Overview
In Beeswax, we have Contacts and we have Users. In this section we’ll explain the differences between Contacts and Users and how they relate to Companies.
What’s the difference between a User and an Account?
A Beeswax User can exist without having to have a Subscription to an Account.
For instance, a User may have been invited into Beeswax by an existing Beeswax User.
A Beeswax User can then create their own Beeswax Account(s).
A Beeswax Account requires an active Subscription and in order to have a Subscription you need to be a Beeswax User first.
This is why when you sign up for the first time you have to create a Beeswax User before being able to create an Account.
Of course if you happen to have been invited into Beeswax before, and you accepted the invitation, AND set a password, then you will already have created a Beeswax User. In this case you can access the launch pad and simply create a new Account of your own without having to go through the Sign up stage.
Who and what are Contacts?
A Contact in Beeswax is just like a contact in your Phone. It’s a convenient way of centrally storing all the Contacts relevant to your business. Think of it like a CRM.
By adding Contacts into Beeswax you make them available to others in your business who need them. You can avoid that question we’ve all had in the past… “Can you just send me that persons contact details again?”.
No more! Any person that you deal with, whether a Client or Supplier, should be entered into Beeswax by you and your staff. Period. It’s just a good habit to get into.
Now when you create a Contact in Beeswax, just as when you create a Contact in your Phone, that person does not know that you have created a Contact for them. Indeed, no one outside of your Beeswax account even knows that this contact exists.
That is until you wish to Invite them into your Beeswax Account. In which case they would become a Beeswax User. In other words, a User has to start out being a Contact and only after you invite them, and they accept, will they become a User.
Now here’s the thing. You can send invitations to Contacts until the cows come home but that Contact won’t become a User unless they chose to accept your invitation. And if they aren’t already a Beeswax User then just clicking on the link in the email isn’t even enough, they have to set a password first in order to officially activate their Beeswax User.
Why turn a Contact into a User?
The only reason for you to actually Invite someone into your account and turn them into a User, is if you wish for them to do things in your Beeswax Account. The things that they will be able to do within your Beeswax Account will depend on the Role that you assign to them.
For instance, someone needs to be a User if you wish to assign Tasks to them. A Freelancer or external contractor may very well need to be invited into your Beeswax Account so that you can assign Tasks to them.
Your Accountant may need access to Reports in order to prepare your Tax Return. In which case they would need to be a User. Your Book Keeper who needs to reconcile you Bank Accounts will also need to be a User in order to do this.
Basically anyone who needs to do something within your Beeswax Account needs to be a User.
A Client who you wish to just send invoices to does not need to be a Beeswax User in order to receive these invoices via the Beeswax system. You can still send invoices to any Contact that exists within Beeswax even if they are not a User.
Why are Contacts stored under Companies?
Contacts are people you work with, and for, each day. And generally speaking, for the majority of businesses for which Beeswax is for, these Contacts work for another Company. That’s the reason we group Contacts & Users under Companies.
Now, of course that may not always be the case. Such as in the situation where you engage an independent freelancer, who sends you an invoice for the work they do under their own personal name. In other words, they don’t operate under a Pty Ltd or LLC company. In this instance you would still create a Company for them so that you can generate Expenses to account for their time and cost.
The reason being that Expenses (as well as Quotes and Invoices) can only be associated with a Company and not directly to a User. I know. You can’t please everyone. It’s just the way it is in Beeswax. You can find out more about this under the Quotes, Invoice or Expenses section.
Let's look at each Role
AKA: The Boss
This is the Owner of the Account and more often than not they are also the Owner of the business. The business Owner should obviously see everything so of course they have Full Access to all parts of the application but importantly they are unique in that they are the ones who are responsible for managing the Beeswax Subscription and associated Plan.
It's likely they have a business partner or a dedicated senior staff member who needs to be able to see and do all the same things that the Owner can. That's what the Super
Admin Role which we get to next.
Business Partner or a Senior Employee
The Super Admin User also has Full Access to everything however they don’t have access to the Subscription but that’s all. These are usually Partners in the business or Senior Employees who need to see and control everything in the Business. Warts and all!
Production Manager or Account Manager
The Manager Role is generally the person who takes care of the day to day running of Projects, and oversees Tasks.
This Role would be for a Production Manager, Studio Manager or Account Manager for instance.
They generally don’t get involved in Payroll financial reports and as such are not expected to know anything about Accounting or Tax related matters.
Of course these things aren’t necessarily that difficult to understand, however, so as to avoid the potential pitfalls associated with incorrectly allocated transaction Accounts and / or Taxes we have chosen to limit this Users access and control over such things.
So, while Manager can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account and Tax when working on any of these documents. While Managers can create Quotes, Expenses and Invoices, they can’t change the Transaction Account allocation nor the Tax Allocation when the are preparing any
These are defined by the Items that make up these documents and are therefore meant to be set up specifically by someone with this knowledge such as your Bookkeeper or Accountant.
Your Accountant (obviously) or your Bookkeeper
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
A User who primarily works on Tasks
This Accountant Role is obviously for the Accountant or Bookkeeper who need access to all things Money. They essentially have full access to the entire system with the exception of being able to manage the subscription.
External Resource
This is someone who usually is a freelancer that needs access to Tasks but not much more. They have a similar level of access as the Basic User but we've included this for future use.
The Client
Someone who probably would like to get access to all your stuff but really you only want them to see things you want them to see. Like outstanding invoices and access to Files you share with them but apart from this you don't really need much more.
Dashboard
Projects
Companies & People
Companies
Contacts
Users
Money
Items
Templates
Bank Reconciliation
Bank Import
Scheduled
Bank Transfers
Manual Journal
Chart of Accounts
Reports
Reports
Who Owes Me
What I Owe
General Ledger
Profit & Loss
Tax Report
Time
Statement
Subscription
Subscription
Overview
Companies exist for two main reasons:
- Assigning Projects & other related things
- Grouping Contacts and Users
1. Assigning – Projects and other related things
Most things in Beeswax, like Projects, Quotes or Invoices, need to be assigned to a Company. These things can’t be assigned to a specific User or Contact.
Why? Because small businesses, those businesses that Beeswax is specifically built for, generally work with and provide services to other businesses rather than individuals or customers. In other words, we think of Beeswax as being a B2B application rather than a B2C. It’s one of the key assumptions we’ve made when building Beeswax.
Remember a Quote or Invoice is technically a legal document that relates to the obligations that your business has to another party. And therefore the name of the other party, which is usually a business, should be stated specifically. Of course you will have a contact who will receive documents from you but they are still technically representing the third party and are usually not themselves obligated to fulfil their financial obligations to pay you.
It’s the company or business they represent. When they leave the company still owes you money.However, while we think of these entities as Companies, it’s not to say that a Company can’t be something else. That’s for you to decide.In any case just remember that Projects, Invoices, Quotes and Expenses are all allocated to this idea, this entity, this concept, that we call a Company.
2. Grouping Contacts & Users
SM
JC
DJ
JC
It’s the way Beeswax groups or organises Users and Contacts. We think it makes sense to keep all Users and Contacts under the specific Company that they are associated with.