002 — User Roles and Permissions¶

The Two Sides of the Platform¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph CUST["Customer side — Customer Portal"]
        CA["Company Administrator"]
        CU["Standard User"]
    end
    subgraph SAM["SAMTIA side — Account Management Portal"]
        AM["Account Manager"]
        PR["Pricing Manager"]
        RO["Read Only Manager"]
        SA["Super Administrator"]
    end
    CA -->|"manages"| CU
    AM -->|"serves"| CA
    AM -->|"serves"| CU

Customer-Side Roles¶

Standard User¶

The everyday buyer.

Can do	Cannot do
Browse the catalogue and search products	See or manage colleagues' accounts
Build and name draft requests	Create or deactivate users
Request products that are not in the catalogue	Manage user tags
Submit a draft request as a Request for Quotation	See other companies' orders or prices
Review quotations and upload a Purchase Order
Track orders through to delivery
Chat with the Account Manager
Comment and attach files on an order

If a Standard User opens the Users or User Tags area, they are redirected to Orders.

Company Administrator¶

Everything a Standard User can do, plus managing their own company's people.

Additional ability	Where
Create new portal users for the company	Company Profile → Users
Edit user details	Company Profile → Users
Activate and deactivate colleagues	Company Profile → Users
Delete a user account	Company Profile → Users
Create and manage user tags	Company Profile → User Tags

SAMTIA-Side Roles¶

Role	Focus
Account Manager	Owns a set of customer companies. Prices requests, issues quotations, confirms orders, chats with customers, maintains the catalogue.
Pricing Manager	Owns price lists and price rules.
Read Only Manager	Views everything relevant without changing anything.
Super Administrator	Full access, including system configuration.

Account Managers only see their own customers¶

This is the single most important rule for internal staff. Every list in the Account Management Portal — orders, quotations, chat conversations — shows only the customer companies assigned to you. You will not see another Account Manager's customers, and they will not see yours.

If a customer tells you they submitted a request and you cannot find it, the most likely reason is that their company is assigned to a different Account Manager.

The Two Switches That Control Customer Access¶

A customer user can only sign in when both switches are on.

flowchart LR
    A["Account Enabled<br/>set by the SAMTIA<br/>Account Manager"] --> AND{"Both on?"}
    B["Portal Access Enabled<br/>set by the customer's own<br/>Company Administrator"] --> AND
    AND -->|Yes| OK["User can sign in and work"]
    AND -->|No| NO["Sign-in refused —<br/>'account is not active'"]

Switch	Controlled by	Business purpose
Account Enabled (shown as Account Manager Approved)	SAMTIA Account Manager	Lets SAMTIA suspend a customer's access — for example during a commercial dispute. The customer cannot undo this.
Portal Access Enabled (shown as Active / Inactive)	The customer's own Company Administrator	Lets the customer manage their own team — a leaver is switched off without involving SAMTIA.

In practice: if a customer says "I switched my colleague back on but they still cannot sign in", check whether SAMTIA has switched off the Account Enabled flag.

Some organisations restrict which screens each person sees. When restrictions are in force, a menu item you are not permitted to use simply does not appear — you will not see a greyed-out option or an error message.

If a colleague describes a screen you cannot find, ask your administrator whether your role includes it. Menu differences between two people in the same role are normal and intentional.

What Nobody Can Do¶

These limits apply to every role and are enforced by the system, not by convention:

See another company's data. All customer information is separated by company. There is no view that mixes two customers' orders, prices or users.
Delete an order that has left Draft Request. Once a draft request becomes a Request for Quotation it can be cancelled or archived, but not deleted.
Delete someone else's draft request. Only the person who created a draft request can delete it.
Delete a file someone else uploaded. Only the person who attached a file can remove it.
Deactivate or delete your own account. You cannot lock yourself out.