Every workspace member has a role that decides what they can do. Four cover most workspaces: Workspace Admin, Editor, Contributor, and View Only. Two more exist for narrower cases: External Auditor, which reads what it is scoped to plus the audit log, and CSP Firm Staff, which appears only in a CSP firm's own workspace. This page is the reference. Roles are assigned when a member is invited (and can be changed later) by anyone who can manage members, which in practice means a Workspace Admin.
The four roles in one line each
- Workspace Admin: everything, including members, workspace settings, and client/CRM features where enabled.
- Editor: the full day-to-day compliance toolset (documents, library, reviews, e-sign, screening, share links, deletion), but no member or settings management.
- Contributor: builds and maintains KYB records (entities, people, connections, uploads, review decisions) and can share them, without the deletion or module-level tools.
- View Only: reads everything their access allows, changes nothing.
Capability table
| Capability | Workspace Admin | Editor | Contributor | View Only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View KYB records, documents & reports | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Add & edit entities, people, connections | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Relationships register: add & edit parties and relationships | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Audits: packages, items, responses & CAP | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Upload documents to KYB records | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Mark a document N/A | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Decide document reviews (pass / flag) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Document Library: upload & edit | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Delete documents (library & KYB Manager) | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Restore deleted documents | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Run risk screening (entities & wallets) | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Legal AI Co-pilot (where enabled) | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Manage prompts & skills (where enabled) | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Send e-sign envelopes | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Void e-sign envelopes | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Create & revoke share and collection links | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Erase an entity's or person's data (privacy) | ✓ | |||
| Invite & manage members | ✓ | |||
| Workspace settings & branding | ✓ | |||
| Client / CRM features (where enabled) | ✓ | |||
| Audit log | ✓ |
Contributors can create share links and collection links, and can revoke them too: anyone able to create exposure can also withdraw it.
Two notes on reading the table:
- A ✓ means the role holds the permission. Whether the surface appears at all also depends on the modules enabled for your workspace and on the module access a Workspace Admin granted the member. Access is the overlap: a module granted to a member whose role lacks the underlying permission stays closed, and the Team page greys that chip out with the reason.
- Deletion is deliberately a separate tier. Contributors can build and correct KYB records but cannot permanently remove documents; that stays with Editors and Workspace Admins.
Seeing what a role grants
You don't need to memorize this table. When a Workspace Admin assigns a role in the invite form (or reviews it on a member's row on the Team page), the granted capabilities are listed right there, grouped by area, with destructive capabilities highlighted. What you see in the app is always the authoritative version of this reference.
Choosing a role
- Give Workspace Admin sparingly: it includes member management and workspace settings.
- Editor is the right default for compliance and legal staff doing real work in the platform.
- Contributor suits teammates who feed the KYB records (uploading, maintaining company data, sharing them onward) without needing deletion powers or the module-level tools.
- External Auditor is for an outside auditor or reviewer: read access (including audit packs made visible to members) plus the audit trail.
- View Only is for observers and anyone who only needs to read.
Platform roles (ComplyWise staff only)
Separately from workspace roles, ComplyWise staff hold a platform role: Platform Admin or Platform Member. Both can enter and support every client workspace and configure its products, limits and credits. Only Platform Admins can use the internal CRM, handle account requests, change platform settings, or grant platform roles. Platform roles are assigned on the ComplyWise workspace's own Team page and are not visible to workspace members.
Related articles
- Navigating the app: what each sidebar section does
- Accept your invitation: the joining flow your invitees follow
- What is ComplyWise?: modules and how they're enabled