Setting up team management in FlutterFlow with Firebase or Supabase

When building a robust application, having a well-structured team management system is crucial, especially if you’re catering to businesses or organizations with complex team structures. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to set up and manage team roles using FlutterFlow in combination with Firebase or Supabase. With this setup, you’ll be able to assign different roles, control permissions, and create an efficient hierarchy that supports various user needs.

Why you need a team management system

A team management system allows you to assign specific roles to each user, defining what they can see and do within your app. This is particularly helpful in apps where you have different user roles, such as:

• Super user - has access to all aspects of the app and can assign roles to other users.
• Admin - manages users and content, but may not have full control like a super user.
• Team leader - oversees a specific group or project and can assign tasks within the team.
• Worker - can view tasks and content assigned to them, with limited permissions.
• Contractor - a temporary role for external users who require limited access.
• Resident - basic user with minimal permissions, typically used for non-team members or clients.

Step 1: Setting up roles in Firebase or Supabase

For storing roles and permissions, both Firebase and Supabase provide flexible databases. Here’s a simple structure to get started:

1. Users collection
   • This will store all the user data, including personal information, contact details, and their assigned role.
   • In Firebase, you can create a collection called users, and in each document, add a field for role which will store the role name, such as "Admin" or "Worker".
   • In Supabase, you can use a users table and include a role column for similar functionality.
2. Roles collection (optional)
   • If you need more flexibility, create a roles collection that stores each role’s permissions. This way, you can update permissions for a role without changing individual user records.
   • In Firebase, the roles collection can have documents with each role name as the document ID, and permissions listed as fields (e.g., can_edit_tasks, can_assign_tasks).
   • In Supabase, set up a roles table, defining permissions as columns, where each row represents a specific role.
3. Assignments collection (optional)
   • For apps with more complex team structures, create an assignments collection to store which user belongs to which team or project, along with their role in that specific context. This is especially useful for managing roles that change based on the project or team.

Step 2: Assigning and managing roles in FlutterFlow

To manage team roles within FlutterFlow, you’ll want to create a user-friendly interface where a super user or admin can assign roles to team members. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Admin dashboard
   • Create a dashboard page for your super users and admins. This dashboard will display a list of users with their assigned roles, and provide options to update their roles.
   • Use a dropdown or radio button UI component for selecting roles, which triggers a backend update on the users collection/table in Firebase or Supabase.
2. Role update logic
   • In FlutterFlow, create an action that updates the role field in the user’s document based on the selected role. You can use Firebase functions or Supabase RPCs to handle this.
   • Optionally, include a confirmation popup before updating to prevent accidental role changes.
3. Role-based permissions
   • Use conditional visibility for UI elements based on the user’s role. For instance, a “Delete” button could be visible only to Admins, while a “View” button is visible to everyone.
   • Set up “if” conditions in FlutterFlow workflows based on user roles to limit or extend functionality.

Step 3: Security rules for role-based access (Firebase only)

If you’re using Firebase, leverage Firebase Security Rules to enforce role-based permissions on a backend level. Here’s an example of a rule to restrict “Admin” access to certain parts of the database:

match /users/{userId} {
  allow read, write: if request.auth.uid == userId || request.auth.token.role == 'Admin';
}

In this example, only the user themselves and Admins can read or write to the user’s data. You can adjust this rule based on your specific role requirements.

Step 4: Creating and managing permissions for each role

In most cases, each role will have a different set of permissions. Here are some examples of permissions that might be helpful:

• Super user - full access to all data and actions, including the ability to assign and manage roles.
• Admin - access to manage content and assign tasks, but restricted from certain super user functions.
• Team leader - permission to view and manage tasks for their team but cannot assign roles.
• Worker - can view tasks assigned to them, with limited editing capabilities.
• Contractor - temporary access to specific tasks or projects with minimal permissions.
• Resident - view-only access with no editing or management permissions.

Map these permissions in your backend and link them to the respective roles.

Step 5: Automating role assignment with Firebase functions or Supabase triggers

To streamline role assignments, you can use Firebase Cloud Functions or Supabase triggers. For example:

• Automatic role assignment - when a new user registers, assign them a default role (e.g., resident) using a Firebase function or Supabase trigger.
• Role update notification - when a user’s role is updated, send them a notification about the change. You can achieve this with a Firebase function that runs on document update or a Supabase trigger. Read more about notifications here and here.

Best practices and tips

• Regularly review roles - as your app scales, regularly review and update roles and permissions to keep up with your users' evolving needs.
• Document roles and permissions - maintain a clear documentation of each role and their associated permissions, making it easier to manage as your app grows.
• Use secure access controls - limit access to sensitive data and functions through secure backend rules and role-based permissions.

By implementing a structured team management system in FlutterFlow using Firebase or Supabase, you’ll be well-prepared to manage complex workflows, ensure data security, and offer a streamlined experience for all users.

Setting up a system with well-defined roles and permissions not only adds an extra layer of security but also improves user experience by providing the right access to the right people. If you want to take it a step further and add automation or customized functionality, reach out to us for support!