Managing Staff and User Permissions in Smokeball

Ensure your users have access to the information they need to perform their jobs while limiting more sensitive data to senior staff. The user permissions section allows you to determine the degree of activity and financial information available to your staff.  

Permissions on the Smokeball Desktop App

There are six types of user permissions on the Desktop App:

• The Billing App permission gives full access to all billing resources and financial information (e.g., invoices) on the web app. It does not affect their access to the web app's productivity features (e.g., matters and tasks). 
• The Hourly Rates permission displays a staff member's individual rates. 
• The Time Entries permission displays a staff member's time entries. 
• The Billing Widget permission toggles a widget which displays basic financial information on individual matters.
• The Form Changes permission allows a staff member to modify documents in the Template Library.
• The Archie permission allows you to select which members of your firm can use our AI-powered legal assistant.

Edit User Permissions 

1. Select the File tab in Smokeball and then select Settings from the dropdown menu or select the cogwheel in the upper right-hand corner.  
2. Select Staff & Users in the popup window and then select the Permissions button. 
   
    
3. Select a user in the left-hand Name column to access their permissions.  
4. Use the checkboxes in the five right-hand columns to edit the user’s access to the Billing App, Hourly Rates, Time Entries, Billing Widget, or Form Changes permissions. 
   • Choose different permission levels based on the information category or by colleague. 
5. Select the Save & Close button in the lower right-hand corner to apply your changes.

Permissions on the Smokeball Web App

In the Web App, you can further customize permissions to access the following billing-related features:

• Invoicing
• Accounts
• Expenses
• Reports
• Billing Settings
• Clearance override (the ability to manually process payments and receipts)

To access web app permissions:

1. Select the Settings (gear) icon and click on Firm Settings.
   
2. Select Staff & Users on the left panel. This section is only available to Firm Owners.
3. On the Permissions tab, configure the level of access for the relevant staff member/s.
4. Select Save.

Invoices

For Invoice permissions, the access options are Full Access, Read Only and No Access:

Full Access: Users retain full ability to:

• Create, edit, finalise, and delete invoices
• Apply, edit, and reverse payments
• Manage payment plans
• Use all bulk and quick actions

Read Only: Users can view invoice information, but cannot create or modify invoices or payments.

• On the Finalised invoice screen, Read Only users can Email, Download, View Payment Detail and view history. They can also view the Entries and Payments tabs. All other buttons are visible but disabled (not clickable).
• On the Draft Invoice screen, Read Only users can only view the draft preview, close the invoice, or link the invoice to a matter. All other actions are disabled.
• On the Payment Details screen, the Delete and Reverse actions are removed.
• On the main Invoices screen, the Add Payment and Bulk Actions buttons are disabled. The Create Invoices and Trust to Office tabs are also disabled. On the Reminders tab, the Bulk Actions button is disabled.
• On Matter > Invoices, Create Invoice, Add Payment and Bulk Actions buttons are disabled.
• On Matter > Time & Fees and Matter > Expenses, Create Invoice is disabled.
• On Contact > Invoices, Create Invoice, Add Payment and Bulk Actions buttons are disabled.
• On Contact > Payment Plans, Add Payment, Edit Plan and Close Plan are disabled. Create New Plan is also disabled.
• The Payments option is not selectable under the Quick Add menu on the top-right corner of the Smokeball Web App.

No Access: Users cannot access invoices or related billing data, even if they see related tabs or links.

The following areas show the tab/section, but users with No Access cannot select or open them:

• Main Invoices screen
• Matter > Invoices
• Contact > Invoices
• Accounts > Invoice Ledger
• Accounts > Client Communications
• Matter > Transactions > Invoice Ledger
• Matter > Transactions > Client Communications
• Contacts > Ledger > Invoice Ledger
• Main Contacts screen > Payment Plans
• Contacts > Payment Plans
• Matter Overview
  • Invoicing tile is removed
  • Users will see the “surface” in some cases (e.g., tab labels) but will not be able to interact with them.

The following areas will display a "You do not have permission to access this area" message if the user tries to navigate to any invoice-related page from:

• Time & Fees (main page and via the matter)
• Expenses (main page and via the matter)
• Descriptions and ledger lines that link to Trust Account, Operating Account and the Credit Memo Ledger
• Split Billing invoices

Other restrictions include:

• Unbilled and Due columns are removed from the matter list.
• Unbilled, Unpaid and Overdue amounts are hidden from the balance summary at the top of matters.
• Unpaid and Overdue amounts are hidden from Contacts.

Accounts

For Accounts permissions, the access options are Full Access, Read Only and No Access:

Full Access: Users can view and edit all accounts information for all matters, without any restrictions.

Read Only: Users can view but not edit accounts information for all matters.

• The Accounts section on the left panel of the Smokeball Web App remains visible but is disabled.

  

• When opening the Transactions tab in a matter or contact, transactions remain viewable, but Reverse Transaction is unavailable.

  

• In the list of transactions for Trust Accounts and CMAs, the buttons to Deposit Funds, Create/Request Payment, Transfer Funds and Protect Funds are disabled.

  

• Printing receipts remains available.

No Access: Users are restricted from viewing accounts data for any matter.

• The Accounts section on the left panel of the Smokeball Web App is disabled.

• When opening the Transactions tab in a matter or contact, the Invoice Ledger will be shown when Invoice permissions allow.

  • If both Invoices and Accounts are set to No Access, the Transactions tab is disabled.

• Trust Account and Controlled Money Account-related sections are hidden from the Invoice section summary.

   

• If Smokeball Payments is active, the Manage Account button is removed from Payment Provider Settings.

Expenses

For Expense permissions, the access options are Full Access and Read Only:

Full Access: Users can add, edit and delete Expenses without any restrictions.

Read Only: Users can view existing Expense details, but not add or delete any Expenses.

On the Smokeball Web App, users with Expense Read Only permissions will experience the following:

• They cannot create a new Expense from the Create New (+) menu on the top-right corner of the screen.
• When accessing the Time/Fees section from the left panel, then navigating to Expenses:

  • Quick Add is disabled.

  • Expense details opens in read-only mode (fields cannot be edited).

  • Actions are disabled: New Expense Entry, Print Cheques, View Office Payments, Create Cheque

  • Print and CSV export remain available.

  • Filters remain available and functional.

• When accessing the Time/Fees tab in a matter, then navigating to Expenses:

  • Quick Add is disabled.

  • Expense details opens in read-only mode (fields cannot be edited).

  • Actions are disabled: New Expense Entry, Bulk Actions

  • Print and CSV export remain available.

• On the Draft Invoice screen:

  • Add Entry (Expense) is disabled.

  • In-line editing of existing Expense line items is disabled.

  • Expense item checkbox selection remains available.

On the Smokeball Desktop App, users with Expense Read Only permissions will experience the following:

• The ability to add a Expense, including Quick Add, is disabled on the Matter View and Time & Expenses tab

• Users can open existing Expense details, but the Expense window is read-only (fields cannot be edited).

Reports 

The Reports permission enables the Reports view.

Billing Settings

The Billing Settings permission enables or disables user from accessing Firm Settings on the Web App, regardless of their permissions on the Smokeball Desktop App.

Clearance Override

The Clearance Override permission allows enabled users to manually clear pending trust receipts or payments and bypass the clearance days set by the firm. 

Edit User Permissions 

1. Select the gear icon and then select Firm Settings.
     
2. Select Staff & Users then select the Permissions tab. 
3. Mouseover a non-firm-owner user.  
4. Use the checkboxes in the two right-hand columns to edit the user’s access to Global Accounts or Reports. 
5. Select Save to confirm your changes.  

 Important Note: Bill and Boost users also have access to an Accounts tab on the web app. You can use this tab to add staff and check their two-factor authentication status.