Roles & Permissions Overview
Summary
Every person on your team has a role, and that role determines what they can see and do inside BuilderPal. This article gives you a clear overview of the six main roles, how permissions work, and what to expect when different people open the same project. It also explains additional time-tracking permissions you can turn on for specific users.
BuilderPal uses two layers of access:
- Team Roles – Company-wide permissions assigned in Team Settings.
- Project Access – Project-level roles
(Owner or Participant)that determine visibility within a specific project.
Project access does not change someone’s team role. To learn how project involvement works, see: Project Access Explained
Team roles define what someone is allowed to do. Project access defines where they can do it.
Prerequisites
- You must be a Team Administrator to assign or modify roles.
- Users must already be added to your BuilderPal team.
Team Roles (Company-Level Permissions)
These six roles define the core permission sets inside BuilderPal.
Team Administrator
Highest-level access. Admins control all company settings and operations.
Admins can:
- Access every project (internal and client projects)
- View and edit all financial data (budgets, estimates, financial widget)
- Manage subcontractors and bidding
- Add or remove users and change roles
- Configure billing, time tracking, and company settings
This role is intended for owners or operational leads.
Business Manager
Business Managers handle bidding and subcontractor workflows without any financial visibility.
Business Managers can:
- Create and manage subcontractors
- Build and manage bid packages on master projects
- Review bids, compare pricing, and mark winners
- Control which subcontractors are involved in specific projects
Business Managers cannot:
- View budgets or estimates
- See the financial widget anywhere in the app
- Access company-level financial settings or reports
They manage procurement and vendor relationships, not finance.
Finance Manager
Finance Managers focus on project costs and financial performance.
Finance Managers can:
- View and manage Estimates and Budgets
- Review and manage financial reports
- Work with cost codes and other accounting-related data
- View the financial widget inside projects
Finance Managers do not manage bidding or subcontractors.
Project Manager
Project Managers run the day-to-day execution of projects.
Project Managers can:
- Create and manage projects
- Edit project details and settings
- Manage schedules, actions, RFIs, site instructions, and change orders
- Manage documents, job chat, and project participants
- View all project-level financials (estimates, budgets, financial widget)
- Manage subcontractors and bidding on master projects
They cannot change company-wide settings or billing.settings.
Team Member
Team Members complete work assigned to them in the field or office.
Team Members can:
- Log hours on projects where they are participants
- Complete assigned tasks and scheduled actions
- Upload documents, photos, and updates
- Participate in job chat and use site-level tools as allowed
Team Members cannot:
- View any financial data (no budgets, estimates, or financial widget)
- Manage participants or project settings
- Manage subcontractors or bidding
This is the standard role for most workers on your team.
Team Supervisor
Team Supervisors coordinate on-site work and approvals.
Team Supervisors can:
- Approve time entries for the people they supervise
- Assign tasks and actions to Team Members
- Monitor jobsite progress using schedules, actions, and documents
Team Supervisors cannot:
- View financial data
- Manage company settings, billing, or roles
- Manage bidding or subcontractors
This role is ideal for foremen, crew leads, or site supervisors who manage labor but not budgets.
Additional Pro Time-Tracking Permissions
These options are add-on time-tracking controls, not separate roles. You can toggle them on for users who track time in BuilderPal to enforce more accurate behavior.
Clock-in Required
When Clock-in Required is enabled for a user:
- They must use the live timer to record time
- Manual time entry is blocked
Use this when you want strict real-time tracking instead of manual adjustments.
Clock-in Location
When Clock-in Location is enabled for a user:
- Clock-ins must happen within the jobsite’s GPS boundary
- Clock-ins outside that radius are blocked or flagged
Use this when you need to confirm that users are physically on site when they start work.
Want to use these features?
Clock-in Required and Clock-in Location are available with BuilderPal Pro.
Learn more about Pro →
Who Can See Financials?
The table below shows which roles can see project financials.
Time-tracking options like Clock-in Required and Clock-in Location do not grant any financial access on their own.