Managing Staff in CPA Buddy

The staff directory is where you manage everyone on your team. Owners and Admins can invite new members, assign roles, and control seat allocation. All staff can browse the directory.

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The Staff Directory

Expand the Administration section in the sidebar and click Staff to open the staff directory.

Each row shows the member’s name, email, role, active status, and invitation state. Staff are split into two tabs:

• Active — team members who are currently enabled (shown by default)
• Inactive — members who have been deactivated but are still on record

The count next to each tab tells you how many members are in that group.

Seat usage

Below the header, a seat usage display shows how many seats your firm is using out of the total available on your current subscription plan.

Searching

Use the search bar to find staff by name, email, phone number, or role. Results update as you type.

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Inviting New Staff

Click the Invite Staff button at the top-right of the page.

Fill in the invitation form:

• Full Name — the invitee’s name
• Email — where the invitation will be sent (required)
• Phone — optional contact number
• Role — the role to assign (Admin, Manager, Staff, or Contractor)

The system sends an email with a unique invitation code. The invitee clicks the link, creates an account (or signs in if they already have one), and joins your firm automatically. Invitations expire after 10 days.

Note: You can only invite staff if you have available seats on your plan. If all seats are used, you’ll see an Upgrade Plan button instead.

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Staff Detail Page

Click any staff member in the list to open their detail page.

The detail page shows:

• Full Name — editable
• Email — read-only (set during signup)
• Phone — editable
• Role — editable (Owner, Admin, Manager, Staff, Contractor)
• Notes — free-text field for any additional information
• Active status — toggle to activate or deactivate the member
• Created and Last Updated dates

Make your changes and click Save Changes to update the record.

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Roles and Permissions

Role	What they can do
Owner	Full access to everything. Cannot be deactivated or deleted.
Admin	Same as Owner except they can be deactivated. Can manage staff and billing.
Manager	Can view team directory and staff details. Has access to some Administration sections.
Staff	Can view the staff directory. Focused on day-to-day task work.
Contractor	Similar to Staff. Used for external collaborators.

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Deactivating and Deleting Staff

Deactivating

To deactivate a staff member, click the Deactivate button on their row in the Active tab, or open their detail page and uncheck the Active checkbox. Deactivated members move to the Inactive tab and free up a seat.

To reactivate, find the member in the Inactive tab and click Activate.

Deleting

From the Inactive tab, click Delete to permanently remove a staff member. You’ll be asked to confirm. Owners cannot be deleted — transfer ownership first.

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Common Questions

The Invite Staff button is greyed out. Your firm has used all available seats. Click Upgrade Plan to add more seats, or deactivate an existing member to free up a seat.

I sent an invitation but the person can’t find the email. Check that you entered the correct email address. The invitation email may take a few minutes to arrive. Ask the invitee to check their spam folder. Invitations expire after 10 days.

Can I change someone’s role after they’ve joined? Yes. Open their detail page, change the Role dropdown, and click Save Changes.

Why can’t I deactivate the Owner? The Owner role is protected. To change the owner, you must transfer ownership first.