Company Groups: Implementation Activity

In this implementation activity, you will learn how to create a company group, add companies to it, and restrict the visibility of a customer and a vendor to this company group.

Story

Three related companies have been configured in the U100 dataset—SweetLife Fruits & Jams, Muffins & Cakes, and ToadGreen Building Group. The first two companies are involved in food production, while the third is a construction company. All three companies are using the same base currency—the United States dollar (USD). The SweetLife and Muffins & Cakes companies share some customers and vendors, FourStar Coffee & Sweets Shop (COFFEESHOP) and Good Fruits More (GOODFRUITS) among them. Also, the SweetLife Canada company with the CAD (Canadian dollar) base currency has been implemented.

Acting as an implementation consultant, you need to do the following:

  • Create a company group that includes all the companies that use the USD base currency: SweetLife, Muffins & Cakes, and ToadGreen Building Group
  • Restrict the COFFEESHOP customer and GOODFRUITS vendor to this company group

Configuration Overview

In the U100 dataset, the following configuration task has been performed to prepare the system for this activity:

On the Companies (CS101500) form, the SweetLife Fruits & Jams, Muffins & Cakes, and ToadGreen Building Group companies have been configured.

Process Overview

In this activity, on the Company Groups (CS102500) form, you will create a company group and add three companies to it. On the Customers (AR303000) form, you will restrict the visibility of the COFFEESHOP customer to the new group, and on the Vendors (AP303000) form, you will restrict the visibility of the GOODFRUITS vendor to the new group.

System Preparation

Before you start creating a company group, sign in to a company with the U100 dataset preloaded. You should sign in as a system administrator with the gibbs username.

As a prerequisite activity, be sure that on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, the Multicompany Support, Multicurrency Accounting, Customer and Vendor Visibility Restriction, and Multiple Base Currencies features have been enabled, as described in Multiple Base Currencies: Implementation Activity.

On the Companies form, be sure that the SweetLife Canada company has been configured, as described in Multiple Base Currencies: Implementation Activity.

Step 1: Creating a Company Group

To create a company group, do the following:

  1. Open the Company Groups (CS102500) form.
    Tip: To open the form for creating a new record, type the form ID in the Search box, and on the Search form, point at the form title and click New right of the title.
  2. On the form toolbar, click Add New Record.
  3. In the Summary area, specify the following settings:
    • Group ID: USCOMP
    • Group Name: U.S. Companies
    • Currency ID: USD
  4. On the table toolbar, click Add Row, and in the Company ID column of the added row, select MUFFINS.
  5. Click Add Row, and in the Company ID column of the row, select SWEETLIFE.
  6. Click Add Row, and in the Company ID column of the row, select TOADGREEN.
  7. On the form toolbar, click Save to save your changes.

Step 2: Restricting the Visibility of a Customer to the Company Group

To restrict the visibility of the COFFEESHOP customer to the new company group, do the following:

  1. Open the Customers (AR303000) form.
  2. In the Customer ID box, select COFFEESHOP.
  3. In the Restrict Visibility To box on the Financial tab, select USCOMP.
  4. On the form toolbar, click Save to save your changes.

Step 3: Restricting the Visibility of a Vendor to the Company Group

To restrict the visibility of the GOODFRUITS vendor to the new company group, do the following:

  1. Open the Vendors (AP303000) form.
  2. In the Vendor ID box, select GOODFRUITS.
  3. In the Restrict Visibility To box on the Financial tab, select USCOMP.
  4. On the form toolbar, click Save to save your changes.