Set up a group of companies

A group lets several companies trace the same products in the same way. The group keeps one product catalog and the policies its companies inherit; each company stays its own legal entity, with its own country, sites, partners, keys and records. Set the group up once, then set up each company.

One company or a group

When you create your account, the console asks What are you setting up?

• One company: one legal entity. You can add more companies later. There is one setup, and the products you pick become the group's catalog by themselves.
• A group of companies: several legal entities that share people, a product catalog and policies. Enter the Group name and the Legal name of the company you start with, then Create organization. The group's setup opens first, then the setup of that company.

The group's setup

The group's setup runs on full screen, with its steps on the left. Only owners and admins of the organization can do it. Your progress is saved as you go: Save and exit takes you to the organization's overview, and you come back to the same step.

1. Your group: check the Group name and read what the group shares and what each company keeps. Select Continue.
2. Product catalog: add the commodities your companies trade. See Build the catalog.
3. Policies: set the values every company inherits. See Set the policies.
4. Companies: select Open its setup for a company, or Add a company.
5. Review: select Change on a step to go back to it, then Finish.

The product catalog and the policies can be skipped with Skip for now.

Build the catalog

Each entry of the catalog is one commodity, keyed by its HS code, the code every country shares.

1. In the Product catalog step, search coffee, soybeans or an HS code, and pick the commodities.
2. In Your selection, choose the unit each one is Counted in and, optionally, its Shelf life (days).
3. Select Add … products and continue.

After the setup, the organization's Product catalog page adds, changes, fixes and archives entries. See Product catalog.

Set the policies

The Policies step holds three values. Each company inherits them; select Lock for all companies where a company must not change one.

• Products outside the catalog: Companies may add their own, or Only products from the catalog.
• Two-factor authentication: for Owners, admins and operators, or for Every member.
• Assistant: On or Off.

The same values, and more, are under Defaults & policies in the organization's settings. See Organization settings.

Add a company

Every company is its own legal entity with its own setup: profile, products, sites, team, keys and ledger.

1. In the Companies step, or on the organization's overview, select Add a company.
2. Choose Production, enter the Legal name of the company and its URL identifier, and select Create company. You confirm it with your authenticator code.
3. The company's setup opens. See Set up your company.

Each company adopts the group's products

A company picks the group's products in the Products step of its setup, under the group's catalog. Each pick becomes the company's own product with the code of its country (NCM in Brazil, CN in the EU…) and the group's unit and shelf life. When Products outside the catalog allows it, Add a product just for this company lists the other commodities. Lots are always recorded against the company's own product. See Products of your group's catalog.

When the group changes an entry

A new name or shelf life follows into the companies' products that still had the group's value. An entry that is Fixed for every company follows everywhere, and companies cannot change its code, unit or shelf life. A company's unit never changes after it adopted the entry. See The group's product catalog.