If you’re wrangling a team in finance or accounting, you know the anxiety that comes with too many people having access to sensitive company data. “Just share the login” is a disaster waiting to happen. This guide is for managers, admins, and anyone who wants to get real about data security in Akountify—without making things a bureaucratic nightmare.
Akountify (link) is solid for team-based finance, but its real value kicks in when you dial in role-based access controls (RBAC). We’ll walk through setting it up, what to watch for, and where you can skip the busywork.
Why bother with role-based access?
Here’s the deal: not everyone on your team needs to see everything. RBAC lets you:
- Stop interns from accidentally nuking your bank connections.
- Limit who can approve expenses, but still let others submit reports.
- Avoid the “who edited this?” mystery.
- Sleep at night knowing your CFO is the only one who can close the books.
Done right, you keep things secure without slowing people down.
Step 1: Map out what your team actually needs
Before clicking anything, sketch out who does what. Don’t just copy the org chart—think about tasks, not titles.
- Who needs to view reports?
- Who needs to edit budgets?
- Who should never see payroll?
- Who can approve payments?
Pro tip: Ask your team what they need to get work done. You’ll be surprised how many people don’t want more access—they just want less friction.
Step 2: Understand Akountify’s roles—and their limits
Akountify ships with a few default roles:
- Admin: Can do (almost) everything. Add/remove users, edit settings, see all data.
- Manager: Usually can edit and approve stuff, but can’t nuke the workspace.
- Member: Basic stuff—see their own data, submit reports, maybe view certain dashboards.
- Custom roles: If you need something more specific, you can tweak permissions (though Akountify’s granularity is decent, don’t expect Salesforce-level complexity).
What works: The defaults cover 80% of cases. Most small teams can get away with just Admin, Manager, and Member.
What doesn’t: If you want ultra-fine controls (e.g., “Can edit budgets, but not view transactions from a specific account”), Akountify isn’t surgical. Don’t waste hours trying to hack around it.
Step 3: Set up your team in Akountify
Time to get your hands dirty.
- Go to the Team or Users section. Usually found under Settings > Team.
- Invite your team members. Use work emails. Don’t share accounts.
- Assign the right role as you invite. Pick Admin, Manager, Member—or build a custom role if you really need to.
- Double-check who’s already in there. Remove old users or change their roles if they’ve switched jobs.
Don’t skip: Audit your user list every couple of months. People leave, roles change, and stale accounts are a classic security hole.
Step 4: Tune permissions for custom roles (if you really need to)
If your workflow doesn’t fit the default roles, make a custom one:
- Create a new role under Settings > Roles.
- Choose what this role can do. Akountify usually splits permissions by:
- Viewing vs. editing data
- Approving vs. submitting expenses
- Access to specific modules (budgets, invoices, payroll, etc.)
- Name the role clearly. “Expense Approver” beats “CustomRole2.”
- Assign users to your custom role.
Watch out for: Over-complicating things. It’s tempting to create a dozen custom roles, but then you just end up managing roles instead of your business. Stick to what’s necessary.
Step 5: Check what users actually see
Don’t assume your setup works—test it.
- Log in as (or with) a test user for each role.
- Try to do the tasks that role should (and shouldn’t) be able to do.
- Make sure sensitive stuff is hidden from those who shouldn’t see it.
Real talk: Akountify’s permission system is good, but not perfect. There may be edge cases where a user sees more than you expect, especially if you’ve layered custom roles. If you find something off, report it and work around it—don’t assume it’ll get fixed overnight.
Step 6: Set up approval workflows
Roles are only half the battle. For real security, use Akountify’s built-in approval flows:
- Expense approvals: Managers can approve, Members can submit.
- Budget changes: Requires Admin or Manager approval.
- Payments: Make sure at least two people sign off on outgoing payments.
Set up these workflows under Settings > Approvals. This keeps your team from bypassing safeguards, and creates a clear paper trail.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with approval chains six layers deep. You’ll just bottleneck yourself. Keep it simple: submitter, approver, done.
Step 7: Review audit logs (and actually use them)
Akountify tracks changes—use the audit logs.
- Find the audit log under Settings > Activity or Security.
- Regularly review who did what, especially for sensitive actions (e.g., adding bank accounts, changing user roles).
- If something looks off, dig in. Don’t just trust that “everything’s fine.”
Pro tip: Set a calendar reminder to check this monthly. It’s not glamorous, but it’s how you catch mistakes early.
Step 8: Train your team (seriously)
Even the best RBAC can’t save you from user error.
- Walk your team through what they can and can’t do.
- Explain why certain things are restricted.
- Make it easy for them to ask for access if they’re blocked (but don’t just say yes to every request).
Skip: Boring slide decks. Just show people where to click and what to watch for.
What about integrations and third-party apps?
Here’s the part people forget: integrations can blow a hole in your access controls.
- Check what data each integration can access. Don’t just click “connect.”
- Limit integrations to only what’s necessary. If you don’t need Slack notifications for every invoice, skip it.
- Review integration permissions regularly. Remove what you’re not using.
Caution: Some third-party apps may ask for more access than they need. If it feels off, don’t connect it—no matter how flashy the pitch.
Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
- Too many Admins: Only give Admin rights to people who truly need them. One or two is usually enough.
- Shared logins: Never. Not even for “just one week.” It kills your audit trail and security.
- Forgetting to remove ex-employees: The fastest way to lose control of your data.
- Over-complicating custom roles: Simpler is safer and easier to maintain.
- Ignoring audit logs: If something goes wrong, you’ll wish you’d checked.
Keep it simple, keep it secure
Role-based access in Akountify is about balance. Lock things down enough to be safe, but not so tight that your team can’t work. Start with the basics, test your setup, and iterate as you learn what your team really needs. Don’t chase perfection—just aim for “secure enough to sleep at night.”
And remember: the fancy settings are only as good as the habits behind them. Make a checklist, review it every so often, and move on to the work that matters.