Appia® | User roles and permissions

Related Resources:

• Appia® | Licenses | Add, renew, or assign licenses
• Appia® | Add Users and Assign Appia Roles microtraining

Intro to Appia® user roles

What is a user role in the Appia service?

Roles in the Appia service are the security level of the user and must be assigned after a user has joined your business.

A user's role at the global level determines the default permissions and access they have to all projects in your Appia account. Global user roles can only be assigned by an account's system administrator.

A user's role at the project level determines the permissions and access they have to that particular project. Project roles and access can always be assigned by system administrators, and can be assigned by senior project managers on any projects they create or have access to.

Example:

• Ali is a system administrator for Greystone Builders, which currently has three projects in Appia: Projects A, B, and C. Ali can change user access to all three projects.
• Kay is a senior project manager who created Project A. Kay can change user access to Project A, but not Projects B or C.

Do all the users in my business need an Appia license?

No, users can join your Appia projects in Read Only, Reviewer, or Contractor Access roles without needing a license.

Read Only and Reviewer roles must be added to your Appia business and given project access. For projects they have access to, these roles can view all project information, including potentially sensitive data. See how to manage users and how to assign user permissions.

Contractor Access users are added at the project level and do not have to be added to your Appia business. They get access to a very limited scope of information related to project items and punch list tasks. See Contractor Access to learn the details of what this role type can do.

To take action on Appia projects, a user does need a license. Read more about managing Appia licenses.

What if I'm the first person to use the Appia service for my business?

If you are the first person from your agency or business to use the Appia service, you must add yourself as a system administrator.

Note: you must have a Manager-level role in Infotech Express to be designated as the first system administrator for your Appia business.

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Click Add me as a System Administrator.
3. Read the Service License Agreement and click I Agree.

How many system administrators can my account have?

You can have as many system administrators as you have active licenses, and we recommend having more than one system administrator in case of outages, lost passwords, and other scenarios.

Role definitions and access permissions

Users are given a read-only role with no project access when they join your business. A system administrator must change the user's role, assign them a license (if needed), and give them project access before the new user can take action on an Appia project.

Global role vs. project role

User roles can be granted at two different levels:

• Global - a user will have all of the permissions associated with their global role on every project they have access to.
• Project - for increased project security, assign user roles and access on a per-project basis.

System administrators can change user roles and access at the global and project level.

Senior project managers can change a user's role and access at the project level, but only on projects they create or have access to.

Good to know: Contractor Access can only be granted at the project level; it is not a global role.

Table of user role permissions and access

Role	Permissions	License needed?
System Administrator	In the Appia account: can invite users to join their business can remove users from their business can assign or change user roles and access at the global level can create projects For all projects: can perform any function in the project	Yes
Senior Project Manager	In the Appia account: can create projects For projects they have created: can change a project while in the New phase can change user roles and access to that project	Yes
Project Manager	For projects they have access to: has full read and write access to all areas of their assigned projects in the Under Construction phase has full read access to all areas of their assigned projects in the Completed phase	Yes
Inspector	For projects they have access to: can add daily reports and change orders can modify and submit daily reports and change orders that they have added can add and remove project subcontractors can start and stop contractor time charges  can add and remove unattached items can add, change and remove project materials	Yes
Read Only	For projects they have access to: has read-only access to all areas of the project cannot modify anything	No
Reviewer	For projects they have access to: can see all daily reports and daily diaries can use the Mark as Reviewed function for daily reports and diaries	No
Contractor	For projects they have access to: can see project items and their history within daily reports, payments, and change orders can view and edit active punch list tasks	No

User accounts

Before you can assign users a role, they must have an Infotech Express account. Any of the following options will work: 

• User already has their own Infotech Express account
• User is invited to create an Infotech Express account as a part of your Infotech Express business
  
  • (Note: only system administrators can add or remove users from a business. See how to manage users below)
• User is directed to create an Infotech Express account not as a part of your business

Keep in mind that access to completed projects can't be changed.

Good to Know | Infotech Express vs. Appia

• Infotech Express, or ITE, is the online platform that hosts Appia along with a full suite of e-construction products made by Infotech. It's the top-level account where you manage your business and personal information.
• Appia is a web-based service for construction administration made by Infotech. It's where you'll manage your Appia licenses and control who has access to which Appia projects.

Assign user roles and permissions

System administrators can change a user's role and access at the global and project level.

Senior project managers can change a user's role and access at the project level, but only on projects they created.

Assign a user's global (default) role

Only system administrators can access the global settings area.

Users are assigned a read-only role with zero project access by default when they are first added to your business. A system administrator can change their global role at any time, which will affect what the user can do in projects they have access to. You can also change the user's role on a specific project in the project settings (see below).

To change a user's role:

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Select the default role for the user whose role you want to change. 
3. Select the new role and click Save.

Note: If the user is moving from a non-licensed role to a licensed role, you will need to click Next, select which license set to apply the user to, then click Save.

Assign a user's project-specific access and role

For added security, system administrators and senior project managers can restrict access to the functions of a project by changing a user's project-level role.

Good to know!

• New users are given zero project access by default.
• System administrators automatically get full access to all new and existing projects.
• Senior project managers get full permissions on any project they create or have access to.
• All other users get the full permissions of their global role on any project they're given access to, unless their project-level role is changed.
• If all projects are not visible, you might need to choose a different Status from the dropdown box. 

How to change a user's project-level access:

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Click on the number in the Projects column next to the user whose access you want to change. A pop-up screen will list all of the projects that user has access to.
3. Select or clear the check box next to a project's name to remove or restore access to that project. You can also select Remove All Access.
4. Click Remove Access and then OK to confirm.

Appia will return you to the Users list and display the updated number of projects the user has access to.

How to change a user's project-level role:

1. From the sidebar, go to My Projects and select the project you want to change a user's role for.
2. From the new sidebar, click More > Project Settings > Project Security
3. Find the user whose role you want to change and click Assign Project Role.
4. From here you can select a new role for that user and click Save.

Keep in mind that you cannot assign a licensed role to an unlicensed user from this page. See the section titled "Managing licenses" in the Licenses article to learn how to assign user licenses.

Pro tip:

• System administrators and senior project managers with access can also change a user's project-level access and role from the project settings page.

Manage the users in your Appia account

Add a user to your Appia account

To add a user to your Appia account:

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Click Add Users
3. A pop-up screen will show you a search bar. Enter the name of the user you want to add and click Search.
4. From the search results, find the user you want to add, click on their name, and click Add. 

The user will be added to the Appia business in a read-only role with no project access until added to projects.

You can add more than one user by searching for another name in the search box after selecting the first user. You can also add a personal note before you click Add.

Remove a user from your Appia account

Note: you cannot delete a user that has at least one device listed. If you are a system administrator, you can delete yourself only if you are the sole user listed.

To remove a user from your Appia business:

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Find the user you want to remove from your Appia account.
3. Select the three dots to the right of their name and click Remove user. Hit OK to confirm.

Manage user devices

Users can send daily reports from the job site by using the Infotech Mobile Inspector® application with a tablet or other mobile device.

If you are a Mobile Inspector user, contact your Appia system administrator to get help connecting your device.

Add, edit, or delete a device

Things to note:

• Only users with licensed roles can have devices added to your account.
• Before you can sync projects to a user's device, that user must register with the Mobile Inspector web app, get their Device ID, and give it to the Appia system administrator.
• A system administrator for the Appia account must register the user's mobile device to connect it to their projects.

Add or edit a user device:

1. From the sidebar, go to System Mgt > My Business > Users
2. Find the user whose device you want to add. Remember that they must have a licensed role.
3. Click Devices.
4. Click Add to register a new device to this user, or the pencil icon to edit an existing device.
5. Enter the user's name and the device ID they gave you. Click Save.

Delete a user device:

From the Devices screen, click the X next to the device you want to delete. Click OK in the confirmation window.

Deleting a device means that it will no longer sync with or have access to your Appia projects in its Mobile Inspector app.