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Who can see what in Dockflow

Visibility is set by three things: the account a user belongs to, the partners linked to a tradeflow, and the user's role. Most access questions resolve once you know which of the three is in play.

One email address, one account​

A single email address cannot be a user on two separate accounts. This is deliberate: it prevents one partner's information from becoming visible to another without that being an explicit decision.

If someone needs to work across two accounts, there are two supported routes.

Log in as another account​

If the accounts are related, the relationship can be set so users of one can log in as the other and see everything in it.

This grants everything, not a subset

Logging in as another account exposes all of that account's shipments, including ones with no connection to the user's own. If the two accounts do not already share work, consider whether that is the access you intend.

A group view over several facilities​

Where one company has multiple sites, an account can be given a group view across those facilities. Users then see all of them from their existing login, without being moved to a different account.

Set at company level

A group view applies to every user on that account, not to one person. If only one individual should have the wider view, this is not the right mechanism.

Sharing with a partner instead​

If a company only needs to see specific shipments, add them as a partner on the relevant tradeflows rather than giving them an account-level view. They then see only the tradeflows shared with them.

This is the right default for customers, suppliers and forwarders who are not part of your organisation.

Duplicate entities​

When the same company exists twice, data splits across both records and users see only part of it. The two can be merged, after which the data appears under the surviving entity.

Two points worth knowing:

  • Only entities with users need to receive data. Entities without users can generally be merged into the one that has them.
  • The old entity may remain visible after a merge. That is normal and does not affect access. Users are moved with the merge, so the old record has none. Removing it entirely can break historical data, so it is usually left in place.

Roles​

Viewer​

The Viewer role gives read-only access. A Viewer can:

  • see all dashboards and shipment or order status
  • view tradeflow and container details
  • see the Action Center task list
  • export data to Excel

A Viewer cannot:

  • complete or modify tasks, including accepting or rejecting shipments
  • add, delete or modify containers or shipments
  • create flags or add comments

Assign it under Settings → Organisation → Users → Edit user → Viewer.

This is the role for internal staff who need visibility without the risk of changing a workflow by accident.

Organisation Administrator​

An Organisation Administrator can add and manage users on the account directly, without going through support. If you add users often, ask for this role once rather than raising a request each time.

References: each side sees its own first​

When a tradeflow carries references from more than one party, each party sees their own reference first. You see yours at the front, your partner sees theirs at the front, on the same shipment.

This is not a configuration error, and it is why a reference can look reordered when someone shares a screenshot from their own login.

Quick reference​

NeedMechanism
One person working across two related accountsLog in as the other account
One company, several sitesGroup view over facilities
An external party seeing specific shipments onlyAdd as partner on those tradeflows
Internal staff who must not change anythingViewer role
Managing your own usersOrganisation Administrator role
Same company appearing twiceMerge the entities

Need help?​

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Last updated: July 31, 2026