Ask admin for access

Introduction

Ever found yourself stuck because you couldn’t see a user, template, or contract type — or because you didn’t have permission to perform an action like deleting or uploading a contract?

With the new Ask admin for access feature, you’ll no longer have to guess why or reach out to SpotDraft Support. Instead, you’ll now see a clear explanation of what’s blocking you — along with a built-in option to request access directly from your SpotDraft Admin.

How It Works

1. Whenever you encounter a permission-related block, you’ll now see an “Ask admin for access” action.
   
   

   

2. Clicking it automatically creates a pre-filled task containing relevant details about your request. You can review or edit this information before submitting it.
   
   

   

By default:

1. The due date is set to 2 days from the time of request.

2. A reminder is automatically set for 1 day before the due date.

3. The task is assigned to the Admin team.

Once submitted, your Admins are notified and can take the necessary steps to unblock you.

Where You’ll See It

While assigning users

• Updating Business User: Some users cannot be selected as they have not been added as a creator for the contract type.

• Updating Legal Reviewer: Some users cannot be selected as they are not added as editors for the contract type.

• [Coming soon] Updating Signatory: Some users cannot be selected as they have not been added as a signatory for the contract type.

While creating a contract

• Selecting a Contract Type: You cannot select a contract type as you’re not added as a creator for that contract type.

• Selecting a Template: You cannot select a template as you have not been added as a creator for the contract type linked to that template.

While managing contracts

• [Coming soon] Performing actions like delete, download, or upload a new version: You cannot perform this action as your team doesn’t have the required permission enabled.

• Cannot access a contract link: Trying to access a contract using a link takes you to a 404 page, as you do not have access to that contract or because the contract link is incorrect.

• No results in repository based on filter: You do not see any contracts based on your search filters, as you don't have viewer access to any contracts which match the criteria.

Understanding SpotDraft Permission Scope Limitations

While the new "Ask admin for access" feature helps you request permissions when blocked, understanding the scope limitations of different access levels can help you determine what type of access you actually need and avoid unnecessary permission requests.

Creator Access Limitations

Creator access to a contract type allows you to create new contracts and view contracts you've created, but does not grant access to view or edit contracts created by other users. To access contracts created by others, you need Viewer or Editor access explicitly granted for that contract type.

What this looks like in practice: When creating a contract, you’ll only see contract types in the selection dropdown for which you have Creator access. For example, if you only have Creator access to “Training Workflow,” that will be the only option visible when selecting a contract type, even though your workspace may have many other contract types configured. To access additional contract types, your admin needs to grant you Creator access via Settings > Access Control > Contract Types.

Review Assignment vs. Commenting Workflows

When you need someone to provide input on a contract, there are two different approaches with different permission requirements:

• Formal Review Assignment (requires Editors access): Assigns a formal review task to the user; User appears in the contract's review workflow; Requires the user to have Editors access to the contract type.

• Commenting Workflow (requires only Viewers + Suggesters access): User can view the contract and add comments/suggestions; No formal review assignment needed; Notify the user via activity log or direct communication; Much lower permission threshold.

When to Request Different Access Levels

• Request Viewer access when you need to see contracts created by others but don't need to edit them

• Request Editor access when you need to make changes or be assigned formal reviews

• Request Creator access when you need to create new contracts of a specific type

• Consider Viewers + Suggesters as an alternative to Editors when you only need commenting capabilities

Deleted Contracts Triggering Access Requests: When trying to access a deleted contract via a direct link, the “Ask admin for access” feature may appear even for admin users with proper permissions. If you encounter the access request prompt unexpectedly and suspect the contract may be deleted, navigate to Repository → Deleted view and search for the contract ID to verify if this is the cause.

This feature helps streamline access-related requests, reducing back-and-forth and support tickets while giving users a simple, guided way to get unblocked faster.