Roles and Permissions

Reading Time: 5-6 minutes

Overview

Learn about Roles and Permissions in Akili Apps for effective team collaboration on expense tracking and financial management.

What You'll Learn

• Setting up team collaboration
• Managing team member access
• Collaboration features and workflows
• Best practices for team use

Team Collaboration Overview

Akili Apps supports team collaboration through:

• Organization accounts
• Multiple team members
• Role-based permissions
• Shared expense tracking
• Approval workflows
• Centralized reporting

Available On: Plus and Professional plans

Getting Started

Creating an Organization

1. Navigate to Settings > Organization
2. Click Create Organization
3. Enter organization details:
   • Organization name
   • Business type
   • Tax identification
4. Click Create
5. You become the organization owner

Converting Personal to Organization

If you have a personal account:

1. Go to Settings > Organization
2. Click Upgrade to Organization
3. Confirm conversion
4. Your data transfers to organization
5. You become the owner

Team Member Management

Inviting Team Members

Step 1: Send Invitation

1. Go to Settings > Team Members
2. Click Invite Member
3. Enter email address
4. Select role (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer)
5. Add personal message (optional)
6. Click Send Invitation

Step 2: Member Receives Email

• Invitation email sent
• Contains secure signup link
• Link valid for 7 days

Step 3: Member Accepts

• Clicks link in email
• Creates account or logs in
• Accepts invitation
• Gets access immediately

Managing Team Members

View Team List:

• See all team members
• View roles and permissions
• See last activity
• Invitation status

Edit Member:

• Change role
• Update permissions
• Resend invitation
• Remove from team

Removing Team Members

1. Go to Team Members
2. Click on member to remove
3. Click Remove Member
4. Confirm removal
5. Member loses access immediately
6. Their contributed data remains

Roles and Permissions

Owner

Full Access:

• All features and data
• Manage team members
• Change subscription
• Access billing
• Delete organization

Limits: Only one owner per organization

Admin

Nearly Full Access:

• View and manage all expenses
• Invite team members (not owners)
• Configure settings
• Generate reports
• Cannot delete organization

Best For: Finance managers, office managers

Member

Standard Access:

• Create and edit own expenses
• Upload own receipts
• View team expenses (if enabled)
• Submit for approval
• Cannot manage team

Best For: Employees, contractors

Viewer

Read-Only Access:

• View expenses and reports
• Export data
• Cannot create or edit
• Cannot invite members

Best For: Accountants, bookkeepers, consultants

Custom Roles (Professional Plan)

Create custom roles with specific permissions:

• Define exact capabilities
• Mix and match permissions
• Apply to multiple members
• Update role affects all assigned members

Collaboration Features

Shared Expense Tracking

All Team Members Can:

• View organization's expenses (based on permissions)
• See who created each expense
• Add notes and comments
• Attach receipts
• Categorize consistently

Visibility Settings:

• Public: All team members see
• Private: Only creator and admins see
• Department: Only department members see

Expense Approvals

Workflow Setup:

1. Enable approvals in Settings > Workflows
2. Set approval rules:
   • Expenses over require approval
   • Specific categories need approval
   • All expenses require approval
3. Assign approvers

Approval Process:

1. Member creates expense
2. Submits for approval
3. Approver receives notification
4. Reviews expense and receipt
5. Approves or rejects with notes
6. Member notified of decision

Team Reports

Consolidated Reporting:

• View expenses from all team members
• Filter by member, department, date
• See team spending patterns
• Export for accounting
• Share with management

Communication

Built-in Features:

• Comment on expenses
• @ mention team members
• Notification system
• Activity feed

Best Practices

Team Setup

1. Define Roles Clearly: Match roles to responsibilities
2. Start Small: Invite a few members, test workflow
3. Document Policies: Create expense policy document
4. Training: Train team on proper use
5. Regular Reviews: Review team permissions quarterly

Expense Management

1. Consistent Categories: Use same categories team-wide
2. Clear Naming: Descriptive expense names
3. Timely Entry: Enter expenses promptly
4. Receipt Requirements: Always attach receipts
5. Approval Timeliness: Approve/reject within 48 hours

Security

1. Principle of Least Privilege: Give minimum necessary access
2. Regular Audits: Review team access quarterly
3. Offboarding: Remove access immediately when someone leaves
4. Strong Passwords: Enforce password requirements
5. Enable 2FA: Require two-factor authentication

Billing and Subscription

How Team Billing Works

• Per-Seat Pricing: Pay per active team member
• Owner Pays: Organization owner's payment method charged
• Automatic Adjustments: Adding/removing members adjusts bill
• Proration: Partial months prorated

Seat Management

Adding Seats:

• Invite new member
• Seat added automatically
• Charged at next billing cycle

Removing Seats:

• Remove team member
• Seat released
• Credit applied to next bill

Common Questions

Q: How many team members can I add?

Depends on plan. Plus: up to 5, Professional: up to 50, Enterprise: unlimited.

Q: Can team members see each other's expenses?

Depends on role and visibility settings. Configure in organization settings.

Q: What happens to expenses when a member leaves?

Their expenses remain in the organization. Can reassign ownership if needed.

Q: Can I have multiple organizations?

Yes, switch between organizations from account dropdown.

Q: Do team members need separate subscriptions?

No, they're included in organization subscription.

Q: Can I limit access by date range?

Not directly. Use role permissions to control what members can view/edit.

Q: How do I transfer ownership?

Contact support to transfer organization ownership.

Related Articles

• Expense Approvals
• Roles and Permissions
• Subscription Plans

Need Help?

Email: support@akiliapps.com
Documentation: help.akiliapps.com/teams

Akili Apps - Intelligent Expense Tracking for Canadian Businesses