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 gives you two options: allow access to all Companies from selected Groups, or select specific Companies manually.
Adding someone to a Group alone does not automatically grant access to every Company in that Group. You also need to check the "Allow access to all companies from selected groups" checkbox. When this is enabled, the User sees everything in their assigned Groups, including new Companies added later. When it's not enabled, you need to select specific Companies manually.
For internal team members, "allow all from selected groups" is usually the right call because it means new clients get picked up automatically. For external client Users, select specific Companies so each client only sees their own data.
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
You can assign a primary vCIO or user to each company. This helps track who owns each client relationship and shows up in reporting. To assign a user to a company, open the company in the Companies Module and update the assigned user field.
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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