Small Business User Permissions Checklist

Permissions determine what people can see, change, approve, export, and delete. A small business still needs a clear model when software contains customer, financial, operational, employee, or confidential data.

Start with the work each person must perform. Do not grant broad administrator access simply because it is faster during setup.

List roles and responsibilities

Document staff, managers, owners, contractors, customers, vendors, support users, and service accounts. For each role, record the tasks, records, actions, and approvals it requires.

Use least privilege

Separate view, create, edit, approve, export, and delete permissions. Limit records by location, department, customer, project, or other business boundary when the system supports it.

Protect sensitive actions

Require stronger controls for refunds, permissions, exports, payment data, employee records, configuration, and deletion. Record who performed the action and when.

The internal tool security checklist covers sessions, secrets, logs, backups, and recovery.

Review access over time

Set a review schedule for active users, dormant accounts, external users, service credentials, and role changes. Remove access when employment, contract, department, or responsibility changes.

Test representative users

Use test accounts to verify what each role can see and do. Include normal work, denied actions, cross-location access, exports, approval paths, password recovery, and account deactivation.

Keep the model understandable

Use role names people recognize, document exceptions, and keep the permission owner visible. A complex model that nobody can explain will drift.