---
title: "Relation roles"
description: "Create and maintain relation roles used to describe the parties' role in an actor relation"
url: https://support.sapera.io/en/articles/513-relation-roles
collection: "Actor setup"
updated: 2026-06-11
language: en
alternates: [da]
---

# Relation roles

Create and maintain relation roles used to describe the parties' role in an actor relation

### What are Relation roles?

Relation roles are named labels that describe what role an actor plays in a relation to another actor. An example could be the roles "Supplier" and "Customer" in a supplier relation, or "Parent company" and "Subsidiary" in a group relation.

Relation roles are used as building blocks when you set up Relation types. A relation type always requires a role for each side of the relation (left and right), and these are taken from the list of relation roles.

### How to access the screen

From the hamburger menu in the top-left corner of Sapera, open **Financial**. In the left menu, select **Relation roles** to open the list of all relation roles created.

If you cannot see the menu item, you probably do not have permission to access it. Contact support.

### What can you do here?

You can create new relation roles, edit existing ones and view the complete list. A relation role has two fields:

**System name:** A unique technical name without spaces, which the system uses to identify the role internally. For system-defined roles, the system name cannot be changed.

**Display name:** The name shown to users in the interface, for example in a dropdown list when an actor relation is linked to a relation type.

### System-defined roles

Some relation roles are created by the system and marked as system roles. For these, **System name** cannot be edited, but **Display name** can be customized to suit your terminology.

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**Want to know more?**

Read more in these related articles:

[

Relation types

Set up and manage the types of relations that can be created between actors in Sapera.

](https://support.sapera.io/en/articles/512.md)[

Gazelle connections

Manage OAuth connections between Sapera and Gazelle's E-Bike Connect platform. View the status of sales, stock and product synchronization per stock unit, and renew expired access tokens.

](https://support.sapera.io/en/articles/504.md)[

Actor Library (customers and suppliers)

Search, create and edit customers and suppliers in Sapera Financial.

](https://support.sapera.io/en/articles/528.md)