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User roles

PLANA Business Cloud uses two layers of access control:

  1. Odoo groups — fine-grained per-feature permissions (e.g. "can post invoices")
  2. User roles (from OCA base_user_role + PLANA's plana_user_roles) — pre-defined bundles of groups for common job functions

You assign a user one or more roles; the roles expand to the underlying group memberships. This is much easier to manage than ticking individual group checkboxes.

The roles PLANA ships

RoleCommon jobGranted permissions
ManagerOwner, GMEverything except technical / developer settings
Sales LeadSales managerFull Sales app, full CRM, read Accounting receivables
Sales RepAccount executive, BDRRead / edit own opportunities + quotes, send for approval
AccountantBookkeeper, accountantFull Accounting; can post journal entries, reconcile, run reports
Accounting ManagerSenior accountantAccountant + configure chart of accounts, taxes, journals; close fiscal year
Adviser (read-only)External accountant, auditorRead Accounting + Sales + Purchase; no write
Warehouse ManagerOperations leadFull Inventory, Purchase, can configure warehouses
Warehouse OperatorPicker, receiverValidate stock pickings; read-only on Purchase / Sales
HR ManagerHR lead (Pro+ tier)Full Employees, Time Off, Recruitment
HR EmployeeSelf-service userSubmit time-off requests, see own info
Project Manager(Pro+ tier)Full Project, Timesheets
Project MemberTeam member on a projectEdit own tasks, log own timesheets

A user can hold multiple roles — typical small-business owner holds Manager + Accountant so they can do everything.

Assigning a role

Settings → Users → click the user → Roles tab.

  1. Click Add a role → pick from the list
  2. Click Save

The user's effective permissions update on their next page load (they don't need to sign out).

Customising roles

The default roles are sensible but rigid. To customise:

NeedHow
Add a permission to all "Sales Reps"Open the role → Add the underlying group → save
Create a new roleConfiguration → Roles → Create → assign groups
Time-bound roleSet From / Until dates on the role assignment — useful for contractors

Custom roles persist across upgrades. PLANA's role definitions update in place when we ship new groups.

Group-level overrides

For one-off permission tweaks that don't fit a role:

Settings → Users → click the user → Other Permissions tab.

You see every Odoo group and can tick / untick individually. This is additive on top of the user's roles — handy for "this person has the Sales Rep role but also needs to see Accounting reports".

Avoid sprawl: if you find yourself ticking the same boxes for many users, that's a sign to add a new role.

Multi-company

For multi-company tenants (Pro+ tier), roles can be company-scoped:

  • A "Sales Rep" role on Company A doesn't grant access to Company B's records
  • The Company selector in the top bar filters records by user's allowed companies
  • Multi-company users select the active company; switches refresh the view

Inactive / archived users

When someone leaves the company:

  1. Settings → Users → click the user → Archive (don't delete)
  2. They're signed out immediately
  3. Their historical records (invoices created, sale orders signed, etc.) remain — archiving preserves audit trail
  4. If they return, Unarchive

Never delete a user — the audit trail relies on user records existing.

Permissions vs SSO

The roles described here are inside the tenant. They don't affect PLANA SSO directly.

  • SSO: are you signed in? are you who you claim?
  • Roles: what can you do once you're signed in?

A user with SSO access but no roles can sign in to the tenant but see almost nothing (just their profile). A user with roles but no SSO link can't sign in at all.

What admins can do that nobody else can

Some actions are restricted to the Manager + Settings access combo:

  • Edit roles or create new ones
  • Edit Odoo groups
  • Install / uninstall modules
  • Change company information
  • Edit fiscal positions, journals, taxes

PLANA recommends one or two people per tenant hold this level.

Where to read more

© PLANA Digital Ltd.