FAQs: Roles and Profiles

FAQs: Roles and Profiles

1. What are profiles?

A profile is a collection of permissions for actions that a user will require to perform their job. For example, a department head might require permissions to import data, customize modules, and add users to CRM. You can create a profile that has all these permission and assign it to all users who have the Department Head role. This allows you to ensure everyone in that role has the same permissions and prevents the wrong permission being assigned by mistake.

Read more about creating profiles. Watch this conceptual video to learn more about profiles.

2. Can I customize the standard profile?

You can customize only a few permissions in the system-defined standard profiles. The best way to customize the standard profile is to clone it and then add or remove the required permissions on the clone.

3. Why can't I access some of the modules in my account?

Modules can be disabled as needed in Profile Settings. The modules you are unable to access are probably disabled for your profile.

To enable the modules, follow the steps below:
This can only be performed by an administrator.
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the profile.
  3. Toggle the button of the module you want to enable access to.

4. Can I delete a profile? What will happen to the users of that profile?

Yes, you can delete a profile if it is no longer required. However, you must first transfer the users to another profile.
To transfer users and delete a profile:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click the ellipsis in the top-right corner.
  4. Click Delete and transfer users to a different profile.

If you have not assigned users to a profile, it can be deleted without transfer.

5. Where can I see a list of the users who belong to a particular profile?

In CRM, you can view the list of users present in a profile under the profiles that were created.

To view the users in a particular profile:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile
  3. Click View Users in the top-right corner.

6. How to clone an existing profile?

To clone an existing profile, follow the below steps:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Hover to a specific profile and click the  icon.
  3. Click Clone.

  4. In the Create New Profile popup, add the profile name and description.
  5. Click Create.
When cloning a profile, its permission settings will also be copied. These permissions can be adjusted further.

7. Why can't I change the record owner?

To change the record ownership, you must have the Change Owner permission enabled in your profile.

To enable the Change Owner permission:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click on Tools on the left.
  4. Toggle the Change Owner switch on or off.
    Select the modules where the user will be able to change record ownership. This allows you to still prevent the user from changing ownership for records from other modules.

8. How can I restrict users from changing settings in the Setup page?

You can restrict users from accessing the settings in Setup by turning off the Setup Permissions for their profile.

To turn off Setup Permissions:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click on Others on the left.
  4. Disable Setup Permissions.

9. What are the Standard and Administrator profiles?

These are the system-defined profiles which have permissions preset for each category based on which actions we think users are most likely to perform in CRM.

The administrator profile has access to all the permissions. Any user with administrative permissions can perform all available activities in CRM. You cannot modify the permissions in this profile except for the Basic permissions and a few Extension permissions.

The standard profile has access to the features which will be required to manage daily activities in CRM, for example, they have the permission to view the import history but not to import data to CRM. Likewise, all the admin-level permissions are disabled for the standard profile.
These profiles cannot be modified, so we recommend that the administrators to clone these profiles and customize the permissions in the cloned copies as required.

10. I do not have the permission to send mass emails, what should I do?

To send mass emails, a user must have the Mass Email permission enabled in their profile. 
To enable the Mass Email permission:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click Send Email in the Module Permissions on the left.
  4. Enable or disable Mass Email.
Tip: You can also manage settings to delete emails and send individual emails in the same section.

11. I am unable to create a custom view in any module?

To create custom view, you need the Manage Custom View permission.
To enable this permission:
  1. Go to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click Others in the Module Permissions on the left.
  4. Enable Manage Custom View.
Tip: You can also manage the settings for Print View and Sheet View in the same section.

12. Why can't I log in to my Zoho CRM account from the CRM mobile app?

You will need permission to access mobile apps in order to log in to the app.

To enable this permission:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click Others in the Extension Permissions on the left.
  4. Enable CRM Mobile Apps access.

13. I have access to email templates, but not to mail merge or inventory templates, what should I do?

The permissions to access inventory templates and mail merge templates are listed separately under Manage Templates, so you will only be able to create inventory and mail merge templates if all three are enabled for your profile.
To enable all three template permissions:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Profiles.
  2. Choose the specific profile.
  3. Click on Email and Templates under Setup Permissions on the left.
  4. Click on the Manage Templates dropdown.
  5. Select Email Templates, Inventory Templates, and Mail Merge using Zoho Writer.

14. What are the default roles in Zoho CRM?

By default, Zoho CRM provides the CEO and Manager roles.
You can add more roles based on your organization's structure such as sales manager, sales rep, etc.

To create new roles
  1. Go to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing.
  2. In the Roles and Sharing section, click +New Role.
  3. In the New Role page, do the following:
  4. Enter the Role Name. Do not add a role with the same name.
  5. Select the immediate superior's role from the Reports To lookup.
  6. If you do not select the superior's role, the new role will be created under the CEO role.
  7. Select the Share Data with Peers check box if you would like to enable access rights to peers.
  8. Specify the Description for the role.
  9. Click Save.

15. Why are some users able to see their peers' data even though Data Sharing Settings is set as Private?

This is because the Share Data with Peers option is enabled for those users' role. The Share Data with Peers permission always takes precedence over data sharing rules. 
Tip: To prevent your data from being compromised, the best practice is to prepare a list of roles and the users in those roles and define the data that they need to access.

16. Why can't I see the Share data with Peers option?

There are two instances when you will not be able to see the Share Data with Peers option:
  1. If there is only one user in your CRM account.
  2. If you have selected Reporting Hierarchy as the hierarchy preference. 
Tip: Prepare a list of users who you want to add to CRM and mark in which roles you want the users to be able to share data with their peers before you start adding users to the CRM account.

17. Where can I view a list of all users in a particular role?

In CRM, the list of users from a role are listed under the respective role. 
To view all the users with a particular role:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing.
  2. Click on a specific role.
  3. You will see all the users with this role under Associated Users.

18. How can I change who a particular role reports to in the role hierarchy?

Every role must report to another role. This is a mandatory step. When you create a role, you will have to select a role from the Reporting To dropdown.
To change the Reporting To role:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing.
  2. Choose a role and click Edit.
  3. Change the role in Reporting To.

19. Can I move users from one role to another?

Yes, you can delete a role after transferring the users to another role.
To delete and transfer users:
  1. Navigate to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing.
  2. Open a role and click Delete.
  3. Choose the new role to transfer the users to.
If you are looking to move all Users in bulk, you can delete a role to transfer users to another.

20. When should I use data sharing rules?

The role hierarchy prevents users in a higher role from the viewing data of their subordinates that is shared via custom data sharing. Read more about creating data sharing rules.
To enable superiors to view this data, use the Superiors Allowed option in the data sharing rules.

21. Why can't I edit the role name, change a superior's role, or disable sharing data with peers?

A user must have User Management access enabled in their profile in order to perform these settings. ONLY a user with administrator profile can enable this permission.
To enable the option
Go to Setup > Security Control > Profiles > User Management and toggle the switch on.

22. I'm the CEO of the company but am unable to create roles?

If there is only one user in your CRM account, you will not be able to create roles. The New Role option will not be displayed.
For the first user that you add, only the system-defined roles: CEO and Manager and standard profiles: Administrator and Standard can be assigned.

23. Can an Admin view other users' data?

Yes, by default, all users with the Administrator profile in Zoho CRM will be able to view other users' data irrespective of their role.

24. How can I prevent my coworkers from viewing my data?

Users with the same role will be prevented from viewing each others' data by default, but if Share Data with Peers is enabled for your role, then your data will be visible to other users with your role. Request your CRM administrator to change the below settings.

To prevent your peers from viewing your data:
  1. Go to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing.
  2. Edit the role and unselect the Share Data with the Peers checkbox.

25. How can I assign users to a role?

The best practice is to create roles before adding users to CRM, so you can assign them their role during user creation.
To assign roles to users:
  1. Go to Setup > General > Users.
  2. Click on a user name on the Users page.
  3. Click the Edit icon on the User Details page.
  4. Select a role from the drop-down list on the Edit User page.
  5. Click Save.

26. What are roles?

Roles in CRM represent your organization's hierarchy. For example, if you have sales managers, sales executives, and sales reps in your organization, you can create these roles in CRM.
Another benefit of creating roles is that it allows you to provide the right level of data accessibility based on the user's role. For example, you can restrict a rep from accessing an executive's records.

Here are some key points about how data access works with roles:
  1. A user with the CEOs role will have access to the entire CRM database.
  2. Managers can only view or edit their subordinates' records if they have Read or Edit permissions for a record owned by the subordinate.
  3. Users with a higher role have access to their subordinates' data by default.
  4. Users with the same role cannot access each others' data. For example, the VP of Engineering cannot access the VP of Marketing's data and vice versa.
  5. Users with a higher role cannot view the data that is shared with their subordinates through custom sharing rules unless the Superiors Allowed option is enabled.
  6. You can use the Share Data with the Peers option to enable data sharing between users with the same role.
  7. You must have Read/Write access to the primary record to add notes or attachments or send email to a record.
  8. A user with Administrative privileges can access all data regardless of their role.

Read more about creating roles and assigning them to users and watch this video to understand more about roles.

27. Why am I unable to create roles and profiles?

You can create roles and profiles only if:
  1. You have subscribed to the Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate Editions (not available in the Free edition).
  2. You have more than one user in your Zoho CRM account - You need to add more users in your account before you create roles or profiles.
Related Links
Adding Users

28. How do I change the role of the user?

You can change the role of the users with these steps:
  1. Log in to Zoho CRM with Administrator privileges.
  2. Click Setup > General > Users.
  3. In the Users page, click the Edit link corresponding to the user you want to change the role for.
  4. In the Account Information page, choose the Role from the drop-down list.
  5. Click Save.

29. How do I change the profile of the user?

You can change the role of the users with these steps:
  1. Log in to Zoho CRM with Administrator privileges.
  2. Click Setup > General > Users.
  3. In the Users page, click the Edit link corresponding to the user you want to change the role for.
  4. In the Account Information page, choose the Profile from the drop-down list.
  5. Click Save.


30. Can I assign multiple roles to a single user?

No, you cannot assign multiple roles to a single user. A role defines the position of a user within the organization in CRM. Roles in CRM replicate the hierarchy in your organization to allow access to the data in your account. In real life, a Sales Manager cannot also be a Sales Rep. Similarly, in CRM the user can have only one role assigned to them at a time.

31. How do I mention users, groups and roles in my status update?

You can mention users, groups and roles by typing @ before the name of the user, role or group.

For example: @Cindy. As you type the name, Zoho CRM displays a list of suggestions from which you can also choose the suitable name.

32. In the Free Edition, every user I add has the Administrator Profile. How can I change that?

In the Free Edition, only the Administrator profile and CEO role are available. You cannot change the role and profile of the users. You can, however, create profiles and roles in the Professional, Enterprise editions and above.

33. What will be the roles and profiles of the users that I import?

By default, the users that you import will have the following role and profile:

Role - Manager
Profile - Standard

After importing, you can change the roles and profiles from the Users page. For changing the user settings, see Managing Users.


We hope that this list of frequently asked questions about Roles and Profiles are informative. If you still have questions that haven't been addressed, please let us know here. We will be happy to discuss them with our subject matter experts and add them in the future. And please don't forget to share your rating below!


    • Related Articles

    • Manage Users, Roles, and Permissions

      As you proceed with setting up the CRM account, your next step will involve adding users and determining their roles and permissions based on which they will perform specific tasks. A user is the one who manages records within the organization, ...

    • Creating Profiles

      Profiles in Zoho CRM help you define permissions for a set of users. For instance, the permissions required for a person from Sales team might differ from the permissions required by a person in the Marketing team. You can define the permissions for ...

    • Social Profiles

      Social media integration with Zoho CRM gives the sales context to your interaction with customers. Following are the two ways in which you can make use of Social CRM. Personal social media interaction via social profile integration (detailed below). ...

    • Managing Roles

      In Zoho CRM, you can set up the organization-wide hierarchy using Roles. Users at a higher hierarchy can always access all the records of at a lower hierarchy. For example, a Sales Manager can access all the Sales Reps' records whereas Sales Reps can ...

    • Understanding Roles in Zoho Projects

      The roles and access privileges available in Zoho Projects are as follows: Portal Owner Portal Owner (Administrator) is the one who has all the privileges of an administrator. Additionally a portal owner also has permission to access upgrade/billing ...