Introduction

To set up a new company from the Administration Layer you need the appropriate level of admin permissions. Usually, this is only relevant if you have multiple entities to setup and maintain, such as in the case of Accounting Firms, Franchise Owners, Group Companies, and Outsource Service Providers. If you only have an individual entity, your System Provider will have already set it up for you. 

Using Templates

To speed up entity setup, you can copy and modify several standard templates. For example, you can choose a U.S. Corporate, UK Sterling Company, or European template. Each template will follow the local standard regarding date formats, language, tax details, computations, and reports. 

Template implementation follows this process:

1. Select the appropriate template to create your new Company. 
2. Modify it as required, and set up the basic tables, such as Tax, Products, Customers, Suppliers (Vendors), and Company Sub-Structure Analysis. If you want, you can set up Users and their permissions at this stage. 
3. Save your entity as a new template. 
4. Copy it when you want to set up other entities that need to have the same data. This is particularly important for Franchisers and Group Companies that need to have the same analysis codes for Profit & Loss Reporting or Sales Analysis. It is also important for Accounting Firms and Practices that deal with Industry verticals such as Catering, Retailing, or Services. 

See:

Realised FX Gains Losses - Part 1 (8.2) - AIQ Academy

Realised FX Gains Losses - Part 2 (8.3) - AIQ Academy

Unrealised FX Gains Losses (8.4) - AIQ Academy

Unrealised FX Gains Losses for Groups (9.2) - AIQ Academy

Setting up the first Company

For full explanation on individual company fields, refer to Managing Company Details & Settings in combination with the information below.

1. Log into the system. This requires you to have a System Admin role.
2. Go to New Client to open the Company Setup screen.
   
   
    
3. If this is the first Company you are setting up, under Select Template Company choose a standard template. The standard templates are provided to all users and provide a basic company structure in the designated currency. Saved Template Copy Options will not be available as this is your first company. This option lets you save existing companies as templates and use them to create new companies. This is useful if you wish to base the new company on the existing company's chart of accounts and other setup data such as Areas, Locations, Customer Groups, Shippers, etc.
4. Click Next Step.
5. In the Company Details tab, complete the details of your Company to appear on documents such as Invoices or Statements. In the Upload Logo field, any logo you select will also appear on documents.
6. Click Next Step. 
7. Under the Settings tab, select your edition from the Edition dropdown. Your system provider will have explained the various Editions, their functionality, and pricing. In the settings, select the level of functionality you wish this Client Company to have.
8. Click Next Step.  
9.  Under the Financial Year Setup tab, use the dropdowns to create the Financial Calendar. 
   • Financial Year: Ensure this is correct as it determines your monthly reporting. This is an important setting which you should confirm with your accountant. This can still be changed in the Company Details & Settings screen if no year ends have been processed. Otherwise, see Changing Financial Year Ends.‍
   • First Open Month: The system will automatically consider all prior periods as closed from a data entry and reporting point of view.
   • First Open Year: The system will automatically consider all prior years as closed from a data entry and reporting point of view.
10. Click Next Step. 
11. Click Create Company and wait for processing to complete.
    
    
    
    
     
12. Your new Client Company Database now has a Company ID for its Users, labelled Main Settings. Company Users will also receive a Logon Username and Password during the User setup process. Click Close.
    
    

Completing the Basic Tables

The New Company is now semi-complete. When you created the new company database it was filled with:

• a comprehensive set of General Ledger Codes with their Categories and Sub-Categories.
• reserved General Ledger Codes for System Accounts. 

You need to set up all relevant Codes, and other basic Company information before the system is fully ready for use by the Company’s end-users. Relevant tables include:

• Currency Codes and Rates
• Codes for Sales Analysis purposes, such as Areas, Regions, Customer Type, Sales Reps, and Product Groups.

An exception is if the Tax Tables are already complete with the correct Tax Codes for Euro and Sterling companies. Ensure that the Tax Rates are up to date as they determine how transactions will be treated in the statutory VAT Tax Returns preparation process. 

Logging In

Log into your newly created company by clicking Log In against your entity. If you are presented with a Default Settings screen, ignore it by clicking Close.

Company Details & Settings

1. In the blue banner, go to Setup. 
2. Here you can view the Company Details & Settings screen that you set up earlier, in case you need to edit any details.
   
   

See: 

How do I Review the Company Details and Settings? 

Codes Maintenance

1. In the blue banner, go to Setup > Codes Maintenance.
2. Complete these tables as comprehensively as possible to get maximum benefit from the system and its Sales Analyses Reports. Click Close when complete.
   
   
   
   

See:

 How do I use Code Maintenance to Control the Behaviour of the System? 

Default Settings

1. In the blue banner, go to Setup > Default Settings. 
2. Complete the required defaults. This will ensure that common fields are automatically inherited by new Customers, Suppliers (Vendors), Products, Service Items, and Banks.
3. Click Process.
   
   
   
   

See:

How do I Review the Company Details and Settings? 

Analysis

You can establish your Company’s Sub-structure by using Branches, Departments, Divisions, Activities, or Locations.

Analysis Groups

1. In the blue banner, go to Analysis > Dimensions to open the Business Intelligence Setup screen.
   
   
    
2. Set up the relevant Dimensions and their members. 
3. Using Client Company facilities, enter details such as Customer, Supplier (Vendor), and Product information. If this information is subject to import from elsewhere, your system provider will provide the necessary assistance. 

Analysis Codes

1. In the blue banner, go to Analysis > BI Codes to open the Business IntelligenceSetup screen.
2. Review the standard package of General Ledger Codes and Categories/Sub-Categories to ensure that they fully match your reporting requirements. 
3. Using Client Company facilities, enter details such as Customer, Supplier (Vendor), and Product information. If this information is subject to import from elsewhere, your system provider will provide the necessary assistance. 

See:

How does the System Facilitate VAT Management (U.K. & Ireland)? 

How do I Implement Extended Business Analysis? 

How do I Implement Job or Project Analysis using Extended Business Analysis? 

Using a Client Company as a Template 

After setting up your Company, you can choose to use it as a Template for future entities. This can benefit Franchisers, Group Companies, and Companies in the same industry as they require similar Charts of Accounts, Analysis requirements, Stocked Items, and/or Suppliers.
 

As well as saving time, using templates ensures a high degree of commonality and accuracy across all companies in the group. You can copy all the tables from the Template Company (which is also a fully functioning company in its own right) to each new Company.

1. Log into the Group portal. 
2. Find the Company you wish to use as your template from the list and go to Actions > Edit Client to open the Edit Client Details screen.
3. Tick Use as Template.
4. Click Process.
   
   
   
   

When you click New Client to open the Company Setup screen and then select an existing Company as a Template, the Saved Template Copy Options will be active. This means you can copy: 

• General Ledger Codes
• Currency Codes and Rates
• Sales Analysis Codes
• Extended Business Analysis Codes
• Suppliers (Vendors)
• Customers

Managing Entities from the Group Layer

Once, you have set up your entity, you can make any required changes from the group layer, both at entity level at for the entire group. For further editing options within entities, see Managing Company Details & Settings and Using Codes Maintenance.‍ ‍ 

Edit Entity Details screen

In the group portal, go to Actions > Edit Entity Details for the relevant company. Here, you can edit the details of any of the setup entities, such as the following.

• Group Vat Reporting Entity: Enter the Entity ID that is designated as the Group VAT reporting entity. Note that only the designated Group VAT Reporting entity can be linked to HMRC for VAT return submissions.
  
• User Allowance: This number represents the maximum number of concurrent (i.e. simultaneous) users allowed to access this company based on the license purchased. For example, in a four-user concurrent use license, after four users are logged into the system, the fifth user is prohibited. When any one of the first four log out, the next person can log in. If you require more concurrent users, please contact your local support team.
• Entity Logo: Recommended image dimensions: 300 x 84 pixels.
• Use as Template: Set the Entity as a template to be used when setting up other Entities.

Deactivating Entities

In the group layer, go to Actions > Deactivate Entity for the relevant entity. This is effective immediately. Click again to reactivate the entity.

Edit Group Details

In the group layer, go to Group Setup > Edit Group Details. Here you can White-Label the System‍ and set configurations at group level, such as the following:

• Session Timeout (Mins): When users authenticate to the system, a session is established. For the duration of the session, users won't need to re-authenticate.
  The default idle session timeout is 240 minutes (4 hours), but you can change it here. When a session expires, the system will prompt the user with an on-screen message informing them that the session has expired and that they will need to log into the system to resume.