> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eat-now.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Roles & Permissions

> Understand how roles work in EatNow, create custom roles for your team, and control exactly what each collaborator can do.

Roles are reusable permission presets that you assign to collaborators. Instead of configuring permissions one by one for each team member, you create a role once and assign it to as many people as needed.

***

## Default Roles

Every organization comes with six default roles. These cover the most common team structures:

| Role             | What they can do                                                                |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Read Only**    | View reservations and activities. Create and update reservations.               |
| **Welcome Host** | Everything in Read Only, plus manage customers and view logs.                   |
| **Employee**     | Day-to-day operations: reservations, customers, payments, analytics, tags.      |
| **Room Manager** | Employee tasks plus shifts, block hours, floor plan, and privatizations.        |
| **Marketing**    | Portal, templates, reviews, menus, analytics, and restaurant settings.          |
| **Manager**      | Nearly full access: settings, team management, integrations, reports, and more. |

<Note>
  Default roles cannot be deleted. They serve as a starting baseline for your organization. You can create additional custom roles to suit your specific needs.
</Note>

***

## How Roles Work

* When you assign a role to a collaborator, their permissions are **automatically set** to match the role's configuration.
* If you later **manually change** a collaborator's individual permissions, their role switches to **Custom** — they are no longer linked to the preset.
* Changes to a role **do not retroactively update** collaborators who have already been detached (set to Custom).
* The **Owner** role is special: owners always have full access to everything and cannot be assigned a preset.

***

## Create a Custom Role

You need the **Manage roles** permission to create, edit, or delete roles.

### From the Roles Tab

1. **Go to Settings > Collaborators**
2. **Click the Roles tab** at the top of the page.
3. **Click "Create a role"** at the bottom of the roles sidebar.
4. **Enter a name** for your role (e.g. "Head Chef", "Receptionist", "Accountant").
5. **Select permissions** — toggle each permission on or off.
6. **Click Save** to create the role.

The new role is now available in the role dropdown when inviting or editing collaborators.

### From a Collaborator's Custom Permissions

If you have already configured a set of custom permissions on a collaborator and want to reuse them:

1. Open the collaborator's detail panel.
2. Make sure the role is set to **Custom** (no preset selected).
3. Click **Save as role** next to the role dropdown.
4. Enter a name for the new role.
5. Click **Create**.

The collaborator is automatically linked to the newly created role.

***

## Edit a Role

1. **Go to Settings > Collaborators > Roles tab.**
2. **Click on the role** you want to edit in the sidebar.
3. **Modify the name** or **toggle permissions** as needed.
4. **Click Save** to apply changes.

<Note>
  The detail panel shows how many **collaborators** and **pending invitations** currently use this role, so you can assess the impact of your changes.
</Note>

***

## Delete a Role

1. **Go to Settings > Collaborators > Roles tab.**
2. **Click on the role** you want to delete.
3. **Click Delete** and confirm.

<Warning>
  When you delete a role, collaborators who were using it will keep their current permissions but their role will switch to **Custom**. No permissions are lost.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Default roles (Employee, Manager, etc.) cannot be deleted — only custom roles you have created.
</Note>

***

## Permission Isolation

EatNow enforces a simple security rule: **you can only grant permissions that you have yourself.**

* If you do not have the **Billing** permission, you cannot create a role that includes it.
* If you do not have the **Delete collaborators** permission, you cannot include it in a role.
* This prevents accidental privilege escalation within your organization.

***

## FAQ

**Can I rename a default role?**

No, default roles are fixed and cannot be renamed or modified.

**What happens if I edit a role that multiple people use?**

Only collaborators still linked to that role are affected. Collaborators who were previously detached (Custom) are not impacted.

**Can I have multiple custom roles?**

Yes, you can create as many custom roles as you need. There is no limit.

**What is the difference between "Owner" and "Manager"?**

The **Owner** is the organization administrator with unrestricted access. The **Manager** role has nearly full access but cannot manage other owners or access billing by default. Owners always have access to all restaurants automatically.

For a full list of what each permission controls, see [Permissions Reference](/collaborators/permissions).