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Sales rep setup

Roles and permissions

Steps for

How it works

You create a role once and give it to every agent who needs it, instead of setting permissions agent by agent. When you change a role, the change applies straight away to every agent who has it.

How roles control access

Create a role

Switch on its permissions at Roles
(this flows forward)

Give it to agents

On each agent's page
(this flows forward)

Agent signs in

They can only use the tools their role allows

Built-in roles

Every store has 2 built-in roles. You can't change them, but you can give them to agents as they are:

RolePermissions
Sales agent5 of 13: Place orders, Create quotes, Edit quotes, Edit addresses and Change default addresses. For day-to-day ordering.
Sales administratorAll 13. Everything a sales agent can do, plus changing prices, custom items and shipping, and creating customers.

For anything in between, create a custom role or duplicate a built-in one.

Create a custom role

Try itCustomers > Roles
Guided tour

Customers > Roles

Walk through a working copy of Customers > Roles, step by step. Nothing you do here changes your store.

  1. Go to Customers,Roles (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) and click Create role.
  2. Enter a Role name, such as "Senior rep". It's shown when you give someone a role.
  3. On the Orders, Quotes and Customers cards, switch on each permission the role should have (see Permissions).
  4. Click Save in the save bar.
More detail
  • To start from an existing role, open it and click Duplicate. This opens Create role with the same permissions, named "(copy)", for example "Sales agent (copy)".
  • The built-in roles are read-only. Open one and click Duplicate to make a version you can change.
  • Role names must be unique.

Edit a custom role

  1. Go to Customers,Roles (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) and click the role's name.
  2. Change the Role name or switch permissions on or off.
  3. Click Save in the save bar.

Every agent with the role gets the new permissions straight away.

Give a role to a sales agent

  1. Go to Customers,Agents (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) and click the agent's name.
  2. Under Role, choose the role.
  3. Click Save in the save bar.

Add sales agent offers only the 2 built-in roles. To give a new agent a custom role, add them first, then change their role on their page. See Sales rep setup.

Delete a custom role

  1. Go to Customers,Roles (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) and click the role's name.
  2. Click More actions, then Delete role.
  3. Click Delete role to confirm.

Anyone who had the role moves to the built-in Sales agent role. The confirmation tells you how many reps this affects.

Permissions

Each permission is a switch on the role's page, in 3 cards: Orders, Quotes and Customers.

CardPermissionWhat it allows
OrdersPlace ordersCheck out for a customer through the normal checkout.
OrdersChange quoted pricesChange the price of items already quoted to a customer. See Change a unit price.
OrdersAdd custom itemsAdd or change custom line items on an order.
OrdersChange shippingChange the shipping method or cost on an order. See Set a custom shipping rate.
OrdersIgnore product rulesSkip rules like minimum quantities or order increments. See Override quantity rules.
QuotesCreate quotesStart a quote from the checkout.
QuotesEdit quotesChange a quote after it's created.
QuotesComplete quotesFinalise a quote once it's approved.
QuotesArchive quotesArchive quotes that are no longer needed.
QuotesReassign quotesChange which rep looks after a quote.
CustomersCreate customersAdd new customer accounts. See Add a new customer.
CustomersEdit addressesUpdate a customer's shipping and billing addresses.
CustomersChange default addressesChoose which address is used by default.

The Quotes permissions only apply when quotes are turned on at Settings,Configurations,Quotes and invoices (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) (Pro plan, or the Quoting Engine add-on). Until then, the Quotes card says "Quotes are off in Settings, so these don't apply yet."

The Roles screen

Customers,Roles (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) lists every role on the Sales rep roles card, with Create role at the top.

ColumnWhat it shows
RoleThe role's name. Click it to open the role.
TypeBuilt in or Custom.
Can doHow many of the 13 permissions the role has, for example "5 of 13 permissions".
Used byHow many reps have the role, or "No one".

On the Basic plan

Roles come with sales agents, which start on the Starter plan. On the Basic plan, Customers,Roles (opens in your SparkLayer Dashboard in a new tab) shows Roles come with sales agents. Click Compare plans to see the plans, or See how it works to learn about sales agents. Starter has a 14-day free trial. See Plans and limits.

Good practice

  • Create roles around job functions, for example a "Sales rep" role for day-to-day ordering and a "Manager" role with wider access.
  • Only give full access (the Sales administrator role, or a custom equivalent) to people who need it.
  • Review roles as your team grows, to check the permissions still match how each role is used.

FAQs

Next steps

Sales rep setup

Add a sales agent and choose which customers they see

Order for a customer

What reps do with these permissions when they take an order

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