Roles and Permissions

Roles and permissions control what every user in your nSpec tenant can see and do. Roles are named bundles of permissions, and you assign one or more roles to each employee or collaborator. This article covers how the role system works, how to create and edit custom roles, and how to assign roles to users.

How Roles Work

Every screen, button, and feature in nSpec is gated by one or more permissions. A permission is a single capability — for example, "View Clients" or "Delete Employees". A role is a named collection of permissions. When you assign a role to a user, they inherit every permission in that role.

nSpec uses two separate role pools: one for employees and one for collaborators. Employee roles control internal staff. Collaborator roles control what external users can do. They don't share permissions.

Accessing Role Management

1. Sign in to nSpec at inspect-app.nspec.app
2. Open the sidebar (☰ menu)
3. Click Admin
4. Open the Roles tab

You need the View Roles permission to see the Roles tab. Creating or editing roles requires the Add/Edit Roles permission.

Built-In Permissions

nSpec has dozens of built-in permissions. Here's a summary of the most commonly used ones, grouped by area. Use these as building blocks when creating custom roles.

View permissions

• View Dashboard — Access the main dashboard
• View Clients — See the Clients screen
• View Employees — See the Employees screen
• View Collaborators — See the Collaborators screen
• View Offices — See the Offices screen
• View Projects — See the Projects screen
• View Inspections — Open and read inspections
• View Roles — See the Admin → Roles tab
• View Trackers — Access work tracker analytics
• View Analytics — Access the Analytics screen
• View Help — See the Help link in the sidebar

Create / Edit permissions

• Add/Edit Employees — Create and edit employee records
• Add/Edit Collaborators — Create and edit collaborator records
• Add/Edit Roles — Create and edit roles
• Employee Role Management — Assign roles to employees

Delete permissions

• Delete Clients
• Delete Employees
• Delete Collaborators
• Delete Offices
• Delete Projects

Feature permissions

• Auto Markup — Use the auto-markup tool on photos
• Generate AI — Use SuperClear AI to generate observation descriptions
• Single Office Statistics — View stats for one office
• All Office Statistics — View stats across every office
• Access Project Inspection — Open the project inspection screen
• Access Single Inspection — Open the single inspection screen
• Access Manual Tagger — Use the Manual Image Tagger
• Access SuperClear AI — Use SuperClear AI features
• Enterprise Procore Company — Edit the Procore Company ID field on clients

Permission codes vs. labels. In the role editor you'll see human-readable labels (like "View Clients"). Internally each permission has a short code (like VC) that the app uses for gating. You don't need to memorize the codes — just check the box for the permission by name.

Creating a Custom Role

1. Open Admin → Roles
2. Click Add Role
3. Enter a Role Name (required, descriptive)
4. Check the boxes next to each permission this role should grant
5. Click Save

The new role appears in the role list immediately and is available for assignment to employees and collaborators.

Naming roles well

Pick role names that describe what the person does, not the permissions they have. Examples:

• Field Inspector — Can view projects, create observations, take photos, generate reports
• Senior Inspector — Field Inspector plus the ability to edit other people's observations and approve reports
• Office Admin — Manages clients, employees, offices, and roles
• Read-Only Auditor — Can view everything but cannot edit

Avoid names like "Permission Group A" or "VC + AECLI" — they make role assignment a guessing game.

Editing a Role

1. In the Roles list, find the role
2. Click Edit
3. Change the name or check/uncheck permissions
4. Click Save

Changes take effect immediately for everyone assigned that role. If a user is currently signed in, they may need to refresh or sign back in to see new permissions take effect.

Deleting a Role

Reassign users first. If you delete a role that's still assigned to employees or collaborators, those users will lose the permissions the role granted. Move them to a different role before deleting.

1. In the Roles list, find the role
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm in the dialog

Assigning Roles to Users

For an employee

1. Open the sidebar and click Employees
2. Find the employee and click their row to open the Edit Employee modal
3. Click Edit Roles (requires the Employee Role Management permission)
4. Move roles from the Available list to the Assigned list (or vice versa)
5. Save

For a collaborator

1. Open the sidebar and click Collaborators
2. Find the collaborator and open the Edit Collaborator modal
3. Click Edit Roles
4. Assign collaborator roles the same way as employee roles
5. Save

Best Practices

• Use role names that describe job functions, not permissions
• Start with the minimum permissions needed and add more as people request them, rather than over-granting upfront
• Create separate roles for inspectors, supervisors, and admins instead of giving everyone the same wide role
• Don't assign delete permissions broadly — keep them limited to a small set of trusted admins
• Audit role assignments quarterly — people change responsibilities and old role assignments accumulate
• Test new roles with a single user first before applying them to a whole team

Troubleshooting

I don't see the Roles tab

Solutions:

• You need the View Roles permission. Ask your administrator.
• Confirm you can see the Admin item in the sidebar — if not, you also need general Admin access

I can't add a new role

Solutions:

• You need the Add/Edit Roles permission
• Make sure the role name field is filled in

A user says their new permissions aren't working

Solutions:

• Have them sign out and back in — permission changes are picked up on the next sign-in
• Verify the role you assigned actually contains the permissions they need (open the role and re-check the boxes)
• Check that you assigned the role to the right person (employees vs collaborators are separate)

The Edit Roles button is missing on the employee modal

Solutions:

• You need the Employee Role Management permission
• You cannot edit your own roles, even if you're an admin — ask another admin

Related Articles

• Managing Employees in nSpec
• Managing Collaborators
• Team Management in nSpec

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