If you’re running a service business or managing a small team, you know the chaos that comes when everyone has too much (or too little) access in your scheduling system. Mistakes get made, double bookings pop up, and suddenly, you’re spending more time untangling calendar messes than actually getting work done.
This guide is for anyone using Setmore who wants to get a grip on who can do what—without overcomplicating things. We’ll walk through how to set up team member access and permissions, what actually matters, and where you can skip the bells and whistles.
Why Permissions Matter in Setmore
Before diving into the steps, let’s cut through the fluff: giving everyone admin rights is a recipe for disaster, and locking things down too tightly just means you’ll be fielding Slack messages all day for every little change. The goal is balance: enough freedom so your team can do their jobs, but enough control so nothing catches fire.
Setmore is pretty straightforward, but there are still a few traps—like accidentally letting a new hire delete your entire customer list. Let’s avoid that.
Step 1: Understand Setmore’s Roles (and Their Limits)
Setmore uses a basic role-based system. Each team member can be an:
- Admin: Full control. Can add/remove team members, edit services, manage appointments, and touch pretty much anything.
- Staff: Access is limited to their own calendar and appointments, with some minor exceptions.
That’s it—no fancy custom roles or granular permission toggles. For most small businesses, that’s enough, but if you want fine-grained control (like, “Can edit customer notes but NOT services”), Setmore isn’t built for that.
What Works
- Admins are best for owners, managers, or anyone you trust with the keys.
- Staff accounts are for anyone who just needs to manage their own bookings, like stylists, therapists, or trainers.
What Doesn’t
- There’s no “read-only” access.
- You can’t give someone limited admin powers (like, “can manage staff, but not billing”).
- No audit logs—if someone changes something, you won’t always know who did it.
If you need more complexity, you’ll have to look at more heavyweight tools. But for most, simple is good.
Step 2: Add Team Members the Right Way
Here’s how you actually add people to your Setmore account, without creating confusion later.
- Log in as Admin. Only admins can add new staff.
- Go to ‘Staff’ in the sidebar. Hit “Add Staff.”
- Fill in details. Name, email, working hours, photo (optional).
- Set their role. By default, they’re Staff. You can make them Admin here if you want (but don’t do this unless you’re sure).
- Send invitation. The team member will get an invite email with a link to set their password and log in.
Pro tip: If someone needs temporary extra access (say, to cover for a manager on leave), make them Admin, but set yourself a calendar reminder to switch them back later. Too many “temporary” admins become permanent by accident.
Step 3: Control What Staff Can See and Do
As simple as Setmore’s roles are, you still have options for what staff members see:
- Staff Only See Their Own Calendar: They can’t view or edit other staff schedules, unless they’re made Admin.
- Service Assignments: In each staff member’s profile, you can set which services they’re available for. This keeps, for example, your massage therapist from being booked for dog grooming by mistake.
- Notifications: Staff can get email or SMS alerts for their own appointments, but not for others.
What you can’t do:
- Restrict staff from seeing customer contact info for their appointments.
- Hide services from some staff.
- Prevent staff from making manual bookings for themselves.
If privacy is a real concern (say, you don’t want staff seeing celebrity client names), Setmore’s controls are too basic. But for most standard teams, it works.
Step 4: Adjust Admins and Staff As Your Team Changes
People come and go, roles change. Here’s how to keep your permissions in shape:
- To promote a staff member to Admin: Go to their profile → Edit → Change role to Admin.
- To demote an Admin to Staff: Same steps, just reverse.
- To remove someone: Delete their profile. Their appointments stay on the calendar, but they lose access.
Don’t forget: When someone leaves, remove their access immediately. This isn’t about paranoia—ex-staff with admin rights can still nuke your data or download your customer list. Don’t put it off.
Step 5: Common Permission Mistakes (and How to Dodge Them)
Even with a simple system like Setmore, people get tripped up. Here’s what to watch for:
- Too Many Admins: The more admins you have, the more likely someone will accidentally (or intentionally) mess things up. Limit admin rights to a handful of trusted people.
- Forgetting to Remove Old Staff: Don’t let ex-employees linger in the system. They don’t need access, and it’s a security hole.
- Unclear Service Assignments: If you don’t set which staff can do which services, you’ll end up with awkward bookings (like a junior getting scheduled for a senior-level task).
- Ignoring Notifications: Make sure staff have the right notifications set, so missed appointments and no-shows don’t creep up.
Step 6: When You Need More Than Setmore Offers
If you find yourself wishing you could:
- Give someone access to only reports, not calendars
- Track who made every change
- Set custom roles (like “receptionist” with special powers)
Setmore just isn’t built for that. It’s a lightweight tool, and that’s its strength. If your business grows and you need more control, you’ll need to look at something like Acuity, Calendly (Teams), or a heavier appointment booking platform with deeper permission settings.
Don’t bolt on a bunch of workarounds. If the basics don’t fit, it’s probably time to switch tools.
Step 7: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Permissions aren’t something you “set and forget.” As your team changes, revisit who’s got access and why. Over time, you’ll probably realize you can get by with fewer admins and a tighter setup.
- Start simple: owner(s) as Admin, everyone else as Staff.
- Adjust as needed, but don’t overthink it.
- Review access every quarter, or whenever someone joins/leaves.
You’re not protecting Fort Knox here—just making sure your team can do their jobs without creating chaos. The simpler you keep things, the less likely you are to get burned by accidental clicks or forgotten accounts.
Stay focused on what actually matters for your workflow: the right people, with the right access, at the right time. Don’t stress over what you can’t control—just set up Setmore’s permissions as cleanly as you can, and tighten things up when needed. Simple works.