Roles and Permissions

Create roles, assign module-level permissions, and manage employee permission groups for access control.

The Roles and Permissions settings control who can access what within TransportechAI. By defining roles with specific permissions, you ensure that each team member sees only the modules and actions relevant to their job function. This page covers role creation, permission assignment, and employee permission groups.

Navigation: Settings > General > Roles / Permissions

Purpose

A fleet management platform handles sensitive financial data, employee records, dispatch operations, and vehicle information. Without proper access control:

Drivers could access payroll data they should not see.
Junior staff could approve expenses without authorization.
Sensitive HR records could be exposed to unauthorized users.

Roles and permissions solve this by letting you define exactly which modules and actions each group of users can access.

How Roles Work

Every user in TransportechAI is assigned one role. That role determines:

Which modules appear in the sidebar navigation
Which pages within a module the user can view
Which actions the user can perform (create, edit, delete, approve)

Concept	Description
Role	A named set of permissions (e.g., "Fleet Manager", "Finance Officer", "Driver")
Permission	A specific access right for a module or action (e.g., "View Expenses", "Approve Leave")
Module	A major section of the platform (e.g., Finance, HR, Fleet, Dispatch)

Viewing Existing Roles

To view all roles configured in your company:

Navigate to Settings > General > Roles.
The roles list displays all active roles with the following columns:

Column	Description
Role Name	The display name of the role
Description	A brief summary of what the role is for
Users Assigned	The number of users currently assigned to this role
Created Date	When the role was first created
Status	Active or Inactive

Creating a New Role

To create a new role:

Navigate to Settings > General > Roles.
Click the "Add Role" button.
Fill in the role details:

Role Name

Choose a clear, descriptive name that reflects the job function. This name appears throughout the platform when assigning users.

Good examples: "Fleet Manager", "Finance Officer", "HR Coordinator", "Dispatch Operator", "Driver"

Avoid: Generic names like "User Level 1" or "Access Group A" that do not convey meaning.

Description

Write a brief explanation of who should be assigned this role and what access they need. This helps other administrators understand the role's purpose when managing users.

Assign Permissions

After naming the role, you configure its permissions. Permissions are organized by module, and each module has a set of granular actions you can enable or disable.

Permission Structure

Permissions are organized in a hierarchical structure: Module > Sub-Module > Action.

Module-Level Permissions

Module	Sub-Modules / Areas
Dashboard	View dashboard, view analytics
Dispatch	Trips, bookings, route planning
Fleet	Vehicles, maintenance, inspections
Employees	Employee list, employee details, onboarding
HR	Attendance, leave, work schedules
Finance	Expenses, payroll, reimbursement, loans, fines, cash deposit, vehicle assets
Settings	General settings, employee settings, HR settings

Action-Level Permissions

For each sub-module, you can grant or deny the following actions:

Action	Description
View	Can see the data and navigate to the page
Create	Can add new records
Edit	Can modify existing records
Delete	Can remove or deactivate records
Approve	Can approve or reject pending items (expenses, leave, etc.)
Export	Can export data to CSV or PDF

The View permission is required for all other actions. A user cannot create, edit, or delete records in a module they cannot view. When you enable Create, Edit, or Delete, the View permission is automatically enabled.

Example: Finance Officer Role

A typical Finance Officer role might have these permissions:

Module	View	Create	Edit	Delete	Approve	Export
Expenses	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Payroll	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Reimbursement	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Loans	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Fines	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Vehicle Assets	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Cash Deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

Example: Driver Role

A Driver role is typically very restricted:

Module	View	Create	Edit	Delete	Approve	Export
Dashboard	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
My Attendance	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
My Leave	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
My Schedule	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

Editing a Role

To modify an existing role:

Navigate to Settings > General > Roles.
Click on the role you want to edit.
Update the name, description, or permissions as needed.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Changes to a role take effect immediately for all users assigned to that role. If you remove a permission, users currently on that page will lose access on their next navigation or page refresh. Communicate permission changes to affected users before making them.

Deactivating a Role

If a role is no longer needed:

Navigate to Settings > General > Roles.
Click on the role to open its details.
Toggle the Status to Inactive, or click the Deactivate button.

You cannot deactivate a role that still has users assigned to it. Reassign those users to a different role first, then deactivate the role.

Permission Groups

Permission Groups (found under Settings > General > Permissions) provide an additional layer of access control that works alongside roles. While roles define what modules and actions a user can access, permission groups let you create reusable sets of permissions that can be applied to multiple employees.

When to Use Permission Groups

When you have employees with the same role but different access needs (e.g., two HR coordinators where one handles leave and the other handles attendance).
When you need temporary elevated access for a specific project.
When you want to create standardized permission templates that can be quickly assigned.

Creating a Permission Group

Navigate to Settings > General > Permissions.
Click "Add Permission Group".
Enter a name and description for the group.
Select the specific permissions to include.
Click Save.

Assigning a Permission Group

Navigate to the employee's profile or the Permissions settings page.
Select the employee(s) you want to assign the group to.
Choose the permission group from the dropdown.
Click Apply.

When both a role and a permission group are assigned to a user, the effective permissions are the union of both. This means the user gets access to everything granted by either the role or the permission group. Permission groups can only add access -- they cannot revoke permissions granted by a role.

Default System Roles

TransportechAI ships with several default roles that cover common organizational needs. You can use these as-is or customize them.

Default Role	Description	Typical Users
Super Admin	Full access to all modules and settings	Company owner, IT administrator
Admin	Full access to most modules, limited settings access	Office manager, operations lead
HR Manager	Access to HR, employees, attendance, leave, and schedules	HR department heads
Finance Manager	Access to all finance modules and reports	Finance team leads
Fleet Manager	Access to fleet, vehicles, maintenance, and dispatch	Fleet operations managers
Supervisor	View access to team data, limited edit permissions	Team leads, shift supervisors
Employee	View personal data, submit requests	Office staff, support team
Driver	Minimal access -- own schedule, attendance, and leave	All drivers

The Super Admin role cannot be modified or deleted. There must always be at least one active Super Admin in the system to prevent lockout scenarios.

Best Practices

Principle of least privilege -- Grant only the permissions each role truly needs. Start minimal and add permissions as requests come in, rather than granting broad access and trying to restrict later.
Name roles after job functions -- Use names like "Fleet Dispatcher" or "Payroll Clerk" rather than generic labels. This makes it immediately clear who should be assigned each role.
Review roles quarterly -- As your organization evolves, role requirements change. Schedule periodic reviews to ensure permissions still match actual needs.
Document custom roles -- When you create a role with non-obvious permissions, use the description field to explain the reasoning. Future administrators will appreciate the context.
Limit the number of Super Admins -- Keep the number of users with full system access to a minimum (typically 1-3 people).
Test new roles -- Before assigning a new role to many users, assign it to one test user first and verify the access is correct.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
User cannot see a module	Check their role's permissions for that module. Ensure "View" is enabled.
User can view but not create	Verify the "Create" action is enabled for that specific sub-module in their role.
Permission changes not taking effect	Ask the user to refresh their browser. Permission changes apply on next page load.
Cannot delete a role	Ensure no users are assigned to the role. Reassign them first.
Cannot modify Super Admin role	The Super Admin role is protected and cannot be edited. Create a custom admin role if you need different permissions.

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