Understanding the Difference Between Organization Owner and Account Owner
In BoldDesk, the Organization Owner and Account Owner have similar access to product features. However, they are not the same in terms of account ownership and transfer rights.
Understanding the difference between these two terms helps when managing ownership, billing communication, and role assignments.
Organization Owner
The Organization Owner is the primary owner of the BoldDesk account.
In BoldDesk, the Organization Owner is not a separate system role. Instead, the Organization Owner is the agent who has the Account Owner role, and used their email address to register the BoldDesk account.
Only one Organization Owner can exist in a BoldDesk account at a time.
What the Organization Owner can do
The Organization Owner has full administrative access and also has ownership-specific privileges such as:
- receiving billing-related communication, such as subscription renewal notices, payment confirmations, and invoice receipts
- transferring organization ownership to another agent
Only the current Organization Owner can transfer organization ownership. The ownership can be transferred only to an agent who already has the Account Owner role. Learn more on How to Transfer the Ownership of an Account to Another Agent.
Account Owner
The Account Owner is an agent who is assigned the Account Owner role in BoldDesk.
Agents with this role have full access to BoldDesk features and settings based on the system role.
However, having the Account Owner role does not automatically make the agent the Organization Owner. The Organization Owner is specifically the Account Owner whose email address was used when the BoldDesk account was created.
To learn more about roles and permissions, explore How to Manage Roles and Permissions.
What both roles can manage
Both the Organization Owner and other agents with the Account Owner role can manage most administrative areas in BoldDesk, including:
- managing agents
- assigning roles and permissions
- configuring workflows
- setting up SLAs and business hours
- configuring email channels
- managing branding
- configuring the customer portal
After a BoldDesk subscription is created, the Organization Owner typically starts the initial account setup. After that, both the Organization Owner and agents with the Account Owner role can manage most account-level settings and configurations.
Key difference between Organization Owner and Account Owner
The main difference is that the Organization Owner is the actual account owner tied to the account registration email, while an Account Owner is an agent with the highest system role in BoldDesk.
In practice:
- all Organization Owners are Account Owners
- not all Account Owners are Organization Owners
- only the Organization Owner can transfer organization ownership
- billing-related emails are typically sent to the Organization Owner
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can there be more than one Organization Owner in BoldDesk?
No. Only one Organization Owner can exist in a BoldDesk account at a time. -
Is the Organization Owner a separate system role in BoldDesk?
No. The Organization Owner is not a separate system role. The Organization Owner is the agent who has the Account Owner role and whose email address was used to register the BoldDesk account. -
Do Organization Owner and Account Owner have the same access?
They have similar access to most BoldDesk features and settings. However, the Organization Owner has ownership-specific privileges, such as receiving billing-related emails and transferring organization ownership. -
Can an Account Owner transfer organization ownership?
No. Only the current Organization Owner can transfer organization ownership.
