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Roles & permissions

Every member of your academy has one of four roles — Owner, Admin, Instructor, or Student. The role decides what someone can see and do in TrainOS; it has nothing to do with their belt rank. Here's what each role covers, how to change one, and the full permission breakdown near the bottom of this page.

Meet the four roles

Owner

Created the academy and runs it from the web dashboard, with a few powers nobody else has.

Admin

Runs the academy day to day from the web dashboard, alongside the owner.

Instructor

Runs classes from the mobile app: check-ins, topics, and promotions.

Student

Trains, tracks their own progress, and manages their own membership from the mobile app.

What each role does

Owner

The owner created the academy and is its one fixed point — every academy has exactly one, and the role can't be handed to another account. Owners run the academy from the web dashboard, with everything an admin has plus two powers nobody else gets: managing other admins' roles, and deleting the academy.

Admin

Admins work from the web dashboard alongside the owner and cover the day-to-day: the roster, classes, payments, and settings. Managing other admins' roles and deleting the academy stay with the owner.

Instructor

Instructor is a mobile-only staff role built around the mat, not the office. From the app, instructors check students in with the kiosk or the roster, set the day's topic, and record or propose a promotion. They see the full roster, including private profiles, and they train and attend classes for free. Money, academy settings, and adding or removing members stay with the owner and admins.

Student

Student is the default role for anyone who joins to train. From the mobile app, a student checks into class, tracks their attendance and rank, follows the community feed, and manages their own membership and payment methods.

The web dashboard is for owners and admins

Instructors and students do everything from the mobile app. If one of them signs in on the web, TrainOS shows a "Use the TrainOS Mobile App" screen and points them to the app instead.

Change someone's role

Open the member's profile and click Change Role.

Change Role
Update Amir Khan's role at this academy. This controls what they can access and manage.
RoleInstructor
CancelSave Changes
The Change Role dialog on a member's profile.
OwnerCan set anyone to Student, Instructor, or Admin.
AdminCan set a Student or Instructor's role. Can't make someone an Admin, and can't change another admin's role.
Instructor & StudentCan't change anyone's role, including their own.

The owner's role is fixed — nobody, including the owner, can change it. Every academy keeps exactly one owner.

The change takes effect the moment you click Save Changes — no approval step, no delay.

Handing off day-to-day control

If you ever step back from running your academy, make someone you trust an Admin — that's how you hand off day-to-day control. They'll be able to run the roster, classes, payments, and settings, just like you do.

Ownership itself stays fixed to the account that created the academy. Deleting the academy and managing other admins' roles are the two things that stay with you even after you've handed everything else off.

Roles for unclaimed members

A member you add without an email gets a role — Student, Instructor, or Admin — the moment you save their record, exactly like anyone else, and it shows on their profile right away. See Adding a member for how claim codes work.

That role is waiting for them. The moment they claim their account with the claim code you hand over, whatever role you gave them goes live automatically — you won't need to set it again.

Full permission breakdown

Here's every permission, broken out by what you're doing in TrainOS.

Running classes

FeatureOwnerAdminInstructorStudent
Build the recurring class schedule✓✓——
Create or delete a one-off class✓✓——
Cancel a class✓✓——
Set a class topic✓✓✓—
Check students in✓✓✓If allowed
Run the front-desk kiosk✓✓✓—
Remove or back-fill a check-in✓✓✓—
Change check-in & attendance settings✓✓——

Members & promotions

FeatureOwnerAdminInstructorStudent
See the full roster, including private profiles✓✓✓Non-private only
Add or invite a member✓✓——
Change a member's role✓Limited——
Deactivate or remove a member✓Limited——
Assign a rank or record a promotion✓✓✓—
Propose a promotion✓✓✓—
Approve or reject a proposal✓✓——
See a member's staff notes✓✓✓—

Money

FeatureOwnerAdminInstructorStudent
View payments and subscriptions✓✓—Own only
Charge a member or refund a payment✓✓——
Create membership plans or coupons✓✓——
Manage the academy's Stripe account✓✓——
Manage store products and orders✓✓——
Create or edit a waiver✓✓——
Sign a waiver✓✓✓✓

Content & community

FeatureOwnerAdminInstructorStudent
Create an announcement✓✓——
Edit or delete someone else's announcement✓✓——
Post to the community feed✓✓✓✓
Approve or reject a post✓✓——
Delete someone else's comment✓✓✓—

Academy settings

FeatureOwnerAdminInstructorStudent
Change any academy setting✓✓——
Build or edit rank systems✓✓——
Import data with the Migration Center✓✓——
Delete the academy✓———

What only the owner can do

Admins can do almost everything on this page. Two things stay owner-only: making someone an Admin (or changing an existing admin's role), and deleting the academy. The Owner role itself is fixed — nobody, not even the owner, can remove or demote it.

A few things that don't fit a plain checkmarkBelt rank, staff notes, and what a student can see about themselves.
Rank isn't administrative powerBelt rank and staff role are separate. An instructor can promote an admin or the owner — training rank has nothing to do with who runs the academy.
Staff notes and proposals about youNobody can see a staff note or a promotion proposal written about themselves, even staff. It's invisible to the person it's about until it's decided.
What a student sees about another memberTheir name, rank, and check-in number if that member's profile isn't set to Private. Never their email, phone, promotion history, or subscription status — that stays staff-only.

See also