Understanding User Roles & Permissions on Alaan

Alaan offers five user role levels, each designed to give team members the right level of access for their responsibilities. This article breaks down each role and what it can and can't do, so you can configure access in line with your company's structure.

🔑 Organisation Admin

Highest level of platform access · Typically: Finance Director, CFO, or Treasury

The Organisation Admin has complete control over the Alaan account and has access for configuring the platform and setting all company-wide policies.

Can do:

Create and manage corporate cards
Set and modify card spending limits
Define card approval policies (who approves new card requests and limit changes)
Define expense submission policies
Define expense approval policies
Configure SuperPay approval workflows
View all transactions and expenses across the organisation
Access and export all financial data
Manage all user roles and permissions

Restrictions: None, full platform access.

🛠️ Corporate Admin

Full operational access, excluding specific policy configurations. Typically: Senior Finance Manager, Operations Lead

Can do:

Create and manage corporate cards
Set and modify card spending limits
Define expense submission policies
Define expense approval policies
View all transactions and expenses across the organisation
Access and export all financial data
Manage user roles (below Admin level)

Cannot do:

Configure card limit approval policies
Configure SuperPay approval workflows

📊 Accountant

Expense visibility and ERP export access · Typically: Finance Team, Accounting Staff. Designed for finance and accounting staff who need full visibility into expense data for reconciliation and reporting, without the ability to manage cards or configure platform settings.

Can do:

View all expenses across the organisation provided the user has been permitted to access of all team's expenses.
Access full transaction details (category, department, cost centre mappings)
Export expense data to connected ERP or accounting systems
Review and validate expense submissions

Cannot do:

Create or manage cards
Set or change spending limits
Configure any platform policies

👥 Team Leader

Department-level expense visibility · Typically: Department Head, Line Manager

Intended for department heads who need oversight of their team's spending. A Team Leader's visibility is scoped strictly to the team they're assigned to.

Can do:

View all expenses and transactions within their assigned team
Monitor team spending against budgets
Review and action expense submissions from team members

Cannot do:

View expenses outside their assigned team
Create or manage cards
Configure any platform policies

👤 Cardholder

Business expense management only · Typically: Any employee issued a corporate card. The end user of the Alaan platform. Access is limited entirely to their own account, ensuring full data privacy across the organisation.

Can do:

View their own transactions and expenses
Submit expense reports and attach receipts
Access their own card details via the Alaan mobile app & the web app

Cannot do:

View any other user's expenses
Manage cards or limits
Access organisation-level data

Role Permissions Matrix

Permission / Feature	Organisation Admin	Corporate Admin	Accountant	Team Leader	Cardholder
Create & manage cards	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Set card spending limits	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Configure card limit policies	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Configure expense submission policies	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Configure expense approval policies	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌
Configure SuperPay approvals	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
View all organisation expenses	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
View team expenses only	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Export to ERP / accounting system	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
Submit own expenses	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
View own expenses only	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅

FAQs

What's the difference between an Organisation Admin and a Corporate Admin?

Organisation Admins have full platform access with no restrictions.
Corporate Admins have the same day-to-day operational access, but cannot configure card limit approval policies or SuperPay approval workflows.

Can an Accountant manage cards or set spending limits?

No. Accountants have full expense visibility and ERP export access, but cannot create/manage cards or configure any platform policies.

What can a Team Leader see?

Only expenses and transactions within their assigned team. They cannot view data outside their team or access organisation-wide expenses.

Can a Cardholder see other employees' expenses?

No. Cardholders can only view and manage their own transactions, expenses, and card details.

Who should be assigned the Organisation Admin role?

Typically a Finance Director, CFO, or someone in Treasury — this role should be limited to those who need complete control over company-wide policy and configuration.

Can I change a user's role after they've been added?

To assign or change a user's role to Admin or Organisation Admin, you'll need to reach out to our support team.
Roles for Cardholder, Team Leader, and Accountant can be managed directly by your Admin or Organisation Admin.

Need assistance? Feel free to drop us an email on [email protected]