Overview
Roles and Permissions let you control what each team member can see and do in MotionOps. Every role includes a set of feature permissions, an app access configuration that determines whether the user can log into the Web App, the Mobile App, or both, and — for mobile users — a set of visibility settings that show or hide specific navigation tabs on their device.
You can use the built-in default roles as-is, edit them, or create custom roles tailored to the way your team is structured.
When to Use This Feature
You're onboarding a new technician and only want them to see work orders and timesheets on the mobile app — not accounts or invoices.
You have office staff who should only access the Web App and never need the mobile app.
You want to prevent field workers from seeing financial information like the Invoices tab while they're on-site.
You're adding a subcontractor who needs limited, read-only access to specific parts of the app.
You need to create separate permission sets for account managers vs. technicians vs. limited users.
How It Works
Each role has three layers of configuration:
Feature Permissions — the specific actions and data the role can access (e.g., create invoices, view reports, manage team members).
App Access — whether users with this role can log into the Web App only, the Mobile App only, or both apps.
Mobile App Visibility — which navigation tabs appear on the mobile app for users with mobile access. This is a visibility tool, not a strict permission — it controls what users see in the app's navigation, not what they're technically allowed to do.
Mobile App Visibility settings only apply to users whose role includes Mobile App access. If a role is Web App only, the visibility settings have no effect.
How to Create or Edit a Role
Go to Business Settings by clicking the gear icon in the top right corner.
Select Roles and Permissions from the left-hand menu.
You'll see your existing roles listed. To create a new role, click the Add New Role button in the top right. To modify an existing role, click Edit next to the role you want to change.
Give the role a name, choose whether it's a Standard or a Limited user role, and go through the feature permissions list, toggling on the capabilities this role should have.
Set the App Access for this role — choose whether users can log into the Web App only, the Mobile App only, or Both.
If the role includes Mobile App access, configure the Mobile App Visibility settings. Toggle each navigation tab on or off depending on what you want users to see on their device.
Click Save to apply the role. Changes take effect immediately for any team member assigned to this role.
Mobile App Visibility Settings
The Mobile App Visibility configuration controls which tabs appear in the bottom navigation of the mobile app for users with mobile access. You can show or hide each of the following tabs:
Accounts Tab — Shows or hides the customer accounts list. Hide this for technicians who only need to work on assigned jobs and don't need to browse or manage customer accounts.
Work Orders Tab — Shows or hides the work orders list. This is typically enabled for all field roles.
All Invoices Tab — Shows or hides the full invoices list. Hide this if you don't want field workers seeing billing information across all jobs.
Timesheet History — Shows or hides the worker's own timesheet history. Enable this if you want technicians to be able to review their own logged time.
Timesheet Payroll — Shows or hides payroll-related timesheet data. Typically kept off for field workers who shouldn't see pay calculations.
Note: These are visibility controls, not access restrictions. Hiding a tab removes it from the mobile navigation — it doesn't block the underlying data at the permission level. Use feature permissions for strict access control.
Tips and Best Practices
Start from a default role when creating custom roles. The built-in roles (Business Admin, Account Manager, Technician, Limited User) are good baselines — edit a copy rather than building from scratch if the permissions are close to what you need.
Use App Access to separate office and field users cleanly. Setting office staff to Web App only and field workers to Mobile App only removes confusion and reduces the chance of accidental data changes from the wrong platform.
Hide Timesheet Payroll for all field roles by default. Payroll data is sensitive — only expose it to roles that explicitly need to review compensation figures.
Keep the Work Orders tab visible for every mobile role. It's the core of what field workers do — disabling it defeats the purpose of mobile access.
Review roles any time your team structure changes. Adding a new service type, a dedicated dispatcher, or a lead technician role often means you need a new permission set.
Learn more about Limited User Roles.
Learn more about Standard User Roles.
You can configure multiple different roles and access settings for both Limited and Standard User Role types. But one user can have only one role assigned to them at the moment.
Things to Know
Only users with admin-level permissions can create, edit, or delete roles.
Role changes apply immediately to all team members currently assigned to that role — no re-login required.
Mobile App Visibility settings have no effect on roles where App Access is set to Web App only.
You can create as many custom roles as your business needs. There is no limit on the number of roles.
Default roles can be edited or deleted. If you delete a default role, any team members assigned to it will need to be reassigned to a different role.
Assigning a role to a team member is done from the team member's profile, not from the Roles and Permissions page.
Troubleshooting
A team member can't log into the mobile app.
Check their role's App Access setting. If it's set to Web App only, they won't be able to authenticate on the mobile app. Update the role or assign them a role with mobile access.
A field worker is seeing tabs they shouldn't — or not seeing tabs they need.
Review the Mobile App Visibility settings on their assigned role. Each tab is individually toggled — confirm the correct tabs are turned on or off for that role.
I edited a role but the team member's app didn't update.
Role changes apply automatically. If the team member still sees the old configuration, have them close and reopen the app to refresh their session.
I can't find the Roles and Permissions page.
Only admins can access this section. If you don't see it in Business Settings, your role likely doesn't include admin access. Contact your account owner.
Have questions? Reach out via the support chat or email support@motionops.com.