Understanding Roles and Permissions

How roles work in Scoutworks#

Every user in Scoutworks has a role that determines what they can see and do. Roles are assigned per group, which means the same person can have different levels of access in different groups — for example, you might be an Admin in one group and a Volunteer in another.

The main roles#

Admin#

Admins have full, unrestricted access to everything in Scoutworks. This includes all features available to volunteers, plus:

• Settings — every tab, including Users, Treasurer Management, Quartermaster Management, Danger Zone, and District Data Sharing
• Subscription management via the Stripe billing portal
• The ability to invite and remove users, assign roles, and manage billing

Every group needs at least one Admin. This is typically the Group Scout Leader or someone responsible for running the group. We advise you to have two.

Volunteer#

Volunteers have access to the core features needed for day-to-day group management:

• Members, Events, Badges, Finance, Email, Knowledge Base, Equipment, and Insights
• In Settings, volunteers can see Section Management only — and only for sections they are assigned to
• Volunteers cannot access Users, Treasurer Management, Danger Zone, or billing

This role is designed for Section Leaders, Assistant Leaders, and other adult volunteers who help run the programme.

Young Leader#

Young Leaders see a simplified, focused interface with just the features they need:

• Dashboard, Events (including Risk Management), Badges, and Equipment
• They cannot access Members, Finance, Email, Knowledge Base, Insights, or Settings

This keeps the experience straightforward for younger volunteers who are helping with sections as part of their own Scouting journey.

Parent#

Parents have read-only access to information about their own children:

• Parent Dashboard, My Children, My Children's Events, Badge Progress, My Finances, and Knowledge Base (read-only)
• The interface uses a distinctive purple colour scheme
• Parents whose children are only on the waiting list will see a simplified view with just the Parent Dashboard

Parents cannot edit group data, manage members (they can manage their own children), or access any administrative features — regardless of the group's subscription status.

Extra permissions on top of a role#

Trustee, Treasurer and Quartermaster are added on top of someone's role, not instead of it. They don't appear in the Role dropdown. A Volunteer can be a Treasurer, a Trustee, or both.

Only Admins can grant these, and only Volunteers and Admins can hold them. Admins already have finance and equipment access, so you only need Treasurer or Quartermaster for a Volunteer.

Someone can also be a trustee and nothing else — leave their role blank and tick Also a Trustee. That suits committee members who need oversight but don't run a section.

Roles are per group#

A key thing to understand is that roles are tied to individual groups, not to your overall Scoutworks account. If you belong to multiple groups, you will have a separate role in each one. You can switch between groups using the Context Switcher at the top of the sidebar.

Assigning and changing roles#

Only Admins can manage roles. To assign or change a user's role:

1. Navigate to Settings → Users in the sidebar
2. Find the user and open the three-dot menu on their row, then choose Edit
3. Update their role to Admin or Volunteer
4. Assign them to the relevant sections

For a full walkthrough, see Managing Users and Roles.

Quick reference#