Account Administrator Responsibilities and Role in SETS Management

SETS account administrator: main role and responsibilities

The Account Administrator is the main person responsible for an organisation’s SETS account for LBTT. They manage user access, permissions and organisation details, and they have overall administrative responsibility even where an Account Security Administrator is also appointed.

• Each organisation using SETS should have at least one Account Administrator, and the first person to log in after registration gets that role automatically.
• The Account Administrator can create users, appoint other administrators, assign permissions and keep user records accurate and up to date.
• Only an Account Administrator can change the organisation’s email address, telephone number or address in SETS.
• Both Account Administrators and Account Security Administrators can update user details for themselves and others, and can change roles for other users but not for themselves.
• The role is an ongoing control function, so organisations should regularly review who holds administrator roles, whether users still need access and whether permissions match current job duties.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

SETS account administrator: role, powers and day-to-day responsibilities

This page explains what the Account Administrator does in SETS, the Scottish Electronic Tax System used for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. The role matters because this person controls key account functions for the organisation, including user creation, permissions and the organisation’s account details.

What this rule is about

The source material deals with internal control of a SETS account at organisation level. In practice, an organisation using SETS needs someone with authority to manage who can access the system and what they are allowed to do.

The Account Administrator is the main administrative role for that purpose. The system also allows an Account Security Administrator role, but the source makes clear that overall administrative responsibility remains with the Account Administrator.

What the official source says

According to the official guidance:

• Every organisation using SETS should have at least one person acting as Account Administrator.
• That person is nominated by the organisation to act on its behalf.
• When an organisation registers, the first person to log into SETS is automatically given the Account Administrator role.
• The Account Administrator may appoint additional Account Administrators and Account Security Administrators.

The Account Administrator is responsible for:

• creating new users, including appointing other administrators
• making sure user details are accurate
• making sure user details are kept up to date
• giving appropriate permissions to new users
• updating the organisation’s details

The guidance also sets out the functions available to each administrator role.

The Account Administrator can change the organisation’s:

• email address
• telephone number
• address

Both the Account Administrator and the Account Security Administrator can change:

• their own user details, including name, email address and password
• user details for other users, including username, status, name, email address and password
• user roles for other users, but not their own

To update organisation details, the user must have the Account Administrator role enabled. The guidance says the user should log into SETS, go to “Account details”, and then use the relevant update link. The top update link is for email address or telephone number. The bottom update link is for address.

What this means in practice

The Account Administrator is the organisation’s main control point for access to SETS. This is not just a technical role. It affects governance, security and the organisation’s ability to submit and manage LBTT matters online.

In practical terms, the role involves three main areas:

• controlling who has access to the system
• controlling what each user is allowed to do
• keeping organisation and user records current

This means the Account Administrator should not treat the role as a one-off setup task. It is an ongoing responsibility. If staff leave, change role, or no longer need access, the account should be updated. If user details are wrong or outdated, there is a risk of failed access, poor audit control, or inappropriate permissions remaining in place.

The source also shows an important division of powers. An Account Security Administrator can carry out many user-management functions, but cannot change the organisation’s email address, telephone number or address. Those organisation-level changes remain reserved to the Account Administrator.

How to analyse it

If you need to work out who should do what in SETS, ask these questions:

• Does the organisation have at least one active Account Administrator?
• Who was the first person to log into SETS, and are they still the right person to hold that role?
• Are additional Account Administrators or Account Security Administrators needed for resilience or internal control?
• Are user records accurate, including names, email addresses and status?
• Do users have permissions that match their current job role?
• Does a proposed change relate to the organisation itself, or only to an individual user?

This last question is especially important:

• If the change is to the organisation’s email address, telephone number or address, it must be done by an Account Administrator.
• If the change is to a user account, either an Account Administrator or an Account Security Administrator may be able to do it, depending on the function.

The source also indicates that users cannot change their own role assignments. Both administrator types can assign or change user roles, but not their own. That is a control feature designed to limit self-authorisation.

Example

Illustration: A law firm uses SETS for LBTT submissions. The first employee who logged in when the firm registered became the Account Administrator automatically. Later, that employee moves to a different team.

In practice, the firm should check whether that person should still hold the main administrative role. The existing Account Administrator can appoint another Account Administrator or an Account Security Administrator. If a staff member’s email address changes, either administrator role may be able to update that user record. But if the firm changes office address, that update must be made by an Account Administrator through the organisation’s account details page.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The guidance is straightforward, but a few practical issues can still arise.

First, the person who automatically became Account Administrator at registration may not be the person the organisation would now choose. That can happen if registration was handled by a temporary employee, a junior team member, or someone who has since left.

Second, the distinction between the two administrator roles may be misunderstood. The Account Security Administrator has similar user-management functions, but does not carry full responsibility for the organisation’s SETS account. The source expressly says that full administrative responsibility remains with the Account Administrator.

Third, organisations sometimes focus on creating users but do not review inactive users or outdated permissions. The source places responsibility on the Account Administrator to keep user details accurate and up to date, which implies an ongoing review function rather than a one-time setup.

Key takeaways

• Every organisation using SETS should have at least one Account Administrator, and the first person to log in is given that role automatically.
• The Account Administrator is responsible for managing users, permissions and the organisation’s own account details.
• Account Security Administrators can manage many user-level functions, but organisation-level changes remain with the Account Administrator.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Account Administrator Responsibilities and Role in SETS Management

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