Owner asks

One specific question with one answer — never a thread.

When the system needs something only you know, it asks one specific question with a way to answer it directly: choice buttons, an amount, a document upload or free text.

Not a thread. "What was this $500 Venmo payment?" with buttons for Owner draw / Vendor payment / Other is answerable in two seconds. An email chain is not.

Answering does three things: resolves the work item, writes the answer to workflow memory so it is never asked again, and optionally creates a standing rule so the same thing is handled automatically next time.

Batching: during a catch-up, similar questions are grouped. Twelve near-identical Venmo payments become one question answered once.

An unanswered ask blocks only its own item, never the whole close.