Roles & Permissions
Understand and manage roles within your organization.
Understanding Roles
Roles determine what users can see and do in Kaana. Each user has one role.
The highest level of access:
All administrative permissions
Billing and subscription management
Full access to all features
Administrative access:
Create and manage all projects
Manage users (except owners)
Standard team access:
View projects they're assigned to
Read-only access:
Permission Categories
Permissions are grouped by feature.
Project Permissions
Document Permissions
Activity Permissions
Issue Permissions
Administrative Permissions
Administrators can create custom roles.
Create a Custom Role
Go to Settings > Roles, click + New Role, then enter:
Role Name — e.g., "Project Manager"
Description — What this role is for
Select permissions for each category and click Create.
Edit a Custom Role
Find the role in the list
Changes affect all users with that role.
Delete a Custom Role
Choose where to move affected users
Note: Standard roles cannot be deleted.
Assigning Roles
Select role from dropdown
Multiple Role Assignment
Some organizations allow users to have different roles on different projects. Contact your administrator for details.
Ownership-Based Permissions
Some permissions check ownership:
"Own" items — Users can only modify content they created
"All" items — Users can modify any content
Example: A Member with "Edit own projects" can edit projects they created but not others.
Permission Inheritance
Higher roles include lower role permissions:
Owner > Admin > Member > Guest
An Admin has all Member permissions plus additional access.
Troubleshooting Access
"Access Denied" Message
This means your role doesn't have permission for that action. Contact your administrator if you need access.
Missing Menu Items
Navigation only shows items you can access. Missing items may indicate:
Your role doesn't have access
Contact admin for clarification.
Can't Find a Feature
Check if:
The feature is enabled for your organization
You're looking in the right section
Role Assignment
Assign minimum necessary access
Review roles during onboarding
Update as responsibilities change
Create roles for common job functions
Audit permissions periodically
Remove unnecessary access
Update as features change