Roles and Permissions: Admins, Managers, and Delegates

Abacus has user roles with different permissions:

• Admins have access to all account information and settings, including the ability to make configurations, set up integrations, and manage and invite users
• Admins with Final Approval Permissions have access to all account information and settings, plus the ability to approve expenses for payment, create auto-approval rules, make other people admins, and deactivate users
• Managers can view the expenses of all employees they are managing
• Delegate Permissions allow users to submit card expenses on behalf all employees they are delegates for
• Members are any user with an Abacus account

Admins can manage Abacus user roles on the People page.

Admin Role

Admins have access to all account information and settings, including:

• Admin approval will trigger payment for reimbursable expenses
• Inviting new users to the Abacus account 
• Company bank account and bank transfer history
• Accounting integrations
• Customizable feature settings
• App integrations
• All expenses submitted by members of the organization
• Billing information

To make someone an Admin in Abacus:

1. Navigate to the People page by clicking People in your Admin sidebar.

2. Select one or more users.

• To edit a single user's role, click the pencil  next to their name.

• To edit multiple users' roles, check the boxes to the left of their names, and then click Edit.

3. Use the Role dropdown to select Admin.

4. Click Save.

Please Note: By default, when you change someone's role to Admin, they will have Final Approval Admin permissions. Follow the steps below to remove those permissions.

Final Approval Admin Permissions

By default, when you change someone's role to Admin, they will have Final Approval Admin permissions.

Have an accountant you want to invite to your account? Need someone else to invite users but don't want them to approve expenses to release funds? You can add them as an Admin to your account, and then turn off their Final Approval Permission.

To set these permissions, navigate to the People page and click on the appropriate Admin's name. 

On the User Profile page, switch the toggle Off or On to enable or disable the admin Approval Permission. 

Admins who do not have Final Approval Permissions can do everything that admins can do, with these exceptions: 

• They can't approve expenses for payment (they can still 'manager approve' an expense if they're a manager, but it will still require approval from an Admin with 'final approval' permissions)
• They can't create auto-approval rules
• They can't make other people admins (they can invite people, and they can edit other information about people, but they can't make people admins)
• They can't upgrade members to managers
• They can't deactivate users

Manager Role 

Admins may assign an employee a Manager role. Managers can be assigned to other members of the team to add an additional layer of approval to the expense flow. Managers can view the expenses of all employees they are managing. 

To make someone a Manager in Abacus:

1. Navigate to the People page by clicking People in your Admin sidebar.

2. Select one or more users.

• To edit a single user's role, click the pencil icon next to their name.

• To edit multiple users' roles, check the boxes to the left of their names, and then click Edit.

3. Use the Role dropdown to select Manager.

4. Click Save.

Once you have assigned someone a Manager role, you can assign users who are Managed By them.

1. Navigate to the People page by clicking People in your Admin sidebar.
2. Select one or more users.

• To edit a single user's role, click the pencil icon next to their name.
• To edit multiple users' roles, check the boxes to the left of their names, and then click Edit.

3. Use the Managed By dropdown to select the name of the person who is their manager.

4. Click Save.

What if you are both an admin and a manager? 

If you are a Final Approving Admin and a Manager, the expenses of the people you manage will go directly to your Reimbursable Expenses or Transactions page, and your approval for those expenses will be final. For reimbursable expenses, this means the payment process will begin, and approved corporate card expenses will be synced with your accounting software.  

Delegate Permissions

Delegates have visibility into their own expenses and those of individuals they are a Delegate for. If you have team members who are responsible for submitting card expenses on behalf of others, or if you otherwise have cards that are shared between employees, admins can assign them as delegate in Abacus.

Admins can assign delegates on the People page.