Hi all 
In 2021, the Asana community post from @Julien_RENAUD “What I learned about Divisions” became the go to reference for anyone trying to understand this “sometimes confusing” concept.
But recently, Asana’s Divisions model has evolved significantly, so it is now worth updating our knowledge of that model around structure, licensing and admin controls.
A change for the better
The biggest win for Asana customers is this: cross Division collaboration no longer forces the “necessary double billing” that used to happen when a user belonged to multiple Divisions just to access projects or teams. Now, in most collaboration scenarios, people can keep their Division and plan, and still work together. That’s awesome.
Everything else in this guide is basically about adapting to the associated subtle changes 
In this 2026 guide, you will learn:
- what a Division is today (new model) and the key rules that come with it
- when Divisions are a good fit and when they are a bad idea
- the biggest pitfalls to avoid: collaboration limits, SAML constraints, admin overhead, double billing
- how Teams work inside a Division and how to collaborate across Divisions without surprises
- an FAQ: all answers to your questions
- a simple comparison table : what has changed compared to the old model
What is a Division, concretely?
Definition
In the new model, a Division is a group of users, and a boundary for plan, billing, and administration. It is not a container for projects or teams anymore.
In the new model:
- A (free-only) organization can contain one or more divisions
- Each Division:
- has its own users
- has its own plan (Starter, Advanced, Enterprise…)
- has independent billing
- has its own Admin Console
A user always belongs to the free organization (technically) and can optionally belong to one or more Divisions.
Why use Divisions?
Divisions are especially useful in the following cases:
-
Complex structures or multi-entity groups: subsidiaries, international groups, family businesses within a group, and the need for separation without multiplying email domains.
-
Separate billing: one Division = one Billing Owner, a separate invoice, and clear cost control per entity.
-
Mixing Asana plans under the same email domain: a paid Organization cannot contain teams on another plan, so you must convert to a free Organization + Divisions.
-
License control: new users land by default in the free Organization and don’t consume a license until they are added to a paid Division. (remark: there are other ways to control your licenses: SAML, view-only licenses…)
In which case you want to avoid Divisions (or be cautious)?
1) Limited cross-division collaboration
- If you have divisions on different plans, users in a Division with a lower plan cannot fully benefit from advanced features (workflows, rules, custom fields…).
- To collaborate with free users, projects/teams must be limited to a maximum of 10 users.
2) SAML and security: strong constraints
- SAML cannot be set up for Divisions with different plans.
- Some security options require involvement from Asana Sales because they impact the entire domain.
3) Significant administrative overhead
- Each Division must be audited and “cleaned up” regularly (members, licenses, access).
- The workload multiplies with the number of Divisions.
4) Risk of double billing
- If the Billing Owner and/or an Admin is present in multiple Divisions, they will count as a seat in each Division.
- Double billing for a user can be avoided, but it requires manual actions (removal from one Division does not automatically transfer them).
Teams in a Division
Within a Division, there are 2 types of teams:
• Private
• Membership by request
You cannot create public teams like in a paid organization.
Consequences:
• If you want a team open to everyone, you must manually invite users.
• This impacts the visibility of portfolios, projects, tasks… and requires an initial effort to ensure the right access level.
Navigation:
• All teams appear in the sidebar (org + division) if they are set to “Membership by request”.
• There is no clear indication whether a team belongs to the org or to the division.
Tip: add an emoji at the start of the team name to distinguish “free” vs “paid”.
Task assignment & cross-division collaboration
You can assign a task to someone in another Division (within the same organization):
The assignee does not count as a member of your Division → no additional license.
Note:
- If you invite someone from the free Organization into a team or a project in the Division, they will consume a license.
Conclusion: cross-division collaboration exists, but without additional licenses visibility is often limited to shared tasks only, not the whole project.
A Division’s Admin Console
A Division’s Admin Console looks like an organization’s, with a few differences:
- No service accounts: you must use Personal Access Tokens (PAT).
- Admins cannot disable the feature that lets users invite other users.
- Some options (SAML, Division Guest Invite, file attachment, profile editing…) are not available without going through Asana Sales (because they impact the domain).
- There is no Super Admin in a Division-only in the free Organization.
- The members CSV export contains less information than an Organization export (e.g., no join date).
Other important points
- A Division can contain as many teams as needed (including just one).
- A Division “unlocks” the Admin Console, which is useful for user management.
- Read-only licenses are not available in Divisions.
Members:
- To be a member of a Division, you must be a member of the Organization.
- Being invited into a Division automatically adds the user to the Organization.
Structural limitations:
- Divisions only exist in free organizations.
- It is impossible to have a Division inside a paid organization.
FAQ
What happens if I have a Starter license and someone on Advanced invites me to a portfolio?
A Starter license will not have access to the portfolio.
What happens if a user in an Advanced Division invites me to their project while I’m in a Starter Division?
You keep your Starter license.
What happens if an admin of an Advanced Division invites me into their division while I’m in a Starter Division?
You will be part of both divisions, and therefore count as two licenses.
How do I remove a team from my Division?
Divisions are no longer defined by teams. You must remove the licensed users from that team for the team to be removed.
Questions from Forum members
What happens when you remove a member from a division. (They will stay in the free org, right?)
=> You can actually choose where you remove them from.
And what happens when an Advanced member adds a Starter member to a Goal? (same as Portfolios, right?)
=> Indeed, same as portfolio 
NEW MODEL VS OLD MODEL
| Area | Action | Old model | New model (2026) | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tasks |
 Mention someone in a comment |
 No license required |
No license required |
Visibility often limited to the task context |
| Tasks |
 Assign a task to someone |
No license required |
No license required |
Best way to collaborate without license impact |
 Projects |
 Invite a free user (not yet invited) into a project |
 Grants a license in my Division |
Grants a license in my Division |
 The invitation “projects” the user into the paid Division |
| Projects |
Invite a user from another Division (not yet invited) into a project |
Grants a license in my Division ( double billing) |
Does not grant a license in my Division |
In 2026, the user keeps their Division and plan |
| Teams |
Invite a free user (not yet “invited”) into a team |
Grants a license in my Division |
Grants a license in my Division |
In a Division: private or request-to-join teams (no “public” teams) |
| Teams |
Invite a user (not yet “invited”) from another Division into a team |
Grants a license in my Division ( double billing) |
Does not grant a license in my Division |
The team no longer “moves” the user in terms of licensing |
| Admin Console |
 Add a user to my Division |
Grants a license ( double billing) |
Grants a license ( double billing if the user is not removed from the previous one) |
Explicit action, this is the billing reference |
 Portfolios |
Add a project from another Division to a portfolio |
Often requires being a member of the projects ( double license) |
 An invitation doesn’t upgrade you; access depends on the plan |
“Invited” doesn’t mean “full access” if plans differ |
 Goals |
Track cross-division goals |
Same logic as portfolios (visibility and double licensing) |
Same logic: access depends on the plan |
Risk of frustration if plans differ |
Reference and ressources
- Previous article (old model): What I learned about divisions 😅
- Help Center: A guide to divisions in Asana
- Help Center: Security and billing for divisions
- Help Center: Advanced division management
- Help Center Managing members and teams in a division
Special Thanks to Thaïssa
I would like to express my tremendous gratitude to my colleague @Thaïssa_iDO, who did a fantastic job investigating all aspects of the new model for several months. She created a dozen tickets on Asana to report strange behaviours and bugs, and documented everything for you today.
Your questions
Hope you found this article useful.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments, and we’ll take time to answer
Arthur | Asana Expert 
At i.DO, we help teams get more from Asana
