Business partner roles: a responsibilities worksheet

A business partner roles agreement records who handles each part of the business, what they can decide and when they need another owner's approval. It is most useful when it names an outcome and a decision limit, rather than assigning vague titles such as operations or growth.

Two owners can both work hard and still leave jobs undone. One assumes the other renewed the insurance; the other assumes the renewal belongs to the person who pays the bills. Writing down responsibility makes those assumptions visible.

Start with how the business is legally organised

People use the word partner for co-owners of companies as well as members of legal partnerships. Check which arrangement you actually have before copying a legal document.

business.gov.au's partnership guidance recommends addressing roles, contributions, profit sharing, decisions, disputes and exits in a partnership agreement. Legal review can help the operational arrangements fit the applicable law.

This worksheet is for deciding how the work gets done. It doesn't change share ownership, override directors' duties or determine whether one person can legally bind the business. Use it alongside a partnership agreement or, for a company, the relevant shareholders agreement.

List the work before allocating it

Spend a week noting recurring tasks and interruptions. Include the unglamorous work: following up quotes, ordering supplies, managing access, answering complaints and chasing missing receipts.

Group tasks only after you can see them. Otherwise, one owner can end up with sales and the other with everything that happens after a customer says yes.

For each task, ask what completed work would look like. “Handle finance” is unclear. “Send the reconciled monthly file and unresolved questions to the BAS agent by the agreed date” is something both people can check.

Use a responsibility table

The example below is fictional. Its decision limits are discussion prompts, not recommended limits for every business.

Area	Owner	What completion looks like	When joint approval is needed
Customer enquiries	Partner A	Every enquiry has a response and next step recorded	Offering non-standard contract terms
Delivery schedule	Partner B	Confirmed jobs have staff, materials and dates allocated	Taking work beyond agreed capacity
Marketing	Partner A	Agreed activity is delivered and results reviewed	Spending beyond the approved monthly budget
Monthly accounts	Partner B	Records reach the adviser with open questions listed	New borrowing or unresolved owner payments
Business administration	Partner B, with A as backup	Renewals and notices have an owner and due date	Changing major suppliers or long-term commitments

Give each area one coordinating owner even where both people help. The coordinator checks that work progresses; they don't necessarily perform every task themselves.

For a new venture, your business plan can supply the initial priorities. For an established one, use the jobs that have actually been delayed or duplicated.

Separate routine authority from major decisions

Define the decisions someone can make without another meeting. Then agree which matters need both owners, a majority or another process consistent with your legal documents.

Useful categories to discuss include routine purchases within budget, discounts, hiring, debt, new contracts and payments to owners. Write the limits clearly enough that a person can recognise when a proposal crosses one.

Suppose you agree, as an example, that one owner can approve routine purchases up to $500 within an existing budget. Clarify whether that means each invoice or the whole commitment. A twelve-month subscription shouldn't slip through merely because its monthly instalment is below the limit.

An internal approval rule may not prevent the business being bound to an outside party. Get legal advice on how authority is documented and communicated. Our business contracts guide helps identify the agreements involved.

Discuss hours, pay and ownership separately

Equal ownership doesn't explain what happens when one person works three days and the other works five. Agree on expected availability, responsibilities and how extra or reduced work is discussed.

Keep ownership, compensation for work and profit distributions as separate discussion points. Their legal and tax treatment depends on your structure and arrangements. Ask your accountant and lawyer to help document the result; don't alter payments informally because one person feels the workload is unfair.

Include absences. Who covers customer approvals when an owner is sick? What can the backup decide? Where are the instructions and records? A backup role is more useful when it has been practised before someone needs leave.

Review the agreement against actual work

Book an initial review after a month of using the worksheet. Compare the plan with what happened: missed tasks, repeated approvals, extra hours and decisions that nobody felt able to make.

Use concrete examples. “Three quotes waited four days for approval” gives you something to change. “You're slowing everything down” usually produces an argument about intent.

Record agreed changes and when they take effect. If a change affects ownership rights, compensation or contractual authority, check whether the legal documents also need updating. Don't leave conflicting versions in different folders.

Key takeaways

• Assign outcomes and decision limits rather than titles alone.
• Name a coordinator and backup for recurring responsibilities.
• Discuss workload, pay and ownership as separate matters.
• Keep the worksheet consistent with the business's legal agreements.

Where to get help

Use business.gov.au for partnership background and a business lawyer for the agreement governing your arrangement. If you're still choosing how to operate together, read partnership vs company for two founders.