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The new Xero user permissions do not work well for accounting and bookkeeping firms that manage Xero on behalf of business owners.

There are two issues I would like Xero to address:

Issue One: Restore published report downloads for the “Manage Client” role

For existing organizations, the user permissions screen may look the same as it did previously, but the actual permissions associated with those roles have changed.

For example, users assigned the Manage Client role were previously able to view and download published reports. Those users can now view published reports but can no longer download them.

Please restore the ability for users with the Manage Client role to download published reports.

Business owners should be able to access and download the financial reports their accountant or bookkeeper has prepared for them without needing broader accounting permissions.

Issue Two: Provide more flexible permissions or create a true client-facing role

The new permissions structure is simultaneously confusing and too restrictive.

Xero provides predefined roles and allows certain permissions to be selected within them, but the available combinations do not reflect how many bookkeeping firms actually work with their clients.

Ideally, Xero should allow administrators to create a user with fully customizable permissions — selecting exactly which features that individual can view, use, edit, or export — and save those permissions as a custom role for future use.

Alternatively, Xero could keep its proposed/default roles but allow administrators to independently turn individual permissions on or off rather than limiting customization to predetermined categories.

If fully customizable permissions are not possible, Xero should introduce a dedicated Client / Business Owner – Reporting Only role.

This role would be designed for business owners whose bookkeeping is managed by an accountant or bookkeeper. The user should be able to:

Run financial reports
View published reports
Download/export published reports
Run and export their own reports
View their financial information

They should not be able to:

Change bank connections or bank feeds
Reconcile or unreconcile transactions
Modify bookkeeping completed by the accountant/bookkeeper
Change accounting settings or other technical configuration

There is a major difference between an accounting user who works inside Xero and a business owner who simply needs access to their financial information.

Many bookkeeping clients are not technical Xero users and do not need operational accounting permissions. They simply need a safe, straightforward way to access their financial statements without the risk of accidentally changing bank feeds, reconciliations, or completed bookkeeping.

A flexible custom-permissions system would be the best solution. At minimum, a dedicated client-facing reporting role would fill a significant gap in the new permissions model.