How to Assign Roles and Permissions in Expense Management

Assigning the right role controls who can upload receipts, code transactions, sync to your accounting software, and manage other users inside Relay's Expense Management.

What you need before you start

• Administrator access to your Relay account (only Administrators can update user roles)

• The team member or advisor you want to update already invited to your account

• A clear decision on which role fits their day-to-day work (see the sections below)

What can each team member role do in Expense Management?

Team member accounts have six roles, and each one grants a different level of access to Expense Management. The table below lists the actions the source article attributes to each role.

A few extras worth flagging:

• Administrators also set receipt collection policies for the account

• Cardholders can view the Expenses tab so they can see the transactions tied to their card

• Bill Payer, Deposit-Only, and Read-Only roles cannot access Expense Management features

What can each advisor role do in Expense Management?

Advisor accounts have five roles: Super Administrator, Administrator, Manager, Bill Payer, and Read Only. Super Administrators and Administrators have comprehensive access to Expense Management, including uploading receipts, coding transactions, syncing to accounting software, setting policies, and managing users. Manager, Bill Payer, and Read Only advisor roles have more limited access; check Relay's Team settings for the specific capabilities before you assign one.

How do I update a team member's or advisor's role?

Only Administrators can change roles, and the procedure is the same for team members and advisors. Follow these five steps.

1. Log in to Relay on the web.

2. Open the Team section from the main navigation.

3. Select the team member or advisor whose role you want to change.

4. Click Edit next to their profile.

5. Choose the new role from the dropdown and save your changes.

Which role should I assign?

Match the role to the work the person actually does in your account. A short guide:

• Administrator for you as the owner, a bookkeeper who codes transactions and syncs to accounting, or a business partner who needs full control of expense workflows

• Manager for a team lead who oversees receipt collection and nudges but should not touch accounting sync or transaction coding

• Cardholder for any employee who spends on a Relay card and needs to upload receipts (a phone and a receipt is all the access they need)

• Bill Payer, Deposit-Only, or Read-Only for anyone whose work does not involve Expense Management, since these roles cannot see or use expense features

Keep Administrator and Manager access limited to the people who genuinely need it, and keep Cardholder access minimal by default.

Common issues

• The role dropdown does not show the option I want. Team members and advisors have separate role lists. Confirm which type of user you are editing before you pick a role.

• I do not see an Edit button on the user's profile. Only Administrators can edit user roles. Ask an Administrator on your account to make the change.

• A Manager cannot code transactions or sync to accounting. That is expected. Manager-level team members and advisors are not permitted to code transactions or sync to accounting software; you will need to reassign them to Administrator (or Super Administrator for advisors) if that access is required.

• I need finer-grained permissions than the default roles offer. Relay supports custom roles for more specific access needs. See "Creating custom roles in Relay" in the related articles below.

Related articles

• Getting Started with Expense Management in Relay

• Uploading Receipts in Relay

• Setting Up Receipt Collection Policies

• Creating custom roles in Relay

• How to invite team members and advisors to your Relay account

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