App, project, and resource roles

How application, project, and resource roles differ and how they combine.

Consult has four kinds of roles, each scoped to a different level:

App-level roles: Assigned to each user and applied globally across the application, see Manage application roles.
Project-level roles: Assigned per project, currently only a project manager, see Project roles.
Resource-level roles: Assigned per person, currently only a resource manager.
Client-level roles: Assigned per client, currently only a client account lead.

Together these roles control what users can see and do in the application, on projects, and with other users.

App-level roles

App-level roles define broad capabilities across the entire Consult application. Typical app-level roles include:

Administrator: Full access across the entire app.
Employee: Partial access, with more granted when project, resource, or client roles are assigned.
Consultant: Very limited access, except where project, resource, or client roles are assigned.

Note: Some actions explicitly bypass global admin rights. For example, approving schedules may require explicit approval.

Project-level roles

Project-level roles define what a user can do within a specific project. For most users this is limited to seeing basic project information and submitting time for that project.

When a project director assigns the project manager role to a user (see Understanding the resources view), that user gains additional privileges, such as seeing the schedule and creating invoices.

Note: The project manager is currently the only project-specific role on Consult.

Resource-level roles

The resource manager role is scoped to an individual user and grants access to that user’s details. Resource managers also perform managerial tasks such as approving time on projects and approving leave requests.

A resource manager has the following rights over their direct reports:

Access to the report’s profile page, excluding financial information.
Visibility of the report’s leave types on the company calendar.
Visibility of the report’s projects, and the ability to edit hours across all projects.
The ability to approve timesheets and leave requests.

Note: Resource managers operate across projects, unlike project managers, who are scoped to a single project.

Client-level roles

A client account lead has project manager access, including financials, to every project belonging to a specific client.

Warning: A client account lead can see sensitive financial information, such as project rates. Confirm the right users before saving.

How these roles interact

The roles combine in two main ways:

Global override: App-level administrators usually bypass project-level restrictions, unless a resource manager’s explicit approval is required.
Project versus resource scope: Project managers manage project-specific tasks and budgets, while resource managers manage individual people across projects.

Note: A user whose Job Title or default rate card is “Project Manager” does not automatically have project manager access to projects. That access comes only from the project-level role.