Overview
Business Entities in FieldInsight allow you to manage multiple businesses, or operating entities within the same account.
Once configured, Business Entities can be linked to customers, sites, staff, jobs, sales, and invoices so the correct entity is used throughout the workflow.
For example, if a customer belongs to a specific business entity, jobs booked for that customer can automatically use the same entity. When an invoice is created from that job, the invoice will also carry the correct Business Entity and can be exported to the correct Xero organisation.
When to Use Business Entities
Use Business Entities if:
You operate multiple businesses
You use multiple organisations in Xero.
You want invoices or bills to be linked to the correct entity.
You want staff, jobs, and sales filtered by entity.
You want customers or sites to default to a specific business entity.
Step 1: Turn On the Business Entity Field
From the left menu, go to Settings
Go to Job Manager.
Select Jobs and System Fields.
Find Business Entity.
Turn the field on.
Click Save
Once enabled, the Business Entity field will become available in several areas of FieldInsight.
Step 2: Check Where the Business Entity Field Appears
After turning on Business Entity, you will be able to see the field in the following areas:
Site records
Account customer records
Jobs
Staff/User profiles
Sales Documents such as Invoices, Quotes, POs, and Bills
This allows FieldInsight to carry the selected Business Entity across different parts of the system.
Step 3: Create Your Business Entities
To manage and create Business Entities:
Go to Settings.
Select Job Manager.
Go to Jobs and Details.
Find the Business Entity section.
Click + Item.
Enter the name of the entity.
Example:
Entity A
Entity B
Entity C
Repeat this process for each business entity you want to create.
Step 4: Set or Remove a Global Default Entity
You can nominate one Business Entity as the global default.
A global default means that when a new site, customer, or job is created, FieldInsight will automatically apply that default entity.
However, if you are managing multiple entities, it may be better not to use a global default. This is because the purpose of Business Entities is usually to separate customers, sites, jobs, and invoices by the correct entity.
If you leave the default blank, users will need to assign the correct entity at the customer, site, staff, or job level.
Step 5: Assign Business Entities to Customers and Sites
Once your entities are created, review your customers and sites and assign them to the correct entity.
To assign a Business Entity to a customer or site:
Open the account customer or site record.
Find the Business Entity field.
Select the correct entity from the dropdown.
Save the record.
This is important because when a job is booked for that customer or site, FieldInsight can use the account customer or site entity as the default for the job.
Step 6: Assign Business Entities to Staff
You can also link staff members to a Business Entity.
To assign a staff member to an entity:
Go to Staff Profiles or Users.
Open the user profile.
Find the Business Entity field.
Select the correct entity from the dropdown.
Save the profile.
This is useful when a staff member mainly works under one specific entity.
For example, if a scheduler or technician belongs to Entity A, you can assign Entity A to their user profile.
How Staff Entity Affects the System
When a user is linked to a Business Entity, parts of the system may default or filter based on that entity.
This can affect areas such as:
Schedule page
Jobs page
Sales Documents
For example, when a user opens the schedule or calendar, the view may default to their assigned entity. This means technicians and jobs can be filtered by that entity.
However, not all areas of the system are filtered by the staff Business Entity.
Business Entity Priority When Booking Jobs
When a job is created, FieldInsight uses a priority order to decide which Business Entity should be applied.
The priority is:
Site Business Entity
Account Customer Business Entity
Staff/User Business Entity
Blank, if no entity is found
This means the site entity takes priority over the staff entity.
Example:
If the logged-in user is linked to Entity A, but the site is linked to Entity B, the job will use Entity B.
This is because the site Business Entity overrides the staff Business Entity.
Example Scenario
A scheduler is assigned to Entity A in their staff profile.
They create a job for a site that is assigned to Entity B.
In this case, the job will use Entity B because the site-level entity has higher priority than the staff-level entity.
If the site does not have a Business Entity, FieldInsight will then check the account customer. If the account customer also does not have one, it will use the staff member’s Business Entity.
If none of these have an entity assigned, the job Business Entity will remain blank.
When Not to Assign a Staff Entity
If a scheduler manages jobs across multiple entities, you may not want to assign that scheduler to one specific Business Entity.
For example, if one person manages Entity A, Entity B, and Entity C, assigning them to only Entity A may not be helpful.
In this case, it is better to assign the correct Business Entity to the customer or site instead. This ensures the job uses the correct entity based on who the job is for, rather than who booked it.
Step 7: Create an Invoice from a Job
When a job has a Business Entity assigned, invoices created from that job will copy the same Business Entity.
To create an invoice:
Open the job.
Add the required labour, materials, or products.
Create a new invoice from the job.
Check the Business Entity field on the invoice.
The invoice should show the same Business Entity as the job.
This is important for accounting integrations such as Xero. When the invoice is exported, the Business Entity helps determine which Xero organisation or company file the invoice should be sent to.
Important Notes
Business Entities can be used to separate work across multiple businesses
The site Business Entity takes priority over the customer and staff entity.
The account customer entity is used if the site does not have one.
The staff entity is used if neither the site nor the account customer has an entity.
If no entity is found, the job Business Entity will be blank.
Invoices created from jobs copy the Business Entity from the job.
If a staff member works across multiple entities, consider leaving their staff Business Entity blank and assigning entities at the customer or site level instead.
Recommended Setup
For best results:
Turn on the Business Entity field.
Create all required Business Entities.
Avoid using a global default unless most work belongs to one entity.
Assign Business Entities to customers and sites.
Assign staff entities only where users work under one specific entity.
Test by creating a job and checking which Business Entity is applied.
Create an invoice from the job and confirm the correct entity is copied across.
Summary
Business Entities help you manage multiple businesses, or Xero organisations within FieldInsight.
Once enabled, you can assign entities to customers, sites, staff, jobs, and invoices. When jobs and invoices are created, FieldInsight uses the Business Entity to ensure the work is linked to the correct part of the business.
The most important rule to remember is the priority order:
Site Business Entity → Account Customer Business Entity → Staff Business Entity → Blank
Setting up Business Entities correctly helps keep your jobs, invoices, and accounting exports organised and aligned with the correct business.