How to give your team limited access to your rental software
Give each person the smallest set of permissions that lets them do their job, tied to their own login and never a shared password. A bookkeeper needs the books and bank feeds but not lease signing, a maintenance lead needs work orders but not tenant ledgers, and a partner may need read-only reports. Anything that moves money or sends a legal notice should still need an owner's approval, whoever asked for it.
Why a small team still needs roles
When you owned two units and did everything yourself, one login was enough. At fifteen units with a part-time bookkeeper, a handyman and a spouse who handles leasing, one shared login is a risk. You cannot tell who changed a rent amount. You cannot remove one person without changing the password for everyone. And everyone can see everything, including tenants' personal information that most of them do not need.
Roles solve three things: who can see what, who can change what, and who can approve what. NIST publishes free cybersecurity guidance for small businesses. The idea here is simple: people see and change only what their job needs.
A role table for a small landlord team
| Role | Usually needs | Usually does not need |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Everything, including approvals and team settings | Nothing is off limits, but approvals should still be deliberate |
| Property manager | Tenants, leases, work orders, messages to tenants, rent roll | Bank connections, owner payouts, team settings |
| Bookkeeper | Books, bank feeds, bills, reports, month-end close | Lease signing, tenant messages |
| Maintenance lead | Work orders and vendor links for assigned buildings | Tenant ledgers, bank data, leases |
| Partner or co-owner | Read-only reports and statements | Editing anything |
| Accountant or tax preparer | Read-only books, Schedule E and 1099 reports | Tenant contact details, approvals |
Scope each role to buildings as well as functions. A maintenance lead who works on two of your five buildings does not need the other three.
Separate the person who asks from the person who approves
The most useful control for a small team is cheap: the person who prepares a payment or a notice is not the only person who can release it. A bookkeeper enters a vendor bill; the owner approves the payment. A manager drafts a late notice; the owner approves it. This also helps against a known scam, a fake email that says a vendor changed its bank account.
Decide the limits once and write them down. For example: anything that moves money needs the owner, anything that goes to a tenant under a legal deadline needs the owner, everything else a manager can do.
Setup checklist
- List everyone who touches the properties and what they do in a normal week.
- Give each person their own login with two-factor sign-in turned on. Never share a login.
- Pick the narrowest role for each person, scoped to the buildings they work on.
- Decide what needs the owner's approval and write it down.
- When someone leaves, remove their access the same day. Check for connected apps and vendor links too.
- Review the list every quarter. Roles tend to grow and never shrink.
Example a made-up owner has 24 units in 3 buildings. The bookkeeper gets the books for all three buildings and cannot sign leases. The handyman gets work orders for building A and B only. The owner's spouse gets the property manager role for tenants and leases in all three. The owner keeps approvals for payments and legal notices. That is four people, four logins and no shared passwords.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping gives each team member their own login with two-factor sign-in and a role: partner (a co-owner who approves money), admin, accountant, lawyer, viewer, maintenance or property owner. You invite people by email and stay the owner of the portfolio. Every change is recorded with who made it and when.
Anything involving money or a legal step, whoever started it and whether it came from the web app or from Claude or ChatGPT, waits for an owner's one-tap approval. Rent and payments stay in your own bank accounts. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it. Team members do not cost extra; DoorKeeping is $2 per unit a month with every feature included.
Sources
- NIST, Small Business Cybersecurity Corner, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Should my bookkeeper have access to my bank account?
- A bookkeeper usually needs the transactions, not the ability to move money. A read-only bank feed into your books gives them what they need, and payments stay with you.
- Is it safe to share one login with my property manager?
- No. A shared login hides who did what and cannot be removed for one person. Give each person their own login with two-factor sign-in.
- What should a maintenance person be able to see?
- Only the work orders and addresses for the buildings they serve. Tenant ledgers, bank data and leases are not part of their job.
- Does DoorKeeping charge per team member?
- No. Pricing is $2 per unit a month, with every feature included, however many people are on your team.