Roles & permissions in Kosalo
Every Kosalo user has a role that determines what they can see and do. Here's how app roles and group roles work, and what each one can and can't do.
Overview
- Every Kosalo user has a role that determines what they can see and do within the app.
- There are two types of roles: app role and group role.
- Your app role defaults to User when you sign up. Your group role defaults to Secretary when you start a group — and as Secretary, you can add members and assign each one a group role. Added members can later sign up and get linked to the existing group with the group role their Secretary assigned.
Note: Roles are no longer chosen at signup — this has been deprecated and is not available in app version 1.7.1 and above.
App role
App role
User App role
- Default starting role for new sign-ups.
- Stays "User" at the app level even after creating a group — Secretary, Treasurer, Chairperson, and Member are group roles, not app roles.
Group roles
Group role
Secretary Group role
- Only role that can create a group (assigned automatically on group creation).
- Sets up the group — location, saving frequency, contribution types, and other group settings.
- Adds members to the group; can edit or delete a member within the first 48 hours.
- Records contributions and loans on behalf of members; can edit or delete records within the first 48 hours.
- Manages and can edit group settings.
Screenshot — Secretary view of a group
Treasurer Group role
- Can view all group members, each member's contributions and loans, and individual reports.
- No permission to add, edit, or delete members.
- No permission to add, edit, or delete any contributions.
- No permission to manage group settings.
Chairperson Group role
- Can view all group members, each member's contributions and loans, and individual reports.
- No permission to add, edit, or delete members.
- No permission to add, edit, or delete any contributions.
- No permission to manage group settings.
Member Group role
- Views own contributions and group activity.
- Cannot manage members or record data for others.
- Cannot change group settings.
Screenshot — Member view of a group
At a glance
Group role comparison
A quick side-by-side of who can do what within a group. Treasurer and Chairperson have identical permissions, so they're combined below.
| Action | Secretary | Treasurer / Chairperson | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create new cycle | Yes | No | No |
| Add member | Yes | No | No |
| Record contribution | Yes | No | No |
| Record loan | Yes | No | No |
| View own activity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| View all members' activity | Yes | Yes | No |
| Change group settings | Yes | No | No |
Changing a role
Changing a role
What to do if a group's Secretary needs to change
If a group needs its Secretary changed, the Chairperson should contact support with the reason for the change, and provide the current Secretary's details along with the proposed new Secretary's details.
- The Kosalo team reaches out to the current Secretary to confirm the change.
- If agreed, the Kosalo team reaches out to the proposed new Secretary to confirm.
- Once all three parties (Chairperson, current Secretary, and proposed Secretary) have agreed, the change is made and all members are notified by email or SMS.
For any other role change in the group, the same process applies — the current Chairperson and Secretary, and the proposed user, must all be contacted before the change is made.
48-hour window: role changes for Member, Chairperson, and Treasurer only need to go through support after the first 48 hours have passed. Within the first 48 hours of a member being added, the Secretary can change their role directly.
Contact support
Reach the Kosalo team through any of these channels: