📁Return to User Roles & Permissions Collection

Every user who logs into the Alvys TMS is assigned exactly one role. A role is a predefined profile that determines a user’s default set of permissions, including what they can see, what actions they can take, and which roles they can view, manage, or assign. Roles are the foundation of access control in Alvys. They establish each user’s baseline permissions at the time of account creation and can be further customized on a per-user basis. The role assigned to a new user shapes their overall experience within the platform.

Alvys includes eleven (11) built-in roles arranged in a strict hierarchy. A role’s position in this hierarchy reflects its level of importance and determines which users are permitted to manage the permissions of others. While higher-level roles generally have a broader set of default permissions, this is not always the case. Some roles are designed around specific job functions and include specialized permissions that reflect those responsibilities, rather than their position in the hierarchy alone.

This article covers every available role in Alvys, its intended purpose, and how roles relate to individual permissions. Whether you are an owner building out your team for the first time or an administrator onboarding a new hire, a thorough understanding of roles will help you maintain data security and ensure your team operates efficiently.

Before exploring each role, it is helpful to understand the difference between a role and a permission. A role is a named profile, such as "Dispatcher" or "Biller," assigned to a user when their account is created. Each role comes with a default set of permissions that reflect the typical responsibilities of that job. A permission, on the other hand, is a specific capability, such as performing a particular action or viewing a certain type of data, for example, "Invoice" or "View Customer Rate." Permissions are the individual building blocks, while roles are bundles of these blocks.

Think of it this way: a role is a job title, and permissions are the keys on that person’s keychain, representing the different capabilities or actions they can perform. The role determines which keys they start with. Administrators with the “Set Permissions” permission can then add or remove individual keys without changing the person's role.

Some permissions control what a user can see (read-only), while others control what they can do (create, edit, delete). For example, “View Customer Rate” lets a user see the rate charged to a customer, but “Edit Customer Rate” is required before they can change it. When in doubt, assign view-only access first and expand from there. Changes to a user's permissions take effect the next time they log in or upon refresh of their session.

The Support role is the highest-privilege role in the system and is reserved exclusively for Alvys employees. It is not available to any tenant or customer company, and cannot be assigned to company staff members under any circumstances. This role cannot be replicated or approximated by stacking permissions on another account. If you notice the Support role assigned to a user in your system, that individual is a member of the Alvys internal support staff and not an employee of your company. Alvys support staff may access your account only to assist with troubleshooting, investigate issues, or perform corrective actions on your behalf.

The Admin role is the highest role available to company users (non-Alvys staff) and receives the broadest set of permissions available to company users. This role is intended for company owners, managers, Directors of Operations, and administrators who need near-complete system access.

The Admin role is designed to oversee and maintain all aspects of a company's Alvys account. Admins are responsible for managing the full user lifecycle, including creating, editing, and deactivating users, as well as configuring carriers, customers, and companies within Alvys. They have the authority to manage load operations end-to-end, access financial reports, configure pay plans, and more. Additionally, Admins control team-wide settings and integrations, making them the primary point of accountability for how the platform is configured and used across the organization.

By default, Admin users are granted comprehensive access to the system, encompassing all permissions except for a select few of the most sensitive data points. These are intentionally withheld to safeguard your most sensitive data, though an Admin maintains the full authority to manually enable them for themselves or others as required by the organization.

The Partner Admin is essentially a "Primary Admin," typically assigned to the Owner of the company or General Managers. They receive full permissions because they need to operate almost like Support, but they rank below Admin in the chain of command. A Partner Admin can never promote another user to Admin, as users cannot be assigned a role that sits higher in the hierarchy than their own. Both rules apply independently.

The Operation Manager role is designed for middle-management personnel/ senior operations staff who oversee dispatchers, loads, carriers, and customers. Positioned between Admin and Office Admin in the hierarchy, it is the appropriate choice for trusted supervisors who need broad operational authority. This role can be assigned to Operations Managers, Fleet Managers, and Terminal Managers whose primary responsibilities include overseeing daily dispatch and load operations, managing carriers, customers, and companies, reviewing financial summaries and reports, and monitoring driver and asset activity.

Office Admin is the administrative operations role, designed for users who oversees, coordinate and manage general office administrative procedures and policies .This role’s default permissions focuses on managing user accounts, companies, assets (trucks , trailers, drivers), load templates, and marketplace access and operations. Office Managers, Administrative Managers or Back-Office Coordinators should be assigned the Office Admin role, as they manage administrative workflows, user accounts, and operational support tasks without full financial authority.

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Pay Owner Operator, all Rate permissions, Add User, Manage Permissions, Edit Carrier, Activate Carrier, all Customer and Company Management permissions, Edit Asset, View and Manage Load Templates, all Marketplace permissions, all Asset View permissions, all Safety View permissions, and View and Edit Driver Rates.

This role does not include access to financial reports, settlement permissions, or the ability to pay drivers. Office Admins can add users and adjust permissions, but only for users at a lower hierarchy level than themselves. They cannot promote another user to Office Admin or any higher role.

Dispatcher is the primary load management role in the Alvys TMS. Dispatchers are the operational backbone of freight operations; they manage loads, assign carriers and drivers, and coordinate pickups and deliveries. This role is intended for Freight Dispatchers, Load Planners, Load Coordinators, or Driver Managers who manage load assignments, carrier relationships, and day-to-day freight movement.

Primary goals and actions:

All Rate permissions, Accessorials, Edit Miles, Dispatch, all Load Operation permissions, Edit Carrier, Activate Carrier, all Customer and Company Management permissions, View Load Templates, View and Edit Driver Rates, all Marketplace permissions, all Asset View permissions, and all Safety View permissions.

Dispatchers do not have access to billing, invoicing, pay stubs, financial reports, or user management. The Dispatcher role includes Dispatch permissions by default, but the Dispatch permission can also be assigned to other roles, such as Sales Agent or Data Entry.

The Biller role is the financial operations role, designed for users who handle invoicing, settlements, carrier payments, and financial reporting. Billers have the broadest set of financial permissions among non-admin roles. This role is specifically intended for your accounting and collections team.

Billers focus entirely on the financial side of operations, including invoicing customers, processing driver and owner-operator payments, managing transactions, and generating financial reports. It is intended for Billing Clerks, Accounts Receivable Specialists, Accounts Payable Clerks, Payroll Specialists, Transportation Accountants, settlement processors, and other financial operations personnel.

Primary goals and actions:

Pay Owner Operator, Accessorials, Billing, Export (integration-gated), Edit Miles, all Rate permissions, E-Check Fee (integration-gated), Invoice, Override Invoice, Rollback Transaction (integration-gated), Void Transaction (integration-gated), View Paystubs, Fuel Report, Toll Report, all Load Operation permissions, Edit Carrier, Activate Carrier, all Customer and Company Management permissions, Edit Asset, View Load Templates, Edit Paystubs, View Summary Financial Report, View Detailed Financial Report, View Statement List Report, View Statement Items Report, View Driver YTD, View and Edit Driver Rates, Pay Driver, Approve Payable Items, Create Carrier Statement, Edit Invoice Customer As, and all Asset View permissions.

The Sales Agent role is a sales-focused role, designed for users who manage customer and carrier relationships, negotiate rates, and support load booking. Sales Agents have a permission set similar to Dispatchers, with full visibility into customer and carrier rates. They can create and edit customers and companies through Customer/Company Management. This role does not include Billing, Invoicing, any financial report permissions, Marketplace, Safety View, or any E-Check permissions.

The Sales Agent role is intended for Sales Agents, Freight Brokers, Logistics Sales Representatives, Account Executives, or Business Development Representatives who book loads and manage customer relationships.

Primary goals and actions:

Pay Owner Operator, all Rate permissions, Edit Miles, Dispatch, all Load Operation permissions, Edit Carrier, Activate Carrier, all Customer and Company Management permissions, View Load Templates, View and Edit Driver Rates, and all Asset View permissions.

The Data Entry role is focused on data processing, designed for users who create loads, enter shipment data, and handle tender intake. Data Entry has a targeted permission set centered on load creation and basic operations. This role is intended for staff who input and maintain operational records but should not initiate dispatch actions or access sensitive financial data. It is suitable for entry-level staff or contractors handling administrative data tasks. The Data Entry role is intended for Data Entry Clerks, Administrative Assistants, Load Builders, or EDI Coordinators who focus on load creation and EDI tender intake processing.

Primary goals and actions:

All Rate permissions, Edit Carrier, Activate Carrier, all Customer and Company Management permissions, Edit Miles, Accessorials, all Load Operation permissions, Edit Asset, Participate in Tender, View Load Templates, View and Edit Driver Rates, and all Asset View permissions.

Data Entry users cannot dispatch loads, override stop statuses, access billing, manage users, or view safety and maintenance records. This role does not include Dispatch, Billing, Invoicing, any financial report permissions, Marketplace, Safety View, or any E-Check permissions.

Despite its lower position in the hierarchy, the Data Entry role has a substantial permission set covering load creation, carrier management, and customer management.

The Safety role is designed for compliance and safety personnel who monitor fleet safety, manage assets, and review safety reports. The Safety role is a specialized, narrow-access role for safety officers and compliance staff. Safety users focus exclusively on asset oversight, compliance documents, and safety reporting. They have no dispatch, billing, or rate access. This role is intended for Safety Managers, DOT Compliance Officers, Fleet Safety Coordinators, or Risk and Compliance Specialists.

Primary goals and actions:

Edit Asset, Calendar Past Dates, Fuel Report, Toll Report, all Asset View permissions (View Drivers, View Trailers, View Trucks), and all Safety View permissions (View Accidents, View Claims, View Roadside Inspections, View Maintenance, View Maintenance Amounts, View Asset Safety Report).

Safety users have no access to loads, rates, billing, dispatch, Marketplace, customer management, or user administration. This role does not include Dispatch, Billing, Invoicing, any Rate permissions, Edit Miles, any Customer, Company, or Carrier Management permissions, Marketplace, Load Templates, or Tendering permissions.

The Driver role is the field operations role for company drivers, owner-operators, contractors, and other personnel who use the Alvys Mobile App. This role exists solely to provide drivers with access to the mobile app and carries no desktop permissions.

By default, the Driver role has an empty permission set and no permissions are granted automatically. Each driver’s permissions should be configured explicitly based on their specific responsibilities and the company’s policies. For more information, see the App Permission article.

Primary goals and actions:

Desktop permissions: Drivers logging into the desktop application will have no access to any module.

A role's position in the hierarchy reflects its level of system authority. At the top sits the Support role, reserved for Alvys internal staff with full system access, followed by Admin and Partner Admin, which provide company and partner level administrative control respectively. Below those are a set of operationally focused roles including Operation Manager, Office Admin, Dispatcher, Biller, Sales Agent, and Data Entry, each designed around a specific set of job functions and responsibilities. The Driver role carries no default permissions and must be explicitly configured by an administrator, while the Safety role, though lowest in the hierarchy, holds specialized access for compliance, asset management, and safety reporting. Importantly, a user's position in the hierarchy also governs their management reach within the platform, as users can only manage or modify the permissions of those who sit below them in the hierarchy. For example, a Dispatcher cannot modify an Office Admin's permissions.

Q: What is the difference between a role and a permission? A: A role is a predefined profile (like "Dispatcher") assigned to a user that provides a starting set of default permissions and establishes their place in the system hierarchy. A permission is an individual toggle for a specific action, such as "Edit Miles" or "View Customer Rate."

Q: Can a user be assigned more than one role at a time? A: No. Each user account is assigned exactly one role. If a user performs tasks that span multiple roles, you should assign the role closest to their primary function and then manually add the specific permissions they need from other categories.

Q: What happens to a user’s customized permissions if I change their role? A: Changing a user's role resets all their permissions to the new role's defaults. Any previously added or removed permissions will be overwritten, so you must reconfigure any custom access after the role change is saved.

Q: Why does the Admin role not have "Delete" or "Contracted Lanes" permissions by default? A: This is a deliberate safety measure to protect sensitive data. Deleting users or carriers and managing customer-specific pricing contracts are high-risk actions. While Admins have the authority to enable these for themselves, they are turned off by default to prevent accidental data loss.

Q: What is the primary difference between an Office Admin and an Operation Manager? A: The Office Admin role is centered on administrative tasks like adding new users and managing equipment assets. The Operation Manager role is a supervisory role focused on high-level operational oversight, such as reviewing financial summaries and monitoring fleet-wide driver activity.

Q: What does the hierarchy number (1–11) actually control? A: The hierarchy number determines a user's organizational authority. A user can generally only manage or modify the permissions of users who sit at a lower hierarchy level than themselves. For example, a Dispatcher (Level 6) cannot modify the account of an Office Admin (Level 7).

Q: Can a user with the Safety role see load and rate information? A: No. The Safety role is strictly limited to compliance, maintenance, and inspection data. This role is designed to allow safety officers to perform their duties without exposing sensitive commercial or financial information.

Q: What is the "Support" role I see in my user list? A: The Support role is reserved exclusively for internal Alvys staff. These individuals are not employees of your company; they access your system only to provide technical assistance, troubleshoot issues, or perform requested corrective actions.

Q: If a user needs to do both dispatching and billing, which role should I choose? A: You should choose the role that represents their primary responsibility; usually Biller if they need broad financial access and then manually enable the "Dispatch" permission toggle so they can also manage loads.