This video 3 minute tutorial demonstrates how to assign and optimize organisational units, ensuring that users can access the right documents seamlessly, aligned with your organisational hierarchy.

Organisation units in Plexus allow you to replicate your organisation's company structure. From the company structure tab, you can add users to specific organisation units or teams, whilst maintaining secure and limited visibility of the documents and matters stored in the platform.

Organisations units can be siloed or they can dictate oversight over other areas of the platform.

After establishing the company hierarchy basics, this guide will talk through the adding, editing and removal of your organisation units.

You may like to skip directly to:

You may also like to review this separate guide on assigning users to units.

The following section will talk through the hierarchy basics using illustrations to discuss the definitions and theory behind:

The remainder of the document will use in-platform examples. Alternatively, skip ahead to adding organisation units to your company structure.

Definition 1. The root of the company structure

All organisation units on Plexus are connected to a root or base organisation.
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The root organisation controls all the user roles, document types, matter categories, custom questions, delegation rules and applications that are associated with your Plexus account.
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In most company hierarchies on Plexus, users cannot log into the root organisation. Here is an illustrated an example organisation unit structure:

Definition 2. Parent versus child organisation units

Throughout this guide, a unit stemming from another will be referred to as a child unit. The unit it stems from will be referred to as the parent unit.

Parent and child units are visualised as indents in the company structure.

A parent unit usually has oversight over a child unit.

When a unit has oversight over another child or sub-organisation unit, a reviewer or manager role who has the permissions to view all documents will be able to see downwards into the collection of documents stored in child units. The same is true for a legal user having access to matters.

We'll go into these implications in more detail in the next section.

Definition 3. Siloed organisation units

Units at the same level of indentation in the company structure are siloed from one another.

When units are siloed, the documents and matters associated with that unit can be kept entirely separate from other organisation units, regardless of the roles and access a given user might have.

It is recommended that at least one company administrator has some access to any siloed units, so that users can be added to those organisations. If document visibility is a concern, ask your onboarding expert about configuring a custom role with access to settings, without visibility of all documents.

User access to company units

All Plexus users can be given access to one or more organisation units.

If an individual is added to multiple units, then the individual user can select which unit to work in when they sign into the platform.

Units and roles work together to provide access to documents and matters across the platform.

Default manager and reviewer roles in a given unit can see any documents or matters created down the hierarchy into child units, but they will not have access to documents that are created up or across the hierarchy.

For example, a manager or reviewer role in Sales will not be able to see upwards in their organisation hierarchy.

A general user will only have access to the files that they have created or the files that have access to via a workflow or shared document.

We'll go through examples of these concepts using screenshots of the platform below.

To add units to your company structure, click the Settings menu, then click Account. The first tab will show your company structure. This is where you will be able to make the appropriate changes to your company structure in the platform.

By default, you will see the root organisation highlighted with your company's billing details to the right of the page.

The units listed underneath the root organisation represent any organisation unit that your users can log into. You may continue to expand upon any units with a + until the full organisation structure is revealed.

You will notice that any child organisations are indented on the above structure. In this example Finance, Marketing, Operations and Procurement are all child organisations. The parent organisation is Legal.

Therefore, a manager/reviewer account in the Legal unit will be able to see the files created in any of those organisations on their document list.

Any organisations that sit on the same level of indentation (for example HR and Legal) will be siloed, and manager/reviewer accounts will not be able to see across into those units unless they're given express access to both units.

Using the diagram above, if you are a manager or reviewer in Marketing:

To add a new organisation unit to the company structure, click Create organisation unit. To the right of the page, you'll be prompted to fill in the new organisation unit's name and nominate the parent unit.

Organisation unit. The name of your new unit

Parent. The name of the existing unit that your new unit will sit underneath

You can also make your new unit the default unit for new non-invited users within your organisation.

Click Save once you're happy with your inputs.

The new organisation unit will automatically slot into the company structure.

To edit an existing organisation unit, locate and click the desired unit on your company structure. From the right hand side of the page, you will be able to edit the existing unit's name, and its parent by choosing from the dropdown list as required.

Remember to click Save once you're done.

To remove an organisation unit from your company structure, select an existing unit on your company structure. From the right hand side of the page, you'll see a red button to Delete an organisation unit.

Need help with your organisation units? Reach out to our team via live chat or [email protected].