About: Team Member Levels
What This Article Covers
Team member levels determine what each person on your team can access, which contacts they work with, and how much control they have over system settings. Choosing the right level for each team member is the most important decision you'll make when setting up your team—and it's difficult to change later.
This guide explains all five team member levels, helps you choose the right level for each person, and shows how different levels work together in your organization.
Why This Matters
Assigning the wrong team member level creates problems that are hard to fix. If you make someone a Team Player when they need to be an Independent User, or vice versa, changing their level later requires deleting their account, reassigning all their contacts, and adding them back from scratch.
Understanding team member levels before you add anyone saves you from complex workarounds and data migration headaches down the road.
The Five Team Member Levels
Account Owner
What They Are: The original account holder who pays the subscription and has complete control over everything.
Who Should Be Account Owner: The business owner, practice owner, or person ultimately responsible for the CRM and its costs.
What They Control:
- Full access to all system settings
- Complete visibility into all team members' work
- Ability to add, edit, and remove team members
- Billing and subscription management (Owner-only capability)
- Can sign in as any other team member to troubleshoot or assist
- Owns their own contact database
- Can view contacts across all databases
Database Access: Account Owners have their own contact database. Team Players and Administrators share this database and work on the same contacts.
Limitations: None. There can only be one Account Owner per system.
Best For: The person who owns the business and needs complete oversight.
Administrator
What They Are: A co-leader who can do almost everything the Account Owner can, except manage billing.
Who Should Be Administrator: Office managers, business partners, senior staff members who need full system control.
What They Control:
- Full access to all system settings (except billing)
- Complete visibility into all team members' work
- Ability to add, edit, and remove team members
- Can sign in as any other team member to troubleshoot or assist
- Can view contacts across all databases
- Can reassign contacts between team members
- Can access all team calendars
Database Access: Administrators share the same contact database as the Account Owner. They see and work on the same contacts.
Limitations: Cannot access billing or cancel the subscription. Otherwise, Administrators have identical capabilities to the Account Owner.
Best For: Business partners, office managers, or senior team members who need full administrative control without access to financial information.
Team Player
What They Are: Team members who work on shared contacts with limited access to system settings.
Who Should Be Team Player: Employees, assistants, support staff, or anyone who works on the same clients as the Account Owner.
What They Control:
- Add, edit, and delete contacts (with permissions)
- Create and manage their own tasks
- Send emails and texts to contacts
- Work deals and opportunities
- Access their own calendar
- Limited settings access (cannot change system-wide configurations)
Database Access: Team Players share the same contact database as the Account Owner and Administrators. Everyone sees the same contacts.
Automatic Systems: Team Players use the Account Owner's automatic systems—autoresponders, to-do plans, and landing pages. They cannot create their own.
Limitations:
- Cannot access import/export utilities
- Cannot modify system-wide settings (categories, custom fields, workflows, etc.)
- Cannot add or manage other team members
- Cannot create their own automatic systems
Best For: Employees who work on shared clients and don't need administrative access or their own contact database.
Independent User
What They Are: Team members with their own separate contact database and limited system access.
Who Should Be Independent User: Salespeople, agents, representatives, or anyone who manages their own client base separately from others.
What They Control:
- Add, edit, and delete their own contacts
- Create and manage their own tasks
- Send emails and texts to their contacts
- Work their own deals and opportunities
- Access their own calendar
- Limited settings access (cannot change system-wide configurations)
Database Access: Independent Users have their own completely separate contact database. Other team members cannot see their contacts unless they're an Administrator.
Automatic Systems: Independent Users use the Account Owner's automatic systems—autoresponders, to-do plans, and landing pages. They cannot create their own.
Limitations:
- Cannot access import/export utilities
- Cannot modify system-wide settings
- Cannot add or manage other team members
- Cannot create their own automatic systems
- Cannot see other team members' contacts (except Administrators can see theirs)
Best For: Sales teams with territories, real estate agents in a brokerage, insurance agents with individual books of business, or any scenario where team members manage completely separate client bases.
Power User
What They Are: The most independent team member level with their own database, their own automatic systems, and full utilities access.
Who Should Be Power User: Franchisees, independent contractors, satellite offices, or highly autonomous team members who need their own complete marketing automation setup.
What They Control:
- Add, edit, and delete their own contacts
- Create and manage their own tasks and deals
- Full import/export access
- Create their own autoresponders
- Build their own to-do plans
- Design their own landing pages and web forms
- Access to most system utilities
- Can have their own Team Players who share their database
Database Access: Power Users have their own completely separate contact database. They can add Team Players who will share their database and work on their contacts.
Automatic Systems: Power Users create and manage their own complete set of automatic systems—completely independent from the Account Owner's systems.
Limitations:
- Cannot access billing
- Cannot add or manage team members outside their own sub-team
- Cannot modify certain system-wide settings that affect the entire account
Best For: Franchisees running independent locations, contractors who need complete autonomy, satellite offices, or team members who need their own full marketing automation setup.
Database Sharing Structure
Understanding who shares contacts with whom is critical:
Shared Database Group (Owner + Administrators + Team Players)
- Account Owner, Administrators, and Team Players all see the same contacts
- Everyone works on the same client base
- Perfect for offices where the whole team serves all clients
Separate Databases (Independent Users + Power Users)
- Each Independent User has completely separate contacts
- Each Power User has completely separate contacts
- Other team members cannot see their contacts (except Administrators)
- Perfect for sales teams, agent models, or franchise structures
Power User Sub-Teams
- A Power User can have Team Players who share the Power User's database
- Those Team Players work on the Power User's contacts
- The Power User manages their mini-team independently
- Perfect for franchise owners with their own staff
Visual Comparison
Common Team Structures
Small Partnership (2-3 People)
Setup: Owner + 1-2 Administrators
Everyone shares the same contacts, everyone has full system access, perfect for close partnerships where all partners need equal access to everything.
Traditional Office (1 Leader + Staff)
Setup: Owner + 2-4 Team Players
Everyone works on shared clients, Owner handles settings and configuration, Team Players focus on client work without system administration responsibilities.
Sales Team with Territories
Setup: Owner + 5-10 Independent Users
Each salesperson manages their own territory and contacts, Owner can view everyone's data for reporting, salespeople cannot see each other's clients, prevents territorial conflicts.
Real Estate Brokerage
Setup: Owner + 1 Administrator + 10 Power Users
Each agent operates independently with their own clients and marketing, Administrator helps with office management and troubleshooting, Owner focuses on business operations rather than daily system management.
Franchise Organization
Setup: Owner + 5 Power Users (each with 2-3 Team Players)
Each franchisee runs their own location with their own staff, franchisees have complete marketing automation independence, corporate Owner maintains visibility for support and reporting.
Office with Manager
Setup: Owner + 1 Administrator + 3 Team Players
Administrator handles day-to-day team management, Owner focuses on business strategy, Team Players do client-facing work, Administrator can troubleshoot by signing in as team members.
Decision Guide: Which Level Should I Choose?
Ask these questions for each team member:
Do they need to see my contacts, or have their own?
- See yours → Team Player or Administrator
- Have their own → Independent User or Power User
Do they need to manage system settings?
- Yes, full access → Administrator
- No → Team Player, Independent User, or Power User
Do they need their own marketing automation (autoresponders, landing pages, to-do plans)?
- Yes → Power User
- No, they can use mine → Team Player or Independent User
Do they need to add/manage other team members?
- Yes → Administrator
- No → Team Player, Independent User, or Power User
Do they need import/export capabilities?
- Yes → Administrator or Power User
- No → Team Player or Independent User
Important Warnings
Converting Between Levels Is Difficult
Once you add a team member, changing their level requires:
- Deleting the team member's account
- Reassigning all their contacts to another database
- Losing their email templates, calendar appointments, and settings
- Adding them back as the new level
- Reassigning contacts back to them
This process is time-consuming and risks data loss. Get it right the first time.
You Cannot Partially Convert
You cannot "upgrade" a Team Player to an Independent User or "downgrade" an Independent User to a Team Player without the full deletion and recreation process.
Database Structure Is Permanent
The decision about who shares contacts with whom is nearly impossible to change after you've been working in the system. Plan your database structure carefully before adding team members.
Questions and Answers
Q: Can I have multiple Administrators?
A: Yes, you can have as many Administrators as you need. There's no limit on any team member level except Account Owner (only one per account).
Q: What's the difference between Administrator and Account Owner if they can do almost everything the same?
A: Administrators cannot access billing, view invoices, change subscription plans, or cancel the account. The Account Owner retains exclusive control over all financial aspects. Everything else is identical.
Q: Can a Power User see other Power Users' contacts?
A: No. Power Users have completely separate databases and cannot see each other's contacts. Only Administrators and the Account Owner can view all databases.
Q: If I have a Team Player who later needs their own contacts, what are my options?
A: You must delete them and add them back as an Independent User or Power User. This is why planning team structure carefully upfront is so important.
Q: Can Team Players create their own email templates?
A: Yes. Team Players can create personal email templates, but they'll use the Account Owner's shared templates for any system-wide campaigns.
Q: Do Independent Users and Power Users cost the same as Team Players?
A: Yes. Each team member adds the same cost to your monthly subscription regardless of their level. Pricing is based on number of users, not their capabilities.
Q: Can a Power User have their own Administrator?
A: No. Power Users can have Team Players who work on their contacts, but they cannot designate an Administrator. The account-level Administrator can manage Power Users if needed.
Q: What happens to a team member's data if they leave the company?
A: When you delete a team member, their contacts and deals are reassigned to the Account Owner (or to the Power User if they were part of a Power User's sub-team). Their email templates, calendar appointments, and personal settings are deleted.
Q: Can I temporarily disable a team member without deleting them?
A: Yes. Edit the team member and check "Sign In Disabled." This prevents them from logging in while keeping all their data intact. Useful for temporary leave or suspension.
Q: How many team members can I have?
A: There's no hard limit. Teams can have dozens of members if needed. The system handles small partnerships (2-3 people) up to large organizations (50+ users).
Q: Should I make my office manager an Administrator or Team Player?
A: If they need to troubleshoot team issues, adjust permissions, and help with system management, make them an Administrator. If they only need to work on client records, Team Player is sufficient.
Q: Can a Power User share their templates with the Account Owner?
A: No. Power Users have completely separate template libraries. Only Team Players and Administrators who share the Owner's database can share templates with that group.
Guide Type: Reference Guide
Estimated Time: 12 minutes