How Do You Configure User Permissions and Roles in Patriot Software to Protect Sensitive Data?
Giving every team member unrestricted access to your payroll and accounting data is one of the most overlooked security risks in small business operations. A bookkeeper who can accidentally approve payroll, an HR coordinator with access to bank account settings, or a part-time office assistant who can view every employee’s Social Security Number — these scenarios create real exposure to errors, fraud, and compliance violations. Patriot Software addresses this directly with a multi-layered user permissions system that gives business owners granular control over who can see, edit, and act on sensitive data. This guide covers every layer of that system — from adding users and assigning payroll roles to configuring manager permissions and locking down accounting access — so your team operates efficiently without compromising data security.
Quick Summary: What User Permissions and Roles Does Patriot Software Support?
| Permission Layer | Where to Configure | Who It Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| Company-level admin permissions | Settings › User Settings › Manage Users | All added users |
| Payroll permissions (Full Access / Reports Only / No Access) | Settings › User Settings › Manage Users | All added users |
| 1099 permissions | Settings › User Settings › Manage Users | All added users |
| Accounting permissions (Basic) | Settings › User Settings › Manage Users | Added users (accounting tasks open by default) |
| Accounting permissions (Premium) | Settings › User Settings › Manage Users | Accounting Premium subscribers only |
| HR manager permissions | Settings › Human Resources Settings › Manager Settings | Designated managers (HR add-on required) |
| Time & Attendance manager permissions | Settings › Time and Attendance › Manager Settings | Designated managers (T&A add-on required) |
What Is Patriot Software and Why Does It Need a Permissions System?
Patriot Software is a cloud-based payroll, accounting, HR, and time-tracking platform built for U.S.-based small and medium-sized businesses. The company serves more than 75,000 customers and has processed over $19 billion in payroll. As businesses grow and add staff who interact with the platform, the question of who can access what becomes a significant operational and security concern.
Patriot Software launched its payroll permissions feature in June 2023 specifically to address this need. As Product Manager Ida Starling explained at the time: the system gives customers “peace of mind, knowing that their payroll data is secure and only accessible to those who need it.” The permissions framework spans four modules — payroll, accounting, HR, and time & attendance — and supports an unlimited number of users at no additional cost.
Additionally, Patriot Software’s SOC 2 compliance and multi-factor authentication (MFA) requirement for all users reinforces the permissions system with technical security controls. Together, these layers ensure that access controls reflect both organizational policy and industry-standard data protection practices.
How Do You Add a New User to Patriot Software?
What Are the Steps to Invite a User?
Navigate to Settings › User Settings › Manage Users to view your current user list. If you haven’t added any users yet, only your own account appears as the original administrator.
To add a new user, follow these steps:
- Click “Add User” and enter the new user’s email address
- Select the company permissions you want this user to have (see the full breakdown below)
- Click “Save” — Patriot Software immediately sends an invitation email from Do-Not-Reply@PatriotSoftware.com with the subject line “Welcome to Patriot Software!”
- The invited user clicks the link in the email, enters their first and last name, and creates a username, password, and MFA method to complete registration
- Once registration is complete, the user can log in at login.patriotsoftware.com and access only the areas you authorized
The user’s status shows as “Pending” in your Manage Users list until they complete registration. While pending, you can resend the invitation or cancel it. Canceling invalidates the invitation link and removes the user from your active list.
What Happens When Multiple Users Work Simultaneously?
Patriot Software includes a concurrent-user safety lock. When two users attempt to edit the same page at the same time — such as running payroll or modifying an employee record — the system locks out the second user until the first completes the task. The locked-out user sees a message indicating the page is currently in use. This prevents conflicting edits and protects data integrity across multi-user environments.
What Company-Level Permissions Can You Assign in Patriot Software?
What Are the Admin-Level Permission Options?
When adding or editing a user in Patriot Software, you choose from three company-level administrative permissions. These control access to settings that affect the entire organization — not just individual payroll or accounting tasks:
| Permission | What the User Can Do |
|---|---|
| Manage Company Info | View and edit company name, address, health benefits, upload files to support, and update the main point of contact |
| Payment Settings | View and edit the company bank account for tax payments and direct deposits, apply or cancel direct deposit, and update the company credit card for monthly subscription fees |
| Manage Users | Add additional users to the account, edit permissions for existing users, and manage the full user list |
Grant Manage Users permission only to trusted administrators. A user with this permission can modify other users’ access levels — including granting themselves broader permissions — so restrict it to account owners or senior operations staff.
What Payroll Permissions Does Patriot Software Offer?
What Are the Three Payroll Permission Levels?
Payroll permissions form the most sensitive layer of Patriot Software’s access control system, since payroll data includes employee SSNs, bank account details, wages, and tax information. Patriot Software offers three distinct payroll permission levels for each user:
| Payroll Permission | What the User Can Do |
|---|---|
| Full Access for All Payroll | Access all employee information, run payrolls, update employee records, view all payroll reports — full administrator capability |
| View Only Payroll Reports | View all payroll reports, including some personally identifiable information (PII), but cannot run payroll or edit employee data |
| No Access (available if accounting software is also active) | No payroll access whatsoever — the user only sees accounting features |
The View Only Payroll Reports level serves accountants, bookkeepers, and management team members who need visibility into payroll data for financial analysis or audit purposes — without the ability to alter employee records or trigger a payroll run. This separation of duties directly reduces the risk of payroll fraud and unauthorized modifications.
What Is the 1099 Permissions Option?
Separately from the main payroll permission levels, Patriot Software offers a specific 1099 Permissions toggle. Enabling this allows the user to create, print, and file 1099 and 1096 forms for independent contractors. You can grant 1099 permissions independently of full payroll access — useful for accounting staff who manage contractor filings but should not access W-2 employee payroll data.
How Do Accounting Permissions Work in Patriot Software?
What Access Do Users Get Without Accounting Premium?
Accounting permissions in Patriot Software work differently depending on which accounting plan you use. For users of Accounting Basic ($20/month), added users automatically receive access to all accounting tasks. Basic does not support granular per-user accounting restrictions — users either have accounting access or they don’t. The only accounting-related control available at this tier applies to payroll: you can restrict or grant payroll access while leaving accounting open.
What Additional Controls Does Accounting Premium Provide?
Accounting Premium ($30/month) unlocks user-based accounting permissions, giving administrators the ability to restrict specific accounting areas for each user. According to Patriot Software’s official help documentation, Accounting Premium customers can configure per-user access across specific accounting functions — ensuring that, for example, a sales team member can view invoices without accessing accounts payable or bank account settings.
Furthermore, Accounting Premium users who also subscribe to payroll can combine accounting and payroll permissions independently — granting full accounting access while restricting payroll to reports-only, or vice versa. This granularity makes Accounting Premium the appropriate tier for any business with more than two or three users who need differentiated access levels.
How Do You Configure Manager Permissions in Patriot Software?
What Are Manager Permissions and Who Do They Apply To?
Manager permissions in Patriot Software represent a separate, workforce-focused layer of access control that applies specifically to users designated as managers within the HR and Time & Attendance add-on modules. Rather than accessing Patriot Software’s admin settings, managers view their team’s information through the MyPatriot employee portal under a dedicated “My Team” section.
To designate a manager and assign their permissions, navigate to:
- HR Software only: Settings › Human Resources Settings › Manager Settings
- Time & Attendance only: Settings › Time and Attendance › Manager Settings
- Both HR and Time & Attendance: Settings › Human Resources & Time Settings › Manager Settings
From the Manager Settings page, select the employee you want to designate as a manager from the dropdown, then assign their direct reports. Each employee can have only one direct line manager in Patriot Software.
What Can HR Managers Access in Patriot Software?
With the HR Software add-on ($6/month + $2/employee), managers you designate can receive permissions to view the following information about their direct and indirect reports:
- Employee list and contact information
- Emergency contact details
- Pay details for direct and indirect reports
Importantly, Patriot Software warns administrators to review U.S. Department of Labor guidance on personal identifiable information (PII) visibility before enabling pay detail access, since managers viewing subordinate wage information can create legal and policy considerations in certain organizations.
What Can Time & Attendance Managers Access in Patriot Software?
With the Time & Attendance add-on ($6/month + $2/employee), managers receive time card-specific permissions that operate through their employee portal. Available Time & Attendance manager permissions include:
| Permission | What It Allows |
|---|---|
| View Time Cards | View-only access to direct reports’ time cards — no editing, approving, or rejecting |
| View and Manage Time Cards | Full access to view, edit, approve, and reject direct reports’ time card entries |
| View and Manage Time Off Requests | Receive and act on time-off requests submitted by direct reports; managers and admins both receive email notifications for new requests |
These permissions activate once you save the manager settings. Managers then see their team’s time cards and employee information under “My Team” in the left navigation of their MyPatriot portal — completely separate from admin-level Patriot Software settings.
How Do You Edit or Remove User Permissions in Patriot Software?
Can You Change Permissions After a User Is Already Active?
Yes — and Patriot Software makes this straightforward. Navigate to Settings › User Settings › Manage Users, find the user in the list, and click the Edit icon at the end of their row. From the edit screen, you can modify any permission — add or remove payroll access, toggle 1099 permissions, grant or restrict company-level settings, or update accounting access (Accounting Premium customers).
Changes take effect immediately. If you restrict a permission a user previously had, Patriot Software removes the relevant navigation links from their view on their next page load — they will no longer see or reach the restricted areas.
How Do You Remove a User Entirely from Patriot Software?
To revoke all access for a user, return to the Manage Users page and click the Edit icon next to that user. From the edit screen, select the option to remove the user. This immediately terminates their access to your Patriot Software account. Their historical activity within the account remains in the audit trail — removing a user does not delete records of actions they previously took, which preserves your compliance documentation.
Conclusion: Why Properly Configuring User Permissions in Patriot Software Matters
Configuring user permissions and roles in Patriot Software is not a one-time checkbox — it is an ongoing governance responsibility that grows in importance as your team expands and your payroll volume increases. The platform’s layered permissions system gives business owners and administrators the tools to enforce the principle of least privilege: every user gets exactly the access they need to do their job, and nothing more.
Patriot Software’s payroll permissions prevent unauthorized payroll runs. The view-only report level keeps accountants and managers informed without giving them the ability to alter records. Manager permissions in HR and Time & Attendance let supervisors handle day-to-day workforce management without ever touching payroll settings. Accounting Premium’s per-user controls protect financial data from being accessed by staff without a legitimate need.
Together, these controls reduce the risk of internal fraud, accidental data modification, and compliance exposure — all without adding complexity to the day-to-day experience for users who only need narrow access. Because Patriot Software includes unlimited users at no extra cost, there is no financial barrier to setting up the right access structure for your entire team. The investment is time — a few minutes per user — and the return is a more secure, more accountable payroll and accounting environment from the moment you click “Save.”
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Patriot Software supports an unlimited number of users at no additional cost on any plan. You can add your accountant, bookkeeper, HR coordinator, operations manager, and any other team members who need access to your payroll or accounting data without paying a per-seat fee. The only plan-dependent restriction is granular accounting permissions, which require an Accounting Premium subscription ($30/month). All payroll permissions — full access, view-only reports, and no access — are available to all payroll customers regardless of plan tier.
Yes. When adding a user, you control exactly which permissions they receive — and you do not need to grant admin-level access like Manage Company Info, Payment Settings, or Manage Users. For an external accountant, the typical configuration is View Only Payroll Reports (so they can pull reports for tax preparation and analysis) combined with accounting access, while restricting payment settings and user management entirely. If your accountant is a Patriot Software Partner — enrolled in Patriot’s partner program — they manage access through their own partner dashboard and can be given client-level access without requiring a separate user invitation through your settings.
When you upgrade from Accounting Basic to Accounting Premium, Patriot Software does not automatically restrict any existing users’ accounting access. All previously added users retain full accounting access unless you actively configure restrictions after upgrading. Therefore, after upgrading to Accounting Premium, go directly to Settings › User Settings › Manage Users and review each active user’s accounting permissions to set appropriate restrictions. This is especially important for businesses upgrading mid-growth, where users added during the Basic tier may have broader access than their current role requires. Going forward, every new user you add under Accounting Premium gives you the option to configure granular accounting permissions from the invitation screen.
