How to Manage User Permissions in HandiFox and Why It’s Critical (A Hard Lesson Learned by Our Client)

Key Takeaways:

• Improper user permissions can lead to data loss, unauthorized edits, and inventory disruptions, especially when access isn’t revoked in time.
• Assigning custom roles and granular access rights ensures team members only see and change what’s relevant to their responsibilities.
• HandiFox lets you control mobile permissions by user and device, so on-the-go staff only access the data they need.
• Regular access reviews, clear role definitions, and centralized management make your inventory workflows more secure and scalable.

When you think about inventory management, chances are you're focused on numbers, locations, barcodes, and stock levels. However, setting up user permissions deserves just as much attention. 

When it comes to inventory software, too much access can become a silent risk. One of HandiFox’s clients learned it the hard way. We share this cautionary tale and all the ways you can protect your data through adequate access to your inventory management system.

Why User Access Rights Control Matters

Inventory data is the core of your business operations. It influences purchasing decisions, sales forecasting, customer satisfaction, and financial accuracy. When this data falls into the wrong hands, or even just untrained hands, it can cause major disruptions.

Let’s break down what can go wrong:

• Accidental edits: A well-meaning team member changes a setting or edits an invoice they shouldn’t have.
  
  
• Overwritten data: Duplicate entries or incorrect updates wipe out crucial inventory history.
  
  
• Unauthorized visibility: Sensitive information like product costs, supplier pricing, or customer data may be visible to employees who don't need it.
  
  
• Deliberate sabotage: In rare cases, disgruntled former employees can use their access to manipulate or delete critical records.
  

These aren’t hypothetical risks - we see all these mishaps happen regularly. Although malicious data tampering seems a little far-fetched in the context of inventory management, this story proves otherwise.  

Misuse of Access Rights by a Former Employee: Real-User Story

A HandiFox customer reached out to our support team in distress. After parting ways with an employee on less-than-ideal terms, they discovered something alarming: their inventory list was in shambles. Product descriptions had been changed, quantities were wrong, and years of careful tracking had been thrown off.

The issue? They had forgotten to revoke the former employee's access.

This employee, still able to log into the system, had made widespread changes that weren’t caught until a week later. 

Our support team jumped in to help. It took time, effort, and technical expertise to go through the logs and identify all the unauthorized changes. We had to recover a backup version of HandiFox as of the employee’s termination date on a dedicated server. This helped them compare pre- and post-incident data and begin the cleanup process. The client was relieved, but the message was clear: access isn’t something you can afford to overlook.

HandiFox Access Permissions at a Glance

To help you safeguard your inventory data, HandiFox offers a flexible, layered approach to user access that scales with your business needs.

1. Built-In User Roles

HandiFox starts with three default user types:

• Owner: This role is automatically assigned to the user who first registers with HandiFox Online. Only one person can be the Owner. The Owner has full and unconditional access to all features and settings, including the ability to connect or disconnect a QuickBooks Online company and manage the HandiFox Online subscription.
• Manager: Managers have access to all functions of the system (with no restrictions), except for subscription and QuickBooks connection management. They can add and delete users, promote Users to Managers, and manage most day-to-day operations.
• User: Common Users have access limited to operational functions within HandiFox. Their permissions can be further restricted by the Owner or Managers via the user management settings in the web application. This makes it easy to customize each User's access based on job responsibilities.

2. Web Permissions

To define more precise access levels for each team member, HandiFox Online allows you to configure detailed Web Permissions. These permissions let you control exactly what users can see and do across different areas of the system. For example, you can specify whether or not a user can:

• access inventory, purchasing, sales, and reporting in full or partially
• create or edit specific types of transactions
• have visibility into product costs
• make inventory adjustments
• modify system settings, etc.

These granular permissions give you the flexibility to tailor access to each employee's responsibilities. This ensures that every team member only sees the data they need, and nothing more.

3. Mobile Device-Level Access Control

HandiFox Mobile permissions are configured through the Mobile Device Management tool. This provides clear and consistent control over what mobile users can access and do while on the go. Here you can:

• Allow accesы to specific inventory, sales, and admin functionality
• Restrict actions such as switching sites or editing paid invoices

You can also make certain items invisible for certain inventory sites, i.e. users accessing those sites. This can be done when setting up a product profile:

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This ensures that warehouse staff, delivery drivers, and field reps only access the data and functions necessary for their tasks.

4. User Management For Admins

All user accounts and permissions can be managed from User Settings. From here, administrators can:

• Add and name new users
• Assign predefined roles or apply custom permissions
• Edit user details
• Instantly revoke or suspend access as needed

This centralized control makes it easy to stay on top of your internal access policies and adapt them as your team changes.

Inventory Data Security Best Practices

Creating clear boundaries within your inventory system doesn’t mean you don’t trust your team. It means you trust your system to protect everyone’s work.

Here are a few practical steps you can take today:

• Review your user roles quarterly: People change roles. Responsibilities shift. Don’t let permissions lag behind.
  
  
• Always revoke access immediately: When someone leaves your company, especially under difficult circumstances, cut off system access right away.
  
  
• Avoid shared logins: Each user should have their own account. This creates accountability and traceability.
  
  
• Document your access policy: Even a simple shared doc outlining who has access to what is better than nothing.

Inventory Access Is a Business Safeguard

Every small business wants to move fast, stay lean, and reduce friction. But protecting your data with the right access levels doesn’t slow you down, it keeps you on track.

When everyone sees what they need to see,  workflows stay clean, your data stays intact, and your team stays focused. HandiFox gives you the tools to make that happen.

If you’re unsure whether your current user access levels are set up correctly, now is the perfect time to review them. Check with our Knowledge Base or contact our Support Team to help you fine-tune permissions so your system is both powerful and protected.