Roles & Permissions
TinyOps uses three roles to control what team members can do within your organization: Owner, Admin, and Member. Roles are assigned when inviting members and can be changed at any time by the owner.
On this page: Permissions | Inviting Members | Changing Roles | Error Messages
The Free plan supports 1 team member (the owner). Upgrade to Pro (up to 3 members) or Team (unlimited) to invite others. See Plans & Pricing for details.
Role Overview
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full control over the organization, including billing, team management, and all rules. Every organization has exactly one owner. |
| Admin | Can manage the team, create and edit all rules, approve requests, and export audit logs. Cannot manage billing or transfer ownership. |
| Member | Can create their own rules and view the audit log. Cannot edit other members’ rules, manage the team, or approve requests. |
Permissions Matrix
In the tables below, Yes means the role has the permission and No means it does not.
Rule Permissions
| Permission | Owner | Admin | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create rules | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit own rules | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit all rules | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delete rules | Yes | Yes | No |
| Toggle rules | Yes | Yes | No |
Team Permissions
| Permission | Owner | Admin | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manage team members | Yes | Yes | No |
| Approve requests | Yes | Yes | No |
Organization Permissions
| Permission | Owner | Admin | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manage organization | Yes | Yes | No |
| View audit log | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Export audit log | Yes | Yes | No |
| Manage billing | Yes | No | No |
Only the owner can manage billing. Admins have all other permissions but cannot access billing settings or transfer ownership.
Changing Roles
Owners can change any member’s role. Admins can demote other admins to member but cannot promote members to admin. Only the owner can assign the admin role.
Navigate to team settings
Go to Settings → Team to see your organization’s member list.
Open member options
Click the three-dot menu next to the member whose role you want to change.
Select new role
Choose Change Role and select the new role from the dropdown.
Confirm the change
The role updates immediately. The member’s permissions change on their next action.
Only the owner can assign the admin role. If you need to promote a member to admin, ask your organization owner.
Transferring Ownership
Ownership transfer is an irreversible action. The current owner becomes an admin, and the selected member becomes the new owner. You can only transfer ownership to a member who already has the admin role.
Open the member menu
In Settings → Team, click the three-dot menu next to the member you want to make owner. The member must currently be an admin.
Select Transfer Ownership
Click Transfer Ownership from the menu.
Confirm the transfer
A confirmation dialog will appear. Once confirmed, you will become an admin and the selected member becomes the owner. This cannot be undone without the new owner’s cooperation.
Ownership transfer is permanent. You will lose the ability to manage billing and transfer ownership. Make sure you intend to hand over full control before confirming.
Inviting Team Members
Owners and admins can invite new members to the organization.
Click Invite Member
On the Settings → Team page, click the Invite Member button.
Enter email and select role
Enter the invitee’s email address and choose their role (Admin or Member).
Invitation sent
The invitee receives an email with a link to join your organization. The invitation expires after 7 days. You can resend a pending invitation from the team settings page if the invitee has not received it.
Invitee accepts
When the invitee clicks the link, they are added to the organization with the assigned role. If they don’t have a TinyOps account, they’ll create one during the acceptance flow. The invitee must sign in with the same email address the invitation was sent to.
Pending invitations count toward your team member limit. If you’re on the Pro plan (3 members max), a pending invite occupies one of those seats.
If your invitation link has expired, ask the person who invited you to resend the invitation from Settings → Team.
Guardrails
TinyOps enforces several safety rules to prevent accidental lockouts:
| Rule | What happens |
|---|---|
| Cannot remove yourself | You must ask another admin or the owner to remove your account. |
| Cannot remove the owner | The owner can only be replaced via ownership transfer. |
| Cannot remove the last admin | Promote another member to admin first, then remove the original admin. |
| Cannot change the owner’s role directly | Use the Transfer Ownership flow instead. |
| Only the owner can promote to admin | Admins cannot promote other members to admin. |
| Can only transfer ownership to an admin | Promote the member to admin first, then transfer ownership. |
| Self-approval prevented | You cannot approve your own approval request. A different admin or owner must approve it. |
Common Error Messages
If you encounter a permission error, here is what it means and what to do.
”This action requires the owner (or admin) role”
Your current role does not have the required permission. Check the permissions matrix above. Ask an admin or owner to perform the action, or request a role change.
”Cannot change the owner role directly. Use transfer ownership instead.”
You tried to change the owner’s role via the role dropdown. Use the Transfer Ownership flow instead.
”Only the owner can assign admin role”
You are an admin trying to promote a member to admin. Ask the organization owner to make this change.
”Can only transfer ownership to an admin”
You tried to transfer ownership to a member who does not have the admin role. Promote the member to admin first, then retry the transfer.
”Cannot remove yourself”
You tried to remove your own membership. Ask another admin or the owner to remove you.
”Cannot remove the last admin. Promote another member first.”
Removing this admin would leave the organization without an admin. Promote another member to admin, then retry the removal.
”Cannot remove the owner”
You tried to remove the organization owner. Ownership must be transferred first. The owner role cannot be removed.
”Your plan allows N team members. Upgrade to invite more.”
Your organization has reached its team member limit for the current plan. Remove a member or pending invitation, or upgrade your plan. See Plans & Pricing for limits per plan.
”This invitation was sent to (email). Please sign in with that email to accept.”
You are signed in with a different email address than the invitation was sent to. Sign out and sign back in with the correct email, or ask the inviter to send a new invitation to your current email.
”This person is already a member”
You tried to invite someone who is already on the team. Check the member list in Settings → Team.
”An invitation has already been sent to this email”
A pending invitation already exists for this email. You can resend the existing invitation from the team settings page.
”This invitation has already been used”
The invitation was already accepted. If you need access, contact your team admin to verify your membership or send a new invitation.
”This invitation has expired”
The invitation link is older than 7 days and is no longer valid. Ask the person who invited you to resend the invitation from Settings → Team.
Related
- Approvals - approval requests require admin or owner role
- Audit Log - all role changes and team actions are logged
- Policies - policy management requires admin or owner role
- Plans & Pricing - team member limits per plan