Transfer ownership of your Zenovay workspace when you're leaving or want someone else to manage the team. In Zenovay you do this by promoting another member to the Owner role, not through a separate "transfer" wizard.
Understanding Ownership
What Owners Can Do
Only owners can:
- Promote a member to Owner (the way ownership is handed over)
- Access and manage billing
- Delete the workspace
- Change another owner's role
A workspace can have up to three owners at once, so promoting someone to Owner does not remove your own ownership automatically.
Owner vs Admin
| Capability | Owner | Admin |
|---|---|---|
| Manage members | ✓ | ✓ |
| Configure settings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Add/remove websites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage billing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Promote a member to Owner | ✓ | ✗ |
| Delete the workspace | ✓ | ✗ |
Admins can manage members, settings, and websites, but only an owner can assign the Owner or Admin role.
Before Transferring
Prerequisites
The new owner must:
- Already be a member of the workspace
- Have a verified email address
You don't need to promote them to Admin first. An owner can change any member's role directly to Owner.
Checklist
Before handing over ownership:
- Inform the new owner
- Ensure they understand the responsibilities (billing, the workspace itself)
- Update billing information if needed
- Document important configurations
How to Transfer Ownership
Step 1: Open the Members list
- Go to Settings → Workspace → Members
- Find the member you want to make an owner
Step 2: Change their role to Owner
- Click the member's role (or open the menu next to them) and choose Change role
- Select Owner
- Confirm
The role change takes effect immediately. There is no separate email approval or pending-acceptance step: the moment you save the new role, that member is an owner with full owner permissions.
Step 3: Step down (optional)
Promoting another member does not remove your own ownership. If you want to fully hand over and stop being an owner, an owner then changes your role down to Admin (or another role) from the same Members list.
A workspace must always keep at least one owner, so the system won't let you remove the last owner. Promote the new owner first, then change your own role.
What Transfers
Ownership in Zenovay is a role on the workspace, not a transfer of your personal account.
Stays with the workspace
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Workspace data and websites | Owned by the workspace, not by you |
| Billing responsibility | Tied to the workspace; the new owner can manage it |
| Member management | Available to the new owner |
Stays with you
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Your personal account | Remains yours |
| Other team memberships | Unchanged |
| Your personal settings | Unchanged |
After the Change
For the previous owner
If you step down to Admin:
- You keep access to the workspace as an Admin
- You lose billing access and the ability to delete the workspace
- You can leave the workspace at any time (as long as another owner remains)
For the new owner
Their new responsibilities:
- Billing management
- Workspace-level decisions
- Promoting and removing members
Special Situations
Recipient isn't an Admin yet
You don't need to promote to Admin first. An owner can set any member straight to the Owner role from the Members list.
Owner left the company
If every owner is unreachable, contact Zenovay support at [email protected]. We can help verify the account and recover access.
Billing issues
Before changing ownership:
- Settle any outstanding invoices
- Update the payment method if needed
- Review your current plan and subscription status
Undoing a Role Change
Because there's no pending-acceptance step, ownership changes apply immediately. To reverse one, an owner simply changes the affected member's role again from Settings → Workspace → Members. (Remember the workspace must always keep at least one owner.)
Security Considerations
Verify identity
Before promoting someone to Owner:
- Confirm you're promoting the right person
- Use secure communication to coordinate
Post-change cleanup
After the handover:
- Review your own remaining access
- Check any personal API keys you created
- Confirm the new owner can reach billing
Troubleshooting
Can't find the Change role option
If you don't see the option to change someone to Owner:
- Verify you're an owner (only owners can assign the Owner or Admin role)
- Refresh the page
Maximum owners reached
A workspace allows up to three owners. If you hit that limit, change an existing owner's role down before promoting another member.
Can't change the last owner's role
The system requires at least one owner. Promote the new owner first, then change the previous owner's role.