This guide covers implementation, configuration, daily use and troubleshooting for Small Business Management – Accounting Enterprise.
Small Business Accounting Enterprise User Guide and Multi-Company Tutorials
This manual teaches daily operation of the multi-company edition. It includes all Pro workflows and adds company switching, company-specific administration, permissions, customer copying, sales channels, remote order/sale review and multi-company controls.
1. Confirm the company before every action
Enterprise displays the active company in the contextual navigation. The selected company controls which customers, products, documents, bank records, ledger and settings you are viewing. Make “check the active company” the first step of every workflow.
Before creating or changing a record
- Read the active company name in the navigation bar.
- Confirm the company’s logo and context on the page.
- Confirm the customer or supplier belongs to that company.
- For imports and reports, confirm the company again before submitting.
2. Switch companies safely
Move from Company A to Company B
- Save or cancel any open form in Company A.
- Use the company selector or Companies shortcut.
- Choose Company B.
- Wait for the new context to load.
- Read the active company label and open the intended page.
- Search for a known Company B customer to confirm context.
All subsequent pages and records belong to Company B until you switch again.
3. Companies and Company Settings
The Companies screen creates, switches and archives company contexts. Company Settings contains the authoritative profile. Do not expect Companies to hold duplicate editable bank, tax and email details.
Update a company profile
- Switch to the company.
- Open Settings & Automation → Company Settings.
- Update the approved company information.
- Save and preview a draft invoice.
- Return to Companies and verify the selector summary reflects the profile.
Future documents use the updated identity for the selected company only.
4. Company permissions and user behaviour
Users should only operate companies assigned to them. If a required company is missing, request access; do not use another user’s credentials. Accounting Agents may have restricted pages even inside an authorised company.
5. Customers across companies
The same real-world customer may trade with more than one company. Each Enterprise company keeps its own customer account and transaction history. Use the copy facility to copy contact information where appropriate, then maintain each company’s account separately.
Copy a customer and start a separate account
- Switch to the source company.
- Open the customer copy facility and select the customer.
- Choose the target company and run the copy.
- Switch to the target company.
- Review the copied contact information and adjust company-specific terms if needed.
- Confirm transaction history is empty.
- Create the target company’s first quote or invoice independently.
Both companies have separate customer accounts; only contact data was copied.
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- Screen to capture: Target-company customer record immediately after using the copy facility.
- Required state: Use a customer copied from another demo company.
- Must include: Copied contact details, target company label and empty quotes/invoices/payments history.
- Redact or avoid: Real customer details.
- Suggested caption: The copied customer starts a separate account in the target company with no transferred transactions.
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6. Products and company-specific catalogues
Products are company-scoped. A product in Company A is not automatically available in Company B or on a remote Sales Channel. Create/import the product in the correct company and then explicitly assign it to Sales Channels where required.
7. Run ordinary accounting workflows per company
Quotes, invoices, payments, expenses, subscriptions, bank imports, supplier bills, journals and reports work like Pro but remain inside the active company. Use the Pro User Guide chapters for the detailed workflow, with one additional rule: confirm company context before and after following a deep link or Back action.
Complete a company-specific sale
- Select Company A.
- Create or choose the Company A customer.
- Create and send the quote.
- Convert the accepted quote to an invoice.
- Record or match the payment.
- Open the customer statement and confirm the balance.
- Switch to Company B and search for the invoice number.
- Confirm Company A’s invoice is not visible in Company B.
The full sale exists only in Company A and isolation is preserved.
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- Screen to capture: Create a two-image comparison of one invoice from Company A and one from Company B.
- Required state: Use different prefixes, logos, bank details and currencies where appropriate.
- Must include: Company identity, invoice number, customer, totals, bank/payment details and active-company label.
- Redact or avoid: Real banking and customer information.
- Suggested caption: Each company issues and owns its own documents, balances and transaction history.
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8. Company-specific recurring billing
Subscriptions and billing runs are scoped to the company. When reviewing a scheduled run, confirm the company and expected customer count. A system-wide scheduled task may process several companies in sequence, but every generated invoice must use the company’s numbering, currency, tax, template and email identity.
Review a multi-company billing day
- Open Company A → Billing Runs and review generated invoices.
- Check numbering, customer, amount and next billing date.
- Switch to Company B and repeat.
- Compare email logs to confirm each company’s sender identity.
- Investigate any invoice generated under an unexpected company before sending.
Each company has only its own due subscription invoices with correct identity and numbering.
9. Company-specific banking and reconciliation
Never import Company A’s bank CSV while Company B is active. Keep source files named with company, account and period. Reconciliation evidence should also identify the company and bank account clearly.
Import the correct bank statement
- Check the active company.
- Verify the CSV filename and bank account belong to that company.
- Import and map the file.
- Review sample rows before committing.
- Match receipts and payments to records in the same company.
- Complete reconciliation against the same company’s statement.
No bank row or match crosses the company boundary and the reconciliation difference is zero.
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- Screen to capture: Bank Reconciliation inside one selected Enterprise company.
- Required state: Use a sample statement period with the company label visible and a zero difference.
- Must include: Active company, bank account, statement period, balances and reconciliation difference.
- Redact or avoid: Real bank account number, references and balances.
- Suggested caption: Import and reconcile only the bank statement belonging to the active company.
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10. Reports and company comparison
Enterprise reports are company-specific unless a dedicated consolidated view explicitly says otherwise. Do not add figures from different currencies or accounting periods without a defined consolidation method. Export each company’s reports with the company name and period in the filename.
11. Company-specific portal and public documents
A portal user is linked to a customer account within a company. The same person may require separate access relationships for different companies. Public quote and invoice links carry secure tokens; always send the link generated under the correct company.
Test one customer across two companies
- Create independent customer accounts in Company A and Company B.
- Issue one test invoice in each company.
- Link or enable the approved portal access according to the company design.
- Log in as the customer and inspect available documents.
- Confirm each invoice displays the correct company identity and that no unrelated customer records are visible.
The customer experiences correct company branding and strict account isolation.
12. Sales Channels: what users are managing
Sales Channel
A controlled connection between one Enterprise company and one remote website or marketplace. It decides which company products that site may sell and in which currency.
Example: Digital Eatery can be a Sales Channel of the relevant accounting company, with only Digital Eatery products assigned.
The local/internal Sales Channel is protected for on-site sales. Remote channels have domains, product assignments and API keys. A channel should be deleted only after dependent API keys and product assignments have been removed deliberately.
Publish a product to a Sales Channel
- Switch to the owning Enterprise company.
- Open Sales Channels & API.
- Open the target Sales Channel.
- Assign the product.
- Set the channel-specific price/currency where supported.
- For Plan, set the marketplace plan key; for License, set activation limit.
- Save and run the remote product sync/test.
- Confirm the product appears only on the assigned channel.
The remote channel sees the authorised product with the intended commercial configuration.
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- Screen to capture: Product or Sales Channel assignment screen.
- Required state: Show one Plan, one License and one Physical product with different fulfilment fields.
- Must include: Product type, channel assignment, price/currency, plan key or activation limit, and status.
- Redact or avoid: API key, callback secret and unpublished commercial data.
- Suggested caption: Only explicitly assigned products are published to a remote Sales Channel.
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13. Plans, licences and physical products
| Type | Use it for | Important rules |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Hosted service, membership or marketplace entitlement | May be free, once-off, monthly or yearly; requires a plan key for remote entitlement mapping. |
| License | Downloadable software or licensed product | Requires activation limit and licensing fulfilment. |
| Physical | Tangible stock item | Once-off only; may manage stock; no software licence or plan entitlement. |
14. API keys and secure handling
Only authorised administrators should generate API keys. Copy the full key at creation and store it in the remote system’s secret settings. The Enterprise screen retains only a prefix for identification. Never paste keys into documentation, support screenshots or public code.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: API key creation result immediately after generating a demo key.
- Required state: Capture before leaving the page, then redact most of the secret value.
- Must include: Company, Sales Channel, domain restriction, permission/scope, key prefix and copy-once warning.
- Redact or avoid: All but the first/last few characters of the actual key and every signing secret.
- Suggested caption: Copy the full key once, store it securely and retain only a safe prefix for identification.
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15. Remote checkout and completed sales
A remote channel may create a pending checkout order. A verified payment connector or trusted completed-sale request then completes the sale. Enterprise creates the accounting invoice/payment and invokes the correct fulfilment path. The event reference prevents duplicates when callbacks retry.
Investigate a remote sale
- Select the owning company.
- Locate the Enterprise order, invoice and payment using the remote reference.
- Confirm customer, product, currency and Sales Channel.
- Check callback/fulfilment status and event ID.
- For a Plan, verify entitlement; for a License, verify licence issuance; for Physical, verify fulfilment/stock handling.
- If delivery failed temporarily, use the controlled retry workflow rather than creating a second sale.
The remote event has one accounting sale and one intended fulfilment result.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Remote Sales/Orders detail showing the accounting and fulfilment chain.
- Required state: Use one completed demo sale with a stable event ID.
- Must include: Remote order, customer, invoice, payment, event ID, product type and fulfilment status.
- Redact or avoid: API payload secrets, card details, personal address and public tokens.
- Suggested caption: A verified remote sale links the order, invoice, payment and fulfilment event without duplication.
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16. Callback queue and duplicate prevention
Temporary callback failures are queued. The stable event ID lets Enterprise retry without duplicating entitlements, licences, invoices or payments. A recurring renewal also needs a unique gateway payment reference. When investigating, search by event/payment reference before replaying anything.
17. Multi-company month-end routine
Close a month across companies
- Create a company checklist and process one company at a time.
- For each company: review receivables, payables, bank imports and reconciliation.
- Run Ledger QA and resolve unposted records.
- Review VAT, Profit & Loss, Trial Balance and Balance Sheet.
- Export reports and the Accountant Handover Pack with company and period in filenames.
- Lock the approved period for that company.
- Switch companies only after the current checklist is signed off.
Every company has an independently reviewed and protected month-end pack.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Company-by-company month-end checklist or dashboard.
- Required state: Show at least three demo companies at different completion stages.
- Must include: Ageing review, bank reconciliation, ledger QA, tax pack, export/handover and period lock status.
- Redact or avoid: Real report totals and staff personal details.
- Suggested caption: Track month-end completion separately for every Enterprise company.
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18. Common Enterprise mistakes
- Creating a transaction before checking the active company.
- Using Pro as a multi-company workaround instead of Enterprise.
- Copying customer transactions when only contact details should be copied.
- Reusing an API key across unrelated companies or domains.
- Assigning every product to every Sales Channel by default.
- Changing a company’s base currency after live transactions without an approved migration.
- Assuming a system-wide scheduled job means company identity no longer matters.
19. Troubleshooting Enterprise use
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Company missing from selector | User lacks access or company archived | Ask an authorised administrator to review company status and user mapping. |
| Wrong company on invoice | Document was created under wrong active context | Stop sending, preserve audit evidence and correct under approved procedure. |
| Copied customer has no invoices | This is intentional | Transactions are not copied between companies. |
| Product absent from marketplace | Not assigned to Sales Channel, sync failed or wrong company selected | Check company, channel assignment, domain and API connection. |
| API key cannot be viewed again | Full key is shown only at creation | Delete/revoke and generate a new key, then update the remote system. |
| Callback keeps retrying | Remote endpoint or secret unavailable | Fix the remote connection and allow the idempotent queue to retry. |
| Report totals differ between companies | Different periods, currencies or transaction sets | Compare like-for-like periods and use an approved consolidation method. |
20. Enterprise screen reference
| Screen | What it means in Enterprise | Company rule |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | Registry of separate accounting contexts. | Create/switch/archive only; maintain profile in Company Settings. |
| Company Settings | Authoritative company identity and reporting settings. | Always affects active company only. |
| Customers | Company-specific customer accounts. | Copy contact data if needed; never assume shared balances. |
| Products & Services | Company catalogue and product types. | Assign separately to Sales Channels. |
| Quotes / Invoices / Payments | Company receivables lifecycle. | Uses company numbering, branding, currency and bank details. |
| Subscriptions / Billing Runs | Company recurring billing. | Review company count and prefix before sending. |
| Expenses / Bank Feeds / Reconciliation | Company costs and bank evidence. | Import only the selected company’s bank file. |
| Ledger & Reports | Company books and financial statements. | Do not treat as consolidated unless explicitly provided. |
| Customer Portal | Company/customer document access. | Verify user link within the correct company. |
| Sales Channels & API | Remote product and sale boundary. | Key and products are scoped to company/channel/domain. |
21. Example group structure
Suppose one WordPress installation manages African Nomad Software, Digital Eatery and The Stay Manager as separate accounting entities. Each company has its own invoice prefix, bank details, tax profile, product catalogue and reports. A finance manager with access to all three switches company context; a Digital Eatery bookkeeper receives Digital Eatery only; remote digitaleatery.co receives only products assigned to its Digital Eatery Sales Channel.
| Company | Example prefix | Example users | Example Sales Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Nomad Software | ANS-INV- | Group finance manager | african-nomad.com internal/local |
| Digital Eatery | DE-INV- | Restaurant product bookkeeper | digitaleatery.co |
| The Stay Manager | TSM-INV- | Hospitality finance user | staymanager.com |
22. Cross-company customer scenario
A client may buy software from African Nomad Software and hospitality services from The Stay Manager. Copy the contact record so users do not retype it, but create independent quotes, invoices, payments and statements. A payment made to African Nomad Software must never reduce The Stay Manager invoice balance.
23. Remote product assignment checklist
Before publishing a product
- Correct Enterprise company selected.
- Product type is exactly Plan, License or Physical.
- Billing cycle is permitted for that type.
- Price and currency are approved for the target channel.
- Plan key or licence activation limit configured where required.
- Only intended Sales Channel assigned.
- Remote sync/test confirms the public listing.
- Unassigned channels do not display the product.
24. Remote sale status interpretation
| State | Meaning | User action |
|---|---|---|
| Pending checkout | Order created but payment/verification not complete. | Do not issue duplicate sale manually; inspect payment flow. |
| Completed sale | Verified sale recorded in Enterprise. | Check invoice, payment and fulfilment result. |
| Callback pending/retry | Local sale exists but remote fulfilment delivery temporarily failed. | Fix remote endpoint/secret; allow controlled retry. |
| Fulfilled | Remote entitlement/licence/physical action confirmed. | Retain event reference and monitor renewals. |
| Duplicate/idempotent replay | Same event seen again and ignored/reused. | Verify original transaction; do not create another. |
| Failed validation | Key, host, payload or payment verification invalid. | Correct integration; do not weaken controls. |
25. Enterprise daily handover between users
- Record the active company and any open workflow.
- List unreviewed bank rows, failed emails, callback retries and disputed invoices.
- Provide record IDs/references rather than screenshots containing secrets.
- The receiving user signs in with their own account and selects the stated company.
- The receiving user reopens source records and verifies context before continuing.
26. Company-by-company month-end tracker
| Control | Company A | Company B | Company C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer ageing reviewed | Complete / outstanding items | Complete / outstanding items | Complete / outstanding items |
| Supplier ageing reviewed | … | … | … |
| Bank reconciled | Date and zero difference | Date and zero difference | Date and zero difference |
| Ledger QA clear | Yes / exceptions | Yes / exceptions | Yes / exceptions |
| VAT pack exported | File / reviewer | File / reviewer | File / reviewer |
| Period locked | Date / approver | Date / approver | Date / approver |
27. Security incident response for a leaked API key
- Revoke/delete the affected key immediately.
- Review API, checkout, sale and callback logs for the key prefix and time window.
- Check for unexpected products, orders, invoices, payments or fulfilment events.
- Generate a replacement key scoped to the same approved company/channel/domain.
- Update the remote secret and test connection.
- Document the incident, impact and remediation; rotate related secrets if compromise may be broader.