Roles & seats

Overview

GrowthOS separates what a person is allowed to manage (role) from whether they can create content or only read it (seat). Roles are Owner, Admin, Member, and Viewer; seats are Planner or Viewer. Every member has exactly one of each.

Role governs organization-level permissions: Owner has full control including billing, Admin can manage members and settings, Member can work inside assigned projects, and Viewer can only browse. Seat type governs planning access specifically: a Planner seat can create and edit PRDs, backlog items, and sprint plans, while a Viewer seat can read everything shared with them but cannot create or edit.

What you can do here

Understand which role can perform which organization-level action.
Match seat type to actual need: Planner for creators, Viewer for readers.
Assign or change a member role and seat from the Members page.
Check your own role and seat type at any time.
Use a custom role wizard where your plan allows it.

When to use

Organization administration and onboarding new members.
Deciding seat type for a new invite based on what the person will actually do.
Auditing whether current role and seat assignments still make sense.

Prerequisites

Owner or Admin role to change another member role or seat.
Everyone can view their own role and seat without special access.

Where to find it

Sidebar: Organization → Roles
Direct route: /org/roles

Step-by-step

Open /org/roles to review system roles and their permissions.
Cross-reference with Organization → Members to see current assignments.
Decide the correct role for a new or existing member based on what they need to manage.
Decide the correct seat: Planner for anyone creating PRDs, backlog, or sprint plans; Viewer for read-only stakeholders.
Apply the change from the Members page.
Use the custom role wizard if your plan supports roles beyond the four defaults.

What success looks like

You can explain the difference between role and seat to a new Admin in under a minute.
Seat assignments match actual usage, not habit or convenience.
No one has more organization-level permission than their job actually requires.

Tips & best practices

Prefer Viewer seats for stakeholders who only need read access; it also controls seat cost.
Reassess roles after a reorg or major team change, not just at initial invite time.
Use Admin sparingly; most day-to-day work only needs Member with project access.

Common mistakes

Giving Admin to everyone who asks, instead of matching role to actual organization-level need.
Assuming seat type and role are the same thing; they control different, complementary things.
Never revisiting roles after the initial invite, even as responsibilities change over time.