Smarter Access Control: Role-Based Access vs. Responsibility-Based Profiles

Smarter Access Control: Role-Based Access vs. Responsibility-Based Profiles

Every business has roles, responsibilities, and workflows. While roles help define structure, responsibilities within those roles are rarely the same. As your team grows, some members need access to only a specific set of features. Others require visibility without control.
That's why role-based access alone isn't enough. What will make operations more efficient is responsibility-based access that keeps teams focused and reflects what someone actually does every day.


Before: Fixed Access with Predefined Roles

Previously in SalesIQ, access was managed using predefined roles such as Admin, Supervisor, and Associate. These roles helped establish a basic structure, but access within each role remained the same for everyone assigned to it.

Now: Custom Access with SalesIQ Profiles

With the introduction of Profiles in Zoho SalesIQ, access is no longer limited to predefined roles. Profiles allow you to customize permissions at a feature level, so access aligns closely with responsibilities, based on what operators actually do.

With profiles, you can:
  1. Give each person access only to the features they work on
  2. Keep critical settings and configurations limited to the right people
  3. Make onboarding and role changes easier as teams grow
The result is simple: cleaner workflows, better accountability, and faster execution.


Idea
Note: You can continue using the existing predefined roles, i.e., Admin, Supervisor, and Associate, to define base-level access. Use profiles as an additional layer of control to fine-tune permissions based on what operators actually do.

Best Practices for Using Profiles Effectively

To get the most out of profiles, here are a few best practices to follow:
  1. Create profiles based on responsibilities: Design profiles around day-to-day work managed by individuals, not just job titles.
  2. Use the same profile for similar roles: If everyone in a department performs the same function, assign them the same profile. This keeps access consistent and easier to manage.
  3. Give supervisors visibility, not control: Team leads and supervisors often need insights and conversation history, not configuration access. Limit their permissions to monitoring and review.
  4. Reserve full access for admins: Limit access to critical settings, integrations, and system-level configurations to admins only.
  5. Limit access to sensitive data: Restrict features that expose customer data or system controls to prevent accidental changes or data leakage.
  6. Review profiles as teams evolve: As responsibilities change, revisit the custom profiles you created to ensure access still aligns with how teams actually work.
Want clarity in your workspace?
Use Profiles in SalesIQ to define responsibilities, assign the right access, and keep your operations clean and efficient. Follow the instructions in our help-guide to create your first custom profile!

And, if you've already tried this, share your most-used custom profile in the comments below.

Warm regards,
Hameetha

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community




                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Digest


                                                  • Functions


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner


                                                  • Word of the Day


                                                  • Ask the Experts





                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner









                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                              Zoho Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                              • Recent Topics

                                                                                                              • URGENT: ChatGPT Extension Failing With “gpt-3 Access Error” (Priority Support)

                                                                                                                Appreciate support reviewing this urgently. I am a Priority Support member and need immediate clarification on a recurring issue involving the ChatGPT extensions inside Zoho Desk. Both extensions — including the version created and published by Zoho —
                                                                                                              • Zoho Desk iOS update: Custom buttons, follow/ unfollow option on tickets

                                                                                                                Hello everyone! In the most recent Zoho Desk iOS app update, we have brought in support to access the custom buttons configured on web app(desk.zoho.com). Using custom buttons you can seamlessly execute predefined actions directly from their mobile devices,
                                                                                                              • Zoho pdf suit

                                                                                                                Pl. design products with following feature: 1. Please add all features given in Ilovepdf website to work on pdf files. It is mandatory to use pdf in court work. 2. Courts have prescribed New Times Roman, pl. add this font as well 3. Indexing, signature
                                                                                                              • Zoho Not Working

                                                                                                                Today Zoho not wokring
                                                                                                              • Dynamically autofill fields with URL parameters

                                                                                                                I have a zoho form embedded in my organization's WP website. Our users find their account with a search tool, and then can select to open this page with the embedded form. The URL of the page holds the parameter that I need, but I cannot figure out how
                                                                                                              • Integrate Projects for Desk KB article release tasks

                                                                                                                Could you please look into the possibility of integrating project tasks for Zoho Desk article release processes? We are looking for an internal integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho Desk's KB article drafting, reviewing and releasing tasks. We could
                                                                                                              • Issue in Annual Leave

                                                                                                                We created a policy to credit 21 days at the Start of the Year An employee has taken 16 days of leaves thought the year, so we expect to see 5 Leaves remaining right? But Zoho People is Showing 12 Days of Leave Balance Available If we check the Leave
                                                                                                              • Use the searchBy parameter to find user by email address

                                                                                                                I'm trying to find a user is Zoho Desk via the Api. In the documentation I see that there is the possibility to add a searchBy parameter in the request. But I can't find how the search values should be formatted. I've tried multiple things and get either
                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM Community Digest - September 2025 | Part 2

                                                                                                                Hello Everyone! Mid-September vibes: fresh tips, smart hacks, and practical Zoho CRM updates all in one place. Let’s dive in. Product Updates: The All-New Address Field! The new Address field type makes it easier to capture complete addresses in one structured
                                                                                                              • Zoho Vault API: Create new Secrets

                                                                                                                Hello, I attempt to Post Secrets to the vault, since the encrypted entries are almost impossible to decrypt, since there is no documentation on how to decrypt them. Like with the lack of documentation on how to descrypt, there are missing information regarding on how to create new secrets/post secrets. Source: https://www.zoho.com/vault/api/#create-a-new-secret When I try to send JSON Informationen as a POST-Request I only receive the error message: {     "operation": {         "result": {             "error_code": "",
                                                                                                              • CRM and Finance Tab - Add Invoice "Subject " Column

                                                                                                                When On a contact in CRM, and you click the Zoho Finace tab, how can I put in the invoice subject line? Or even a custom field for this.  We need to see what that invoice is for, without opening it.   If we have tons of invoices we need a way to quick
                                                                                                              • Collections Management: #4 Before, During & After Payment Processing

                                                                                                                "Mark, I think the payment link isn't working. Can you send it again?" Staring at a message, Mark got on his phone. This was the third time the same customer had asked him that week. A few minutes later, another message came, "Hey, the invoice total seems
                                                                                                              • Account name not populating when importing contacts

                                                                                                                When importing a csv file to add contacts the account name is blank? Every other filed gets mapped and imported correctly, i.e contact name, phone number. However not the account name which I have mapped to "company" field in my csv file
                                                                                                              • Suggestion to improve zoho writer

                                                                                                                I am using your product, I believe it is very useful, however, i was writing a note and I needed to draw an arrow in different angles to explain a point and I couldn't. it would be helpful, to add draw functions to the zoho writer. thanks
                                                                                                              • webhook basic authentication

                                                                                                                II want to use a webhook to send out a SMS. Unfortunately Twilio does not use an authToken but basic authentication. I created the webhook as POST and get this url: https://{username}:{password}@api.twilio.com/2010-04-01/Accounts/{account}/Messages?body=<BODY>&to=+155555555&from=+1555555555
                                                                                                              • Custom function return type

                                                                                                                Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding
                                                                                                              • Issue with Hour Calculation in Zoho People Attendance Module

                                                                                                                I have noticed an issue in the attendance regularization feature of Zoho People. When trying to regularize past dates, the total working hours are not calculated correctly. For example, if I enter a check-in and check-out time for a previous day, the
                                                                                                              • Push Notification for New Bookings in Zoho Bookings App

                                                                                                                when a someone schedules an appointment through the booking page, is there any option to receive a push notification in the mobile app?
                                                                                                              • Automation in Zoho Sprints

                                                                                                                Hi. I have a Sprints board with the following statuses: ToDo, InProgress, CodeReview, Testing, Preprod, Live When a ticket is moved from e.g. Testing to Preprod, the following tags should be modified: remove 'tested OK' remove 'ready for Preprod' add
                                                                                                              • Export Purchase orders as Excel

                                                                                                                Is it possible to export purchase orders as excel rather than PDF? Our suppliers don't want orders made in PDF, they need it to be excel
                                                                                                              • Draft & Schedule Emails Directly in Bigin

                                                                                                                Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to email in Bigin. We'll go over each one in detail, but here's a quick overview: Previously, you couldn't draft or schedule emails in Bigin, but
                                                                                                              • TDS Filing

                                                                                                                Is there any option for automatic 26Q and 24Q filing in Zoho books. Even Tally has this option. Why don't Zoho has this ? Is there any customisation available for this ?
                                                                                                              • Zia’s AI Assist now helps you write clearer notes — in seconds

                                                                                                                After helping recruiters craft job descriptions, emails, and assessments, Zia’s AI Assist is now stepping in to make note-taking effortless too. Whether you’re recording feedback after an interview or sharing quick updates with your team, you can now
                                                                                                              • Shortcut to fill a range of cells

                                                                                                                Good evening: I'm writing because I haven't been able to find a feature that allows you to select a range of cells, type in one of them, and then use a key combination to type in all of them. In Excel, the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Enter. I haven't found
                                                                                                              • Object required error

                                                                                                                Hi, I am getting an 'Object required' error on the line Call HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws, startOfWeek, endOfWeek) when I run the ShowCurrentWeek macro but not when I run the ShowCurrentMonth macro. Any ideas? Regards, GW Option Explicit Sub HideColumnsOutsideRange(ws
                                                                                                              • Zoho CRM - Rename "Estimates" in CRM Finance Suite Integration to "Quotes"

                                                                                                                I'm not sure if it's been 2 or 3 years now since Zoho Books renamed Estimates to Quotes. I still see "Estimates" in the Zoho CRM integration. Could this be added to Translation settings so that some customisation could be made on an account by account
                                                                                                              • Its 2022, can our customers log into CRM on their mobiles? Zoho Response: Maybe Later

                                                                                                                I am a long time Zoho CRM user. I have just started using the client portal feature. On the plus side I have found it very fast and very easy (for someone used to the CRM config) to set up a subset of module views that make a potentially extremely useful
                                                                                                              • New Series Announcement - Ecommerce Marketing Tips

                                                                                                                Running an online business is more than just having a website. It’s about getting the right customers to discover you, trust you, and keep coming back. To support your growth journey, we’re launching a weekly Marketing Tips series right here on Zoho Commerce
                                                                                                              • Marketing Tip #7: Add a blog to your online store

                                                                                                                A blog is more than content. It’s a magnet for new customers. Sharing product guides, styling tips, or industry insights through blog posts builds trust and helps you rank higher on search engines. Try this today: Write one blog post answering a common
                                                                                                              • Kanban view on Zoho CRM mobile app!

                                                                                                                What is Kanban? The name doesn't sound English, right? Yes, Kanban is a Japanese word which means 'Card you can see'. As per the meaning, Kanban in CRM is a type of list view in which the records will be displayed in cards and categorized under the given
                                                                                                              • Allow Regular Users to Directly Transfer Ownership of Files & Folders

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to file and folder ownership management in Zoho WorkDrive. At the moment, a regular user cannot directly transfer ownership of their files or folders
                                                                                                              • Triggering rules on lead conversion

                                                                                                                There is no field on the Rule list for rule conversion to trigger an alert on liead conversion to a potential. I assigned a rule to file on any creation or update of a lead. The lead was changed a lead to a potential but no rule was fired. Rajesh Bhadra
                                                                                                              • Customised Funnel

                                                                                                                We are running the standard plan for our ZOHO CRM. I have been asked if there is a way to combine data from the Calls module, Deals module and Contact Module into 1 funnel, similar to the view you can get when viewing Deals By Stages, you can see the
                                                                                                              • Trigger Zapier on Deluge Insert Into Function?

                                                                                                                Hello, To get around the limitation of not being able to trigger a Zapier Zap on Record Update(this would be extremely useful to be able to do btw), I have created a Deluge script to copy the data from Form A to a Trigger Form B using the Insert Into expression from a Custom Action button on a Report from Form A.  This action does not trigger the Zapier Zap whereas manually adding a record or duplicating an existing record does trigger the Zap. Is Insert Into not the same as a manual Add in the context
                                                                                                              • Can you inject JS in an HML+CSS+Deluge Page?

                                                                                                                I have an HTML + CSS + Deluge page and need just a little vanilla JS functionality. However, it seems like Zoho Creator does not allow that. I'm required to create a JS widget. Is this correct? If so: 1. Won't this quickly consume my API limit if there
                                                                                                              • Zoho unified inbox

                                                                                                                The new changes have definitely improved things for switching between accounts.  But zoho still desperately needs a unified inbox.  It sucks to have to enter filters and folders for each and every inbox.  This seems like such a simple thing, i wonder why Zoho hasn't done it?
                                                                                                              • Best Practice for Penny Rounding & FX Adjustments in Zoho Books

                                                                                                                Hi everyone, I’m just looking for some clarity on the correct way to handle very small rounding differences in Zoho Books when dealing with foreign-currency payments. What I’m currently doing: • I enter the supplier bill exactly as shown. • When paying
                                                                                                              • Is there a problem with sharing workdrive files with links since last night?

                                                                                                                As per title, we can't access folders/files through share links since last night. I created ticket but we need quick solution and didn't hear back from the support yet. The files are still accessible by the main account but all zoho files that we are
                                                                                                              • Enable Screen Recording in Zoho WorkDrive Mobile Apps (Android & iOS)

                                                                                                                Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, How are you? We are enthusiastic Zoho One users and rely heavily on Zoho WorkDrive for internal collaboration and content sharing. The screen-recording feature in the WorkDrive web app (similar to Loom) is extremely useful- however,
                                                                                                              • Production Management Tool (MRP / BOM)

                                                                                                                Hi Guys, is there any recommended App available that works with zoho and covers the needed applications for a production? What we need is a system that covers the BOM (bill of materials), MRP (material ressources planning), MRP II (manufacturing ressources
                                                                                                              • Next Page