If you're wrangling a big team in Loopio, user permissions can either keep your workflows tight—or turn collaboration into a mess. This guide is for admins, IT folks, and operations leads who don’t have hours to burn on trial and error. Whether you’re new to Loopio or just want to stop permissions from being a recurring headache, here’s how to set things up right.
1. Understand Loopio’s Permission Model (Skip at Your Own Risk)
First, a quick gut check: don’t assume Loopio’s permissions work like every other SaaS tool. Loopio uses a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) model, but the way roles, groups, and permissions interact has a few quirks you’ll want to know.
- Roles: These are sets of permissions (like “Admin” or “Contributor”). Loopio comes with defaults, but you can (and should) customize them.
- Groups: Collections of users. You assign roles to groups, not to individual users, which is a lifesaver for large teams.
- Direct assignments: You can assign roles directly to a user, but for big teams, you’ll regret it later. Stick to groups.
Pro tip: Map out your team structure and what each group really needs to do. Don’t just mirror your org chart—think about who actually needs access to what.
2. Get Your House in Order: Prep Before You Click
Before you even touch Loopio’s settings, get clear on:
- Which teams need access to which projects, libraries, or functions.
- Who should be able to edit content vs. just read it.
- Any regulatory or legal requirements (auditors hate it when everyone is an admin).
What to ignore: Don’t overcomplicate things with dozens of roles “just in case.” Start simple. You can always split hairs later.
3. Create Your Groups
Loopio lets you create groups based on department, function, region, or whatever makes sense for you. Here’s how to set it up:
- Go to Admin > Groups.
- Click Create Group.
- Name your group clearly (e.g., “Sales East,” “IT RFP Writers”). Don’t get cute—make it obvious.
- Add users to the group. You can bulk add if you have a CSV, which is a lifesaver for large teams.
Real talk: If your company reorganizes every few months, keep your group names generic enough that you’re not constantly updating them.
4. Customize Roles (Don’t Settle for Defaults)
The default roles in Loopio are OK, but rarely fit perfectly. Take the time to review and tweak them:
- Go to Admin > Roles.
- Pick a role to edit or create a new one.
- Set permissions for each function:
- View: See content, but not change it.
- Edit: Modify content, but not delete.
- Delete: Self-explanatory. Go easy here.
- Admin: Access settings and manage users.
- For large teams, you might want roles like:
- “Content Reviewer” (can comment, not edit)
- “Library Manager” (edit library content, not projects)
- “Project Owner” (full control on assigned projects only)
What works: Fewer, more clearly defined roles. Otherwise, you’ll lose track of who can do what.
What doesn’t: “One-size-fits-all” roles. Resist the urge to make everyone an editor or admin just because it’s easier in the short term.
5. Assign Roles to Groups
Now the key step: assign roles to the groups, not to individuals.
- In Admin > Groups, select your group.
- Assign the relevant role(s) to the group.
- Double-check what permissions those roles actually grant (the interface makes it easy to gloss over this).
Honest tip: If people keep asking for permissions, your roles are probably too restrictive. If you’re constantly cleaning up mistakes, they’re too loose.
6. Set Up Project- and Library-Level Permissions
For finer control, Loopio lets you restrict access on a per-project or per-library basis.
- Go to the project or library.
- Under “Permissions,” choose which groups (and thus roles) can access it.
- Be careful with “Everyone” access—it’s tempting, but you’ll regret it when sensitive content leaks.
Pro tip: For large teams, consider creating “read-only” groups for stakeholders who need visibility but shouldn’t touch anything.
7. Onboard and Offboard Users Without Creating Chaos
Adding and removing users is where things usually fall apart for big teams. Here’s how to keep it clean:
- Onboarding: Add new users to the relevant group(s)—don’t assign roles directly.
- Offboarding: Remove users from all groups before deactivating them. This keeps your audit trails tidy.
- Audit regularly: Once a quarter, review group memberships and role assignments. It sounds boring, but it’ll save your hide in an audit.
What to ignore: Don’t bother micromanaging permissions for every user unless you have a compliance reason. Groups and roles cover 95% of use cases.
8. Review, Test, and Adjust
Don’t assume you’ll get it perfect on the first try. With big teams, weird edge cases always pop up.
- Ask team leads to test permissions with real-world tasks.
- Use Loopio’s audit logs to see what’s working—and what’s not.
- Tweak roles and group memberships as you spot problems.
Pro tip: Keep a change log (even if it’s just a Google Doc) of what you adjust. You’ll thank yourself when you need to troubleshoot six months from now.
9. What to Watch Out For (Lessons from the Trenches)
A few honest warnings, so you don’t repeat common mistakes:
- Avoid “role sprawl”: Too many roles = confusion. Keep it tight.
- Resist “admin creep”: Only a handful of people should ever be admins. It’s not a badge of honor.
- Communication matters: Tell users what they can/can’t do. Most permission problems are actually communication problems.
- Integration gotchas: If you connect Loopio to SSO or HRIS systems, test how permissions sync. Sometimes things break quietly.
- Don’t trust defaults: Always review what the default roles and permissions actually allow. They usually lean too open.
10. Keep It Simple and Iterate
Setting up user permissions in Loopio for a large team isn’t rocket science, but it does take some planning. Start with the basics, stay organized with groups and roles, and avoid the “just make everyone an admin” shortcut. Tweak as you go—no system is perfect out of the gate.
Keep things simple. Iterate as your team grows or shifts. The fewer moving parts, the less you’ll have to clean up later.
And if you ever feel like the permissions are getting away from you? It’s not just you. Everyone struggles with this stuff. Just take a breath, review what’s in place, and make your next change with intention.