# User Groups (/docs/team/user-groups)



User groups let you configure permissions and email/push/SMS notification rules once, then apply them to any number of team members. Instead of editing each user individually as your team grows, you define a group like "Front Desk", "Dock Staff", or "Managers" and assign users to it.

Groups solve two problems at once:

1. **Permission management at scale** -- a new hire gets the right access by picking their group, not by ticking a dozen permission boxes.
2. **Notification routing** -- decide which staff get which operator alerts. A dockhand doesn't need chargeback emails; an owner may never want to miss one.

Creating a Group [#creating-a-group]

1. Navigate to **Dashboard > Company Settings > User Groups**
2. Click **Add Group**
3. Enter a **name** (unique within your company) and optional description
4. Toggle the **permissions** members of this group should have
5. Set **notification rules** for each event type and channel
6. Save

Group Permissions [#group-permissions]

Group permissions work exactly like individual user permissions -- the same feature list, with the same simple/advanced editing modes.

A member's effective permissions are the **union** of their group's permissions and any permissions set on their individual profile. The individual list is labeled **Additional Permissions** once a group is assigned, and it is still useful for one-off grants ("Front Desk, but she also handles refunds").

<Callout>
  Permission changes to a group reach members the next time their session refreshes -- the same timing as editing an individual user's permissions. Administrators bypass all permission checks regardless of group.
</Callout>

Notification Rules [#notification-rules]

For every event type (new bookings, chargebacks, customer chat messages, gift card purchases, SMS inbox messages, and delivery failures) and every channel (email, SMS, push), a group can set one of four rules:

| Rule                    | Effect                                                                                                                                                                |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Default**             | Platform default behavior, as if the group set nothing. Members control the channel themselves.                                                                       |
| **Optional (on / off)** | Members can toggle the channel themselves; the on/off value is the starting default for members who never change it.                                                  |
| **Required**            | The notification is always sent. Members see it locked on in their notification preferences and cannot opt out.                                                       |
| **Off**                 | The notification is never sent on this channel, and members cannot opt in. The event still appears on members' preference pages with the channel shown as locked off. |

<Callout type="warn">
  SMS is always opt-in -- staff SMS alerts go to personal phones and carry per-message cost. SMS can never be **Required** and never defaults to on; each member must enable texts themselves.
</Callout>

In-app notifications (the bell in the dashboard) are not affected by group rules and are always delivered -- including for events whose email, SMS, and push are all Off.

Push rules only reach devices a member has actually registered for push. Setting push to **Required** does not enrol anyone; it means that once they enable push on a device, that event is always delivered and cannot be switched off.

The **SMS Inbox messages** event is only offered to team members who can access the SMS Inbox, whether that access comes from the group's permissions or their own. A rule set for it is simply ignored for everyone else.

What Members See [#what-members-see]

On **Profile > Notification Preferences**, a channel pinned by the group shows a lock badge instead of a toggle -- **Always** for Required, **Off** for Off. Optional channels look and behave like normal toggles. See [User Profile](/docs/team/user-profile#notification-preferences) for the member's side of this page.

Assigning Users to a Group [#assigning-users-to-a-group]

1. Navigate to **Dashboard > Company Settings > Users**
2. Edit (or create) the user
3. Pick their **User Group**
4. Save

Each user belongs to at most one group. Users without a group behave exactly as before groups existed: their individual permissions apply, and notifications follow the platform defaults plus their own preferences.

Deleting a Group [#deleting-a-group]

Deleting a group does not delete its members. They keep their individual permissions and fall back to default notification behavior. The delete confirmation shows how many members will be affected.

Related How-To Guides [#related-how-to-guides]

* [Set Up User Groups](/how-to/team/set-up-user-groups)
* [Configure Roles and Permissions](/how-to/team/configure-roles-and-permissions)