Once you've built your first Report, it's time to bring your team into Strategy Overview. Adding users, assigning roles, and configuring permissions ensures the right people have access to the right clients and tools.
If you're a solo vCIO, you can skip this article for now and come back when you're ready to add team members or set up client portal access.
Adding users
To invite a team member to your account:
Go to Settings > Users
Click Add User
Fill in the required fields: email, first name, last name
Set their default template: the "Strategy Overview" template works for most users
Choose their role (see below)
Configure their group access and company permissions
Select which modules they should see
Click Add User
The system will send an invitation email to the new user. If they don't receive it, you can resend it from the Users page by selecting their checkbox and clicking Resend Invitation Email.
Choosing the right role
Each role has different permissions. Here's how to think about who gets what:
Administrator can edit all users and all settings. Best for MSP owners and executives who need full control.
Manager can edit all users and settings except admin-level changes. Best for senior vCIOs and team leaders.
Editor can edit Reports and their own settings but can't manage other users. Best for vCIOs and project engineers who fill out Assessments and build Reports.
Read Only can view Reports but not edit them. Best for engineers or team members who need visibility but don't manage client strategy.
External Editor is designed for client-facing users, like a client's IT director or primary contact. External users don't see helper videos, don't receive Strategy Overview emails, and don't see the support chat. This role is used when you set up Strategy Overview as a client portal.
Tip: We recommend creating a test external user so you can preview the client experience before inviting real clients.
Setting up permissions
For roles other than Administrator, you can control access at a more granular level:
Groups organize your clients into segments, by territory, by vCIO, by account manager, or however makes sense for your MSP. You can manage Groups at Settings > General > Groups. It's fine to start with just one Group and add more as your team grows.
Important: Administrator users always see all companies regardless of Group assignment. For non-admin roles (Manager, Editor, Read Only, External Editor), Group assignment controls which companies they can access.
Company access works in two modes, controlled by the "Allow Access For All Companies From Selected Groups" checkbox:
Checkbox enabled (group-managed access): The user automatically sees every company in their assigned Groups, including new companies added later. While this is enabled, you cannot add or remove individual companies, either here or on the Company tab. This is the recommended setting for internal team members because new clients get picked up automatically.
Checkbox disabled (manual access): You select specific companies from the Companies dropdown. You can also assign the user directly on a company's Company tab using the Users field, which does the same thing from the company side. This is the recommended setting for external client users who should only see their own company.
Note: Adding a user to a Group alone does not grant access to companies in that Group. You must either enable the checkbox or select companies manually.
Templates: choose which Templates the User can see. The preloaded "Strategy Overview" Template covers most use cases.
Modules: select which Modules appear in the User's left navigation. For internal vCIO Users, you'll typically enable all available Modules, including Strategy, Plan, Technology, Office 365, Stack, Companies, Schedule, and Tickets. For external client Users, you will want to choose their available Modules carefully. If you don't select any Modules, the User will only see their profile page.
Assigning a vCIO to a company
The vCIO assignment for each company is managed in the Schedule Module. This tracks who owns each client relationship and is used for scheduling and capacity planning. It is separate from the Users field on the Company tab, which controls data access.
Common team setups
Here are a few typical setups to give you a starting point:
Solo vCIO or small MSP (1-2 people doing strategy): Create one Group with all your clients. Give yourself Administrator access. If you have a second person, make them an Editor. You probably don't need complex permissions yet.
Growing vCIO team (3+ people): Create Groups by territory or by vCIO assignment. Give each vCIO Editor access to their Group. Give your vCIO team lead Manager access across all Groups so they can review and coach.
Client portal Users: Create External Editor accounts for client contacts who need to view their Reports. Assign them to specific Companies only, not Groups. Limit their Modules to Strategy and Plan. See Setting Up the Client Portal for the full setup guide.
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