---
title: Understanding user access
description: "How user access works in Lab Symplified: roles vs. custom permissions, lab vs. admin roles, automatic View Inventory, and SSO vs. email sign-in."
---

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# Understanding user access

## How labs, roles, and permissions work together in Lab Symplified

In Lab Symplified, what someone can do depends on three things: **which locations/labs** they're assigned to, **which roles or permissions** they have, and **which products** your organization uses. This article explains how those fit together. The articles that follow show exactly where to click.

### Roles vs. custom permissions

- **Roles (recommended).** A role is a named set of permissions, such as Tech or Supervisor. Assign a role to a user, and if you later change what the role can do, everyone with that role updates automatically.
- **Custom permissions.** Set permissions for one user directly, without a role. Custom users are **not** affected when roles change. Use this for one-off setups.

Every user is set up one way or the other. Both work side by side, so existing users keep exactly the access they had before roles were introduced.

### Lab roles vs. admin roles

- **Lab roles** (such as Tech and Supervisor) apply to the specific location/lab a person works in.
- **Admin roles** (such as Enterprise Admin) apply to the whole company, for tasks like managing users or the company profile. They aren't tied to a lab. Admin users automatically get view access to every location/lab.

If you assign more than one role, their permissions combine.

### View Inventory is automatic

Anyone assigned to a lab can view that lab's inventory. You never need to grant it. Roles add capabilities on top of that baseline.

### Access is organized by site and location/lab

Locations/Labs are grouped under sites. When you give someone location/lab access, you choose the specific labs they work in. A user can work in one lab, several, or all of them.

Site and location level grouping is not applicable for all customers. You can see site or location/lab grouping only if it is configured for your setup.

### How sign-in affects user setup

Each organization uses one sign-in method for all its users: single sign-on (SSO) or email and password. Roles and permissions work the same way in both. What differs is how users get in, and how you remove access:

|  | SSO organizations | Email and password organizations |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Invitation | Welcome email with a Login link | Registration email with a registration link |
| User creates a password | No | Yes |
| Employee ID | Not needed | Required, and must match at registration |
| Name and email | Entered by the administrator | Entered by the administrator |
| Password resets and MFA | Based on company policy | Lab Symplified |
| QR code and PIN sign-in | Not available | Available if enabled for your organization |
| When someone leaves | Lock them in Lab Symplified. Disabling them in your company directory also blocks access. | Lock them in Lab Symplified |

### Shared workstations

If your organization has station users enabled, you can also create shared accounts for kiosks and common workstations. See [Station users](https://help.labsymplified.com/station-users?hsLang=en).

### Related articles

- [Adding a user](https://help.labsymplified.com/add-a-user?hsLang=en)
- [Managing roles](https://help.labsymplified.com/manage-roles?hsLang=en)
- [Permission reference](https://help.labsymplified.com/permission-reference?hsLang=en)
- [Station users (shared workstation accounts)](https://help.labsymplified.com/station-users?hsLang=en)

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