Raken gives you full control over what your team can see and do. Assign roles to define each person's level of access, then fine-tune individual permissions to match how your company actually operates.
Quick Answer
To change a user's role in Raken:
Log in to the Raken web app and click Directory in the left navigation menu.
Select Employees and click the employee's name.
Click the Role dropdown and select the new role.
Click the orange Save button.
To adjust permissions for a role, go to Company > Roles & permissions and toggle individual actions on or off for Project Member, Project Admin, or Account Admin.
Understanding Roles in Raken
Raken has six roles. Each role defines a baseline level of access across your account and projects.
Role | Access Level |
Account Admin | Full access to the entire account, all projects, and billing |
Project Admin | Full access to assigned projects; no access to billing |
Project Member | Read/write access to assigned projects; no admin functions |
View-only | Read-only access to assigned projects |
Project Worker | Limited access to My Time and Schedule only; no project admin access |
Worker | No login access; time and activity tracked by a supervisor |
Account Admins have the highest level of access. They can manage all employees, edit roles, and activate or deactivate any team member across the account.
Project Admins can manage members tied to their assigned projects only. They cannot edit roles for Project Admins or above.
Project Members have no employee management capabilities by default, though this can be extended with configurable permissions (see below).
Project Workers are field employees with limited app access — they can view their own time and schedule but cannot manage projects or other employees.
Workers have no Raken login. Their time is tracked and managed by a supervisor.
View-only users can see project content but cannot make any changes.
How to Change a User's Role
Step 1: Open Directory
Log in to the Raken web app. Click Directory in the left navigation menu.
Step 2: Select the Employee
Click Employees to view your full employee list. Find the employee whose role you need to update and click their name.
Step 3: Update the Role
On the employee profile, click the Role dropdown. Select the new role from the list.
Note: You can only assign roles equal to or lower than your own role. Account Admins can assign any role.
Step 4: Save
Click the orange Save button. The employee's access will update immediately.
How to Adjust Roles & Permissions
Beyond the baseline role, Raken lets you customize what each role can do across several areas of the platform. These configurable permissions are toggled on or off per role and apply to all users with that role in your account.
Step 1: Go to Company Settings
Click Company in the left navigation menu.
Step 2: Open Roles & Permissions
Select Roles & permissions from the menu. You'll see a table with toggles for Project Member, Project Admin, and Account Admin.
Note: Account Admin always has full access to certain actions — some toggles will not be available for that role.
Step 3: Review and Adjust Permissions
Permissions are organized by category. Toggle individual actions on or off for each role based on your company's needs.
Directory permissions:
Can create new employees — allows creating new employee profiles. (Note: If this permission is on, Project Members & Project Administrators will only be allowed to add "Workers" if the "can manage user roles and access" permission is allowed)
Can manage employees — allows editing employee profiles for users at a lower role level. This includes but is not limited to editing of employee name, phone number, title, classification, employee ID and groups.
Can manage user roles and access — allows changing employee roles, activating/deactivating accounts, and managing invites. Actions that affect billing and seat count are gated behind this permission.
Can create/edit/delete contact companies — manage company contacts
Can create/edit/delete contacts — manage individual contacts
Can create/edit/delete groups — manage employee and project groups
Can create/edit/delete certifications — manage employee certifications
Can create/edit/delete classifications — manage employee classifications
Projects permissions:
Can create projects — allows creating new projects
Can manage project settings — allows editing project settings
Can modify survey question settings — allows editing daily report survey questions
Can use the automatic email feature — allows setting up automatic email reports
Time:
Can review time for employees on their projects — allows employees to review and edit time for employees assigned to their projects
Can approve time for employees on their projects — allows employees to approve existing timecards for employees assigned to their projects
Can sync time to integrations — allows employees to perform the sync of time to the specified integration
Can create/edit/delete schedules — allows for management of schedules
Can open a kiosk session — allows opening a kiosk session for employees to clock in to a work site using their pin number.
Production:
Can create/edit/delete cost codes — allows for management of cost codes
Can create/edit/delete materials — allows for management of materials
Can create/edit/delete company-owned equipment — allows for management of company-owned equipment
Can create/edit/delete budgets — allows for management of budgets
Can access production insights — allows employees to view and access production insights information
Can determine if progress tracking is either automatic or manual
Project Management:
Can create/edit/delete documents — manage project level documents
Can create/edit/delete forms — allows for management of forms
Can create/edit/delete rfis — allows for management of rfi's
Can create/edit/delete tasks — allows for management of tasks
Safety & QC permissions:
Can submit incident data to OSHA ITA — allows submitting incident data to OSHA
Can create/edit/delete checklist schedules — allows for management of checklist scheduling
Can create/edit/delete checklist types — allows for management of tasks
Can create/edit/delete default safety notifications — allows for management of safety notifications
Can create/edit/delete incidents — allows for management of incident reports
Can create/edit/delete observation types and subtypes — allows for management observations
Can create/edit/delete safety checklist templates — allows for management of safety checklist templates
Can create/edit/delete safety checklists — allows employees to manage checklists
Can delete scheduled toolbox talks
Can schedule toolbox talks
Can upload toolbox talks
Can view Raken safety checklist templates
Step 4: Save
Click the orange Save button after making your changes. To revert all permissions back to Raken's defaults at any time, click Restore default permissions in the top right corner of the page.
Considerations
Only Account Admins can access Company > Roles & permissions. Project Admins and Project Members cannot view or adjust permission settings.
You can only assign roles equal to or lower than your own. An Account Admin cannot be promoted by a Project Admin.
The Can manage user roles and access permission is off by default for Project Admins and Project Members. Enabling it allows those roles to activate, deactivate, and change roles for employees — actions that can affect billing and paid seat counts. Enable this carefully.
Project Workers and Workers are not included in the Roles & permissions table. Their access is defined by their role and cannot be expanded with configurable permissions.
Permissions apply account-wide by role — you cannot set different permissions for individual users within the same role.
Changes to permissions take effect immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Project Admin and Account Admin?
Account Admins have full access to everything — all projects, billing, and account settings. Project Admins have full access only to the projects they're assigned to and cannot access billing. If you want someone to manage a specific project without touching company settings or billing, Project Admin is the right role.
Can a Project Admin change another user's role?
Only if the Can manage user roles and access permission is enabled for the Project Admin role, and only for employees at Project Member level or below who are on their assigned projects. Project Admins can never edit the role of another Project Admin or Account Admin.
What happens if I give a Project Member the "Can create new employees" permission?
That Project Member will be able to add new employees to Raken. If you also enable Can manage user roles and access, they'll be able to assign roles — which can impact your billing. It's recommended to review these settings carefully before enabling them for lower-level roles.
What is a Project Worker?
A Project Worker is a field employee with a Raken login, but with limited access — they can only see their own time entries and schedule. They cannot view project reports, manage other employees, or access company settings. This role is ideal for field crew members who need to clock in/out or review their own time.
What is a Worker (no login)?
A Worker has no Raken login. Their time and activity is tracked entirely by a supervisor or admin. Workers cannot access the app. They appear in your employee list and can be assigned to time cards and projects, but they cannot log in or take any actions themselves.
Technical Specifications
Platform | Web app only |
Offline capability | No — requires an active internet connection |
Role required | Account Admin (to view and edit Roles & permissions); Account Admin or Project Admin (to change individual employee roles, depending on permission settings) |
Plan required | Available on all Raken plans |
Add-on required | None |
Related Articles
Managing Employees in Raken
Team Member vs. Workers
How to Add Workers to a Project in Raken
Getting Started with Raken
More Questions?
Feel free to email us or call us at +1 866-438-0646. We're always glad to answer your questions!