How Custom Roles Work
Access requirements. You need the "Settings" permission set to "Full access" to create, edit, or delete roles. With "View-only," you can see roles and what each one allows, but not change them.
A role is a set of store permissions. Each role says what someone can do at a store, like see prices, receive purchase orders, or run inventory counts.
You give a role store by store. A user can have the same role at every store, or a different role at each one. "No access" at a store means they can't work in that store in Back Office.
Some permissions aren't part of a role. "Product catalog," "Gift cards," "Customers," "Departments," "Distributors," "Settings," and "AI Analyst" cover all your stores at once. You set those on each user, not in the role.
Admin is built in. Every account has an "Admin" role with full access to everything, including new permissions as Scotch adds them. It can't be edited, copied, or deleted.
Register access is separate. The Manager and Cashier register roles control what someone can do on the register. They don't need Back Office access, and Back Office roles don't change them.
Important: Editing a role changes it for everyone who has it, at every store where they have it. To change one person's access without affecting others, give them a different role.
Where to Access Each Feature
To… | Go to |
See, create, edit, copy, or delete roles | Settings → Users → "Roles" tab |
Give someone Back Office access | Settings → Users → the user → "Back office access" |
Give someone a role | Settings → Users → the user → "Role" |
Set someone's all-store permissions | Settings → Users → the user → "Account-level permissions" |
Change Manager and Cashier register permissions | Settings → Devices → "Settings & permissions" |
Creating a Role
Step 1
In Back Office, click "Settings" in the left-hand menu, then click "Users."
Step 2
Click the "Roles" tab, then click "Create role."
Step 3
Under "About this role," type a "Role name," like "Cashier" or "Buyer." You can also add a "Short description" of what the role is for.
Step 4
Under "What this role can do," choose a level for each permission (see "What Each Role Permission Allows" below). To start with nothing allowed, click "Clear all." To start with everything allowed, click "Give full access," then turn off what this job doesn't need.
Step 5
Click "Save role."
Each group shows how many of its permissions are allowed, like "2 of 4 allowed." A role has to allow at least one permission.
Copying a Role
Copying is the fastest way to make a role that's almost the same as one you already have.
Step 6
On the "Roles" tab, click the ⋮ menu next to the role you want to copy, then click "Duplicate."
Step 7
The copy opens named "Copy of [role name]." Rename it, change the permissions you need, and click "Save role."
Editing a Role
Step 8
On the "Roles" tab, click the role's name, or click the ⋮ menu and choose "Edit."
Step 9
Change the name, description, or permissions, then click "Save role." To leave without saving, click "Discard."
Deleting a Role
You can only delete a role nobody has. The "Users" column on the "Roles" tab shows how many people have each role. Give those people a different role first (see "Giving Someone a Role").
Step 10
On the "Roles" tab, click the ⋮ menu next to the role, then click "Delete."
Step 11
Confirm when you see "Delete [role name]? This can't be undone."
Giving Someone Back Office Access
Someone needs Back Office access before you can give them a role.
Step 12
Go to Settings, then Users. Click "+ Add user," or click an existing user.
Step 13
Under "User information," enter their email address. It's required for Back Office access, and their invitation is sent there.
Step 14
Turn on "Back office access."
The "Role" and "Account-level permissions" sections appear once Back Office access is on. If you turn it off later, their role and permissions are saved for when you turn it back on.
Giving Someone a Role
Step 15
On the user's page, find "Role."
Step 16
Choose their role:
If you have one store, pick a role from "Role at [store name]," or "No access."
If you have more than one store, choose "Same role at all stores" and pick one role, or "Different role at each store" and pick a role for each store. Choose "No access" for any store they don't work in.
To check what a role allows before you save, click "See what [role] can do." It opens in a new tab.
Step 17
Click "Save."
Setting All-Store Permissions
These permissions cover every store and aren't part of any role, so set them on each person.
Step 18
On the user's page, find "Account-level permissions" and choose a level for each one.
Step 19
Click "Save."
Permission | What it controls |
Product catalog | "None" can still find products, see their details, and print shelf labels. "Access" can also add, edit, merge, delete, and export products. |
Gift cards | Seeing gift cards and balances. "Full access" can also add, edit, and export them. |
Customers | Customer profiles, order history, groups, and invoices. "Full access" can also add, edit, merge, delete, and export customers, and manage house accounts. |
Departments | Seeing departments. "Full access" can also add, edit, and export them. |
Distributors | Seeing distributors. "Full access" can also add, edit, deactivate, and export them, and manage contacts and divisions. |
Settings | Every settings page. "Full access" can change any setting, including users and roles. |
AI Analyst | Asking AI Analyst questions across all stores. Only shows if your account has AI Analyst. |
What Each Role Permission Allows
These are the permissions inside a role. They apply at each store where someone has that role. The table shows what the highest level allows.
Group | Permission | Levels | Highest level allows |
Prices | Prices | None, View-only, Full access | Editing prices and creating sales |
Prices | Discounts | None, View-only, Full access | Adding, editing, turning on, and archiving discounts |
Inventory | Stock and cost | None, View-only, Full access | Adjusting stock and editing costs, shelf locations, bins, and sellable or orderable settings |
Inventory | Inventory counts | None, Participate, Manage | "Participate" can count in a count that's already started. "Manage" can also create, start, finish, and delete counts |
Inventory | Inventory transfers | None, Access | Adding, editing, and shipping transfers, and seeing pick lists |
Inventory | Ordering | None, View-only, Full access | Adding, editing, copying, sending, canceling, and deleting purchase orders. "View-only" can see purchase orders and export them for QuickBooks |
Inventory | Receiving | None, Access | Seeing purchase orders, recording what arrived, and fixing finished receipts |
Sales | Reports | None, Cashier reports, All reports | See the note below |
Sales | Transactions | None, View-only, Full access | Editing past sales, and creating and managing customer orders |
Sales | Ecommerce transactions | None, View-only, Full access | Editing online orders |
Payments | Disputes | None, View-only, Full access | Responding to card disputes |
Payments | Card processing | None, Access | Setting up and changing the store's bank account and card processing |
Staff | Shifts | None, Access | Seeing, printing, adding, editing, and deleting shifts |
Staff | Cash drawer sessions | None, View-only, Full access | Opening, counting, and closing cash drawers |
Tools | Integrations | None, View-only, Full access | Connecting, setting up, and disconnecting apps like DoorDash |
Note: "Reports" works differently from the rest. "Cashier reports" shows only a sales-by-department summary. "All reports" shows every other report, report schedules, and Adyen payouts. They're two separate choices, not a lower and higher level.
What It Looks Like in Back Office
The "Roles" tab lists every role with its description and how many people have it. "Admin" is always first, with a "Locked" badge.
Before you've made any roles, you'll see "No custom roles yet," with a suggestion to create one for each kind of job.
Clicking "Admin" shows everything it allows, but you can't change it. Click "Back to roles" to go back.
The Users list has a "Role" column. Someone with different roles at different stores shows a count, like "2 roles," with their role at each store underneath.
After you save someone's role, you'll see a confirmation, like "Aaron Brooks now has the Cashier role at 3 stores."
Troubleshooting
There's no "Roles" tab on the Users page: Custom roles aren't turned on for your account yet. Contact Scotch support.
You can't see "Create role," or the ⋮ menu: You need "Settings" set to "Full access." With "View-only," you can look at roles but not change them.
You see "Allow at least one permission. A role with nothing allowed does nothing.": Every permission in the role is set to "None." Allow at least one, then save.
You see "[Role] is still given to users. Give them a different role before deleting it.": Give those people a different role first. The "Users" column shows how many have it.
A role name won't save: Role names have to be different from each other, and capitals don't count. "cashier" and "Cashier" are the same name.
You can't edit, copy, or delete "Admin": That's by design. To give someone less than full access, create a custom role.
There's no "Role" section on a user: Turn on "Back office access" first.
The "Back office access" switch is grayed out: You can't change your own Back Office access while you're signed in. Ask another user with "Settings" set to "Full access."
Someone can't see customers, gift cards, or settings, even with a full-access role: Those are all-store permissions, not role permissions. Set them under "Account-level permissions" on that user.