Department access limits a user group to the stores, branches or vans it is allowed to trade from. Once you set it, those users only see their own departments in every dropdown — on invoices, sales orders, purchases, stock transfers, adjustments, consumptions, returns and the till.
A common use: each delivery van is set up as its own department, stock is transferred onto it, and the driver sells from the van. Department access is what stops that driver accidentally selling out of the main warehouse.
Before you start
- You need the User Management permission to open Setup → Security Groups.
- Your departments must already exist (Setup → Departments). If a van isn't a department yet, create it first.
- Decide who should be restricted. Managers who need every store should be left unrestricted — see the tip below.
Steps
- Go to Setup → Security Groups and open the user group you want to restrict (for example, Van Driver).
- Select the Departments tab.
- Tick every department that group may trade from. For a driver, that's usually just their own van.
- Save.
Users in that group must sign out and back in for the change to take effect.
What restricted users see
- Dropdowns — department pickers only list the departments you ticked.
- Existing records from elsewhere — a document raised in another department still opens normally, and shows an amber "… is outside your access" notice. The department field is locked, but everything else can be edited and saved as usual.
- Moving a record — trying to move a document into a department the group isn't granted is refused when they save.
- The till — if the POS is pointed at a department the cashier's group can't access, the till refuses to open with a message rather than failing later at checkout.
Tips
- No ticks means full access, not "no access". A group with nothing ticked can use every department. That's deliberate — it means the feature stays off until you deliberately turn it on for a group. Give store managers full access by simply leaving their Departments tab empty.
- Grant the van, not the warehouse. A driver only needs their own van ticked. They can still transfer unsold stock back to the warehouse, because returning stock only requires access to the side they own — the van.
- Restricting a group does not hide history. Restricted users can still view reports and lists covering other departments; they simply can't create or move documents there.
- Department access works alongside item-category access (the next tab). They're independent: one controls where a user can trade, the other what they can trade in.
Common problems
- "I ticked departments but nothing changed." → The user needs to sign out and back in. Access is read once when they log in.
- A user suddenly can't see any department in the dropdown. → Their group has ticks, but none of them match a department that's still active. Re-open the Departments tab and confirm the right ones are selected.
- "This transaction cannot be moved to…" when saving. → The user is trying to move an existing document into a department their group isn't granted. Either grant that department to their group, or have someone with wider access make the change.
- The till won't open and mentions department access. → POS is configured to sell from a department this cashier's group can't use. Either grant it to their group, or point the till at their own department in Setup → POS.
- A driver can't create a transfer from the warehouse to their van. → Loading a van is done by whoever holds the warehouse — normally the store manager. Drivers can send stock back, not draw it out.
- "Your plan allows up to 4 branches and you already have 4" → your subscription's package caps the number of departments (branches, outlets, stores). Existing ones keep working; to add more, open Subscription and Upgrade to a bigger package, then click Refresh there.