Managing Roles and Permissions
Workflow uses a role-based system to control what team members can do and which roles require payment. Understanding these roles helps you invite the right people at the right level—and avoid unexpected billing charges.
Overview of Roles
Workflow has four user roles, each with different permissions and billing implications:
Owner – Has full control over the workspace, team management, and billing
Creative – Can add and upload creative assets (paid seat on most plans)
Teammate – Can view and collaborate on all projects (always free)
Guest – Can only access specific projects they're invited to (free)
Important: On paid plans, each Creative role costs money and increases your monthly bill. Teammates and Guests are always free, regardless of your plan.
Who You Have to Pay For
Understanding billing for team members is straightforward:
Paid Seats
Creatives – Each Creative is a paid seat if you're on a Standard or other paid plan (not Unlimited)
You (the workspace owner) pay the bill – Not the person you invite
When you invite someone as a Creative, you'll see a confirmation warning that your monthly fee will increase
Free Users
Teammates – Always free, unlimited invites
Guests – Always free, unlimited invites
Cost-saving tip: Only invite people as Creatives if they need to upload and add creative assets. If someone just needs to view projects, leave feedback, or organize tasks, invite them as a Teammate instead—it's free.
Complete Permissions Breakdown
Owner
The workspace owner has complete control and special permissions that no other role has:
What Owners can do:
Everything a Creative can do (add assets, upload work, create versions)
Manage team members (invite, remove, change roles)
Delete the entire workspace
Change billing and subscription settings
Transfer ownership to another team member
Make another user an Owner
Only the current Owner can elevate another teammate to the Owner role. There can be multiple Owners in a workspace.
Creative
Creatives are power users who can create and manage creative content:
What Creatives can do:
Add creative assets (websites, images, videos, etc.)
Upload new pieces of work
Create and delete versions
View all public projects in the workspace
Add or remove themselves from any project
Leave the workspace
What Creatives cannot do:
Delete the workspace
Manage team members or change roles
Access billing settings
Billing reminder: Inviting someone as a Creative will trigger a confirmation dialog on paid plans, warning you that your monthly fee will increase.
Teammate
Teammates can collaborate and provide feedback but cannot upload creative assets:
What Teammates can do:
View all public projects and tasks
Leave feedback and comments on work
Create text-only tasks and design requests
Organize work (move tasks on boards, add labels, assignees, due dates)
Add or remove themselves from any project
Leave the workspace
What Teammates cannot do:
Add new creative assets or upload work
Create or delete versions
Manage team members
Delete the workspace
Teammates are perfect for project managers, stakeholders, or clients who need to stay in the loop and provide feedback—without the ability to upload new creative work.
Guest
Guests have limited access to only the specific projects they're invited to:
What Guests can do:
View specific projects they're invited to
Leave feedback and comments within those projects
Create and edit tasks within their assigned projects
What Guests cannot do:
See other projects in the workspace
Add themselves to other projects
View workspace-level team settings or documents
Add creative assets or upload work
Learn more about inviting Guests to projects.
How to Invite Team Members
Only workspace Owners can invite and manage team members.
Click on your workspace name in the top-left corner
Select Settings & archive
Click the Team tab
In the Invite section, enter one or more email addresses (separated by commas)
Use the dropdown to select the role:
as Creative – For users who need to upload and add creative assets (paid on most plans)
as Teammate – For users who need to view and collaborate (always free)
Click Invite
If you selected Creative on a paid plan, a confirmation dialog appears warning you about the monthly fee increase
Click Confirm to send the invite
Invited users will appear as Pending until they click the invite link and complete signup.
You can invite multiple people at once by separating their email addresses with commas, for example: [email protected], [email protected]
How to Change a Team Member's Role
Only workspace Owners can change roles.
Open your workspace menu (click workspace name)
Select Settings & archive
Click the Team tab
Find the team member in the list
Click on their current role button (e.g., "Creative" or "Teammate")
Select the desired new role from the dropdown
A confirmation dialog appears explaining the change
Click Confirm to apply the role change
If you're downgrading a Creative to a Teammate, the confirmation message will inform you that this will decrease your bill on paid plans.
How to Remove Team Members
Only workspace Owners can remove team members.
Click on your workspace name
Select Settings & archive
Click the Team tab
Find the user you want to remove
Click the dropdown button next to their name
Select Remove
Confirm the removal
The user will immediately lose access to your workspace and all projects.
How to Transfer Ownership
If you need to make someone else the workspace Owner:
Go to Settings & archive › Team
Find the team member you want to make Owner
Click on their role button
Select Make owner
Confirm the ownership transfer
The selected person becomes the new Owner with full workspace control. You'll typically be downgraded to Creative or Teammate role.
Only existing Owners can make someone else an Owner. This action gives the new Owner full control over billing, team management, and workspace deletion.
Permissions Matrix
Quick reference for what each role can and cannot do:
Permission | Owner | Creative | Teammate | Guest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Add creative assets | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Upload new work | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Create/delete versions | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
View all projects | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
Leave feedback/comments | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Create text tasks | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Manage team members | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Change user roles | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Delete workspace | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Manage billing | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Troubleshooting
Why can't I invite or manage team members?
Only workspace Owners can invite people, remove members, or change roles. If you're a Creative or Teammate, you'll need to ask the workspace Owner to make these changes.
Why am I being charged for someone I invited?
If you invited someone as a Creative and you're on a paid plan (not Unlimited), each Creative is a paid seat that increases your monthly bill. To avoid charges, invite them as a Teammate instead if they don't need to upload creative assets.
What's the difference between a Teammate and a Guest?
Teammates can see all public projects in your workspace and can add themselves to any project. Guests can only see the specific projects they're invited to and cannot access other workspace content. Both are free.
Learn more about the difference between Teammates, Guests, and Share Links.
Why does someone show as "Pending"?
When you invite a team member, they appear as "Pending" until they click the invite link in their email and complete the signup process. Once they sign up, their status will update to show their assigned role.
Can I bulk-change multiple people's roles at once?
No, you must change each team member's role individually through the Team settings page.
Limitations
Only Owners can manage team – Creatives and Teammates cannot invite, remove, or change roles for other users
Cannot customize roles – Only the four predefined roles are available; you cannot create custom roles or permissions
Guests stay Guests – Once someone is invited as a Guest to a project, they cannot be promoted to a workspace-level Teammate or Creative from the project level
Cannot remove yourself as Owner – Owners must transfer ownership to someone else before they can leave or be removed
No individual role changes – Team members cannot change their own roles; only Owners can modify roles
What's Next
Getting Help
If you're experiencing issues with roles or permissions:
Make sure you're logged in as the workspace Owner
Verify the person you invited has checked their email for the invite link
Check that the invited user isn't already in your workspace with a different email address
If billing seems incorrect, review your team list to see which users are marked as Creatives (paid seats)
If you're still running into issues, please contact us at [email protected]. We're happy to help.