Dapple has three layers of user permissions: Organisation-level (Administrator or User), Team-level (Manager or Member), and Review-level (Reviewer). Every user has one Organisation-level role plus optional Team and Review roles. Set permissions when you invite a user, then adjust them in Settings → Users at any time. Permissions are visualised as a Read/Write matrix in the Users table.
Quick overview of the three permission layers
Layer | Roles | Scope |
Organisation | Administrator, User | Everything inside one Organisation |
Team | Manager, Member | Specific Teams the user is added to |
Review | Reviewer | Review Panel work only — no admin dashboard access |
Organisation-level permissions
Every Dapple user must be either an Organisation Administrator or an Organisation User. This is the foundational permission — Team and Review roles sit on top of it.
Organisation Administrator
The highest permission in Dapple. Org Admins have access to everything:
All Organisation Settings — billing, branding, integrations, payment connections.
All Teams without restriction — no need to be added to a Team to see its projects.
Ability to add other users (including other Org Admins).
Ability to change anyone's role.
Access to every project and every submission in the Organisation.
The user who creates an Organisation is automatically the first Org Admin. Important: Org Admins cannot be removed by other Org Admins — to demote an Org Admin, they must first downgrade themselves to Organisation User.
Organisation User
Standard permission for most team members. Organisation Users:
Do not have access to Organisation Settings or billing.
Only see Teams and projects they've been added to.
Get specific Team-level permissions to determine what they can do within those Teams.
Cannot invite other users.
If an Organisation User isn't added to any Teams, they'll be able to sign in but won't see any data.
Team-level permissions
Inside each Team, every user is either a Team Manager or a Team Member. Set these per-team — the same user can be a Manager in one Team and a Member in another.
Team Manager
Manage all settings for projects within the Team.
Promote Team Members to Team Managers.
No access to Organisation Settings or billing.
Cannot add new users to the Organisation, but can add existing Organisation Users to their Team.
Team Member
See and manage submissions within Team projects.
Change stage and status of submissions.
Send messages to creators.
Add Discuss notes and Tags.
Cannot change project settings or Team-level configuration.
Review-level permissions
The Review layer is separate from Organisation and Team permissions. It's for users who only review submissions on a Review Panel and don't need admin access. Common for external reviewers, editors, or judges brought in to score work.
Reviewer
Sees their own personal Review Account, not the admin dashboard.
Sees only submissions assigned to them via a Review Panel.
Can give feedback — score, vote, comment — on assigned submissions.
Cannot see other Review Panel members' feedback.
Cannot see Creator Profiles (blind by default).
Cannot edit projects, forms, or settings.
Important: every Organisation user automatically has Review Account access too — it only becomes visible when they're added to a Review Panel and assigned submissions. The Reviewer-only permission is specifically for external users who should never see the admin dashboard.
Full Reviews context: What Are Reviews in Dapple
How to read the Permissions table in Settings → Users
Open Settings → Users to see a table showing every user, their role, and a matrix of Read / Write access.
Indicator | What it means |
Top section: Organisation Administrator | All Read and Write boxes ticked green — full access to everything in the Organisation. |
Top section: Organisation User | Read access only at the Organisation level. Write access depends on Team membership. |
Lower section: Team Manager | All boxes ticked green for that Team — full Read and Write access to the Team's projects and settings. |
Lower section: Team Member | Read access ticked, Write access denied on certain configuration boxes (settings, integrations). |
Lower section: No roles | All boxes blocked — user is in the Organisation but not in any Team, so sees no data. |
Read = view-only access to that area. Write = ability to make changes (edit a setting, send a message, change a stage, etc.).
Best practice for assigning permissions
Default to Organisation User + Team Member. Promote only when needed.
Limit Org Admins to 2–3 people. The whole point of Team Managers is to delegate without unlocking billing.
Use the Reviewer permission for everyone external — judges, panel members, freelance editors. Never give externals Org Admin or Team Manager access.
Review your Users list quarterly — remove anyone who's left the team.
Pair permission assignment with Team membership — adding a user is two steps (invite + assign team) and skipping the second leaves them with no data access.