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What's the difference between HR Admin, HR User, HR User: View Only, Payroll Admin, and Payroll User in Tilt?

Five roles, five scopes — who sees the whole company, who's limited to a cohort, and who's view-only.

Quick answer

Tilt has four admin roles. Admin roles (HR Admin, Payroll Admin) see the whole company. User roles (HR User, Payroll User) see only the cohorts assigned to them. There's also a read-only variant, HR User: View Only, scoped to cohorts just like an HR User but view-only — it can't edit leaves, manage documents, or be assigned to a leave.


Who this applies to / Prerequisites


  • HR and payroll team members at companies that use Tilt
  • You need an HR Admin at your company to assign or change roles

Steps (Roles at a glance)


  1. HR Admin — Full access across your whole company in Tilt. Can add employees, manage leaves, invite users, oversee payroll, and change organizational settings.
  2. HR User — Access limited to their assigned cohorts. Can manage employees in those cohorts, run reports, receive notifications, and work with payroll data for their cohort only.
  3. HR User: View Only — Same cohort-scoped visibility as an HR User, but read-only. Can view leave status and documents for their assigned cohorts; cannot edit leave plans, manage documents, add/remove benefits, or be assigned to a leave.
  4. Payroll Admin — Full payroll access across your whole company in Tilt.
  5. Payroll User — Payroll access limited to their assigned cohorts.

What if it doesn't work


  • Can't see an employee you expect to see? Check whether your role is HR User or Payroll User — you only see employees in your assigned cohorts. Ask an HR Admin at your company to confirm your cohort assignments.
  • Can't change organizational settings? Only HR Admins can. Ask an HR Admin to make the change or upgrade your access.
  • Still stuck? Contact Tilt Support.

Limits and exceptions

  • HR Admin and Payroll Admin access override cohort scoping. If a user has HR Admin access and is also assigned as an HR User on a cohort, they'll still see everything at your company — the cohort scope won't apply. To scope someone to a specific cohort, remove their HR Admin (or Payroll Admin) access first.
  • HR Users and Payroll Users can't see employees outside their assigned cohorts — not in dashboards, reports, or notifications.
  • These roles control access for your HR and payroll team. They don't affect what employees on leave see in Tilt.
  • HR User: View Only is a scoped, read-only role — like HR User it only sees its assigned cohorts, but unlike HR User it can't make changes.

Related questions


  • What is a cohort in Tilt, and what does it control?
  • How do I create a cohort in Tilt?
  • How to Add a User Within Tilt (existing article)