Giving Internal Team Members Limited Access

How to get there: Go to Users in the sidebar → select a user → change their role. Role permissions are configured in Settings → Users section.

Learn how to provide your internal team members with limited access to your ProductLift portal, allowing them to view and interact with feedback without full admin privileges. This is ideal for customer-facing teams, support staff, and other internal users who need visibility into customer feedback.

Understanding the Use Case

Many organizations have internal teams that need to see customer feedback but should not have full administrative access. Common examples include:

• Customer Success Teams - Need to view feedback to understand customer pain points
• Support Teams - Want to see what issues customers are reporting
• Sales Teams - Need visibility into feature requests from prospects
• Account Managers - Monitor feedback from their specific accounts
• External Consultants - Require limited, temporary access

This guide explains how to give these users appropriate access levels without making them full admins or team members.

Access Levels Explained

ProductLift has different access levels. Understanding them helps you choose the right approach:

Admin & Member (Team Members)

Access includes:

• View all posts (including under review)
• Edit posts and change statuses
• Assign posts to team members
• Create internal comments
• Access analytics and admin interface
• Manage settings (admins only)

Licensing: Each admin or member counts toward your admin user license limit.

When to use: For team members who actively manage feedback, not just view it.

See User Roles and Permissions for full details.

Regular User Accounts

Access includes:

• View approved posts
• Vote on posts
• Comment on posts
• Follow posts for updates
• Create posts (if enabled)

Licensing: Regular users do NOT count toward your admin license limit.

When to use: For internal team members who need view-only or limited interaction access.

This is the recommended approach for the use case described in this article.

Solution Overview

To give internal team members limited access without admin privileges:

Step 1: Create regular user accounts for your internal team members

Step 2: Configure portal visibility and board access appropriately

Step 3: (Optional) Use user groups to organize internal users and control access

This approach allows your internal team to see relevant feedback while keeping them as regular users, not consuming admin licenses.

Step-by-Step Setup

Method 1: Basic Setup (All Logged-In Users)

Use this method if all registered users should have access to certain content.

Step 1: Create User Accounts

For Internal Team Members:

Option A: Manual Invitation

1. Go to Settings → Users
2. Click "Invite User" or "Add User"
3. Enter their email address
4. Send invitation
5. They receive email to create account

Option B: Email Approval

If you want team members to sign up themselves:

1. Go to Settings → Security
2. Enable "User Acceptance" or "Approve New Users"
3. Configure auto-approval for your company domain
4. Team members sign up with company email
5. They're automatically approved

See Approve New Users Before They May Enter for domain-based auto-approval setup.

[Screenshot: User invitation dialog showing email input and role selection (set to "User" not "Admin")]

Step 2: Make Portal Private or Semi-Private

Option A: Fully Private Portal

If you want to restrict ALL access to logged-in users only:

1. Go to Settings → Security
2. Enable "Make Private"
3. Save settings

Result: Only users with accounts can access the portal at all.

Option B: Keep Portal Public

If you want customers to access some content publicly but restrict certain boards:

• Keep portal public (don't enable "Make Private")
• Configure individual boards for logged-in access only (see next step)

[Screenshot: Security settings showing "Make Private" checkbox]

Step 3: Configure Board Visibility

For boards you want only logged-in users to see:

1. Go to Settings → Boards and Statuses
2. Select the board to configure
3. Find "Visibility" dropdown
4. Select "Members and Admins" (this means logged-in users + admins, despite the name)
5. Save board settings

Important: The "Members and Admins" visibility option actually means "all logged-in users," not just team members. Any registered user account can see these boards.

[Screenshot: Board settings showing visibility dropdown with "Members and Admins" selected]

Result:

• Anonymous visitors cannot see this board
• All logged-in users (including your internal team accounts) can view it
• Internal team can see posts, comment, and vote

Step 4: Configure Post Approval (Optional)

If you want to review posts before they're visible:

1. Go to Settings → Moderation
2. Enable "Require admin approval for new posts"
3. Save settings

Result: Posts from all users (including internal team) require approval before appearing on the board.

See Post Moderation for details.

[Screenshot: Permission settings showing "Require approval" checkbox]

Method 2: Advanced Setup (Using User Groups)

Use this method for more granular control, separating internal team members from customers.

This approach uses User Groups to:

• Organize internal users separately from customers
• Show specific boards only to internal team
• Filter and analyze feedback by user group

Step 1: Create Internal Team User Group

1. Go to Settings → User Groups (or Settings → Users → Groups)
2. Click "Create New Group"
3. Enter group details:
   • Name: "Internal Team" (or "Support Team", "Sales Team", etc.)
   • Description: "Internal company employees with access to customer feedback"
   • Icon: Choose an icon (e.g., building icon)
   • Color: Choose a color
4. Click "Create Group"

[Screenshot: Create group dialog showing name, description, icon selector, and color picker]

Step 2: Add Internal Users to Group

Option A: Manual Assignment

1. Open the "Internal Team" group
2. Click "Add Members"
3. Search for each internal user by email
4. Select and add them to the group

Option B: Automatic Assignment by Email Domain

For automatic assignment of users with company email:

1. Open the "Internal Team" group
2. Go to "Auto-Assignment Rules" (if available)
3. Create rule:
   • Condition: Email ends with "@yourcompany.com"
   • Action: Add to "Internal Team" group
4. Save rule

Now all users who sign up with your company domain are automatically added to this group.

[Screenshot: Add members dialog showing search box and user selection]

See User Groups and Management for detailed instructions on auto-assignment.

Step 3: Create Board for Internal Team

Option A: Internal-Only Board

Create a board visible only to your internal team:

1. Go to Settings → Boards and Statuses
2. Click "Add Board"
3. Configure the board:
   • Menu title: "Internal View" or "All Feedback"
   • Page title: "All Customer Feedback"
   • Visibility: Select "Specific Groups"
   • Select Groups: Check "Internal Team"
4. Add statuses to display (e.g., all statuses)
5. Save board

Result: Only internal team members see this board. Regular customers do not.

Option B: Restrict Existing Board

To restrict an existing board to internal team + admins:

1. Go to Settings → Boards and Statuses
2. Select the board to restrict
3. Change Visibility to "Specific Groups"
4. Select "Internal Team" group
5. Save

[Screenshot: Board settings showing visibility set to "Specific Groups" with group selector showing "Internal Team" checked]

Step 4: Configure Public vs. Internal Boards

Now you have flexibility:

Public Boards:

• Visibility: "Public"
• Everyone (including guests) can view
• Good for general feature requests and feedback

Logged-In User Boards:

• Visibility: "Members and Admins"
• All logged-in users can view
• Customers and internal team both see it

Internal Team Boards:

• Visibility: "Specific Groups" → "Internal Team"
• Only internal team + admins can view
• Hidden from all customers

Admin-Only Boards:

• Visibility: "Admins Only"
• Only admin users can view
• For internal planning, moderation, etc.

[Screenshot: Multiple boards showing different visibility settings side by side]

Additional Configuration Options

Control What Users Can Do

Even though internal team members are regular users, you can control their capabilities:

1. Go to Settings → Boards and select the relevant board to configure its permissions:
2. Configure:
   • ☑ Allow users to create posts (Yes/No)
   • ☑ Allow users to edit own posts (Yes/No)
   • ☑ Allow users to comment (Yes/No)
   • ☑ Allow users to vote (Yes/No)

Recommendation for Internal Team:

• Allow commenting: Yes (so they can respond if needed)
• Allow voting: Yes (to show support for features)
• Allow creating posts: Your choice (some orgs allow internal feature requests)

[Screenshot: User capabilities settings with checkboxes for each permission]

Multiple Internal Groups

You can create multiple groups for different internal teams:

Example Setup:

1. "Support Team" group:

   • Sees "Support Feedback" board
   • Can comment to help customers

2. "Sales Team" group:

   • Sees "Feature Requests" board
   • Tracks what prospects want

3. "Product Team" group:

   • Sees everything (or make them Members/Admins instead)

Create each group and assign different boards to each.

Notification Settings

Internal users receive notifications just like customers. Configure as needed:

1. Go to Settings → Emails
2. Decide if internal team should receive:
   • New post notifications
   • Comment notifications
   • Status change notifications

Consider creating filters so internal users only get relevant notifications.

Use Case Examples

Example 1: Support Team View-Only Access

Scenario: Support team needs to see customer feedback but not manage it.

Setup:

1. Create user accounts for support team (regular users, not admins)
2. Create "Support Team" user group
3. Add support team to the group
4. Create "All Feedback" board visible to "Support Team" group only
5. Support team can view all posts, comment if needed, but cannot change statuses or manage posts

Result: Support team has visibility without consuming admin licenses or having management capabilities.

Example 2: Sales Team with Filtered Access

Scenario: Sales team needs to see feature requests to understand prospect needs.

Setup:

1. Create user accounts for sales team
2. Create "Sales Team" user group
3. Add sales users to the group
4. Create "Feature Requests" board showing only "Requested" and "Planned" statuses
5. Set board visibility to "Sales Team" group
6. Sales team sees only relevant requests, not bug reports or completed items

Result: Sales team gets focused view of feature requests without clutter.

Example 3: Mixed Public and Internal Portal

Scenario: Public portal for customers, plus internal boards for team.

Setup:

1. Keep portal public (don't enable "Make Private")
2. Public boards:
   • "Feature Requests" (Public visibility)
   • "Roadmap" (Public visibility)
3. Internal boards:
   • "All Feedback" (Members and Admins visibility)
   • "Under Review" (Admins Only visibility)
4. Create internal team accounts (regular users)
5. Internal team logs in and sees public boards + "All Feedback" board

Result: Customers see curated public content; internal team sees everything.

Example 4: Customer Success with Account-Specific Access

Scenario: Account managers need to see feedback only from their assigned customers.

Setup:

1. Create user accounts for account managers
2. Create user groups for each customer segment (e.g., "Enterprise Customers", "SMB Customers")
3. Assign customers to appropriate groups
4. Create boards visible to specific customer groups
5. Account managers join relevant customer groups
6. They see feedback from their assigned accounts

Result: Account managers have relevant, filtered access.

See User Groups and Management for more group-based scenarios.

Comparison: Regular User vs. Team Member

Key Takeaway: For most internal teams who need to VIEW feedback without managing it, regular user accounts are the right choice. This provides access without consuming admin licenses.

When to Use Team Members Instead

Consider making internal users Team Members (not regular users) if they need to:

• Assign posts to team members for follow-up
• Change post statuses (e.g., "Planned" → "In Progress")
• Add internal comments (hidden from customers)
• Access analytics to analyze feedback trends
• Moderate content (approve/reject posts)

If these capabilities are needed, go to Settings → Users and invite them as "Member" role. Note this counts toward your admin user license.

See User Roles and Permissions for full comparison.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Internal User Can't See Expected Board

Solutions:

1. Check if user is logged in

   • User must be logged in to see non-public boards
   • Ask them to log out and log back in

2. Verify board visibility settings

   • Settings → Boards → [Board] → Visibility
   • Ensure it's set to "Members and Admins" or "Specific Groups"

3. Check user group membership (if using groups)

   • Settings → Users → [User] → Groups
   • Ensure user is in the correct group

4. Verify board is not hidden

   • Settings → Boards → [Board]
   • Check "Show on boards menu" is enabled

5. Clear browser cache

   • Have user clear cache and reload
   • Or open in incognito/private window

Issue: Internal User Can Edit Posts They Shouldn't

Solutions:

1. Check their role

   • Settings → Users → [User]
   • Ensure role is "User", not "Member" or "Admin"

2. Review user permissions

   • Configure board permissions in Settings → Boards → select the board
   • Disable "Allow users to edit own posts" if needed

Issue: Too Many People Can See Internal Board

Solutions:

1. Check board visibility

   • If set to "Members and Admins", ALL logged-in users see it
   • Change to "Specific Groups" for more control

2. Use user groups

   • Create "Internal Team" group
   • Add only internal users to it
   • Set board visibility to this group only

Issue: Customer Can See Internal Content

Solutions:

1. Verify customer is not in internal user group

   • Settings → Users → [Customer] → Groups
   • Remove them from internal groups if present

2. Check board visibility settings

   • Ensure internal boards are not set to "Public"

3. Review auto-assignment rules (if using)

   • Settings → User Groups → [Group] → Auto-Assignment Rules
   • Ensure rules don't accidentally include customers

Issue: Internal User Receiving Too Many Notifications

Solutions:

1. User can adjust their notification preferences

   • User Profile → Notification Settings
   • Disable unwanted notifications

2. Admin can configure default notification settings

   • Settings → Emails
   • Set sensible defaults for new users

Best Practices

Organize Internal Users with Groups

• Create separate groups for different teams (Support, Sales, Product)
• Use clear naming: "Internal - Support Team", "Internal - Sales Team"
• Document which groups have access to which boards
• Review group membership quarterly

Limit Admin Licenses to Active Managers

• Only make users admins/members if they actively manage feedback
• Use regular user accounts for view-only access
• This saves on licensing costs
• Reserve team member slots for those who need full capabilities

Use Descriptive Board Names

When creating internal boards:

• ✅ "Internal View - All Feedback"
• ✅ "Support Team - Customer Issues"
• ✅ "Sales - Feature Requests"

Not:

• ❌ "Board 1"
• ❌ "Internal"
• ❌ "Hidden"

Document Your Access Strategy

Create internal documentation:

• Which user groups exist and their purpose
• Which boards are visible to which groups
• How to request access for new team members
• Who manages user groups and permissions

Regular Access Audits

Quarterly review:

1. List all internal user accounts
2. Verify they still need access
3. Remove accounts for departed employees
4. Update group memberships as roles change
5. Check that customers aren't in internal groups

Onboarding Process

For new internal team members:

1. Create user account (email invitation)
2. Add to appropriate user group
3. Send them guide on what they can access
4. Explain they're regular users, not admins
5. Provide instructions on how to use the portal

Security Considerations

Email Domain Verification

If using auto-approval for company domains:

• Ensure you control the domain
• Use specific domain (@company.com, not @gmail.com)
• Review auto-approved accounts periodically

Separate Accounts for Contractors

For external consultants or temporary workers:

• Create time-limited access (if available)
• Use separate user group ("Contractors")
• Review their access regularly
• Remove access when engagement ends

Prevent Information Leakage

If internal boards contain sensitive information:

• Use "Specific Groups" visibility, not "Members and Admins"
• Regularly audit who's in internal groups
• Consider making truly sensitive content "Admins Only"
• Use internal comments for sensitive notes (visible to team members only)

Privacy and Compliance

• Internal users can see customer feedback (PII considerations)
• Ensure internal team understands data handling policies
• Train them on appropriate use of customer information
• Consider data access agreements for sensitive industries

Related Articles

User Management:

• User Roles and Permissions - Detailed role comparison
• User Groups and Management - Advanced group features
• Inviting Customers - User invitation process

Access Control:

• Restrict Access to Your Portal - Making portal private
• Managing Boards - Board configuration basics
• Approve New Users Before They May Enter - User approval settings

Workflow:

• Understanding ProductLift Workflow - Overall system workflow
• Managing Customer Communication - Team collaboration

Summary

To give internal team members limited access without consuming admin licenses:

1. Create regular user accounts for internal team (not admin/member accounts)
2. Use "Members and Admins" visibility for boards accessible to all logged-in users
3. OR use User Groups for more granular control (create "Internal Team" group, assign users, restrict boards to group)
4. Configure user permissions to control what they can do (comment, vote, create posts)
5. Keep admin/member roles for those who actively manage feedback

This approach provides your internal team with visibility into customer feedback while keeping costs down and maintaining appropriate access control.