Configuring Permissions
Access permissions are configured through a combination of user roles and committee permissions. Organization Admins can assign these permissions to each member of the portal. Committee Admins can assign these permission within the committee they administer. This article will clarify the implications of these permissions.
On the Essentials Plan: there are no Private Committees, no Committee Admins, and no Guests or custom roles. In the Essentials Plan all members are able to access every committee, every meeting, and every document uploaded into the organization's portal.
It can be helpful to take a look at the permission system from two different perspectives. First, from the perspective of the committee, and later from the perspective of the user.
When a user has access to a committee, they have access to ALL resources related to that committee, including meetings, committee documents, agendas, minutes, attendances, and votes.
If someone does not have access to a committee, they will not be able to access any resource related to that committee. In fact, they will not even see that the committee exists!
When a committee is first created, it is considered to be an "open" committee. All board members and staff have access to open committees.
If access to a committee needs to be limited, it can be designated as a "Private" committee in the committee's Settings (for the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans). Private committees are only accessible to administrators and the participants of that committee.
As an Organization Admin, you can identify the private committees by the lock symbol next to the committee's title.
Open Committees can be accessed by the following people:
- Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
- That Committee's Admin(s).
- All Board Members and Staff.
Private Committees can be accessed by the following people:
- Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
- That Committee's Admin(s).
- Only participants of that committee (the Members, Staff, and Guests who have been added).
The Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans include the Vote feature and the Quorum tracking feature.
Voting Permissions and Quorum count default settings are:
- Members - can always vote and do count towards quorum.
- Staff - do not vote by default, and do not count towards quorum (Note: Staff voting can be enabled for a specific vote, when that new vote is created).
- Guests - do not vote by default, and do not count towards quorum (Note: Guest voting can be enabled for a specific vote, when that new vote is created).
- Ex-Officio - voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled at an organization-wide level, by the Organization Admins, by using the toggle switch on the organization's Settings page.
Organization Administrators can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Dashboard, Governing Documents, Board of Directors, open committees, private committees, Settings, Trash, and Billing.
Committee Administrators can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Every private committee they are the admin for, and open committees.
Staff can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Every private committee they are a part for, and meetings for open committees.
Guests and Committee Members can access the following:
- Only committees they are a part of.
Board Members can see:
- All public committees, but they can only access private committees they are members of.
Governing Documents are accessible by the following people:
- All Board Members.
- All Staff.
Custom Roles (available in the Standard and Enterprise Plans) - voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled on the organization's Settings page, to suit your organization's specific needs.
On the Essentials Plan: there are no Private Committees, no Committee Admins, and no Guests or custom roles. In the Essentials Plan all members are able to access every committee, every meeting, and every document uploaded into the organization's portal.
It can be helpful to take a look at the permission system from two different perspectives. First, from the perspective of the committee, and later from the perspective of the user.
Looking at permissions from the perspective of a committee, we see the following:
When a user has access to a committee, they have access to ALL resources related to that committee, including meetings, committee documents, agendas, minutes, attendances, and votes.
If someone does not have access to a committee, they will not be able to access any resource related to that committee. In fact, they will not even see that the committee exists!
When a committee is first created, it is considered to be an "open" committee. All board members and staff have access to open committees.
If access to a committee needs to be limited, it can be designated as a "Private" committee in the committee's Settings (for the Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans). Private committees are only accessible to administrators and the participants of that committee.
As an Organization Admin, you can identify the private committees by the lock symbol next to the committee's title.
Open Committees can be accessed by the following people:
- Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
- That Committee's Admin(s).
- All Board Members and Staff.
Private Committees can be accessed by the following people:
- Anyone who is an Organization Admin.
- That Committee's Admin(s).
- Only participants of that committee (the Members, Staff, and Guests who have been added).
The Standard, Professional, and Enterprise Plans include the Vote feature and the Quorum tracking feature.
Voting Permissions and Quorum count default settings are:
- Members - can always vote and do count towards quorum.
- Staff - do not vote by default, and do not count towards quorum (Note: Staff voting can be enabled for a specific vote, when that new vote is created).
- Guests - do not vote by default, and do not count towards quorum (Note: Guest voting can be enabled for a specific vote, when that new vote is created).
- Ex-Officio - voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled at an organization-wide level, by the Organization Admins, by using the toggle switch on the organization's Settings page.
Looking at permissions from the perspective of an individual person, we see the following:
Organization Administrators can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Dashboard, Governing Documents, Board of Directors, open committees, private committees, Settings, Trash, and Billing.
Committee Administrators can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Every private committee they are the admin for, and open committees.
Staff can access (and make changes to) the following:
- Every private committee they are a part for, and meetings for open committees.
Guests and Committee Members can access the following:
- Only committees they are a part of.
Board Members can see:
- All public committees, but they can only access private committees they are members of.
Governing Documents are accessible by the following people:
- All Board Members.
- All Staff.
Custom Roles (available in the Standard and Enterprise Plans) - voting and counting towards quorum can be enabled/disabled on the organization's Settings page, to suit your organization's specific needs.
Updated on: 10/07/2023
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