Before You Begin

Applies to: Toast Web (Multilocation Management restaurant groups)

Permissions needed:

8.2 User Permissions at every location where you adjust another employee's permissions
Every permission you intend to grant to another employee, at the same location where you grant it

What you'll accomplish: Diagnose and resolve the most common MLM employee access and permission problems, and know when the fix has to come from your restaurant's super user rather than Customer Care.

Note: In an MLM restaurant group, your super user (also called the gatekeeper or administrator) is the person at the corporate level who holds every Toast Web permission at every location. Most permission problems below are resolved by working with your super user. After any permission change, log out of Toast Web and log back in, use Google Chrome, and clear your cache so the change takes effect.

Quick Fix

Find your symptom in the table below, then go to the matching section for full steps.

Symptom	Most Common Cause	Quick Fix
You see "Sorry, you can't edit permissions you don't have" or "you don't have permission to update the selected permissions," even though you are the owner	You do not hold every permission you are trying to assign, plus 8.2 User Permissions, at that location	Have your super user add the missing permissions to your profile
A permission or override works at one location but not another	Permissions are scoped to each location in MLM	Confirm and update the permission at the specific location, then log out and back in
An employee still cannot access a feature after you updated their permissions	They are signed in on the POS, or they have a duplicate profile	Have them sign out and back in or resync the POS; check for a duplicate profile
A POS access code is invalid or conflicts across locations	The employee is using the code for the wrong profile, or duplicate profiles exist	Validate the POS access code and archive any duplicate profiles
A saved change does not appear	Browser cache, or a browser other than Google Chrome	Log out of Toast Web and back in; switch to Google Chrome and clear your cache

If You Are an Owner or Admin but Cannot Edit Permissions

What this means: To assign or edit another employee's permissions in an MLM group, you must hold every permission that employee already has, plus the 8.2 User Permissions permission at the same location. Being an owner or administrator does not automatically grant this. If even one permission is enabled on the other employee's profile but not on yours, Toast blocks the change and may show Sorry, you can't edit permissions you don't have.

Confirm you have 8.2 User Permissions at the location you are editing. In Toast Web, navigate to Employees > Employee management > Employees, open your own profile, and check the Jobs and Permissions tab.
Compare your permissions to the other employee's permissions. Open your profile in one browser tab and theirs in a second tab. Any permission they have that you do not will block the edit.
Ask your super user (gatekeeper) or another user who already holds the missing permissions to add them to your profile at the affected location.
Log out of Toast Web and log back in to confirm the change.

Expected outcome: Once your permissions match or exceed the other employee's permissions and you hold 8.2 User Permissions at that location, you can edit their profile.

Note: Customer Care cannot grant or restore these permissions for you. The change must come from an existing super user or admin at your restaurant who already holds the permissions. If you see a Forbidden error when saving, you are trying to edit group-level permissions you do not hold yourself — another user with group-level permissions must make the change.

For the full rules on who can edit permissions across MLM locations, see Manage User Jobs & Permissions With MLM. For step-by-step help with specific error messages, see Get Help With User Permissions for Toast POS.

If Permissions Work at One Location but Not Another

What this means: In an MLM setup, permissions are scoped to specific locations. You may hold full permissions at one location but limited permissions at another. Toast checks your permissions at the exact location you are currently editing, so an override that works at one store may not apply at another.

Confirm which location you are signed into using the location selector in the top-left corner of Toast Web.
Open the affected employee's profile and check their permissions at the specific location where the issue occurs.
If the permissions differ at that location, have an admin with group-level access update them for that location.
Log out of Toast Web and log back in to refresh the session.

Expected outcome: Once permissions are corrected at the affected location and you log back in, the permission applies consistently at that location.

Note: A manager with access to all relevant locations can update an employee's profile so they have the correct permissions everywhere they work. Employees are often assigned different jobs at different locations, which changes what data and settings they can view and adjust.

If an Employee Still Cannot Access After You Update Their Permissions

What this means: You saved a permission change, but the employee still cannot access the feature on the POS or in Toast Web. This usually means the change has not synced to their device, or you updated the wrong profile.

Have the employee sign out of the POS and back in, or resync the POS device, so the new permissions take effect.
In Toast Web, navigate to Employees > Employee management > Employees and search the employee's name to check for a duplicate profile.
If a second profile appears, add the permissions to the profile the employee actually uses to log in. You can identify the correct profile by the email address used for Toast Web access or the POS access code used for POS device access.

Expected outcome: After the device syncs and the correct profile is updated, the employee can access the feature.

If duplicate profiles are causing the problem, see Consolidate Toast Web Login Credentials to archive the extra profile and keep a single active profile.

If POS Access Codes Are Invalid or Conflicting

What this means: An employee with more than one Toast Web profile across locations may run into an invalid or conflicting POS access code because they are using the code tied to the wrong profile.

Validate or update the employee's POS access code in Toast Web. For steps, see Find or Edit an Employee's POS Access Code.
Check whether the employee has duplicate Toast Web profiles for different locations.
Archive any duplicate profiles so that a single active profile, with synced permissions, is linked to all of the employee's locations. For steps, see Consolidate Toast Web Login Credentials.

Expected outcome: The employee has one active profile and one POS access code that works at every location they are assigned to.

Note: As long as a POS access code is not already in use at a location, an employee can use the same POS access code at every location to which they have been added.

Before You Contact Customer Care

Work through the sections above first. You will need Customer Care to resolve the issue only if one of the following is true at your restaurant group:

No employee in the group holds full 8.2 User Permissions at every location, and you need that access granted or restored. Toast blocks anyone from granting permissions they do not already hold, so without an existing super user, no one inside the restaurant can complete the change.
The owner or sole MLM admin has been archived or no longer works at the company, and no active employee with full group-level permissions remains.
Employee profiles need to be merged across locations, and the steps in Consolidate Toast Web Login Credentials have not worked.

When you contact Customer Care, have the affected employee's name, email address, the locations involved, and any related case numbers ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I edit permissions if I'm the owner?

You cannot edit another employee's permissions, even as the owner, unless you hold every permission that employee has, plus the 8.2 User Permissions permission at the same location. Being the owner does not automatically grant this. If even one permission is enabled on their profile but not on yours, Toast blocks the change. To fix this, ask your super user or another user who already holds the missing permissions to add them to your profile.

Also asked as:

- "Why do I not have permission to change jobs if I'm the owner?"
- "I'm the administrator but I can't give myself permissions — why?"
- "Toast says I need to contact my restaurant administrator, but I am the owner."

What is a super user, and who is ours?

A super user is the employee at the corporate level who holds every Toast Web permission at every location in your MLM restaurant group, which lets them edit any employee's permissions at any location. The super user is also called the gatekeeper, administrator, or super admin, and the role is usually held by an owner, general manager, or director of operations. To find out who your super user is, ask your restaurant's leadership team — Customer Care does not assign or transfer this role on customer accounts.

Why do permissions work at one location but not another?

Permissions work at one location but not another because MLM permissions are scoped to each location individually. You may hold full permissions at one store, and limited permissions at another, and Toast checks your access at the exact location you are editing. Confirm your permissions at the specific location and have an admin with group-level access update them if they differ.

Can an employee use the same POS access code at all locations?

Yes, an employee can use the same POS access code at every location they have been added to, as long as that code is not already in use at a particular location. If the code is invalid or conflicts, the employee may have duplicate profiles or be using the code tied to the wrong profile.