> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Access and permission errors > What every TimeTracker refusal message means and how to fix it – deleted accounts, deactivated access, locked periods and missing permissions. TimeTracker never shows a bare "Forbidden". Every refusal names a reason and tells you what to do. This page decodes them. ## Messages about your access ending These three mean your access is over, not that something went wrong. Trying again will not help. | Message | What happened | What to do | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **"This account was deleted. Signing up again won't restore it."** | Your account was permanently deleted. | Nothing restores it. Create a fresh account if you need one. | | **"This workspace was deleted by its owner, along with its projects and time."** | The whole workspace is gone. | You are sent to your workspace list. Your other workspaces are unaffected. | | **"Your access to this workspace has been switched off. Ask an admin to turn it back on."** | Your membership was deactivated. It is reversible. | Ask an Owner or Admin to reactivate you. | These three deliberately do **not** offer a "Try again" button. Retrying re-runs the same refusal and puts you straight back – a loop with a button on it. The screen explains itself and stops. ## "You've been signed out" > You've been signed out. Sign in again and your work will be waiting. Your session ended. Nothing is lost. Sign in again and carry on. ## Permission messages These all start the same way: you are being told what you **cannot** do, and who to ask. | Message | The permission behind it | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | "You can't change workspace settings. Ask a workspace admin if you need to." | `workspace.updateSettings` | | "Only an owner can delete this workspace. Ask the workspace owner if it needs to go." | `workspace.delete` | | "You can't see cost figures. Ask a workspace admin if you need access." | `time.viewCost` | | "You can't see other people's time. Ask a workspace admin if you need access." | `time.viewOthers` | | "You can't create tasks here. Ask a project manager if you need to." | `task.create` | | "You can't change the plan or billing details. Ask a workspace admin if you need to." | `billing.manage` | | "You can't invite people to this workspace. Ask a workspace admin to send the invite." | `member.invite` | | "You can't see the client list. Ask a workspace admin if you need access." | `client.view` | Every one of the 66 capabilities has a message like this. The full list is on the [capabilities reference](/reference/capabilities). **To fix:** ask an Owner or Admin to change your role, or build a [custom role](/team/custom-roles) that fits. ## Scope messages These are the ones people misread as a permission problem. They are not. | Message | What it means | | -------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | "This member is outside the people your role can see" | You hold the permission. That **person** is not in your [supervision scope](/concepts/supervision-scope). | | "This project is outside the projects your role can see" | Same, for a project. | **To fix:** get added to a project you share with them, get put in the same [group](/team/groups), or have your role's scope widened. ## App and plan messages | Message shape | What it means | Fix | | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | "The **Expenses** app is turned off for this workspace." | An Owner or Admin switched that area off. | Settings → Apps | | "**Invoicing** requires the **Pro** plan. Upgrade to continue." | Your plan does not include it. | [Upgrade](/billing/start-a-subscription) | The two are different things. An app being off is free to fix and instant. See [I cannot see a feature](/troubleshooting/i-cannot-see-a-feature). ## Location messages If your workspace uses [location rules](/location-rules/overview), a refusal that looks like a permission problem may be about **where you are**, not who you are. The message says so. > We're checking your location too often. Wait a moment and try again – nothing > you've tracked is affected. Nothing is lost. Wait and retry. ## Time and timesheet messages | Message | What it means | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | "This entry is no longer a draft, so it can't be changed. Everything already tracked is safe." | The entry has been submitted, approved or invoiced. | | "This entry is outside the editing window and can no longer be changed." | Your workspace limits how far back time can be edited. | | "That day's timesheet is locked, so time can't be added or changed. Ask a workspace admin to reopen it." | The period was closed. | | "That period is closed. Ask a workspace admin to reopen it if something needs changing." | Same, at period level. | | "That period has been submitted for approval, so it can't be changed. Ask your approver to reopen it." | Waiting on a reviewer. | | "Only approved, locked or invoiced time is corrected with an adjustment. A draft or submitted entry can be edited directly." | You reached for an adjustment too early. | See [missing or wrong hours](/troubleshooting/missing-or-wrong-hours) and [timesheet problems](/troubleshooting/timesheet-problems). ## Ownership and account messages | Message | What it means | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | "A workspace always needs one owner. Make someone else an owner first, then change this role." | You are trying to demote the last Owner. | | "A workspace always needs one owner. Make someone else an owner first, then remove this one." | Same, for removal. | | "A workspace always needs one owner who can sign in. Make someone else an owner first." | Same, for deactivation. | | "You're the only owner of a workspace that other people are working in. Choose who takes it over, then delete your account." | Transfer ownership first. | | "One of your workspaces has no other members, so deleting your account deletes it too. Confirm that first." | Confirm the workspace goes with you. | | "That person is deactivated, so they can't take ownership. Reactivate them first, or pick someone else." | Pick an active person. | | "That person has never signed in, so they can't take ownership yet. Pick someone who has." | The new Owner needs a working login. | | "Client contacts can't own a workspace – they only see the portal. Pick someone from your team." | A portal contact cannot be an Owner. | See [change someone's role](/team/change-someones-role) and [delete your account](/account/delete-your-account). ## Concurrency messages > Someone else changed this while you had it open. Refresh to see their version, then > make your change again. Two people edited the same record. Nothing is lost. Refresh and reapply your change. You will also see a more specific version of this on records that move through a workflow: * "This entry has already moved on since the page loaded. Refresh to see where it is now." * "This invoice has already moved on since the page loaded. Refresh to see where it is now." * "This request has already moved on since the page loaded. Refresh to see where it is now." ## Invitation messages | Message | What it means | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | "They're already a member of this workspace." | No invite needed. | | "An invitation is already on its way to that address." | One is outstanding. Resend or revoke it instead. | | "That invitation can't be accepted any more. Ask a workspace admin to send a new one." | It expired or was revoked. | | "That invitation has already been dealt with, so there's nothing to withdraw." | Already accepted, revoked or expired. | | "A client contact needs an email address, because that's how they reach the portal." | Portal contacts must have an email. | See [pending invitations](/team/pending-invitations). ## If a message is vague Some refusals fall back to a general sentence: > You don't have permission to do that here. That means the reason was not something we can safely show you. Ask an Owner or Admin what your role covers, and check the [permissions matrix](/reference/roles-and-permissions-matrix). ## Common questions No. Three errors deliberately have no retry: a deleted account, a deleted workspace and a deactivated membership. Retrying cannot help, so the screen explains instead. Check for a [per-person override](/team/per-person-permissions), which can switch a capability off for one person. If it is about seeing a person or project, it is [scope](/concepts/supervision-scope). No. Deactivation is reversible and removes nothing. Your tracked time, tasks and history all stay. No. Account deletion is permanent, and signing up again with the same email does not restore it. Pro areas stay visible on Free so you can see what they do. Only the action is blocked. ## Related guides The four-reason decision tree. Every capability against every role. Why a person is missing from your list. Fixing it properly. Ending your own access. When the message does not explain it.