---
title: The two roles
section: start
order: 3
summary: What an Admin can do that an Issuer cannot, as the server enforces it, and what staff see when they sign in to the staff app.
screen: Settings › People & sign-in
role: Anyone
keywords: roles, permissions, admin, issuer, access, user, staff sign-in, staff app, activation code, who can
---

## Two roles, checked on the server

Every user of the linen-room app is either `Admin` or `Issuer`. The server checks the role on every change, so hiding a button is not the only protection. If an Issuer attempts a change they are not allowed to make, the server refuses it with `Admin only`, whichever screen it came from.

Your name and role are at the foot of the menu. A sign-in lasts 14 days, or 30 days if you tick to stay signed in on that computer. Changing a password ends every older sign-in for that user.

## What each role can do

An Admin can do everything an Issuer can, plus everything in the Cannot column. The one thing an Admin cannot do is remove or demote the last active Admin.

| Role | Can | Cannot |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Issue, return, exchange and take hand-ins at the counter | Add, edit or delete catalogue items, sizes or barcodes |
| Issuer | Work ward requests, pickups and delivery rounds | Change reorder levels, supplier codes or catalogue prices |
| Issuer | Apply a stock take, receive stock, add to the pre-loved pool | Set on hand, adjust or write off stock, or set opening balances |
| Issuer | Create orders, mark them ordered or shipped, receive deliveries | Open the order list, print the order sheet, email a supplier, cancel an order |
| Issuer | Read the staff register and Reports | Add, edit or delete staff, departments or locations, or print staff-app codes |
| Issuer | Read Settings | Change settings, staff groups, suppliers, users or the plan |
| Issuer | Change their own profile and password | Read `Activity`, import CSV, restore a backup, wipe or reset data |

## Managing users

Admins see the user list under `Settings › People & sign-in`. A new user starts as `Issuer` unless you choose `Admin`. The facility must always have at least one active Admin, so the server will not demote or remove the last one and replies `Keep at least one active admin`. See [Users](/docs/account/users).

## Staff sign-ins

Staff on the register are not users, and they never have either role. A staff member signs in to the staff app, at `/my`, with a separate account.

1. **An Admin prints a code** from the person's record on `People`. It is twelve characters in three groups.
2. **The staff member activates it** at the staff sign-in with `First time? I have a code`, then chooses an email and password. A code printed 14 or more days ago is refused as expired.
3. **After that they sign in** at the staff sign-in, or through the ordinary Log in box on the website.

A staff sign-in lasts 30 days. It is a different kind of session from a user's, so it cannot open the linen-room app. A user's session shows nothing in the staff app either.

## What staff can see

The staff app menu is `Home`, `Kit`, `Orders` and `Messages`. In it, staff can:

- see what they hold and raise a request for garments
- send messages about their own requests, report damage and raise a dispute
- join, leave or accept a waitlist place, and answer a kit check when one is open
- change their own password

Two extra views come from the register, not from a role. If someone is named as another person's manager on the register, they also see approvals and their team. If someone is marked as a ward desk, they see the delivery round for their ward.

## What is written

| Record | Change | Undo |
|---|---|---|
| User role | `Admin` or `Issuer`, set under `Settings › People & sign-in` | Set it back, as long as one active Admin remains |
| Staff activation code | Printed from the person's record, stamped with the date | Clear the code; it expires after 14 days anyway |
| Staff account | Created when the code is used | Remove it from the record, which ends its sign-ins |

If a staff member is made inactive on the register, they lose the staff app at once. When they try to sign in they are told `You're no longer on the register at this facility. Ask the linen room.`