Balancivo · Settings and security

"Owners and bookkeepers: who can do what"

A plain list of what owners can do, what bookkeepers can do, and which actions only an owner can take.

Who can do this: Owners and bookkeepers.

"Owners and bookkeepers: who can do what" · 52 sec · shown with a sample organization.

Read the transcript

Everyone in your books is either an owner or a bookkeeper. Your role is shown at the bottom of the menu, right under your email. In Settings, Organization and team shows everyone's role. Owners have full control, including accounts, categories, closing months, and the team. Bookkeepers import statements and categorize transactions, and they can see every report. An owner can change a role with this list. Under each bookkeeper, an owner chooses what else they may do, like posting journal entries or voiding invoices. Here's the same page when Sam, the bookkeeper, signs in. The menu says Bookkeeper, and there's no History page. If something is owner-only, Balancivo tells you right on the page. Inviting or removing people, for example, is up to an owner.

Everyone in your books is either an Owner or a Bookkeeper. Owners have full control: accounts, categories, closing months, and the team. Bookkeepers import statements and categorize transactions, and an owner chooses what else each bookkeeper may do. Your role is shown at the bottom of the menu, under your email.

Steps

Check your role. Look at the bottom of the menu. It says Owner or Bookkeeper.
See everyone's role. Go to Settings and find Organization and team.
Change a role (owners). Choose Owner or Bookkeeper in that person's Role list. See Invite your team and manage access.

Good to know

Owners and bookkeepers can both:

See every report, including Financial statements, Profit and loss, Balance sheet, Cash flow, and Tax and donor reports, and print or download them.
Import statements and categorize transactions on Review.
Add notes to transactions.
Add and edit contacts.
Add, match, and detach receipts.
Void a written check the bank hasn't paid yet (bookkeepers start with this turned on).
View the budget and run its report.
Save journal entry drafts.
See who's on the team, and leave an organization.

What an owner can turn on for each bookkeeper. These are off for a new bookkeeper until an owner checks them in Settings, under Organization and team. See Choose what each bookkeeper can do.

Post journal entries: post and reverse journal entries.
Change learned rules: change what Balancivo has learned about merchants.
Void checks: off to start with; an owner can turn it on. Owners are emailed about every void.
Void invoices and bills: void them, and remove a payment recorded against one.
Delete receipts: delete receipts and their stored files.
Delete bank transactions: delete bank transactions from the books.

Only an owner can:

Add or edit accounts, and connect, fix, or disconnect a bank.
Add, rename, or hide categories, add a chart of accounts template, or change the chart of accounts.
Close or reopen months.
Undo a finished reconciliation.
Run payroll, change the people on payroll, or change payroll settings. Payroll details, such as each person's pay, tax withholding, and paychecks, are visible to owners only.
Add or change funds, and move money between funds.
Change the budget.
Add or change fixed assets.
Set up a loan's terms.
See the change history and restore changes (the History page appears only for owners).
Invite or remove people, change roles, and choose what each bookkeeper may do. The owner who created the organization is marked Owner · created it: other owners can't change their role or remove them, and only they can delete the company. Once they step down to bookkeeper or leave, all owners are equal again.
Change the Name on reports and the automatic sign-out time.
Set up Zelle alerts, receipts from email, and subscription reminders.
Subscribe or upgrade the plan. See Subscription and usage.
Delete the company (only the owner who created it).

Two-step sign-in for owners. Owners must use two-step sign-in. Balancivo checks it for every owner action, so an owner who hasn't set it up is asked to before opening the books.

At least one owner. Every organization needs at least one owner, so the last owner can't become a bookkeeper or leave.

← Choose what each bookkeeper can do Turn features on and off →