Setting up a company

A company in TrakIT is a legal entity with its own country, currencies, invoices and finance settings. Its jobs run on workflows that belong to it, and roles, warehouses, payment methods and finance documents can be limited to it. This checklist lists what a new company needs, in the order that works: each step uses what the earlier steps set up.

Not every step is needed. Steps marked optional depend on how the company works. Many lists are shared by all companies, so a company joining an existing TrakIT may find part of the setup done already: check each step and add what is missing.

The menus you see depend on your role and on how your company has set TrakIT up. The paths on this page are those of the standard menu; see Navigating TrakIT. Some steps are for system administrators or TrakIT Support only; see Setting up TrakIT.

Operations

1. Add the company’s geography

TrakIT needs these places in Geo Data:

• the company’s country, under its region: the company belongs to it;
• the places its workflows are assigned to, for example a country or a city;
• the locations its jobs use, such as ports, yards, warehouses, offices and customer sites. Each location sits under a city.

To add a place:

1. Select System > Geo Data.
2. Select the place to add under, for example the region for a new country, or the city for a new location. You can search the tree by code or name.
3. Select the plus icon of the list of places under it.
4. Enter the details and save.

You can also add locations on System > Location List, with Create New….

This needs the Create permission in the Geo Data & Locations section. To see Create New… on the Location List, a role also needs Create Location.

2. Add the company’s currencies

A company needs at least one currency, its default currency, before it can be created. Currencies are shared by all companies, so add only those not in the list yet.

1. Select Admin > Masters > Finance Masters, then the Currencies tab.
2. Select Add Currency.
3. In Select Currency, choose the currency, and choose its Decimals.
4. Select Add.

This is for system administrators only.

3. Create the company

1. Select Admin > Masters > Companies.
2. Select Create.
3. Under General Settings, enter the Company Name and Code, and choose the Country and Time Zone. The country list shows the countries in Geo Data.
4. Under Finance Settings, choose the Available Currencies, then the Default Currency, which must be one of them.
5. Fill in the other settings the company needs, such as the invoice prefix, the default credit days and the email settings. Most fields have a tip that explains them.
6. Select Create.

The default currency is locked once the company has an open financial year, so choose it carefully. Once the company exists, its page also has tabs for its data fields (Company Data), its Documents, its Finance System and its Profit Centers.

This is for system administrators only.

4. Check the master tables

The master tables hold the shared lists that workflows draw on. Check that they have what the new company’s workflows need:

Tab	Holds
Master Event/Data	The events and data fields that workflows are built from.
Job Types, Workflow Services	The job types and services that workflows offer.
Load Types	The load types, such as container types. TrakIT Support adds them.
KPI Definitions	The KPIs that workflows measure.
Doc Types	The types of document kept on entities.
Asset Categories, Customer Groups, Delay Tracking, Departments, Designations, Message Templates, Reasons	Other shared lists.

Job types and workflow services can be limited to some companies (Selected Companies Only). Open those the new company uses and tick it.

Each workflow also belongs to a workflow group, set up on Admin > Masters > Workflow Groups. Create the group before the workflows that go in it.

Where: Admin > Masters > Master Tables.

Who: system administrators add entries and workflow groups. Users whose role has Read in the Masters section can view the master tables.

5. Set up the roles

A role is a set of permissions, and a user can hold several roles. Check that your roles fit the new company’s people, and add any it needs:

1. Select Admin > Role Management.
2. On the Role Masters tab, select Add New Role.
3. Enter the Role Name and Description. To start from an existing role, choose it in Clone Role: all its permissions are copied.
4. In Company, choose the new company if the role is for it only. Leave it at [Global] for a role that all companies use.
5. Select Save.
6. On the Role Customisation tab, choose the role, switch on what it may do in each section, and select Save.

Once the company’s workflows exist (step 7), use the Workflow Access tab to set, for each workflow and role, each event and data field to Hidden, View Only or View & Update.

This is for system administrators only.

6. Add the users

1. Select Admin > User Management.
2. Select Create.
3. Enter the User ID, the name and the Email, and choose the user’s Company and Initial Role.
4. Choose the Workflow Assignment and, in Assign Geo, the place in Geo Data the user works for.
5. Select Create.

On the user’s page you can then add Roles, give access to other companies under Company Assignment, and hide menus the user does not need under Menu Access.

With Workflow Assignment set to By Geo Data, a user gets access to the active workflows assigned to the place in Geo Data assigned to them or to any place under it. For example, a user assigned to a country gets the workflows of that country and its cities. You can also assign workflows by hand under Workflow Access. Assigning or removing a place resets the user’s workflow access.

Existing users who will also work for the new company need it ticked under Company Assignment.

Who: Create in the User Management section. Assigning roles also needs Assign/Remove User Roles. Company Assignment is for system administrators only.

7. Create the workflows

A workflow describes one kind of job from start to finish. To create one:

1. Select Admin > Workflow Definitions.
2. Select Create.
3. Enter the Workflow Code and Workflow Name, and choose the Workflow Type: Import, Export, Round Trip or Non-Shipment. The type cannot be changed later.
4. Choose the Workflow Group, and the new company as Responsible Company.
5. Choose Geo Assigned 1 and Geo Assigned 2, the places in Geo Data the workflow belongs to, for example its origin and destination country. Neither can be Global.
6. Fill in the other settings, then select Create.

Then select the workflow and build it up on its tabs: its Events and Data fields (taken from the master events and data), its Documents checklist, its Forms, its Services/Job Type, its Header Fields, its KPIs, which tabs its work orders show (WO Tabs) and more. The Finance tab is covered in step 16. For the order that works, see Designing a workflow.

To start from a workflow you already have, open it and select the copy icon (Duplicate Workflow).

Users assigned to places in Geo Data get access to the new workflow as described in step 6. Changing a workflow’s Geo Assigned 1 or Geo Assigned 2 resets who has access to it.

Who: Create and Update in the WorkFlow Definitions section; copying a workflow needs Duplicate. A user who is not a system administrator also needs access to one of the two places the workflow is assigned to.

8. Add data fields (optional)

Data fields add your own fields to records other than jobs and work orders: assets, bills, companies, employees, entities, internal postings, invoices, items, leads, locations, payments, quotations, receipts, users and yard moves. Each has its own tab. The fields of jobs and work orders belong to their workflow (step 7).

Where: Admin > Masters > Data Fields, then Create.

Who: system administrators only. Computed fields, whose value TrakIT works out, are set up by TrakIT Support.

9. Add the entities

Entities are the organizations and people the company deals with, such as customers, suppliers and carriers. Each belongs to one or more entity types; the types and their names are set up by TrakIT Support.

1. Select System > Entity Management.
2. Select the tab of the entity type.
3. Select Create to add one entity, or Import to add many from an Excel file.

Each entity has a Responsible Company. Only system administrators and users with access to that company can change it.

Who: Create and Import in the Entity Management section.

10. Add the assets (optional)

Assets are the trucks, trailers, drivers and other resources assigned to work orders. Their types are set up by TrakIT Support.

1. Select System > Asset Management.
2. Select the tab of the asset type.
3. Select Add Asset, or Import to add many from an Excel file.

Each asset has a Company, and can be shared with other companies under Company Assignment. Work orders can take assets only in workflows with Enable Assets switched on.

Who: Create and Import in the Asset Management section.

11. Set up the document templates

Form definitions are the templates TrakIT fills in to make documents: work order and job documents, reports, finance documents (invoices, credit and debit notes, quotations, vouchers, bills) and yard documents. Each kind has its own tab on Admin > Form Definitions: For Work Orders, For Jobs, For Reports, For Finance and For Yard Ops. System administrators add one with Create. To write, test and make a form available, see Setting up document templates.

Then make them available:

• Work order and job forms: on the workflow’s Forms tab, select Add New and choose the form. You can also set an event that triggers it.
• Finance forms: open the form and, on its User Access tab, tick the new company under Select Companies, then select Update. A company is offered only the finance forms ticked for it.

Email templates, the layout of the emails TrakIT sends, are set up by TrakIT Support. The company’s emails use the one chosen as its Email Template, or a standard layout if none is chosen.

Who: viewing needs View Form Definitions in the Form Definitions section. Creating forms and choosing their companies is for system administrators only.

Finance

Most finance masters are on Admin > Masters > Finance Masters, one tab each. If the company keeps its books in TrakIT, also follow Setting up accounting (step 19).

12. Set up the account masters

Account masters are the charges that jobs, quotations, invoices and bills are made of, for example freight or handling. Each company has its own, in three groups: income, expense and disbursement.

1. Select Admin > Masters > Finance Masters, then the Account Masters tab.
2. Choose the company. When you choose a company that has no account masters yet, TrakIT adds the top categories All Income, All Expense and All Disbursement.
3. Select a category, and in Select Action choose Create Sub Account.
4. Enter the account’s details and select Create.

Every account sits under a category.

Who: Create and Update in the Finance Masters section.

13. Add the country taxes

Taxes are set per country. If the company’s country has none yet:

1. On Finance Masters, select the Country Taxes tab.
2. Choose the country.
3. Select Add Tax.
4. Choose the tax in Select Tax, enter its Rate, and choose whether it applies to income, expense or both (Transaction Type).
5. Select Save.

The taxes you can choose come from a list kept by TrakIT Support.

Who: Create/Modify Taxes in the Finance Masters section.

14. Set up account groups (optional)

An account group shows several income or disbursement accounts as one line, with the group’s name, on the invoice document. Add groups on the Account Groups tab of Finance Masters, with Create.

Who: system administrators only.

15. Add payment methods and adjustments

On Finance Masters, add the company’s payment methods, which receipts and payments record, on the Payment Methods tab, and its adjustment types, for example for bank charges on receipts, on the Adjustments tab. Select Add on each tab and choose the company.

Who: system administrators only.

16. Set up the workflows’ finance

On each workflow’s Finance tab (Admin > Workflow Definitions), choose the company under Select Company and add its Default Accounts with Add. These are the accounts TrakIT adds when a user initializes a new finance job from the workflow; see Finance job.

The workflow’s own settings (the pencil icon, Edit Workflow) also have a Finance section, with its Base Currency, Minimum Margin and Allowed Master Accounts.

Who: Update in the WorkFlow Definitions section.

17. Load the exchange rates

If the company works in more than one currency, add the rates between its currencies on Finance > Exchange Rates. If the company’s Exchange Rate Type is Table, its invoices and bills take their rates from there. See Exchange rates.

Who: Create in the Exchange Rates section.

18. Create the first financial year (optional)

Financial years let the finance lists show one year at a time, and are needed to keep the books in TrakIT. Create the first one on the Financial Years tab of Finance Masters, with Create New FY. Once the company has an open financial year, its default currency cannot be changed. See Financial years.

Who: Open/Close Financial Year in the Finance Masters section.

19. Set up accounting (optional)

If the company keeps its books in TrakIT, follow Setting up accounting: chart of accounts, default accounts, payment method accounts, opening balances and the switch of the finance system to TrakIT.

20. Set up rate cards and quotations (optional)

• Rate management (Finance > Rate Management) keeps the company’s sell rates and its vendors’ rates in rate cards, and fills in quotations and job estimates from them. It appears in the menu once it is set up on your company’s TrakIT.
• Quotations (Finance > Quotations) are the prices the company offers a customer before the job exists. They are made of account masters (step 12) and printed with a quotation form (step 11). From quotation to payment follows a quotation to the job, its invoices and its payments.

Warehousing

21. Set up warehousing (optional)

If the company runs warehouses, follow Setting up warehousing.

Check the setup

Ask one of the new users to create a job in each new workflow and to work through it. This shows whether they can see the workflow, its events and data fields, its documents and forms, and its finance. To work through a job step by step, follow From job to closed work order.