--- title: "Task Owner: One Accountable Person per Task" description: Give every task an owner who stays accountable for it, even when the work is reassigned. --- [Skip to content](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/task-owner#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [Contact us](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/kb-tickets/new?hsLang=en) ![owlops-2.png\]](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/owlops-2.png?width=197&height=75&name=owlops-2.png) Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - [Contact us](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/kb-tickets/new) - [Go to owlops.com](https://www.owlops.com/) [Go to owlops.com](https://www.owlops.com/?hsLang=en) Hello. How can we help with OwlOps? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge?hsLang=en) 2. [Account & Administration](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en) # Task Owner: One Accountable Person per Task ## Give every task an owner who stays accountable for it, even when the work is reassigned. Tasks can now have an **'Owner'** as well as an assignee. The assignee is whoever is doing the work right now. The owner is the person accountable for the task from start to finish, such as a facilities manager or district manager. Reassigning a task doesn't change its owner. The owner is set automatically when the task is created, from the defaults you set up. ### Who Can Use It - Everyone can see a task's owner. - Changing the owner of a task needs the **Task Owner - Change** role permission (**Setup** \> **Roles** \> **Task Administration**). - Setting default owners is done on the Setup pages for companies, categories, subcategories and assets, so it needs access to those pages. ### How the Owner Is Chosen When a task is created, OwlOps uses the most specific default owner it finds, in this order: | **Order** | **Default owner set on** | **Where to set it** | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **The asset** (equipment) | Asset page \> **Default Owner** | | 2 | **The subcategory, for this location** | The subcategory's defaults grid \> **Default Owner** | | 3 | **The subcategory** | **Setup** \> **Subcategories** \> **Default Owner** | | 4 | **The category, for this location** | The category's defaults grid \> **Default Owner** | | 5 | **The category** | **Setup** \> **Categories** \> **Default Owner** | | 6 | **The company** | **Setup** \> **Company** \> **Company Admin** | A default set to an inactive user is skipped, and the next level is used. Changing a default only affects new tasks. Existing tasks keep their owner. ### Setting the Company Fallback Owner Go to **Setup** \> **Company** and open **Preferences**. Under **Company Admin**, choose a **User**, then click **Save** at the bottom of the page. This person owns any task that has no other default owner. They are also the only user who can make OwlAI live setup edits. ![The Company Admin User field in Preferences, with its hint text highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/01-company-admin-user.png?width=670&height=91&name=01-company-admin-user.png) ### Setting Default Owners for Categories and Subcategories Go to **Setup** \> **Categories**. Click a cell in the **Default Owner** column, choose a person, then click **Save** under the grid. **-- Default --** means no owner is set at this level, so the next level is used. ![The Categories grid with the Default Owner column highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/02-categories-default-owner.png?width=670&height=272&name=02-categories-default-owner.png) Subcategories work the same way. Click **Subcategories** on a category's row, then set **Default Owner** for each subcategory. ![The Equipment subcategories grid with a Default Owner set for the Fryer subcategory](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/03-subcategories-default-owner.png?width=670&height=258&name=03-subcategories-default-owner.png) ### Setting a Default Owner for One Location To use a different owner at certain locations, open the category's or subcategory's defaults grid. In **Setup** \> **Categories**, click **Actions** \> **Assignment**, or go to **Setup** \> **Task Controls** \> **Defaults & settings**, pick the category or subcategory and click **Open defaults**. The grid has a row for each location with a **Default Owner** column. Turn on **Apply All** to copy a value to every location. ![The Defaults & settings tab with the category picker and the Open defaults button highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/05-defaults-and-settings-tab.png?width=670&height=243&name=05-defaults-and-settings-tab.png) ### Setting a Default Owner on an Asset Open the asset, click **Edit**, and choose a **Default Owner**. This takes priority over every category and subcategory setting. **N/A** means no owner is set on the asset. ![The asset page with the Default Owner field and its hint highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/04-asset-default-owner.png?width=670&height=234&name=04-asset-default-owner.png) ### Seeing the Owner on a Task The task page shows **Owner:** next to the assignee in the task header. Hover over it to see a short explanation. ![The task header with Owner: Mike Technician highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/07-taskdetails-owner.png?width=670&height=138&name=07-taskdetails-owner.png) On **Task Creation**, the **Owner** field is inside the **Details** section and is set to **Set automatically**. Leave it on **Set automatically** to use the defaults, or pick someone (needs **Task Owner - Change**). ![The Details section of Create Task with the Owner field set to Set automatically](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/06-create-task-owner.png?width=670&height=248&name=06-create-task-owner.png) ### Changing a Task's Owner 1. Open the task and click the **⋮** menu, then **Edit**. 2. Choose a new **Owner**. 3. Click **Save Changes**. ![The Edit Task popup with the Owner field highlighted](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/08-edit-task-owner.png?width=557&height=647&name=08-edit-task-owner.png) The change is recorded in the task log, showing the old and new owner. ![The task log showing Admin change: Owner and the Owner old -\> new line](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/09-owner-change-log.png?width=670&height=209&name=09-owner-change-log.png) ### Finding Tasks by Owner In the task list, click **More Filters** and use **Owner**. You can choose **Any owner**, **Owned by me**, a team, or a person, then click **Apply**. ![The Owner filter open, showing Any owner, Owned by me and the team options](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/10-owner-filter-options.png?width=670&height=228&name=10-owner-filter-options.png) ![The task list filtered to one owner](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/11-owner-filter-person.png?width=670&height=179&name=11-owner-filter-person.png) You can also group the **Open Task Aging - Summary** report by owner. ### Things to Know - **Reassigning doesn't change the owner.** Only a person with **Task Owner - Change** can change it. - **The Recall action keeps the owner.** A recall created from a closed task has the same owner as the original. - **Owners always see their tasks.** Owners can see the tasks they own, even if their task list is otherwise restricted. - **Existing tasks have an owner too.** Tasks created before this feature was turned on were given an owner automatically, with no log entry - [Getting Started](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/getting-started?hsLang=en) - [Daily Operations](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Tasks](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#tasks) - [Checklists & Schedules](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#checklists-schedules) - [Categories & Workflows](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#categories-workflows) - [Mobile App](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#mobile-app) - [Homescreen](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/daily-operations?hsLang=en#homescreen) - [Assets / Inventory](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/assets-inventory?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Assets](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/assets-inventory?hsLang=en#assets) - [Inventory](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/assets-inventory?hsLang=en#inventory) - [Vendors](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/vendors?hsLang=en) - [Technicians](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/technicians?hsLang=en) - [Reports](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/reports?hsLang=en) - [Invoicing and Timesheets](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/invoicing-and-timesheets?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Invoices](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/invoicing-and-timesheets?hsLang=en#invoices) - [Timesheets](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/invoicing-and-timesheets?hsLang=en#timesheets) - [OwlOps for Vendors](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/owlops-for-vendors?hsLang=en) - [Account & Administration](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Departments & Locations](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en#departments-locations) - [Users & Permissions](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en#users-permissions) - [Administrator Tools](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en#administrator-tools) - [Team Training & Onboarding](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/account-administration?hsLang=en#team-training-onboarding) - [✨ Meet OwlAI](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/meet-owlai?hsLang=en) - [Technical](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/technical?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Troubleshooting](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/technical?hsLang=en#troubleshooting) - [API / Integrations](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/technical?hsLang=en#api-integrations) - [Release Notes](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/release-notes?hsLang=en) - [Legal](https://www.owlops.com/knowledge/legal?hsLang=en) [![OwlOps Logo Horizontal White Outline-1](https://www.owlops.com/hs-fs/hubfs/OwlOps%20Logo%20Horizontal%20White%20Outline-1.png?width=131&height=50&name=OwlOps%20Logo%20Horizontal%20White%20Outline-1.png "OwlOps Logo Horizontal White Outline-1")](https://www.owlops.com?hsLang=en) owlops.com Help Center Copyright © 2025, CurvePoint Inc. dba OwlOps