Each role below is a starting point. During implementation we set them up to match your teams, and every action anyone takes is recorded in the audit trail.
Custodian or hand receipt holder
Hand receipt holder, sub-hand receipt holder, unit custodian, arms room officer
Accepts signed responsibility for the items in their area and keeps the ledger's picture of those items accurate.
Sees
- Items on their hand receipt, by serial number or lot, with location and status
- Open issues, transfers and inventories involving their items
- Discrepancy cases on their items
Does
- Signs hand receipts and sub-hand receipts
- Receives inbound transfers and records discrepancies on receipt
- Requests transfers of items to another custodian or unit
- Acknowledges inventory results for their area
- Reports items found, damaged or missing
Cannot
- Inventory items on their own hand receipt
- Adjust ledger quantities or close a discrepancy case
- Edit or delete any ledger entry
- Approvals
- Transfers they request are approved by the accountable officer; their reports of loss or damage open a case for investigation.
- Notified about
- Items pending their signature, inbound transfers to receive, inventories scheduled for their area, and items issued from their stock not yet returned.
Armorer
Unit armorer, arms room clerk, small arms repairer
Runs the arms room day to day: issues and receives weapons and records every movement as it happens.
Sees
- Weapons and ammunition in the arms rooms assigned to them
- Open issues by person, with expected return times
- Approved ammunition requests ready to issue
- The history of each item in their arms room
Does
- Issues weapons to named individuals by scanning serial number and identification
- Receives returned weapons and closes the matching issue
- Issues ammunition by lot against an approved request and records turn-ins
- Records maintenance moves, such as sending a weapon for repair
- Runs daily open-and-close counts for the arms room
- Flags overdue returns and mismatches to the custodian
Cannot
- Approve their own ammunition request or adjustment
- Conduct the independent inventory of their own arms room
- Edit or delete a recorded issue or return
- Approvals
- Ammunition issues need an approved request before they can be recorded; any correction they propose is approved by the accountable officer.
- Notified about
- Weapons not returned when expected, approved ammunition requests waiting to issue, and count mismatches.
Accountable officer
Accountable officer, property book officer, supply officer, responsible officer
Owns the accountability record for the organization: approves adjustments and transfers, certifies inventories, and answers to inspectors.
Sees
- Every item, custodian and location within their organization
- All inventories, discrepancy cases and their status
- Transfers in transit and pending receipts
- The full audit trail
Does
- Approves transfers between custodians and to other units
- Approves ledger adjustments supported by an investigation
- Certifies inventory results and schedules inventories
- Appoints custodians and inventory officers in the system
- Approves disposal and demilitarization turn-ins
- Prepares accountability reporting for commanders and inspectors
Cannot
- Approve an adjustment they proposed; a second approver your procedures name is required
- Edit or delete ledger entries or audit records
- Close a loss case without the findings your procedures require
- Approvals
- Approves transfers, adjustments, inventory certifications and disposals; adjustments they originate need a second designated approver.
- Notified about
- Adjustments and transfers awaiting approval, inventory discrepancies, new loss cases, and transfers in transit longer than your procedures allow.
Ammunition manager
Ammunition supply point manager, munitions manager, ammunition NCO, explosives safety officer
Manages ammunition and explosives from receipt through storage, issue, turn-in and disposal, by lot and location.
Sees
- Ammunition stocks by lot, quantity, storage location and condition code
- Approved and pending ammunition requests
- Issues, expenditures and turn-ins for reconciliation
- Lot information such as suspensions or restrictions entered by your organization
Does
- Receives ammunition by lot and records its storage location
- Issues ammunition against approved requests
- Reconciles expenditures and turn-ins against each issue
- Records suspended or restricted lots so they cannot be issued
- Prepares ammunition for disposal turn-in
Cannot
- Approve the requests they issue against
- Adjust lot quantities without accountable officer approval
- Change serialized weapon records
- Approvals
- Quantity adjustments and disposals are approved by the accountable officer; ammunition requests are approved by the officer your procedures designate.
- Notified about
- Issues not yet reconciled, turn-ins due, and attempts to issue from a suspended or restricted lot.
Inventory officer
Independent inventory officer, disinterested officer, cyclic inventory team member
Counts items they do not hold, so inventory results are independent of the people responsible for the stock.
Sees
- The inventories assigned to them, with the items expected at each location
- Each item's last recorded movement when a discrepancy appears
Does
- Counts and scans items location by location, online or offline
- Records items missing, extra, mismarked or in the wrong location
- Adds notes and photographs to discrepancies
- Submits the inventory for certification
Cannot
- Inventory items on their own hand receipt
- Change the ledger or close discrepancies
- See items outside the inventories assigned to them
- Approvals
- Their inventory results are certified by the accountable officer.
- Notified about
- Inventories assigned to them, including unannounced inventories when they are released.
Investigator
Investigating officer, financial liability officer, security manager
Investigates lost, damaged or found items and records findings that support any adjustment to the ledger.
Sees
- Discrepancy cases assigned to them
- The full chain of custody of the items involved
- Custodians, issues and inventories connected to those items
- Notifications already made on the case
Does
- Reviews the item's history and identifies the last confirmed custody
- Records statements, findings and supporting documents
- Records the notifications made, to whom and when
- Recommends an adjustment, recovery or other outcome
Cannot
- Make or approve the adjustment they recommend
- Edit ledger history
- Investigate a case in which they hold the items concerned
- Approvals
- Their findings and recommendations go to the accountable officer and any appointing authority your procedures name.
- Notified about
- Cases assigned to them and cases returned with questions.
Auditor or inspector (read-only)
Inspector general staff, command inspector, internal auditor, external auditor under temporary access
Verifies that accountability is complete and that procedures were followed, without being able to change anything.
Sees
- The ledger, inventories and cases within the scope granted
- Reports and certification history
- The audit trail
Does
- Searches item, custodian and location histories
- Exports records and reports within scope, with each export logged
- Leaves review notes where the organization enables them
Cannot
- Change, approve or delete anything
- See records outside the scope and dates granted
- Keep access after it expires
- Approvals
- Their access is approved by the accountable officer or an administrator, with a scope and an end date.
- Notified about
- Nothing by default; access granted and expiring is confirmed to the person who approved it.
Administrator
Application administrator, logistics systems administrator
Manages users, roles, locations and configuration, without authority over the property record itself.
Sees
- Users, roles, organizations and locations
- Configuration such as item catalogs, reason codes and inventory schedules
- The record of permission changes
Does
- Adds and removes users, or maps them from single sign-on groups
- Maintains locations, arms rooms and storage sites
- Maintains item catalog data and reason codes
- Runs access review reports
Cannot
- Record issues, receipts or adjustments
- Grant themselves an accountability role
- Edit or delete ledger entries or audit records
- Approvals
- Role changes that grant accountability or approval authority are approved by the accountable officer.
- Notified about
- Access reviews coming due and accounts unused for a period your policy sets.