Configuring and Setting Up Branch Settings

The Branches app in the system lets you manage more than one branch in a single account: each branch has its own invoices, entries, expenses, and settings, and each employee works on the branches they are allowed, with the ability to share clients, products, suppliers, and cost centers between branches, and to view reports for one branch or for all branches. This guide explains enabling branches, adding them, their statuses, the sharing settings, what belongs to each branch and what is shared, employee permissions, and reports and financial periods.

Before You Start

• Enable the Branches app from the Apps Manager. When it is enabled, the main branch is created automatically, and all current employees are linked to it.
• You need the permission to edit general settings to manage branches and their settings.
• The number of branches available depends on your plan; you must first subscribe to the number of branches to be able to add them to your account.

Steps to Add a Branch

1. Open Add Branch (from Branches → Add Branch).
2. Enter the name and the code (suggested automatically from the auto numbering), and choose the country.
3. Add the optional data: phone, mobile, address, city, state, description, working hours, and the location on the map.
4. Click Save.

The branch name and code must not be used by another branch.

Branch Statuses

From Manage Branches you can edit each branch or change its status:

Status	Effect
Active	Appears in the branch switcher list and in transactions, and employees work on it.
Suspended	Doesn’t appear in the switcher list and cannot be worked on, but its data remains available in reports and filters.
Inactive	Doesn’t appear in the switcher list or in reports.

• When a branch is suspended or deactivated, the employees who were working on it are logged out.
• The main branch cannot be deleted, suspended, or deactivated; choose another main branch first.
• A branch that has any transactions cannot be deleted; deactivate it instead.
• Reactivating a branch checks your plan’s limits.

Branch Settings

Open Branch Settings. This section determines the sharing of data between branches:

Setting	Options (Default)	What It Does
Main Branch	An active branch (the first branch)	The reference branch for data and financial records. Its settings are used for any branch that hasn’t saved its settings, and it is the default branch for the account owner and managers.
Clients	Share / Don’t share (Don’t share)	Share: all branches see the same clients and sell to them. Don’t share: each branch sees only its own clients.
Products	Share / Don’t share (Don’t share)	Share: products, categories, and price lists are shared between branches, and sharing unit templates is enabled automatically. Stock remains by warehouse.
Suppliers	Share / Don’t share (Don’t share)	Sharing suppliers between branches.
Cost Centers	Share / Don’t share	Sharing cost centers between branches (enabled when the app is installed).
Customize Accounts at the Branch Level	Enabled / Disabled (Disabled)	Allows specifying the branches to which each account appears in the chart of accounts, and adds the “Accounts Branch” selection in the accounting reports.
Unit Templates	Share / Don’t share (Don’t share)	Sharing unit templates. Turning it off also stops sharing products.

What Belongs to Each Branch and What Is Shared

Type	Data
Specific to each branch	Invoices and their payments, quotations and offers, purchase invoices and their payments, expenses and receipt vouchers, entries, point of sale shifts and sessions, payroll runs, work orders and projects, assets, manufacturing orders, financial and closed periods, message and invoice templates, and settings. Also clients, suppliers, and products unless sharing is enabled for them.
Visible to all branches according to permissions	Warehouses and treasuries (according to the “specific branch” or “specific employee” permissions), the chart of accounts (unless the accounts are customized per branch), taxes, employees, stock movements and balances, stocktaking, and cheques.
Always shared	Roles and permissions, custom fields, leave types, and currency exchange rates.

If you open a transaction that belongs to another branch, a message appears saying that it belongs to another branch and cannot be viewed from the current branch; switch to its branch first.

Settings and Numbering

• The settings for sales, purchases, inventory, and point of sale are saved per branch; a branch that hasn’t saved them takes the main branch’s settings.
• The branch settings themselves are general for the whole account.

Employees and Branches

In the employee’s data from Manage Employees:

• Branch: the employee’s primary branch (mandatory).
• Allowed Branches: the branches the user can work on (for users who have system login).
• The account owner and anyone with a Super Admin role reach all active branches.

Switching the Current Branch

1. Click the branch name at the top of the screen.
2. Choose the branch from the list; the message “Branch changed” appears.

The system remembers the last branch you worked on and opens it the next time you log in.

Reports

• Reports show a branch column and a filter to choose one or more branches, and the ability to group by branch. Without choosing a branch, the report shows all the branches you are allowed.
• In the entries and accounts reports there are the Entries Branch and Accounts Branch selections with an All Branches option. The Accounts Branch appears to the owner when customizing accounts at the branch level is enabled.
• The payroll report by branch is available with the payroll app.

Financial Periods per Branch

• Each branch has its own financial periods and closed periods from Financial Periods, and each branch closes its period independently.
• A branch’s period cannot be edited from another branch.
• There is a wizard for closing the period for several branches at once, with an option to require all branches to pass validation.

Transfers Between Branches

There is no dedicated form for transfers between branches. Because warehouses and treasuries are visible to all branches according to permissions, transfer goods with a stock transfer requisition between the two branches’ warehouses, and cash with a transfer between treasuries.

Disabling the Branches App

When the app is disabled, all branches except the main one are deactivated, their employees are logged out, and the other branches’ settings are hidden. When it is re-enabled, their settings come back.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why don’t I see the other branch’s clients or products? Because they aren’t shared; enable their sharing from the branch settings.
• Why doesn’t a branch appear in the switcher list? Because it is suspended or inactive, or it isn’t allowed for you in the employee data.
• Why can’t I delete a branch? Because it is the main branch, or because it has transactions; deactivate it instead.
• Why do the sales settings differ between two branches? Because the settings are saved per branch.
• Why can’t I open an invoice from its link? Because it belongs to another branch; switch to its branch.
• How do I give each branch independent invoice numbering? Use %branch_code in the numbering prefix with “Separate numbers for each prefix.”
• Why can’t I add a new branch? Because you have reached the branch or user limit in your plan.