Give staff permissions with POS roles

This page was printed on Mar 22, 2023. For the current version, visit https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/sell-in-person/shopify-pos/staff-management/pos-roles.

A POS role is a named set of POS permissions. Roles make it easier for you to assign the same permission set to multiple staff. You can't assign individual permissions to Point of Sale staff, you need to assign a role. Each Point of Sale staff needs an assigned role.

If you're the store owner, or you have the Manage POS role permission, then you can create and manage roles from the Point of Sale channel in the Shopify admin. A role can include the same permission set as other roles, but each role must have a unique name.

The default role is Associate. You can change the name and the permission set for the Associate role. You can make another the role the default role. The default role is the role that is selected automatically when you add Point of Sale staff. You can't delete the default role.

Staff with limited permissions can access the POS channel, but certain sections may be unavailable if they do not have the required Shopify POS login permissions.

Create POS roles from the Point of Sale channel (Shopify admin)

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.

  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Point of sale.

  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Staff.

  5. Click Manage POS roles > Create POS role.

  6. In the Title field, enter a name for the role, and then select the permissions for this role.

  7. Optional: To make this role the default role, check Set as default POS role.

  8. Click Save.

Edit POS roles from the Point of Sale channel (Shopify admin)

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.

  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Point of sale.

  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Staff.

  5. Click Manage POS roles, and then click the appropriate role.

  6. Select or deselect permissions.

  7. Optional: To set this role as the default role, check Set as default POS role.

  8. Click Save changes.

Delete POS roles from the Point of Sale channel (Shopify admin)

You can delete any role unless it is the default role or if it has staff assigned to it.

Steps:

  1. From your Shopify admin, click Settings > Apps and sales channels.

  2. From the Apps and sales channels page, click Point of sale.

  3. Click Open sales channel.

  4. Click Staff.

  5. Click Manage POS roles, and then click the appropriate role.

  6. Click Delete POS role. If staff are assigned to this role, then you're prompted to select another role for the staff before deleting this role.

  7. Click Delete POS role.

Description of POS Permissions

A POS role is a set of permissions that enables your Point of Sale staff to access certain activities in Shopify POS and the Point of Sale channel. Staff with limited permissions can access the POS channel, but certain sections may be unavailable if they do not have the necessary permissions. Both POS permissions and Admin permissions affect what they can access.

Permissions

Point of Sale initial permissions
Permission Description
Allow all Point of Sale permissions Allows staff to access all Point of Sale activities in Shopify POS and the Point of Sale channel.
Select Point of Sale permissions Allows staff to access select Point of Sale activities in Shopify POS and the Point of Sale channel.

Manager approval

Point of Sale Manager approval permission
Permission Description
Manager approval

Allows Point of Sale staff to approve staff actions by entering their PIN. Store owners, or staff with the Manage POS roles permission, can edit roles to allow Manager approval. To approve an action, staff need both Manager approval and the required permission is set to Allowed.

This permission can be set to either of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to approve actions
  • Denied, which restricts staff from approving actions

Discounts

Point of Sale discounts permissions
Permission Description
Apply custom discounts

Allows Point of Sale staff to apply custom discounts to both an entire cart and a single line item.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to apply custom discounts
  • Denied, which restricts staff from applying custom discounts
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and apply discount permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action
Apply discount codes

Allows Point of Sale staff to apply discounts codes to the entire cart.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to apply discount codes
  • Denied, which restricts staff from applying discount codes
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and apply discount permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action

Checkout

Point of Sale checkout permissions
Permission Description
Ship to Customer

Allows Point of Sale staff to ship a cart to a customer.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to ship to customers
  • Denied, which restricts staff from shipping to customers
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and ship to customer permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action
Edit taxes

Allows Point of Sale staff to edit taxes to orders.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to edit taxes
  • Denied, which restricts staff from editing taxes
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and edit taxes permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action
Add custom sales

Allows Point of Sale staff to create a custom sale.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to add custom sales
  • Denied, which restricts staff from adding custom sales
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and add custom sales permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action

Register

Point of Sale register permissions
Permission Description
View and adjust current payment tracking session

Allows staff to view and adjust current payment tracking session, add cash, and remove cash.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to view and adjust current payment tracking session
  • Denied, which restricts staff from viewing and adjusting current payment tracking session
View payment tracking session history

Allows Point of Sale staff to view details of previous payment tracking sessions.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to view payment tracking session history
  • Denied, which restricts staff from viewing payment tracking session history
Start and end payment tracking sessions

Allows Point of Sale staff to manually start and end payment tracking sessions.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to start and end payment tracking sessions
  • Denied, which restricts staff from starting or ending payment tracking sessions but a payment tracking session will start automatically after a sale
Open drawer

Allows Point of Sale staff to open the cash drawer from the cart actions.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to open the cash drawer
  • Denied, which restricts staff from opening the cash drawer but will still open automatically after a cash sale

Orders

Point of Sale orders permissions
Permission Description
Device's location only Allows Point of Sale staff to manage only the orders that were made at the device's location.
All locations Allows Point of Sale staff to manage orders regardless of the device's location.
Refund and exchange orders

Allows Point of Sale staff to refund and exchange orders.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to refund and exchange orders
  • Denied, which restricts staff from refunding and exchanging orders
  • Approval required, which requires staff with manager approval and refund and exchange orders permissions allowed to enter their PIN to complete the action

Customers

Point of Sale customers permissions
Permission Description
Add customers

Allows Point of Sale staff to add new and existing customers to a cart and view basic customer information.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to add customer information
  • Denied, which restricts staff from adding customer information
Manage customers

Allows Point of Sale staff to view, edit, and delete customer information.

This permission can be set to one of the following:

  • Allowed, which allows staff to add manage information
  • Denied, which restricts staff from managing customer information

Apps

Point of Sale apps permissions
Permission Description
Use apps that work with Shopify POS Allows Point of Sale staff to use apps that are installed on Shopify POS.

Staff

Point of Sale staff permissions
Permission Description
Manage Point of Sale staff Allows Point of Sale staff to view, add, edit, and delete staff records from Shopify POS and from the Point of Sale channel in the Shopify admin. This includes assigning the POS roles to other staff.
Manage POS roles Allows Point of Sale staff to view, create, edit, and delete POS roles from the Point of Sale channel in the Shopify admin.

Analytics

Point of Sale analytics permissions
Permission Description
View analytics for device's location Allows Point of Sale staff to view the Daily Sales report for their location.
View cash tracking sessions Allows Point of Sale staff to view a history of cash tracking sessions in the Shopify POS app and Shopify POS channel.

Settings

Point of Sale settings permissions
Permission Description
Customize smart grid for device's location Allows Point of Sale staff to add, edit, and delete smart tiles on the home screen for the POS at the device's location.
Switch device's location Allows Point of Sale staff to change the device's location setting.
Log out store from Point of Sale app Allows Point of Sale staff to log out of Shopify POS.
Manage payment settings for device Allows Point of Sale staff to change the payment settings for the POS device at the device's location from Shopify POS or from the Point of Sale channel in the Shopify admin.
Manage receipt settings Allows Point of Sale staff to change the printed receipt settings for the POS device.

Additional permissions for POS channel access

In addition to any related POS permissions, staff with limited permissions need the appropriate admin permissions to access the following POS channel actions:

Point of Sale settings permissions
Sales channel action Required admin permission Required POS permission
View POS channel None Give Point of Sale access to this staff
Add locations Locations

Only store owners can alter POS Pro subscriptions.

 None
View reports Reports or Dashboards None
View sales data for a location Reports or Dashboards

Only store owners can alter POS Pro subscriptions.

 None
Manage POS staff None Manage Point of Sale staff
Manage POS roles None Manage POS roles
Manage receipt settings None Manage receipt settings
Upload logo for receipt customizations Themes, Pages, or Products None

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