Lili offers flexible roles and permissions so you can safely grant access to your team members, accountants, and bookkeepers. Whether you need to add an employee who helps run daily operations or an external accounting partner who handles your books and taxes, you can assign the right level of access for each person.

Roles for Company Employees

These roles are designed for business owners and internal team members who work within your company:

Owner — Full control of the account and team access, including money movement, settings, and user management. The primary account owner can add other business owners, manage all financial operations, change business details, and close the account if needed.

Admin — Helps run day-to-day finances, with broad permissions to move money and manage key features, but cannot change owner details or close the account. Admins are ideal for trusted employees who handle financial operations but should not have full account ownership.

Manager — Operational manager who can run most daily finance flows, with some actions requiring approval or special permission. Managers have more limited access than Admins and are suited for team members who need to perform specific tasks without full financial control.

Roles for Your Accountant or Bookkeeper

When you work with an external accountant or bookkeeper, you can grant them one of three specialized roles based on the services they provide. Each accountant role is designed to give your accounting partner the access they need while protecting your account security.

Viewer — Accountants have read-only access to reports, bills, invoices, and transactions. They can review financial data needed for bookkeeping and taxes, but cannot edit records or initiate transactions. This role is ideal if your accountant only needs to review your finances, prepare tax returns, or provide advisory services.

Bookkeeper — Accountants can perform bookkeeping activities, including managing bills, invoices, and transaction categorization, while still being restricted from initiating or approving any movement of funds. Choose this role when your accountant actively manages your books, categorizes expenses, and handles vendor invoices, but should not make payments. 

Bill Payer — Accountants can perform bookkeeping activities and initiate outgoing transfers as part of their bill-payment duties. Each transaction they submit requires explicit approval from the primary account owner before funds are moved. This role is designed for accountants who handle your accounts payable and need to submit payments, while you maintain final approval authority over all fund movements.

For a detailed breakdown of every action and permission by role, see What are the full permissions breakdown for each role?

How to Choose the Right Role

For company employees:

• Assign Owner to other business owners who need complete account control
• Assign Admin to trusted employees who manage daily finances and operations
• Assign Manager to team members who need operational access with limited permissions

For accountants and bookkeepers:

• Assign Viewer if they only need to review your financial records for tax preparation or advisory services
• Assign Bookkeeper if they manage your books, categorize transactions, and handle invoices but should not make payments
• Assign Bill Payer if they need to submit bill payments on your behalf, with your approval required before funds move

Lili is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by Sunrise Banks, N.A., Member FDIC. Wire Transfer services are provided by Column Bank N.A., Member FDIC.