Roles and permissions overview

#Before you begin

List the tasks the person must perform, including any finance, communication, reporting, or setup work.
Start with the least access that supports those tasks.
Use a fictional or internal test account for each staff role you plan to deploy.
Keep at least one known owner or administrator account with working access while you test changes.

Warning: Access changes can expose financial, personal, communication, and studio-configuration data or prevent staff from completing daily work. Verify the result with the affected login group before assigning it broadly.

#Understand the layers

Access in Dance Studio Manager can depend on several things at once:

the staff member's login group;
the group's saved permissions;
studio-wide feature settings;
the type and state of the record;
connected services, such as payment or messaging providers; and
safeguards on a specific action.

A missing menu item can mean the role or feature does not make it available. A visible page does not guarantee that every button on it is allowed.

The current default rules recognize these broad patterns. A studio can customize its saved login groups, so verify the actual result rather than relying only on the group name.

Group pattern	Typical scope
Owner / administrator	Broad studio navigation and setup access.
Office administrator	Broad operational access, with sensitive permission administration normally excluded.
Instructor / teacher	Classroom-oriented access such as Dashboard, Group Classes, Calendar, Students or Families, and limited Messaging.
Client / guest	No admin navigation; these identities use the Online Client experience.

#Review Group Permissions

Open Settings > Group Permissions with an owner or administrator account.
Open an existing group or create a clearly named test group.
Review the permissions by area, including setup, finance, communications, reports, people, classroom features, menus, and actions.
Enable only the access required by the task list.
Save the group.
Assign it to a test staff account.
Sign in as that test account in a separate private browser session.

Do not test only by using the administrator's sidebar. The affected account is the most useful proof of what a role can see and do.

Group Permissions filtered to Instructor and Instructor restricted permissions with Online Client and app login allowed. — Filter the login-group list before reviewing or changing a role.

#Verify a role

Build a small role test sheet with three columns:

Task	Expected	Test result
Open the daily class schedule	Allowed	Record the visible path and result.
Take attendance	Allowed	Open a fictional class and confirm the attendance action.
Open Payment History	Denied, for an instructor	Confirm it is not available and cannot be used through a saved link.
Change Group Permissions	Denied, for office staff or instructors	Confirm the sensitive setup action is unavailable.
Send a message to the intended audience	Depends on role	Confirm recipient and sending controls without delivering a real message.

For each role, test:

the normal navigation path;
a saved direct link to a page the role should not use;
a read action;
an allowed update using fictional data; and
one sensitive action the role should not have.

#Change a staff member's group

Open the staff member's profile and edit the login-group assignment. After saving, have the staff member sign out and sign back in before evaluating the new navigation and actions.

Important: Changing a group can alter access immediately. Coordinate the test so the staff member is not interrupted during attendance, payment, scheduling, or message work.

#Confirm it worked

Use the separate test account to verify:

the expected top-level and expanded menu items;
the expected tabs and row actions on representative records;
that an allowed update can be completed;
that sensitive out-of-scope pages and actions are unavailable; and
that the role can sign out and sign back in normally.

Save the test sheet with the group name and review date. Repeat it after a meaningful permissions or navigation change.

#Troubleshooting

Check the staff member's current group, the group's saved permission data, and whether the studio feature is enabled. Sign out and back in after a group change.

#A user can open a page but cannot complete an action

The page and its individual actions can have different requirements. Record the exact path, button, message, role, and record used, then ask an administrator to review that specific permission.

#Two users in the same group see different choices

Compare their staff flags, record assignments, studio location, instructor or payroll status, and connected-service prerequisites. Conditional tabs can reflect more than the login group.

#An administrator lost access

Use another known owner or administrator account. Do not make further permission changes until a working administrative path and the last known configuration are identified.