Sidebar Navigation: Grouped Items & Role-Based Visibility
Sidebar Navigation: Grouped Items & Role-Based Visibility
Introduced in v1.0.18
Overview
The dashboard sidebar is now organised into two clearly labelled navigation groups, and internal tooling is hidden from regular landlord members. This keeps the interface focused on the core Making Tax Digital (MTD) workflow and reduces clutter for the majority of users.
Navigation Structure
Workspace
The primary group contains every item a landlord needs to fulfil their MTD obligations:
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Overview | Dashboard summary of your property portfolio and tax position |
| Properties | Add and manage rental properties |
| Transactions | View and categorise income and expense transactions |
| AgentOS | Connect to your AgentOS landlord record and import transactions |
| Quarterly Summaries | Review and prepare your four quarterly submissions |
| HMRC | Submit returns and manage your HMRC Making Tax Digital connection |
Account
The secondary group, separated by a visual divider, covers account management:
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Team | Invite and manage team members |
| Settings | Account preferences, National Insurance Number, and integrations |
Role-Based Visibility
Certain items are only relevant to platform administrators and owners. They are not rendered in the sidebar for users with the member role:
| Item | Minimum Role Required |
|---|---|
| Jobs | admin or owner |
| Admin | admin or owner |
| Activity | admin or owner |
| Feedback | admin or owner |
Visibility is enforced at render time — hidden items are not present in the DOM for unauthorised users, preventing unintended route discovery.
How Roles Work
Role checks use the existing RoleGate component (or an equivalent server-side check in src/app/dashboard/layout.tsx). If a user's role is member, the admin/internal nav items are simply not included in the rendered sidebar.
To grant a user admin access, update their role in Settings → Team. Only existing owner or admin accounts can promote other members.
Why This Change Was Made
Previously, all 10+ navigation items were displayed as a flat list to every user. For a landlord logging in to submit a quarterly return, items such as Jobs, Admin, and Activity added noise without providing value. Grouping the core MTD workflow items under Workspace gives them appropriate visual weight and makes the submission journey more intuitive.