Duka Maps understands that you may not be running your business alone. That’s why it allows you to add staff members, team, or business partners to help manage your duka.
You can also assign each person a specific role and choose what they are allowed to see or do in the system. For example, you can allow some staff to record sales but prevent them from viewing financial records.
This helps you keep your business secure while giving each person access only to the tools they need to do their job. This article shows a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this.
Step 1: Adding Staff to Your Duka
Before you can add someone to your duka, they must first create a Duka Maps account. If they don’t have one yet, ask them to create an account by following the instructions in How to Create a Duka Maps Account.
Once they have created their account, ask them to send you the email address or phone number they used during registration.
Then follow these steps:
- Open the Duka where you want to add the staff member.
- Open the Admin Menu and click Manage Staff.
- Click the + Add Staff button.
- Enter the staff member’s email address or phone number.
- Select the appropriate Role (for example, Staff or Manager).
- Click Add Staff to complete the process.
Important:
The role you choose (such as Staff or Manager) is only used to identify the person’s position in your business. It does not automatically give them any permissions. You will choose what they are allowed to see and do in the next step by assigning permissions.
Currently, all active staff members can update the duka’s general business information, even if they have not been granted specific permissions. This includes the Business Name, Business Type, Business Description (What the Business Deals In), Location, Contact Information, and Working Hours. Deactivated staff members cannot make these changes. Duka Maps will allow this to be controlled through permissions in the future.
Step 2: Setting Staff Permissions
Permissions determine what each staff member is allowed to see and do in your duka.
To set permissions:
- Go to the Manage Staff page.
- In the Actions column, click Permissions next to the staff member whose permissions you want to manage.
- Select the permissions you want to grant.
- Click Save Permissions to apply the changes.
Below is what each permission allows a staff member to do:
i) Add Products/Services
Allows the staff member to:
- Add, edit, and delete products or services.
- View a product’s or service’s Sales Info, which provides a quick summary of:
- Current stock levels
- Sales and purchase history
- Profit or loss
- Whether the item needs to be restocked
ii) Manage Accounts
Allows the staff member to:
- View, add, edit, and delete business accounts.
- View account balances.
iii) Manage Journal
Allows the staff member to:
- View, add, edit, and delete journal entries that record how money moves between business accounts.
- View account statements and balances.
- View the Ledger, which provides a more detailed record of journal transactions.
iv) Manage Product/Service Categories
Allows the staff member to:
- View, add, edit, and delete product or service categories.
v) Manage Staff
Allows the staff member to:
- Add new staff members.
- Grant or remove permissions for other staff.
- Change another staff member’s role (for example, Staff or Manager).
- Deactivate or remove staff members (except the duka owner).
Note: At the moment, staff members with this permission can also change their own permissions. This behavior may change in a future update.
vi) Manage Subscription
Allows the staff member to:
- Purchase, renew, or upgrade the duka’s Duka Maps subscription.
- Manage the subscription package, which determines:
- How many products or services can be added.
- Which premium Duka Maps features are available.
vii) Record Purchases
Allows the staff member to:
- View, add, edit, and delete purchase records.
- View purchase history.
- View changes in product purchase prices over time.
- View the Purchase Info page, which provides detailed purchase information.
viii) Record Sales
Allows the staff member to:
- View, add, edit, and delete sales records.
- View sales history.
- View changes in product selling prices over time.
- View the Sales Info page, which provides detailed sales information.
ix) View Inventory
Allows the staff member to:
- View Items to Reorder—products that have fallen below the reorder point and need to be restocked.
- View the estimated cost of restocking those items.
- View Items in Stock, including the quantity available and their estimated value based on the latest purchase price.
This permission is useful for monitoring stock levels without giving access to modify products, purchases, or sales.
Changing a Staff Member’s Role
You can change a staff member’s role at any time.
To change a role from Staff to Manager, or from Manager to Staff, simply select the desired role from the Role column next to the staff member’s name. The change takes effect immediately.
Important: Changing a person’s role does not give or remove any permissions. The role is simply a label that identifies the person’s position in your business. What the staff member can see and do is controlled entirely by the permissions you grant them.
Deactivating and Removing Staff
Duka Maps allows you to deactivate or remove staff members. Although both actions stop a person from managing your duka, they work differently.
Deactivating Staff
When you deactivate a staff member:
- They immediately lose access to your duka.
- They cannot perform any of the permissions previously granted to them.
- They cannot edit the duka’s general business information.
- Their permissions are not deleted. If you activate them again later, all their previously assigned permissions are automatically restored.
Deactivating is recommended when a staff member is temporarily away or you expect them to return.
Removing Staff
When you remove a staff member:
- They are completely removed from your duka’s staff list.
- They lose all administrative access and permissions.
- They can still view your duka as a normal Duka Maps user, but they can no longer manage it.
If you want them to manage your duka again in the future, you will need to add them as staff again and assign their permissions.
Note: If the staff member already has business records associated with their account (such as sales, purchases, or other transactions), Duka Maps will deactivate them instead of removing them. This helps preserve the integrity of your business records. In such cases, it is recommended that you also remove all of their permissions to prevent unauthorized access if they are reactivated later.