# What is an Organization?

An Organization is the company you join, not a login. People, Teams, and who inherits Project access. One-person shops stay simple. A GC can lock bids.

An **Organization** is the company, not the Project.

Mercy Hospital stairs and rails is a [Project](/guides/projects). `S-201.pdf` is a [Document](/guides/project-documents). Acme Railings, LLC (the people, the Teams, the rule for who inherits a new Project) is the Organization.

You don’t log into Acme Railings. You sign in as **you**, then you belong to one or more Organizations. Same login can sit in a shop and a GC without a company switcher.

If you run preconstruction across offices, this is the company layer: one Organization, Projects for each bid, and access that does not put a sub in the company directory. A one-person desk can treat this page as a short read so the labels make sense. Same product.

## Where this lives

Sidebar → **Organizations**. Open yours. **Settings** is the legal name and the **Project access** default. **Members** and **Teams** are tabs on that same org.

If you’re taking off alone, you may never open this after signup. Request Access already made a shop: you’re admin, All members can edit Projects. Create a Project, then add a Document (a PDF or an image file).

## What you get at signup

Request Access mints **My Organization** (you’re **admin**) with no Project. Recents / **New Project** is the first cabinet. Extra Organizations still get a default Project named after that org.

You can create more Organizations. You can rename this one. You cannot nest them. Recents does not ask you to “switch company.” It lists everything this login can open.

## You sign in as yourself

Every person has their own account. The Organization is the shared company container, not a login they share.

1. Invite by email from Organization → **Members**.
2. They get a link. They sign in with **that** address.
3. They accept, then they are an admin or a member.

You cannot create their account for them. If they already use Forward Layout, the invite still goes to that email. They accept from Recents. Details: [organization members](/guides/organization-members).

## Admin vs member

Two org roles. That’s the whole directory.

| Role | What it’s for |
| --- | --- |
| **Admin** | Company account: rename, [members](/guides/organization-members), [Teams](/guides/organization-teams), **Project access** default. Invite other admins. |
| **Member** | Uses the product. May invite other members. May create Teams unless you lock that later. Creates [Projects](/guides/projects). |

Admin is **not** Full control on every PDF. That’s a [Project role](/guides/project-access). Mixing those two is how offices accidentally leak a bid.

Members cannot promote themselves to admin. You cannot demote or remove the last admin. You cannot change your own admin role.

Once two people are in the shop, keep **two admins**. If the only admin is out, nobody can invite, rename the company, or change Project access. A one-person shop can stay the sole admin.

<div id="project-access"></div>

## Project access: the shop vs the GC

On Organization → Settings, **Project access** is the floor every org member inherits on a Project:

| Setting | Who gets Edit on a new Project (before extra grants) | Who it’s for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **All members can edit Projects** | Every org member | Fab shop. Signup default. |
| **Creators and admins** | Project creator + org admins | Small office; IT can recover a Project without opening the whole company. |
| **Restricted (invite only)** | Creator only, until you grant people or [Teams](/guides/organization-teams) | GC / enterprise. Other departments don’t list the bid. |

Inherit is never Full control. Extra grants on the Project only go **up** from that floor. [The access guide](/guides/project-access) is the longer version.

This floor is live. Change All members to Restricted and org members lose inherit on **existing** Projects unless you already granted them. Guests you invite onto a Project are **not** org members. They don’t inherit “all members.” They see the Projects you granted. That’s how you hand a set to an outside estimator without putting them in the company directory.

## One org or several

A user can sit in many Organizations. Isolation is either:

- **Separate Organizations**: two companies, two directories, no shared Teams.
- **One Organization** plus [Teams](/guides/organization-teams) and Restricted Projects: Estimating, Shop, that GC’s PMs as named lists you grant onto Projects.

Don’t invent a holding-company tree. Large offices already split Bluebeam orgs this way. We kept that pattern, not a nested company widget.

### Create another Organization

1. Sidebar → **Organizations**.
2. **New Organization**.
3. Name it (the legal name on the door is fine).
4. **Create Organization**. You are admin. That create also mints a default [Project](/guides/projects) named after the org.

Rename from Organization → Settings. Archive is below.

## What to set once, then leave alone

A commercial precon team should set these on purpose. A one-person desk can skip the list until the second hire:

- **Two admins** if more than one person can run the company account.
- **Project access** before the first Restricted bid. The floor applies to live Projects, not only new ones.
- **[Teams](/guides/organization-teams)** for repeating casts (Estimating, Shop). Guests for one-bid outsiders. Guests cannot sit on a Team.
- **Least Project role that fits.** A PM who only reads the qty wants [View](/guides/project-access), not Edit.

## Archive

Archive the Organization from Settings (**Archive organization**, then type the name). The **Archive organization** card is only there when you are the **last remaining member** and an org **admin**. Every live Project and Document underneath hides without you touching each one. They are not extra Trash rows. Restore the Organization from [Trash](/guides/delete-and-restore-archived) and the live children come back with it. A Project or Document that was archived on its own stays archived. After you restore the Organization, that row returns to Trash if it is still inside 30 days.

If you are the last member, you cannot leave. Archive the Organization instead. Trash holds it for 30 days. After that it leaves Trash and you cannot restore it.

## What this is not (yet)

SSO, SCIM, and named-user seat inventory are on the engineering map. They are not a settings card today. Audit of admin actions is in the system; an audit UI is later.

The measuring job (calibrate, Length, CSV) is [how it works](/how-it-works). That’s takeoff, not a priced bid. [Takeoff vs estimating](/resources/takeoff-vs-estimating). Measuring the set, with stairs as the worked package: [quantities](/resources/measuring-a-commercial-set). A measure desk, not another estimating platform: [takeoff without a platform](/resources/takeoff-without-a-platform).

Next: [what a Project is](/guides/projects), [organization members](/guides/organization-members), [Project collaborators](/guides/project-collaborators), [Teams](/guides/organization-teams), [who can open a Project](/guides/project-access).


## FAQ

### Do I need to set up an Organization before I take off a PDF?

No extra setup. Request Access creates an Organization named My Organization. Create a Project, then upload. Rename later if you want the legal name on the door.

### Can one login belong to more than one Organization?

Yes. There is no org switcher. Recents and Projects list every Project this identity can open. Isolation is a second Organization, or Teams plus Project access inside one.

### Can I create logins for people in my shop?

No. Everyone signs in as themselves. Invite by email. They click the link, sign in with that address, and join. You pick admin or member. You do not mint their account.

### Should more than one person be an admin?

Yes, once there is a second person in the shop. If the only admin is unreachable, nobody can invite, rename, or change Project access. Promote a second admin from Members. A one-person shop can stay the sole admin.

### Is Organization Admin Full control on every Project?

No. Admin runs the company account: name, members, Teams, the Project access default. Full control is a Project role. Under Restricted, an admin does not silently list every bid.

### What’s the right Project access default for a fab shop?

All members can edit Projects. That’s the signup default. Switch to Creators and admins if only IT should recover Projects, or Restricted (invite only) when departments should not see each other’s takeoffs. The floor applies to live Projects, not only new ones.

### Should a holding company be one Organization?

Usually no. Don’t nest companies. Give each legal entity or region its own Organization, or keep one and use Teams plus Restricted Projects. Same pattern large offices already use for separate accounts.

### What happens if I archive the Organization?

It leaves Organizations. Live Projects and Documents hide with it and are not extra Trash rows. Restore the Organization from Trash within 30 days and the live cabinet comes back. Only the last remaining member can archive it, and they must be an org admin. [delete and restore](/guides/delete-and-restore-archived).