When a business moves its records into software, the first question after "how do we enter data?" is "who can see what?". The salesperson needs customer details but not salaries. The accountant needs every bill but not the owner's personal drawings. The godown manager needs stock but not margins.
Getting access right protects the business from mistakes and from the occasional bad actor. It also makes staff more comfortable, because each person sees what they need and is responsible for what they do.
01Start from the jobs
List the jobs in your business, then decide what each job needs. A typical small business has:
| Role | Needs to see | Needs to change |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Everything | Everything, and approves |
| Accountant | All sales, purchases, payments, GST | Bills, payments, journal entries |
| Sales | Customers, items, prices, own sales | Customers, quotations, orders |
| Billing counter | Items, customers, prices | Invoices, payments received |
| Store or godown | Items, stock, purchase orders | Goods received, transfers |
| Purchase | Suppliers, POs, stock | Purchase orders (for approval) |
| HR or office | Staff records | Attendance, staff details |
One person can hold more than one role. In a ten-person business, the accountant may also do purchase. Combine roles carefully, so that the same person does not both create and approve a payment.
02Principles that work
- Give each person their own login
- Shared logins hide who did what. When something goes wrong, you need to know.
- Give the least access that lets them do the job
- Add more when they need it.
- Separate making from approving
- Whoever raises a purchase order or a payment should not be the one who approves it.
- Limit who can delete or cancel
- A cancelled invoice should carry a reason and the name of the person who cancelled it.
- Protect sensitive figures
- Salaries, margins, the owner's drawings and bank balances are often limited to the owner and accountant.
03Approvals
Approval rules turn access into control. Common ones:
- Purchase orders
- above a value need the owner's approval.
- Discounts
- above a set percentage need a manager.
- Credit sales
- to a customer over their limit need approval.
- Payments
- to suppliers are released by the owner or a named person.
- Changes to a supplier's bank details
- need the owner's approval and a phone check.
A Coimbatore textile unit with 60 staff might set: supervisors approve purchase orders up to ₹25,000, the production manager up to ₹2 lakh, the owner above that.
04When someone joins
- Create their login with the role they need.
- Explain what they can and cannot do, and why.
- Check after a week that the access fits the work.
For a new accountant or purchase person, start with view access for the first week or two while they learn your ways, then add the right to create entries. A short handover from the person who did the job before saves many corrections later.
05When someone leaves
This is where most businesses slip.
- Remove access on their last day, or sooner if the parting is difficult.
- Change any shared passwords they knew, such as the bank login, GST portal or email.
- Move their open work to someone else: customers, purchase orders, tasks.
- Recover devices and SIMs that belong to the business.
A salesperson who leaves for a competitor with a working login can download your customer list on the way out.
06Outside people: CA, consultants, family
- Your CA
- may need read access to your books, or a regular export. Give them a login of their own.
- Consultants and developers
- should get time-limited access.
- Family members
- who help occasionally should still have their own login. See family business roles.
07A starting set for a 15-person business
For a Jaipur furniture maker with a showroom and a workshop, a sensible set of access rights looks like this:
- Owner
- everything, and approves purchase orders above ₹20,000 and all supplier payments.
- Accountant
- sales, purchases, payments and GST; cannot change item prices.
- Showroom manager
- customers, quotations, invoices and payments received; sees prices but not purchase rates.
- Workshop supervisor
- stock, goods received and staff attendance for the workshop.
- Two sales staff
- customers and quotations only.
Setting this up takes an afternoon. One practical result is fewer calls to the owner asking "what is the rate for this?", because staff can see what they need.
08Review access regularly
Once a quarter, look at the list of users and their roles. Remove anyone who has left. Check that nobody has more access than their job needs. People change jobs inside a business and keep their old access, which adds up over time.
09Customer data and the law
Customer names, phone numbers and addresses are personal data. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, businesses are expected to protect personal data with reasonable security safeguards. Limiting who can see customer details, and removing access when people leave, are basic parts of that. See the DPDP Act for small business.
10What changes as you grow
- Up to 10 people
- the owner and the accountant usually hold most access. Separate logins and a leaver checklist matter most.
- 10 to 100 people
- define roles in writing, set approval limits by value, and review access every quarter.
- Several branches
- limit each person to their own branch's data unless their job covers more.
- Owner travelling often
- set clear approvers for each type of decision while you are away, so work does not stop waiting for one person.
MatruOS lets you invite staff by email or with a WhatsApp or copy link, so each person signs in with their own login.