Configure Associations

Associations in SmartSimple allows users to be linked to multiple organizations, each with a distinct role and access level. This feature supports configuration of list views, organization and user profile tabs, and optional date range and Switch Organization settings.

Who: Associations can be enabled by internal roles such as System Administrators and Global Administrators.

When to Use Associations

Use Associations when a user holds roles across multiple organizations, such as:

• An individual serving as the executive director of one organization while holding board member positions at several other organizations.
• A user who is a professor at a university, a consultant at a hospital, and the CEO of a start-up company.
• An individual artist who collaborates with multiple arts collectives.

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Enable the Association Feature

To enable the Association feature:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, and then select Global Settings from the drop-down menu.
2. Click the Associations tab, locate the General Settings section, and then toggle Enable Associations on.
3. Click Save.

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Configure the Associations Tab on Organization Profiles

The Associations tab appears on the Organization Profile after the corresponding standard field is enabled. The standard field also governs the Lookup Roles and Assignment Roles used within the Associations tab.

To enable the Associations tab on an Organization profile:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and then click the Organization tab.
2. Locate the General Settings section, and then click Standard Fields.
3. Click the edit [pencil] icon for the Associations standard field.
4. Enter the relevant information into the fields.
   • Assignment Roles - Only the roles selected in Assignment Roles are available for selection from the Role drop-down menu when associating a user with an organization.
   • Role - Restrict the roles returned when Associations are selected. Only users in the roles specified in Lookup Roles are selectable from the users lookup.

5. Click Save. The Associations tab is now enabled.
6. In an organization record, click Associations on the left-side menu to add an association.

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Configure the Associations Tab on User Profiles

The Associations tab appears on the User Profile after the corresponding standard field is enabled. The Standard field also governs the Lookup Categories used within the Associations tab.

To enable the Associations tab on a User profile:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and then click the Users tab.
2. Locate the General Settings section, and then click Standard Fields.
3. Click the edit [pencil] icon for the Associations standard field.
4. Enter the relevant information into the fields.
   • Lookup Categories - Enable System Administrators to restrict the categories that are returned when associated organizations are selected. Only those organizations in the categories specified in Lookup Categories will be selectable from the organization lookup.

5. Click Save. The Associations tab is now enabled.
6. In a user record, click Associations on the left-side menu to add an association.

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Configure Association List Views

The List View settings allow System Administrators to define the list views for associated records across various profiles.

To create association list views:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and then click the Associations tab.
2. Locate the List View Settings section and click User Association List Views or Organization Association List Views.
   • User Association List View - Determine how the list of associated users appears when viewed from within an Organization profile.
   • Organization Association List View - Determine how the list of associated companies appears when viewed from within a User profile.
      
3. Click the New List View [+] button to create a new user or organization association list view.

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Enable Date Range for Associations (Optional)

Enabling a date range allows entry of a start and end date when creating associations. A daily automated process reviews organization-user associations and expires any associations with lapsed end dates, provided their status is not marked as Expired.

To enable a date range for Associations:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and then click the Associations tab.
2. Locate the Miscellaneous Options section, and then toggle Enable Date Range for associations on.
3. Locate the General Settings section, and then click Standard Fields.
4. Click the edit [pencil] icon next to the End Date and Start Date standard fields.
5. Click Save. The Date standard field is now enabled.

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Enable the Switch Organization Feature (Optional)

Users may have multiple associations with various organizations, each requiring a different role and access level. For example, a user may be Staff with one organization, granting access to all data, while being a Reviewer with another organization, requiring more restricted access. The Switch Organization setting provides the option to prevent switching between associated organizations.

To configure the Switch Organization feature:

1. Click the System Administration gear in the upper navigation bar, select Global Settings, and then click the Associations tab.
2. Locate the Miscellaneous Options section, and select the roles you want to permission organization switching for from the drop-down menu.

3. Once enabled, users can switch organizations from within the Profile option. Selecting a different organization temporarily updates the session to reflect the interface and access level corresponding to the associated role.
    
    

Use Switch Organization Variables

The sessioncompany variable can be used to filter information, such as dates returned in list views, based on the organization to which the user has switched.

The syntax is:

@sessioncompany.FIELD@

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