SB Help Group

CRM User Permissions Checklist for Small Teams

A CRM demo can look straightforward when the presenter has access to everything. Your team's working day is different. A salesperson needs to update leads, someone needs to cover an absence, and the owner needs control over account settings.

Before choosing a CRM, ask the vendor to demonstrate the access each person would actually have. Include both the work they must complete and the actions you want restricted. A short, practical test is more useful than a role name on a feature list.

Start with the work each person does

Write one sentence for each type of user. For a fictional three-person business, your desired setup might be:

These are example requirements to confirm during your evaluation. Ask the vendor which parts its current product can support and which it cannot.

Responsibilities describe who should do the work. Permissions determine what the software allows. Naming someone as the lead owner does not answer whether a coworker can view, edit or export that lead. Put both responsibilities and access requirements in your one-page CRM implementation brief.

Separate the actions that matter

Avoid a single question such as “Can we limit staff access?” Break it into specific questions:

Ask whether restrictions also apply in search results, reports and other places the same information appears. Have the vendor identify any limits rather than leaving you to infer them from a filtered contact list.

Test the everyday login

Ask the vendor to prepare an isolated demonstration with fictional contacts and sample user accounts matching your proposed setup. Keep outbound calls, texts and emails disabled so tests cannot reach real customers. Do not test deletion or bulk changes on live business records.

From the sales employee's account, try finding an assigned contact, adding a note and scheduling the next action. Then have the vendor show what happens when that user attempts an action you want blocked, such as exporting records or changing access.

Repeat the relevant checks for the manager and owner. Record the result of each test as supported, unsupported or still to confirm. If a requirement depends on a particular plan or configuration, ask for that detail in writing before deciding.

Plan for temporary coverage

Your regular access rules also need to accommodate ordinary absences. Ask how a manager could cover a salesperson's leads for a week without giving everyone permanent access to everything.

Can records be temporarily shared or reassigned? Who approves the change? What happens to pending tasks and appointments? Who restores the original arrangement afterward?

If temporary access is unavailable, discuss the practical alternative. Decide whether that workaround is manageable for your team before purchase.

Walk through an employee departure

Ask the vendor to demonstrate its departure process using a sample account. Check how you would disable access, whether existing signed-in sessions end, and whether connected services need separate attention.

Then follow the work left behind. Can you reassign open leads and tasks? What happens to scheduled appointments or follow-up? Do past notes and activity remain identifiable after access is removed?

Ask what can be preserved before deleting a user, and how your business should handle previously exported copies. Document the sequence and name the person responsible. The owner should not have to discover these answers during an employee's last afternoon.

Bring your access list to a Straton walkthrough

SB Help Group offers hands-on setup and support around Straton CRM. Bring your access requirements so the conversation can address your team's actual work and the permissions available for the proposed setup.

Request a Straton CRM walkthrough through the homepage inquiry form. Include your team size, the work each person handles and the actions you want restricted. You do not need to send a customer dataset with your inquiry.