How to set up and manage user permissions in A leads for your sales team

Not everyone on your sales team needs the keys to the castle. Giving the wrong people too much access in your CRM means you’re asking for mix-ups, accidental data loss, or even a data breach. If you’re using A-leads, you’ve got a lot of control over who can see and do what—but only if you set it up right. This guide walks you through the real steps, pitfalls, and best practices for handling user permissions in A-leads, without getting lost in the weeds.

Why User Permissions Matter (and Where People Go Wrong)

Let’s be honest: most teams either don’t bother with permissions, or they go way overboard. Too loose? You’ll have sales reps editing each other’s deals or exporting customer lists they shouldn’t. Too strict? Suddenly no one can do their job without bugging you for access.

Getting permissions right in A-leads isn’t about paranoia—it’s about keeping your data clean, your sales process smooth, and your team focused. If you’re the admin, ops lead, or just the one who drew the short straw, this is for you.

Step 1: Decide What Access Your Team Actually Needs

Before you start clicking around in A-leads, take a minute to sketch out what you want your sales team to be able to do. Otherwise, you’ll just react to requests and end up with a mess.

Some questions to ask: - Does everyone need to see every lead, or should reps have their own territories? - Who should be able to add or delete contacts? - Do you want sales managers to edit deals, or just view reports? - Who should be able to export data, or change settings?

Pro tip:
Start with the basics. You can always loosen or tighten permissions later, but it’s much harder to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Step 2: Understand How Permissions Work in A-leads

A-leads uses a mix of user roles and granular permissions. Here’s what actually matters:

  • Roles: Think of these as buckets—Sales Rep, Manager, Admin, etc. Each role comes with a set of default permissions.
  • Custom Permissions: You can tweak what each role can do. This is where you control things like “can edit leads” or “can view reports.”
  • Team Access: You can group users into teams, so permissions apply to everyone in that group.

What’s good:
You don’t have to start from scratch. Roles make it easy to set up most teams.

What’s not so good:
It’s possible to get lost in the weeds with all the settings. Don’t overthink it—stick to your plan from Step 1.

Step 3: Create or Edit Roles

  1. Log in as an Admin. Only Admins can edit roles and permissions.
  2. Navigate to Settings → User Management → Roles.
  3. Review the default roles.
  4. Sales Rep: Usually basic access to leads and contacts.
  5. Sales Manager: More access, including reporting and sometimes editing other reps’ leads.

  6. Admin: Full access (try to keep this limited).

  7. Edit a role or create a new one.

  8. Click “Edit” to tweak an existing role, or “Create Role” for something custom (like SDR or AE).
  9. Assign permissions clearly: view, create, edit, delete, export, manage settings.

Pro tip:
Don’t create a new role for every one-off scenario. If you have more than 5 custom roles, you’re probably making things too complicated.

Step 4: Assign Roles to Users

Now that you’ve set up your roles, it’s time to actually use them.

  1. Go to Settings → User Management → Users.
  2. Add new users or edit existing ones.
  3. Assign each user the right role.

  4. Double-check you’re not giving admin access to someone who just needs to log calls.

  5. (Optional) Assign users to teams.

  6. If you want permissions to cascade by team (like “East Coast Sales”), set this up now.

Common mistakes to avoid: - Giving temporary contractors full access because “it’s easier.” - Assigning everyone as a manager “just in case.” - Forgetting to remove access for people who’ve left. (Set a calendar reminder to review users monthly.)

Step 5: Adjust Permissions as Needed

You’ll almost never get this perfect on the first try. That’s fine—expect to revisit permissions as your team or process changes.

How to adjust: - If someone can’t do their job, ask what they’re trying to do—then update their role or tweak the permissions. - If someone has too much access, fix it fast. Don’t wait for a crisis.

A-leads makes it pretty painless:
Just edit the user or role and save. Changes take effect immediately.

Step 6: Audit and Monitor Regularly

Even if you trust your team, mistakes happen. Regularly check who has access to what.

How to audit in A-leads: - Go to User Management → Audit Logs or Access Reports. - Look for anything weird—like exports you didn’t expect, or new admins popping up. - Review user lists at least quarterly.

If you spot something off, have a direct conversation and tighten things up.

Pro tip:
If you’re in a regulated industry (finance, healthcare, etc.), keep a record of permission changes for compliance.

What to Ignore (and What to Watch For)

  • Ignore:
  • Overly complex permission schemes. If you need an org chart to explain your CRM roles, you’ve overdone it.
  • Giving everyone admin “just until we figure this out.” That never ends well.

  • Unused features like “supervisor shadow mode” if you don’t need them—don’t clutter your setup.

  • Watch for:

  • New features after A-leads updates. Sometimes permissions reset or new options appear—check after major releases.
  • Quiet permission creep. People ask for a little more access each month. Stick to your guns.

Troubleshooting Common Permission Issues

  • A rep can’t see their own leads:
  • Check if they’re assigned to the correct team or territory.

  • Make sure their role includes “view” access for leads.

  • Manager can’t run reports:

  • Their role probably lacks “reporting” permissions—edit and add it.

  • User can’t export data:

  • This is often restricted by default (for good reason). Only enable for people who need it.

  • Ex-employee still shows up:

  • Remove or deactivate their user account, don’t just leave them hanging.

If you can’t figure it out, A-leads’ support team is responsive—but be clear about which user, role, and permission you’re talking about. Saves everyone time.

Keep It Simple—And Keep an Eye on It

Setting up permissions in A-leads isn’t glamorous, but it pays off in fewer headaches down the line. Start simple: set clear roles, assign them thoughtfully, and review regularly. Most importantly, don’t let things drift—permissions are not “set and forget.” The simpler your setup, the less you’ll have to untangle later. Stay skeptical of fancy permission features unless you really need them. Iterate as your team grows, and you’ll avoid the nightmare scenarios that keep admins up at night.