VowChat's role-based permissions system allows you to create custom roles with specific permissions, giving you fine-grained control over what team members can access and do within your account.
What are Custom Roles?
Custom roles are flexible permission sets that you can create and reuse across your team. Instead of just having "Admin" or "Agent" roles, you can create specialized roles like:
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Support Specialist: Manage own conversations and contacts only
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Team Lead: Manage team conversations and view reports
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Reporting Analyst: View-only access to all reports
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Knowledge Base Editor: Manage help center content only
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Full Support Agent: Manage all conversations but not settings
Available Permission Levels
VowChat offers six main permission categories:
1. Manage All Conversations
Full access to view and respond to any conversation in the account, regardless of assignment.
2. Manage Unassigned & Own Conversations
Access to unassigned conversations and conversations assigned to the agent.
3. Manage Participating Conversations
Access only to conversations where the agent is actively participating or assigned.
4. Manage Contacts
Ability to create, edit, and delete contacts in the CRM.
5. Manage Reports
Access to view and generate various reports and analytics.
6. Manage Knowledge Base
Ability to create, edit, and publish help center articles and categories.
How to Create Custom Roles
Step 1. Navigate to Settings → Custom Roles
Step 2. Click Add custom role
Step 3. Fill in the role details:
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Role Name: Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Junior Support Agent")
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Description: Explain the role's purpose and typical use cases
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Permissions: Select the appropriate permission checkboxes
Step 4. Review the selected permissions
Step 5. Click Create to save the custom role
The new role is now available for assignment to team members.
How to Assign Roles to Teammates
Step 1. Go to Settings → Agents
Step 2. Find the teammate you want to assign a role to
Step 3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to their name
Step 4. In the edit modal, locate the Role dropdown
Step 5. Select the desired role from the list:
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Administrator (default)
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Agent (default)
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Your custom roles
Step 6. Click Update to save the changes
The teammate's permissions will be updated immediately.
How to Edit Custom Roles
Step 1. Go to Settings → Custom Roles
Step 2. Find the role you want to modify
Step 3. Click Edit next to the role
Step 4. Update the role name, description, or permissions
Step 5. Click Update to save changes
Important: Changes to a role affect all team members currently assigned that role.
How to Delete Custom Roles
Step 1. Go to Settings → Custom Roles
Step 2. Find the role you want to delete
Step 3. Click Delete next to the role
Step 4. Confirm the deletion
Important: You cannot delete a role that is currently assigned to team members. First, reassign those team members to different roles.
Common Custom Role Examples
Junior Support Agent
Permissions:
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Manage Participating Conversations only
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View own performance in Reports
Use Case: New team members who need supervision and limited access while learning.
Team Lead
Permissions:
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Manage All Conversations
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Manage Contacts
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Manage Reports
Use Case: Team leaders who need visibility into all team activity and performance metrics.
Content Manager
Permissions:
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Manage Knowledge Base
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View Reports (to track article performance)
Use Case: Dedicated help center content creators who don't handle customer conversations.
Quality Analyst
Permissions:
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View All Conversations (read-only via reporting)
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Manage Reports
Use Case: QA team members who audit conversations but don't respond to customers.
Senior Support Agent
Permissions:
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Manage All Conversations
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Manage Contacts
Use Case: Experienced agents who help across all conversations but don't need admin settings access.
Best Practices
1. Plan Your Roles
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Identify common permission patterns in your team
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Create roles based on job functions, not individuals
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Keep the number of roles manageable (5-10 maximum)
2. Use Descriptive Names
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Choose clear, self-explanatory role names
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Include the permission level in the name if helpful
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Example: "Support Agent - Own Conversations Only"
3. Document Role Purposes
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Use the description field to explain when to use each role
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Document role expectations in team onboarding materials
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Review roles quarterly to ensure they still match needs
4. Follow Least Privilege Principle
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Give team members only the permissions they need
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Start with minimal permissions and add as needed
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Regularly audit role assignments
5. Test Before Deployment
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Create test roles and verify permissions work as expected
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Have a team member test the role in a non-production environment
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Adjust based on feedback before wide deployment
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I modify default Admin and Agent roles?
No, the default Administrator and Agent roles cannot be modified. Create custom roles for specialized permissions.
What happens when I delete a custom role?
You can only delete roles that aren't assigned to anyone. Reassign team members first, then delete the role.
Can one person have multiple roles?
No, each team member can have only one role at a time. The role determines their complete set of permissions.
Do role changes take effect immediately?
Yes, when you update a role or reassign a team member to a different role, the changes are applied immediately.
Can agents see what role they have?
Yes, agents can see their assigned role in their profile settings, but they cannot see detailed permission breakdowns unless they have admin access.