Control who can access your Pulse Commerce admin panel and what they can do by creating users with specific roles and permissions. This guide covers adding users, configuring custom roles, and managing user accounts.
Pulse Commerce uses a role-based access control system that allows you to create custom roles with granular permissions. Each user is assigned to one role that determines their access to admin panel features.
Key Concepts
- SuperAdmin: The primary admin account with full system access. There can only be one SuperAdmin user per account.
- Admin Role: Has the same permissions as SuperAdmin and can access all pages and dashboards.
- Custom Roles: Create department-specific roles (Sales, Warehouse, Accounting, etc.) with only the permissions needed for that team.
- Granular Permissions: Control access at a detailed level, including specific actions like approving returns, issuing refunds, or charging payments.
User vs. Authorized Contact
Admin panel users and Authorized Contacts are different:
- Admin Panel Users: Log into the admin panel to manage daily operations (orders, products, customers, etc.). Managed in Settings > User Accounts.
- Authorized Contacts: Can request service changes, order new features, and request SuperAdmin password resets from Pulse Commerce. Must be managed through Pulse Commerce Support. Learn more about Authorized Contacts.
Create new users with specific roles and permissions tailored to their job responsibilities.
How to Add a New User
1Navigate to Settings (top right) > User Accounts.
2Click Add New in the top right corner of the User Accounts page.
3Fill out the required fields in the Add Admin form:
- User ID: The login username (must be at least 6 characters long)
- Password: Temporary password for the user
- Confirm Password: Re-enter the password
- First Name: User's first name
- Last Name: User's last name
- Email Address: User's email for notifications and password resets
- Expiry Date: Set when the account will expire and prevent login. Set far in the future for permanent users, or use near-term dates for temporary workers.
4Configure optional settings:
- Department: Select from default options (Accounting, Customer Service, Fulfillment, IT, etc.)
- Phone (Mobile): Contact phone number
- Phone (Other): Alternate phone number
- Address, City, State/Province, Zip/Postal Code, Country: User location information
- Active: Check this box to allow immediate login access
- Change Password at Next Login: Check this box to force the user to create their own password upon first login
5Select a Role from the dropdown menu that determines what permissions this user will have.
6Optionally, upload an avatar image by clicking Change under Avatar, or use one of the default options.
7Click Update to create the user account.
Roles define what pages and features users can access in the portal. Create custom roles for different departments or job functions with only the permissions they need.
How to Create a New Role
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts.
2Scroll down to the Roles and Permissions section.
3Enter a name for the new role in the text field at the bottom of the Roles list.
4Click Add New.
5Once the role appears in the list, click Edit next to the role name.
6Configure which pages and sections this role can access by checking or unchecking the permission boxes. Available permissions include:
- Orders, Point of Sale, Customers, Vendors, Products
- Content, Marketing, CRM, Reports, Dashboards
- Import/Export, Site Settings, and more
- Granular action permissions (approve returns, issue refunds, charge payments, etc.)
7Click Save to apply the permissions to this role.
Default Role Examples
- Admin: Full access to all sections (214 permissions enabled)
- Sales: Access to Orders, Customers, Products, CRM (147 permissions enabled)
- Warehouse: Access to Orders, Products, Vendors, Shipping (136 permissions enabled)
- Accounting: Access to Orders, Reports, Payment processing (202 permissions enabled)
How to Edit or Delete a Role
To edit: Click Edit next to the role in the Roles and Permissions section, make your changes, and click Save.
To delete: Click Delete next to the role name. If the role is assigned to any users (active or inactive), you'll receive an error and must reassign those users to a different role before deleting.
Manage existing user accounts including changing passwords, updating expiry dates, and marking users as active or inactive.
How to Edit User Information
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts.
2Find the user in the list and click Edit under the Actions column.
3Update any of the following information:
- Password (change user's password)
- Contact information (name, email, phone, address)
- Department
- Expiry Date (extend or set new expiration)
- Active status (check/uncheck to enable/disable login)
- Role (change their permission level)
- Avatar image
4Click Update to save your changes.
How to Change a User's Password
When logged in as the SuperAdmin, you can reset any user's password:
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts.
2Click Edit next to the user whose password you want to change.
3Enter a new password in the Password and Confirm Password fields.
4Optionally, check Change Password at Next Login to force the user to create their own password.
5Click Update.
How to Deactivate a User
Instead of deleting users, mark them as inactive to preserve their activity history:
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts.
2Click Edit next to the user.
3Uncheck the Active checkbox.
4Click Update.
Inactive users cannot login but remain in the system for audit trail purposes.
How to View Inactive Users
Use the Show dropdown at the top of the User Accounts page and select the filter option to view inactive users.
User Activity Tracking
Pulse Commerce logs all user activities for compliance and audit purposes, including:
- All actions taken in the system
- User who performed each action
- Timestamp of the action
- IP address from which the user was logged in
- Payment attempts (success and failure)
- Order modifications
- Inventory changes
Each admin user can customize the order of tabs in their navigation menu to match their workflow. Tab customization only affects the individual user's view and does not change the layout for other users.
Enabling Tab Customization Permission
Before users can customize their tabs, an admin must enable the Edit Profile permission:
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts.
2Scroll to Roles and Permissions and click Edit next to the relevant role.
3Check the Edit Profile permission checkbox.
4Click Save.
How to Customize Your Tab Order
1Click on your username in the top right corner of the admin panel.
2Select Edit Profile from the dropdown menu.
3Click Manage Tabs.
4Change the sort order for how you want them to appear
5Click Update to save your changes.
Cannot Delete a Role
Error Message: "This role cannot be deleted as it has existing references in Admin users. Please delete or reassign the role for those users before trying to delete this role."
Solution:
1Check all active users to see if any are assigned to this role.
2Use the Show dropdown filter at the top of the User Accounts page to view inactive users and check if any are assigned to this role.
3For each user assigned to this role, click Edit and change their role to a different option.
4Click Update to save the change.
5Once no users are assigned to the role, you can delete it.
User Cannot Log In
If a user cannot access the admin panel, check the following:
- Active Status: Ensure the user's Active checkbox is checked in their user settings
- Expiry Date: Check if the user's expiry date has passed. Update it to a future date if needed
- Password: Verify they are using the correct password, or reset it for them
- User ID: Confirm they are using the correct User ID (not their email address)
User Has Wrong Permissions
If a user cannot access a page or feature they should have access to:
1Navigate to Settings > User Accounts > Roles and Permissions.
2Click Edit next to the user's assigned role.
3Verify the required permission is checked for that role.
4If not, check the permission and click Save.
5Have the user log out and log back in to apply the new permissions.
Need to Reset SuperAdmin Password
SuperAdmin password resets must be requested by an Authorized Contact through Pulse Commerce Support. Admin panel users cannot reset the SuperAdmin password themselves. View instructions for changing Authorized Contacts.