Two Users Can Log In Successfully and Still See Different Systems
That does not necessarily mean anything is broken.
Payroll Relief allows accounting firms to tailor what employer/client users are permitted to access.
Official product documentation describes customizable access across areas such as setup, payroll, compliance, reporting and advanced functions while reserving firm-oriented functions for the professional payroll organization.
Why restrict client access?
A payroll provider has competing goals.
Clients need enough access to provide information efficiently.
But giving every client every capability increases operational risk.
One employer may have an experienced internal payroll manager who can reliably enter payroll data.
Another may prefer sending hours to the accounting firm and having the firm control almost everything.
A permissions system lets both relationships exist without forcing the same operating model on every client.
Permission design should follow responsibility
A firm should not begin by asking:
“What can we turn on?”
A better question is:
“Who is responsible for this action?”
For each payroll task, define:
Input owner — who supplies the information?
System operator — who enters or changes it?
Reviewer — who checks it?
Approver — who makes the final decision?
Exception owner — who acts when the data is late or incorrect?
Once that process exists, permissions can support it.
Without a process, permission settings can merely make confusion more complicated.
Client-created users
Official AccountantsWorld material also describes client-side permission delegation, where an authorized client can create additional logins with a subset of the rights that the accounting firm originally granted.
That is operationally useful for businesses with multiple locations or staff members, but it introduces another reason why two employees of the same company might not see identical options.
Permission problem or login problem?
The distinction is simple.
Login problem: you cannot authenticate or reach the account.
Permission problem: you are inside the account but the required function is unavailable.
The first may require credential recovery.
The second requires an authorized administrator to review your rights.
Trying different passwords will not solve a missing permission.
Administrative discipline
Permissions should be reviewed when:
- a client’s responsibilities change;
- an employee leaves;
- a payroll manager changes role;
- a client starts entering its own payroll;
- a new location is added;
- access is temporarily expanded for a project;
- a sensitive workflow moves back to the accounting firm.
Current Payroll Relief documentation also provides firm-level logs and management tools that help payroll practices monitor activity.
The combination of permissions and review is more valuable than either control alone.