Account & security · 4 min read · Beginner

Roles and permissions

Every login has a role that decides what a person can see and change. Here's what Owner, Admin, Front desk, and Read only can each do — and how to pick the right one for each teammate.

Updated Jul 9, 2026

Every login in Valian carries a role, and the role decides what that person can see and change. Roles keep your front desk running smoothly — everyone can do their job — while making sure practice-wide settings and billing stay in the right hands. There are four roles, and you can change anyone's role at any time.

Tip

Start people where they need to be today, not where they might end up. It's a two-click change to give someone more access later, and giving out the least access that still lets a person do their job is the safest habit for a small practice.

The four roles at a glance

Owner — the practice's account holder. Everything an Admin can do, plus the things that should belong to the practice itself: managing payment methods, closing or exporting the account, and transferring ownership. Keep this to the practice owner and, if you like, one trusted backup.
Admin — full operational access. Admins change how Amy runs (hours, greeting, service menu, providers, booking rules, escalation), manage billing and the wallet, invite or remove teammates, and turn security settings on. Give this to your office manager.
Front desk — the everyday team role. Front-desk users work the schedule, the inbox, tasks, and patient records, and place calls through Amy. They can't change practice-wide settings or billing. Give this to the rest of your staff.
Read only — can view the schedule, patients, and reports but can't make changes or place calls. Good for an accountant, a consultant, or a provider who only wants visibility.

What each role can do

How Amy runs (Settings)

Changing your hours, greeting, service menu, providers, booking rules, insurance list, and escalation rules is Owner and Admin only. These settings decide how Amy behaves on every call, so they're deliberately locked to the people responsible for the whole practice. Front desk and Read only users can view much of this, but not change it.

The daily work

Owner, Admin, and Front desk all work the day-to-day: the schedule, the inbox, What needs to get done, patient records and memory, and outbound calls placed through Amy. This is the shared front-desk surface, and it's exactly the same live view for all three. Read only users can look but not touch.

Billing and the wallet

Viewing and managing billing — the wallet balance, auto-reload, invoices, and the onboarding credit checklist — is Owner and Admin only. Managing the payment method on file and closing the account are Owner only, since those belong to the practice rather than to any one staff member.

People and security

Inviting or removing users, changing roles, and turning on account-wide security is Owner and Admin. Every user, regardless of role, manages their own password and two-factor auth — see Turn on two-factor authentication.

Note

No role — not even Owner — can see another person's password or read their two-factor codes. Security is per-person by design. An Owner or Admin can remove a login or require two-factor auth, but never impersonate a teammate.

How to choose the right role

A simple way to decide:

Do they own the practice or its money? Owner.
Do they manage how the office runs — hours, staff, billing? Admin.
Do they work the phones and the schedule? Front desk.
Do they only need to look? Read only.

When in doubt, choose the lower access. It's easy to raise, and it protects your practice-wide settings from an accidental change.

Change someone's role

Open Settings → Team & logins. You'll see everyone with access and their current role.
Select the person whose role you want to change.
Pick the new role — Owner, Admin, Front desk, or Read only.
Save. The change takes effect immediately; they don't need to sign out and back in.

To add someone new, see Add another user to your practice.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Front desk user change my hours or greeting? No. Those are Owner and Admin only. Front desk users run the day-to-day — schedule, inbox, tasks, patients, and calls — without being able to change how Amy runs.

What's the difference between Owner and Admin? An Admin can run everything about the practice's operation. Owner adds the things that belong to the practice itself: managing the payment method, closing or exporting the account, and transferring ownership.

Can I have more than one Owner? Yes. Many practices keep two — the owner-dentist and a trusted office manager — so there's always a backup. Keep the number small.

What can a Read only user actually see? The schedule, patient list, and reports. They can't book, edit records, place calls, or change settings. It's built for people who need visibility without a hand on the wheel.

Does a role affect what I'm billed? No. Billing is based on what Amy does, not on how many people log in or which roles they hold. Roles only control access.

Still need a hand?

Reach the Valian team any time at help@valiansystems.com, or open a ticket from the Help Center inside your dashboard. During onboarding, your onboarding contact is at onboarding@valiansystems.com.