Assign roles and permissions to your team members for specific clients by filling out and uploading the Roles Workbook.
Why it matters: Manually assigning roles to each team member for each client would be tedious and error-prone. The Roles Workbook lets you set up your entire permission structure at once, so team members have the right access when they start working.
Table of Contents
Set Up Roles and Team Members
Before you can assign roles in the workbook, roles must exist in Canopy and team members must be invited.
Create roles in Canopy:
Click the blue circle with your initials in the top right.
Select Settings > Team Organization > Roles.
Click Create Role (blue hyperlink on the top right).
Set up each role you need (e.g., "Senior CPA", "Staff Accountant", "Client Coordinator").
Invite team members:
Go to Settings > Team Organization > Team Members.
Invite all team members whose emails you'll be adding to the Roles Workbook.
Invitations don't need to be accepted — they just need to be sent so Canopy recognizes the email addresses.
Prepare Your Workbook
Download your Client List from Canopy:
Go to Clients > Client List.
Remove all filters.
Click the three-dot menu next to Add Client.
Select Export filtered list.
Save this file — you'll use it to verify client names in the next section.
Download the Client Workbook ("Canopy_Universal_Template.xlsm") from the email sent by your Implementation Specialist or Data Migration Specialist. Save it to your computer.
Enable macros in Excel (Windows and Mac may differ slightly):
Right-click the file and select Preferences.
Scroll to the bottom and find the Security section.
Select Unblock and click Save.
Open the workbook in Excel. You may see a prompt below the ribbon to enable macros — select Enable.
Fill in the Roles Workbook
Two rules govern how Role imports work — read these before filling in your Workbook:
📝 Note: Roles are replaced, not added. Whatever roles are listed for a client in your import file become that client's full role list in Canopy. If you want a team member to keep a role they already have, include it in the Workbook along with any new roles you're assigning.
📝 Note: Client names must match those in your Canopy client list exactly. The import uses client display names to match role assignments to records. Spelling, capitalization, and spacing all have to align with what's in Canopy.
In the workbook, navigate to the Roles tab.
Use the Add/Paste Rows button under Canopy Tools in the Excel ribbon to add at least as many rows as you have clients to assign roles to.
This unlocks cells so you can paste data.
Add at least as many rows as role assignments you have (rows can be added in groups of up to 1,000).
Fill in Column A — Client Display Name:
Copy and paste client names directly from your Canopy export.
Names must match exactly.
Fill in Column D — Roles:
Click the grey Add Role(s) button.
Enter the roles for which you are making team member assignments.
For each client’s role, enter an email address for the assigned team member.
If assigning multiple team members at once, separate them with a comma.
Your worksheet should look like the below example:
Upload Your Workbook
Use the secure upload link sent by email from your Implementation Specialist or Data Migration Specialist to send us your completed Roles workbook. Your Migration Specialist will review your workbook, clean as needed and potentially reach out to you for additional clarification.
Review Your Imported Roles
Go to Clients > Client List.
On the left side, click the three vertical lines (menu icon).
Select Customize Client List.
Scroll down to Roles.
Select All to display all role assignments.
Select Done.
You'll now see your client list with all imported role assignments displayed. Review this view to confirm:
Each team member is assigned to the correct clients
The right roles are assigned for each client
No team members are missing access to clients they should have
📝 Note: Let your Migration Specialist know if any additional bulk changes need to be made.
Summary
This article covered how to create roles in Canopy, invite team members, download the Roles Workbook, and fill in client-to-role assignments. Once uploaded, your team members will have the appropriate permissions for each client.
Need help?
Contact Support or ask Penny, our AI Support Bot, for assistance.