Edit a User's BambooHR Access

The article provides a comprehensive guide on changing a user's access levels within a company. It outlines the purpose of updating access, emphasizing its necessity as user roles evolve. The content includes a table of contents that details steps for changing a user's access level, managing access settings, and editing settings within various access levels, such as employee, manager, and custom access. It highlights that only Account Owners and Full Admins can modify access levels and notes that changes take effect immediately. The article also discusses the specific capabilities of each access level and provides instructions for managing multiple access levels. Visual aids accompany the instructions to enhance understanding. Overall, the guide serves as a practical resource for administrators managing user access in BambooHR.

  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Edit a User's BambooHR Access
Article Text
This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages.

How do I change a user's access?

Purpose: A user's access will likely change during their time with your company. That is why we make it simple to update what a user has access to. This guide will teach you how to quickly and easily edit a user's access and assign them to a new access level.

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Table of Contents

The Account Owner and Full Admin user(s) automatically have access to change access levels for another user. They can grant a custom access level to a user to update the employee access levels. However, the custom access level user cannot give an employee access to other information or assign a user to any custom access levels.

Change a user's access level

Employee profile

You can change a user's access level on their employee profile. Do this by clicking on the action menu (three-dot icon) in the top right corner and then hovering your mouse over Manage Access. A list of all access level types will pop up. Select the access level type and specify which access level you would like to assign to the user.

If you need to assign the user to multiple access levels, select Payroll,* Manager, and Custom Access and then mark the checkboxes next to the access levels the user should be included in. Once you select the new access level(s), click Update Access. You will then see a green confirmation bar at the top of your screen.

Any changes to a user's access will be effective immediately.

*Payroll access levels will only appear as an option if you have BambooHR® Payroll. If you do not have Payroll, the system will show Manager and Custom Access instead of Payroll, Manager, and Custom Access.

Access Levels Settings

You can change an access level for all users, including non-employee users by navigating to Access Levels in Settings. In this section, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the user's assigned access level.
  2. Hover over their name and click on the Manage Access option (lock icon).
  3. Select the new access level you would like to assign to the user and click Update Access to finalize.

Edit access settings within an access level

If you need to edit settings for a specific access level, navigate to Settings > Access Levels. Choose an access level,* click the gear icon on the right, and then select Access Level Settings. You will be able to edit the access level name and description. The following sections specify the different editing capabilities within each access level type.

*The Full Admin access level will not have an edit option like other access level types (employee, manager, and custom). However, you can add or remove a user within the Full Admin access level.

If you use BambooHR® Payroll, you will have additional, default access levels available to configure.

Employee access level

Employee access level users are only able to view information about themselves and some widgets on Home, as determined by the Account Owner or a Full Admin user.

The See about Themselves section shows fields under each tab that is available on the employee profile. To edit access to a field, hover your cursor over a field and click either View Only or No Access. Some fields will have Edit access, along with another access setting named "Edit - Approval Required." 

If editing multiple fields, you can choose the -Select- dropdown menu in the upper-right corner to apply one access setting to all fields.

The See on Home section is where you can determine which widgets a user can view on their employee profile. Note that the Celebrations widget has additional options to choose from.

Manager access level

Users in a manager access level can view information about their direct and indirect reports, as determined by the Account Owner or a Full Admin user.

You, as an admin, have the option to adjust access settings for each field (or all fields) within each tab under "See about Other Employees." If needed, you can also configure settings under "See About Themselves." If editing the view of widgets on Home, click See on Home to determine which widgets users in this access level should be able to access.

Custom access level

Custom access level users typically have additional access to information in BambooHR, as determined by the Account Owner or a Full Admin user. 

The What Can People with this Access Level Do? section allows the admin to specify what kind of information users in the custom access level should be able to access or manage. It includes access settings for features like Time & Attendance, Benefits, and Payroll (if enabled in your account). As you edit settings for a custom access level, review the linked help guide to ensure that you are configuring the access level according to your company's needs.

If you need to edit access to specific fields, view what options you have in this help guide.

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