> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://doc.duaer.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://doc.duaer.com/build/card-assignment.md).

# Card assignment and escalation: route by department or amount, escalate overdue cards to the manager

Add assignment rules to a card rule and cases without an owner go to an owner by department, category or amount. When a card is overdue for some days, the owner’s manager gets a card too.
## Set up assignment and escalation

1. Open the project › Data tables › Duaer cases and edit a card rule.
2. Under Assign cases without an owner, click Add assignment: type a column (such as department or amount), choose is, at least or at most, give the value and choose an owner. “Is” takes several values separated by commas. Up to 20 rules.
3. Under Escalate to manager after days overdue, give the days; 0 turns it off; up to 90.
4. Save. Like other changes to the rule, it needs an owner or admin of the organization to approve, and is in the rule’s history.

## How assignment works

- Each day, before cards go out, Duaer assigns the rule’s open cases that have no owner: the first rule that matches names the owner, which is written on the case; a case matching none goes to the first owner.
- “Is” ignores case and spaces; at least and at most compare numbers, commas allowed; a cell that is not a number matches neither.
- A case with an owner keeps it. Only the rule’s owners can be assigned, so who may see the cases does not change.

## Escalating to the manager

- When a case is past its date by the days set, the owner’s manager gets a card too, saying which owner it was escalated from. The owner keeps their card.
- The manager comes from the synced directory (Feishu, WeCom, DingTalk, Microsoft, Google) or an admin’s entry, and must be an active member of the organization.
- Each manager is escalated to once per case, even after closing the card.
- A case whose owner has no known manager does not escalate; the card rule list shows how many there are, so the directory can be completed.
## Questions

### Can a case be assigned to someone who is not an owner of the rule?

No. Add the person to the rule’s owners first, then choose them in the assignment.

### Does it escalate past the manager?

No. It escalates once, to the direct manager.

### Are cases that already have an owner reassigned?

No. Assignment is only for cases without an owner.

## Related

- [Give people tasks in Duaer with the tasks table](https://doc.duaer.com/build/duaer-tasks.md)
- [Expiry date tracking and reminders with Duaer card rules](https://doc.duaer.com/guides/expiry-date-reminders.md)
- [Follow up on overdue work without chasing people: how Duaer does it](https://doc.duaer.com/guides/follow-up-overdue-work.md)
- [Give employees their own Duaer employee portal](https://doc.duaer.com/organizations/employee-portal.md)