Overview
A console role controls what a person can do in the admin console. It's one of several independent kinds of authority in PreStartGo, and knowing which kind governs what saves a lot of "why can't I…" questions.
The four kinds of authority
| Kind | Granted as | Governs |
|---|---|---|
| Console role | Read-only / Contributor / Administrator / Account Owner | The admin console — this article |
| Licence | Operator / Supervisor / Technician / Lead, per group | Acting on machines from the mobile app — see Licensing Operators |
| Site access | Worker / Officer / Site manager, per site | Site-safety tools on Builder sites (check-in, observations) |
| Platform staff | The PreStartGo support team only | Cross-organisation support access, kept in the platform's own record and not shown in your Audit Log |
They're independent by design: a console role grants nothing on a machine, and a licence grants nothing in the console. A person who needs both holds both — as two separate identities (email for the console, phone for the field).
The console ladder
- Read-only — look only: browse every page and change nothing. The one thing a Read-only user can produce is a report, generated for their own download from the Reports section; emailing one to somebody needs Contributor. A Read-only user can also read and export the Audit Log, which makes Read-only the right seat for an outside auditor.
- Contributor — create and edit most records: equipment, checklists, defects, licences.
- Administrator — everything Contributor can, plus managing people (users and invites) and scheduled reports.
- Account Owner — full control, including organisation settings, plan and billing. The Account Owner starts as whoever created the organisation and can transfer the role to another member under Organisation → Details → Transfer ownership, becoming an Administrator; support steps in only if the Account Owner can't sign in.
Account Owners and Administrators must enrol in multi-factor authentication — see Signing In and MFA.
The Equipment, Site and Admin views
Near the top of the sidebar, a toggle switches the console between three views: Equipment (day-to-day fleet work: equipment, checklists, defects), Sites (your sites and inductions; shown only when your plan includes sites) and Admin (reports, the Audit Log, organisation administration). Each view has its own dashboard on the console's home page. The toggle changes what's showing, not what you're allowed to do: every view respects your role the same way.
Until you choose a view yourself, the console picks one each time you open it. On a Builder plan with sites you start on Sites. An Account Owner or Administrator whose organisation has no machines yet starts on Admin, where setting up begins. Everyone else starts on the first view they can see, in the order Equipment, Sites, Admin. Choose a view with the toggle and the console remembers it on that browser from then on.
The Admin dashboard shows each role what it can act on:
- Read-only — a Needs your attention list holding any active critical alerts, the plan and its status, the newest changes from the Audit Log, and shortcuts to the pages they can open.
- Contributor — adds how much of the plan's limits is in use, and how many console users hold each role.
- Administrator — adds to that list pending invites, failing webhooks, failed integration syncs and API keys expiring within 30 days, and, where your plan includes them, a summary of API keys, webhooks and integrations.
- Account Owner — adds subscription items (a failed payment, a trial that has ended or ends within two weeks) and any plan limit you've reached, each opening Billing.
How the console says "no"
The console deliberately shows restriction two ways, and both are working-as-designed:
- The action is absent. A Read-only user sees no "Add Equipment" button at all.
- The action is visible but disabled, with the reason. "Create Checklist" stays visible, greyed, with a tooltip like "Requires the Contributor role".
Either way nothing crashes, and the why is stated rather than the option silently vanishing. Detail pages open normally for any role — a Read-only user just won't find Edit or Delete on them.
Tip
When someone reports a "missing button", check their role first — it's very often the permission system doing exactly its job.
Edge cases
- Role changes apply on the spot — no sign-out needed; the next action is evaluated under the new role.
- There is exactly one Account Owner. Grant Administrator freely to the people running the fleet day to day; Account Owner is for the person who answers for the organisation itself.
- Billing pages are Account Owner territory — an Administrator running everything else still can't change the plan or payment details.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "I can't see the Users page" | Read-only role | The Users page needs Contributor or above, and inviting people needs Administrator |
| "I can see a machine but can't edit it" | Read-only role | Request Contributor if editing is actually their job |
| "I manage the console but can't unlock a machine" | Console roles don't grant field authority | They need an operator licence — see Licensing Operators |
| "Blocked by an MFA prompt" | Account Owner/Administrator MFA is mandatory | Complete enrolment — see Signing In and MFA |