Purpose

A user role contains a set of permissions and capabilities assigned to a user account. User roles are a fundamental aspect of access control and user management within Aspire.

By assigning specific user roles to employees, you can control and make sure that users can only perform the tasks and access the information that is relevant to their job responsibilities. This helps to maintain data security, and accountability within your organization.

User roles can be customized and tailored to the specific needs of your landscaping business, allowing for flexibility in how permissions are granted and responsibilities are distributed among your team.

Requirements

✅In order to create contacts, you’ll need Add Contact added to your user role.

✅ In order to assign user roles, you must have System Admin assigned to your user role. You could also have Branch Admin added to your user role.

✅To access User Management and the User Role tab in Administration, you’ll need Manage User Roles added to your user role.

✅ In order to assign the role of Crew Leader to an employee contact, you would need Add Crew Leader Contact to your user role.

Understanding User Roles and Permissions

While User Roles and Permissions are related to each other, they have some key differences to know as you build out and assign levels of access in your system.

User Roles are typically broad job roles that group together related permissions and responsibilities. They determine the overall scope of what a user can or cannot do within your system or in Aspire’s mobile apps.

Aspire’s Default User Roles are: System Admin, Account Manager, Branch Admin, Branch Manager, Controller, Crew Leader, Executive, Operations Manager, and Sales Rep.

Permissions are specific actions within Aspire that can be granted or restricted. They define the individual operations that a user can perform.

Think of it like the below:

User Role
- Permission
- Permission
- Permission

🧠 Permissions are assigned to User Roles, allowing you to control user access at a detailed level!!

User roles allow you to:

Create and Manage Contacts and Property Records

Users with this permission can add, edit, and maintain customer contact information, as well as property details (such as address, lot size, landscape features, etc.). This allows your organization to keep track of your client and property data.

Build Estimates

Users with this permission can create detailed estimates for your client's services, including labor, materials, equipment, and other associated costs.

Send Proposals

Users with this permission can generate and send formal proposals to customers, outlining the scope of work, pricing, and other terms and conditions.

Schedule Jobs

Users with this permission can manage the scheduling of landscaping projects and services, allocating resources, labor, and equipment as needed.

Send Invoices

Users with this permission can create and send invoices to customers for completed work, ensuring timely payment for services.

Process Purchase Receipts

Users with this permission can record and track purchases made for materials, equipment, and other expenses associated with landscaping jobs.

Manage Equipment

Users with this permission can maintain an inventory of landscaping equipment, track usage, and manage maintenance and repair schedules.

Reviewing and Approving Hours Worked by Other Employees

Users with the appropriate permissions can review and validate the time reported by other team members.

Access Reporting Data

Users with permissions relating to reports can view revenue, help with End of Month procedures, and use Pivot Tables to organize custom data relating to productivity, finances and sales commissions, plus more!

Who Should Have a User Role?

As you set up your system, it’s important to know what user roles allow you and your users to do within Aspire! All employees with a user account need to have user roles assigned to them. This includes Crew Leaders but not Crew Members, or Subcontractors.

System Default User Roles and What They Have Access To

Aspire has default roles created when your system is created. You can update your roles as needed and create new roles but here's a list so you understand the general permissions that are enabled when you assign a default role for your users!

Permission Group	System Admin	Account Manager	Branch Admin	Branch Manager	Controller	Crew Leader	Executive	Operations Manager	Sales Rep
Accounts Receivable	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Activities	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Admin	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Contacts	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Equipment	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Estimates	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅
Grids	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Invoicing	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
KPIs and Insights	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Opportunities	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Properties	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Purchasing	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	❌
Reports	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Time Reporting	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Work Tickets	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅

Default permission notes

Account Managers can only choose Report Export Types with their Admin permission.
Branch Admin access to Admin and Opportunities is more restricted than System Admins, and they only get view access to the Schedule board with the Work Ticket permission.
Controllers only get view access with the Opportunities permission.
Crew Leaders only get view access to Properties.
Executives get more access than Branch Admins with the Activities and Equipment permissions, but less access with the Purchasing and Time Reporting permissions.
Operations Managers get less access than System Admins or Branch Admins with the Admin and Contacts permissions, and they only get read access to Opportunities.
Sales Reps get less access to Reports than Account Managers, and they only get view access to the Schedule board with the Work Ticket permission.

Roles and Permissions matrix

For a much more granular look at the specific permissions bundled in each of the roles above, check out our Default Roles and Permissions Matrix.

Since you can update the default roles or create new roles in Aspire, you can make a copy of this matrix and use it as a template for your company to document the permissions assigned to your custom roles.

Creating a New User Role

To create a new User Role, begin by selecting your Profile Icon and then Administration.

Then, select the User Management tab and then User Roles. Click the New button to create your new User Role.

The User Roles permission screen appears.

Name your new User Role, and assign the hierarchy value. Select the appropriate permissions under the user role.

📑To learn more about permissions you can assign to User Roles, read this article.

Click Save when you have completed assigning your user role permissions.

Hierarchy

The Role Hierarchy Value determines the authority level within the organization relative to other users.

User roles can have hierarchies between 1 and 999. Role hierarchy values help to determine authority for:

Approving completed work tickets – A logged-in user can approve a work ticket pending approval if they have greater authority (smaller Role Hierarchy Value) than the person who put the work ticket into Pending Approval status.
Approving proposals – A person can approve proposals for release to customers if they have authority greater than or equal to (smaller Role Hierarchy Value) the person (or role) defined in a workflow to approve proposals.

📑If you’re interested in learning more about Approval Workflows in Aspire, read this article.

Copying An Existing User Role

You have the ability to copy existing user roles, change them, and save them using the Save As function.

For this example, your team has just hired a junior estimator! Since they are still learning the system, you don't want them to have all of the permissions that the Account Manager Role has.

Instead, you'll create a new user role.

To get to User Roles, click on your profile icon in the bottom left corner.
Click Administration.
Then, click User Management then User Roles.

Select the User Role that most closely aligns with the new role you want the employee to have. In this case, we'll select the User Role called Account Manager.
Click Expand All to double-check the role permissions are close to what you want to copy.
Once permissions are reviewed, use the triple dot menu in the upper right and click Save As.
This will create a clone of the role as shown below.
In the Role Name field, change the name of the cloned role. In this case, we'll type Junior Estimator.

⚠️ Don't use the Role field to change the Role Name. This will not save your new role! Only use the Role Name field.
Change the Role Hierarchy Value to the needed value between and including 1 to 999.
We'll change the value to a higher value: 60. The role hierarchy value specifies an authority level relative to other system users to determine authority for:
- Approving completed work tickets
- Approving proposals
Click on Expand All or on the specific grouping's dropdown to change permissions.

In this example, we'll click the dropdown on the Estimates grouping and deselect every permission besides Edit Estimate Templates and Edit Serv. Invoice Type on Fixed Price Billing.
We'll also change the maximum percentages from 100% ➡️ 20%.
Once permissions have been added or removed for the new role, click Save in the upper right.
You'll now see your newly created role in the Role field drop down.

You can give this role to your new user in the Users section.