# Companies

Maintain the company names, email domains and tags used by customer records on your website.

*Release 3.3 · admin, operator, supervisor*

**Settings › General Settings › Companies**

## What it is

**Companies** is the directory of customer organisations for your website. Each company has a name and can have email domains and tags. This directory is separate from the organisation that owns your INSIDE subscription.

## Who uses it and why

Users with the **Settings** role and **Companies** permission maintain consistent company names and matching information. Operators use company details while working with customer records; operators with that role and permission can also maintain the directory.

## Where to find it

With the **Settings** role and **Companies** permission, open **Settings › General Settings › Companies**. The list shows **Company Name**, **Domains** and **Tags**. Use the add or edit action to open a company record.

## How it works

1. Search for the existing company before adding another record. Search supports company names and domains.
2. Enter **Company Name**.
3. Add **Domains** as comma-separated domains or full email addresses, if needed.
4. Select or enter **Tags**, then save.

INSIDE trims company names and removes formatting markup. Duplicate-name comparison ignores case, spaces, hyphens and underscores. Names that differ only in those ways can therefore conflict.

Email matching can recognise a configured full email address or the domain after the email address's at-sign. Domains are trimmed and stored in lower case.

Before deletion, the screen checks whether contacts reference the company. If they do, it warns that deletion will affect contact data and asks whether to continue. Deletion removes the company from ordinary directory lists; it does not automatically reassign its contacts to another company.

## Configure it

Grant **Companies** to users with the **Settings** role responsible for the directory. Enter names consistently and use the shared tag vocabulary. The editor requires a company name and validates each comma-separated domain or email address.

Review associated contacts before confirming a deletion. If a company has been replaced by another organisation, arrange the contact changes separately.

### Fields

| Field | Where | Required | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Name | Settings › General Settings › Companies | Yes | Names the customer company and identifies it in company selections. |
| Domains | Settings › General Settings › Companies | No | Associates comma-separated email domains or full email addresses with the company for matching. |
| Tags | Settings › General Settings › Companies | No | Associates shared website tags with the company. |

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Companies | Controls access to the Companies screen through delegated Settings permissions. |

## Limits and good to know

- The company-name editor allows up to 150 characters.
- The catalogue belongs to the current website.
- The screen permits deletion after a warning even when contacts reference the company.
- Deleting a company does not guarantee that its old name becomes available for immediate reuse.
- Renaming a company is not a contact merge operation.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Configured in** [Roles and permissions](ADM-008.md): Delegated Settings access includes a Companies screen permission.
- **Configured in** [Tags and conversation data](CHAT-031.md): Company tags use the shared website tag vocabulary.
- **Related** [Customer contact details](CRM-001.md): Review associated contacts before changing or deleting a company record.

### Used by

- **Configures** [Customer contact details](CRM-001.md): Companies maintains the directory offered when assigning a company to a contact.
- **Configures** [Business Feed and Academy reports](REP-028.md): Company records and their customer associations determine the organisations shown in older company reports.
- **Related** [Tags and conversation data](CHAT-031.md): Company records can use tags from the same website vocabulary as conversations.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

### Why is my new company name rejected as a duplicate?

INSIDE ignores case, spaces, hyphens and underscores when comparing names. Search for an existing equivalent before creating another company.

### How do I enter several domains?

Separate them with commas in **Domains**. Each entry must be a valid domain or full email address.

### Can I delete a company that has contacts?

The screen warns you and lets you confirm. Review those contacts first because deletion can affect their company information and does not reassign them automatically.

### Why can I not edit Companies?

Check your **Settings** role, **Companies** permission, website access and whether your Settings access is view-only.