Understand user permissions

User roles determine which parts of Viking a team member can access.

Viking separates Instructor roles from Admin roles. Instructor roles control instructor-specific access, while Admin roles determine how much access someone has to planning, management, reports and sensitive settings.

For instructions on creating users and assigning roles, see Set up team members and user roles.

Admin roles at a glance

For most staff members, choose one Admin role that matches the level of access they need.

You normally do not need to select multiple Admin roles for the same user.

Planner

Use Planner for team members who need to manage the daily operation without access to sensitive business administration.

Planners can work with areas such as:

• daily planning;
• bookings;
• customers;
• instructor planning and availability;
• operational booking and customer workflows.

Planner access is designed for staff who need to run the schedule without giving them access to sensitive business reports or system-wide settings.

Some operational exports may be available depending on the report, but access to sensitive exports is restricted.

Schoolmanager

Use Schoolmanager for someone who is responsible for managing the business but should not have unrestricted access to the most sensitive system settings.

A Schoolmanager has broader access than a Planner, including:

• operational planning and bookings;
• customers;
• reports;
• most system and product settings.

Some sensitive functions remain restricted. In particular, Schoolmanagers cannot make exports containing customer data and do not have unrestricted access to payment settings.

Schoolmanager accounts do not require two-factor authentication.

For most people who manage a school day to day, Schoolmanager should normally be the highest Admin role they need.

Rental manager

Rental manager is a specialized role for customers using Viking's separate Rental module.

The Rental module is not part of the standard Viking setup and must be activated separately.

A user with only the Rental manager role has access to the Rental module, but not to the regular Viking administration. For example, they do not get access to areas such as:

• daily planning;
• bookings;
• customers;
• reports;
• regular system settings.

The Rental manager dashboard is designed specifically for rental operations, such as starting and stopping rentals, managing rental credits and handling payments within the rental workflow.

Only use the Rental manager role if your account uses the separate Rental module.

For more information about this workflow, see Use the Rental module.

System manager

System manager has the highest level of access in Viking.

Use this role only for people who need responsibility for the entire Viking account.

System managers can access all Viking functionality, including sensitive areas such as:

• exports containing customer data;
• payment settings;
• system settings;
• other high-level account administration.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication is mandatory for System manager accounts and cannot be disabled.

This additional security is intentional. System managers can access and export sensitive customer data, so these accounts require stronger login protection.

If an owner or manager needs System manager access but also works in Viking every day, we recommend creating two separate accounts:

• a System manager account for sensitive actions such as exports, payment settings and high-level administration;
• a Schoolmanager account for normal day-to-day work.

The Schoolmanager account does not require two-factor authentication and cannot export customer data.

This gives the owner convenient access for daily work while keeping the most sensitive account protected by two-factor authentication.

Because of the access available to System managers, keep the number of System manager accounts limited.

Instructor roles are separate

The Instructor roles are:

• Instructor
• Chief instructor

These are separate from Admin roles.

This means someone can be both an instructor and an administrator. For example:

• Instructor + Planner
• Instructor + Schoolmanager
• Instructor + System manager

A regular Instructor mainly works with their own lessons and availability.

Chief instructor is an additional role on top of Instructor. It gives the instructor broader visibility into the school's planning without giving them an Admin role.

A Chief instructor must therefore also have the Instructor role.

Choose the lowest access level needed

Give each team member the role they need to do their work, without giving them unnecessary access.

A practical starting point is:

• Instructor → teaches lessons;
• Instructor + Chief instructor → teaches lessons and needs broader planning visibility;
• Planner → manages the daily operation;
• Schoolmanager → manages the school, reports and most settings;
• System manager → needs complete access to the Viking account.

For owners who also work in Viking every day, use a separate Schoolmanager account for daily use and keep the System manager account for sensitive actions.

If someone combines responsibilities, you can combine an Instructor role with the appropriate Admin role.

You normally do not need to combine several different Admin roles.