How to create new roles in Zoho CRM

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Introduction

Roles in Zoho CRM define your organization’s hierarchy and control how data is accessed between users. Higher-level roles automatically gain visibility into the records owned by users below them. With properly configured roles, you ensure secure, structured access to customer data while supporting team collaboration.

Key Concepts of Role Hierarchy

Top-down access: Users in higher roles (e.g., Sales Manager) can view and manage records owned by their subordinates.
Peer restriction: By default, users in the same role (e.g., VP Marketing & VP Sales) cannot view each other’s records.
Superiors can access shared data: Enable the Superiors Allowed option in sharing rules to allow top-level access to shared records.
Peer sharing: Use the Share Data with Peers option to allow users in the same role to access each other’s data.
Access control: Users must have at least read access to interact with records (e.g., add notes, attachments, or send emails).

Availability & Permissions

Feature available in all paid editions
Requires “Manage Roles” permission in the user’s profile
Users with Administrator profile have full access, regardless of assigned role

Default Role Structure

When you sign up, Zoho CRM includes two default roles:

CEO
Manager

You can create additional roles based on your organizational structure.

How to Create a New Role

Go to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing
Click New Role
In the New Role form:
1. Enter a Role Name
2. Select a Reports To role (superior)
3. (Optional) Check Share Data with Peers
4. Add a brief Description
Click Save

Assigning Roles to Users

After roles are created, assign them to individual users.

Go to Setup > General > Users
Click a user name
Click the edit icon next to Role
Choose the new Role from the dropdown
Click Save

Editing a Role

You can update roles anytime to reflect changes in your hierarchy.

Go to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing
Click the Role Name from the list
Click Edit
Update:
1. Role name
2. Reports To (superior role)
3. Share Data with Peers option
Click Save

Deleting a Role

Before deleting a role, transfer its users and child-roles to another role.

Go to Setup > Security Control > Roles and Sharing
Click the Role Name
Click Delete
Select an existing role to transfer child-roles and users
Click Transfer & Delete

How to create new roles in Zoho CRM

Introduction

Key Concepts of Role Hierarchy