you add new roles and tailor individual user permissions to your organization’s needs.
There are two ways to create custom access levels:
- Create a new custom access level from scratch, or
- Duplicate an existing access level and modify its permissions
How do I create a custom access level from scratch?
Use this option if you want to build a new set of permissions from the beginning.
1. Click your profile photo in the top-right corner, then select Business Settings from the menu.
2. Click the Access & permissions tab.
3. Select Access levels.
Note: If you don't see this option at the top of the Access & permissions tab, you may not have access to this experience yet. Check out Customizing access levels and permissions to learn about our classic (discontinuing) feature.
4. Click + Add access level at the top right corner.
5. Complete the following in the Add access level window:
- Name: This is generally a job title like Manager, Consultant, or Sales Representative. When deciding on a name for this role, consider whether it will apply to multiple people in the organization. For example, instead of separate roles for a North East Manager, Central South Manager, and West Coast Manager, you could have one Regional Manager Role that applies to all three people.
- Reports to: Select who this custom access level reports to from the drop-down menu. You'll be provided a list of existing roles in your organization. The role chosen under “Reports To” will be directly above this role in the hierarchy. Learn more about the reporting hierarchy.
- Also reports to (optional): You can allow this role to report to another role between it and the one selected in "Reports to".
- Enforce two-factor authentication (2FA): Click the checkbox if you want to require a secure login code for these team members.
6. Click Add access level.
7. Select the permissions for this access level by clicking the relevant checkboxes. If you’re creating an access level from scratch, all permissions will be unchecked by default.
Note:
- Refer to our detailed Permissions guides to understand what each permission controls, including access to sensitive information such as pay and personal details.
- Use the menu on the right-hand side of the screen to jump to different permission categories.
8. Click Save changes at the top right-hand side of the screen when you're finished.
Note: You can return to this page later if you want to make further edits.
When you've finalised the permissions, you can start assigning the access level to your team members.
How do I create a custom access level from an existing one?
Use this option when you want to create an access level with similar permissions to an existing one, instead of starting from scratch. It saves time and effort since you only need to adjust the permissions that differ.
1. Click your profile photo in the top-right corner, then select Business Settings from the menu.
2. Click the Access & permissions tab.
3. Select Access levels.
Note: If you don't see this option at the top of the Access & permissions tab, you may not have access to this experience yet. Check out Customizing access levels and permissions to learn about our classic (discontinuing) feature.
4. Find the access level you want to copy.
5. Click the three dots icon (...) on the far right of the name, then select Duplicate.
Note: You can't duplicate the Advisor access level.
6. Complete the following in the Duplicate access level window:
- Name: Edit the field as required. This is generally a job title like Manager, Consultant, or Sales Representative. When deciding on a name for this role, consider whether it will apply to multiple people in the organization. For example, instead of separate roles for a North East Manager, Central South Manager, and West Coast Manager, you could have one Regional Manager Role that applies to all three people.
- Reports to: Select who this custom access level reports to from the drop-down menu. You'll be provided a list of existing roles in your organization. The role chosen under “Reports To” will be directly above this role in the hierarchy. Learn more about the reporting hierarchy.
- Also reports to (optional): You can allow this role to report to another role between it and the one selected in "Reports to".
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Enforce two-factor authentication (2FA): Click the checkbox if you want to require a secure login code for these team members.
7. Click Duplicate access level.
8. You'll see a success message and be taken to the permissions list, where you can select / deselect permissions by clicking the relevant checkboxes.
Since it’s based on an existing access level, all permissions will match the one you duplicated.
Note:
- Refer to our detailed Permissions guides to understand what each permission controls, including access to sensitive information such as pay and personal details.
- Use the menu on the right-hand side of the screen to jump to different permission categories.
9. Click Save changes at the top right-hand side of the screen when you're finished.
Note: You can return to this page later if you want to make further edits.
When you've finalised the permissions, you can start assigning the access level to team members.
Understanding the "Reports to / Also reports to" hierarchy
The Reports to and Also reports to settings define which access levels sit above this access level in the reporting hierarchy.
For a manager to manage a team member, the team member must generally:
- have an access level below the manager in the Reports to / Also reports to hierarchy, and
- be within a location the manager has access to.
This means you can have different manager roles at the same location that only manage the team members who report to their respective access levels.
Manage people from all roles
If Manage people from all roles is enabled, the manager can manage people from all access levels within their location scope, regardless of the reporting hierarchy. This permission is enabled for the default Location Manager access level.
If you remove this permission from a custom manager access level, managers may also lose the ability to see, manage or approve themselves. To retain this ability without giving them access to all roles, set the access level to Also Reports To itself.