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User Permissions and Roles

ChurchBuddy uses a role-based permission system to control who can do what in your organization. Understanding these roles helps you assign appropriate access levels to team members.

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Permission Levels

There are several permission levels, from highest to lowest:
  1. Owner
  2. Organization Admin
  3. Team Admin
  4. Scheduler
  5. Viewer
  6. Member (default, no special permissions)

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Owner

The Owner is the person who created the organization. There is only one Owner per organization. Can:
  • Everything an Organization Admin can do, PLUS:
  • Transfer ownership to another member
  • Delete the organization (if applicable)
Cannot:
  • Remove themselves as Owner (must transfer ownership first)
Tip: The Owner role should typically stay with the organization’s primary administrator or leader.

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Organization Admin

Organization Admins have almost complete access to the organization. Can:
  • View and edit all teams, users, services, and assignments
  • Create, edit, and delete services
  • Schedule anyone to any service
  • Manage all teams (create, edit, delete)
  • Add/remove users from the organization
  • Assign team and org-level roles
  • View and edit anyone’s availability
  • Access all settings (except ownership transfer)
  • Access calendar exports
  • Manage WorshipBuddy and BibleBuddy integrations (if applicable)
Cannot:
  • Transfer organization ownership
  • Delete the organization (Owner only)
Tip: Organization Admins are great for trusted leaders who need broad access but shouldn’t have ownership control.

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Team Admin

Team Admins have administrative control over specific teams they’re assigned to. Can:
  • Edit team details for their assigned teams (name, description, positions)
  • Assign people to positions in their teams
  • View and edit availability for their team members
  • View calendar filtered to their teams
  • Schedule people for their teams
  • Access groups that contain their teams
Cannot:
  • Create or delete services
  • Edit teams they’re not assigned to
  • Add/remove users from the organization
  • See or modify other teams
  • Access organization settings
  • Create new teams
Tip: Team Admins are perfect for ministry leaders who manage specific teams but don’t need organization-wide access.

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Scheduler

Schedulers can assign people to services but have limited editing capabilities. Can:
  • Assign people to positions in their teams for existing services
  • View their team’s availability
  • See services where their team is assigned
  • Use the bulk scheduling interface
Cannot:
  • Create, edit, or delete services
  • Change team names or permissions
  • Add/remove users
  • Edit team details
  • Access settings
Tip: Schedulers are great for volunteers who help with scheduling but don’t need to manage team structure.

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Viewer

Viewers have read-only access to specific teams on the Services page. Can:
  • View the Dashboard
  • View the Services page
  • See services where their assigned teams are scheduled
  • View team assignments (positions and who’s assigned) in read-only format for their teams
  • See service details (date, time, location) for services involving their teams
Cannot:
  • Access the Teams page
  • Access the People page
  • Make any changes or schedule people
  • Edit services or teams
  • Export schedules
  • Use auto-scheduling
Note: Viewer permissions are useful for people who need to see information but shouldn’t make changes.

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Member (Default)

Members have basic access with no special permissions. Can:
  • View their personal schedule
  • Set their availability
  • View services they’re scheduled for
Cannot:
  • Access team management
  • Schedule others
  • Edit services
  • Access settings
Note: All users can view services they’re personally scheduled for, regardless of permissions.

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Assigning Permissions

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Organization-Level Permissions

Only Owners and Organization Admins can assign organization-level roles:
  1. Go to the People page
  2. Click on the person you want to modify
  3. In the permissions section, check “Organization Admin” if applicable
  4. Click “Update Person”

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Team-Level Permissions

Owners and Organization Admins can assign team permissions:
  1. Go to the People page
  2. Click on the person
  3. In Team Permissions, select teams and assign permission levels:
    • Admin - Team Admin access
    • Scheduler - Can schedule for that team
    • Viewer - Read-only access
  4. Click “Update Person”

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Permission Best Practices

  1. Principle of least privilege - Give people only the permissions they need
  2. Start with lower permissions - You can always increase permissions later
  3. Review regularly - Periodically review who has what permissions
  4. Use Team Admins - Delegate team management to Team Admins rather than making everyone Organization Admins
  5. Document permissions - Keep track of who has what access for your records

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Permission Visibility

Navigation and features are automatically hidden or shown based on permissions:
  • Settings - Only visible to Owners and Organization Admins
  • Teams - Visible to Owners, Admins, Team Admins, and Schedulers
  • People - Visible to Owners, Admins, and Team Admins
  • Groups - Visible to Owners, Admins, and Group Admins (see Groups documentation)
  • WorshipBuddy/BibleBuddy - Visible based on access control settings
Users will only see features they have permission to use.