Understanding Organizations

Organizations are the foundational structure in KtrlPlane. They represent your company, team, or personal workspace and serve as the top-level container for all your projects and resources.

What is an Organization?

An organization in KtrlPlane is:

• The top-level entity that contains all your projects and resources
• A billing boundary where payment methods and subscriptions are managed
• A team workspace where you collaborate with colleagues
• An administrative scope for managing company-wide policies and settings

Organization Structure

Organization (Acme Corp)
├── Project A (IoT Platform)
│   ├── Resource 1 (Graph Database)
│   ├── Resource 2 (Flow Processor)
│   └── Resource 3 (Assembler AI)
├── Project B (Analytics Dashboard)
│   ├── Resource 1 (Graph Database)
│   └── Resource 2 (Flow Processor)
└── Project C (Mobile App Backend)
    └── Resource 1 (Graph Database)

Creating Your Organization

First Organization

When you first sign up for KtrlPlane, you'll be prompted to create your initial organization:

1. Organization Name: Choose a name that represents your team or company
2. Description: Optional description of your organization's purpose
3. Billing Email: Email address for billing notifications (can be different from your account email)

Additional Organizations

You can create multiple organizations if you:

• Work with different companies or teams
• Need separate billing for different business units
• Manage client projects that require isolation

To create additional organizations:

1. Click your profile menu in the top right
2. Select "Switch Organization"
3. Click "Create New Organization"
4. Fill out the organization details

Organization Settings

Basic Information

Manage your organization's core details:

• Name: The display name for your organization
• Description: Brief description of your organization's purpose
• Organization ID: Unique identifier used in URLs and APIs
• Contact Information: Primary contact details

Billing Configuration

Organizations handle billing for all contained projects (unless projects have separate billing):

• Payment Methods: Credit cards, bank accounts, or invoicing
• Billing Address: Address for tax calculations and invoices
• Tax Information: VAT numbers, tax exemption certificates
• Billing Contacts: Who receives billing notifications and invoices

Default Settings

Set organization-wide defaults that apply to new projects:

• Default Resource Tiers: Which tiers to suggest for new resources
• Access Control Policies: Default permissions for organization members
• Compliance Settings: Security and compliance requirements
• Integration Defaults: Default connections to external services

Team Management

Organization Roles

There are several roles available at the organization level:

Owner

• Full control over the organization
• Can delete the organization
• Manage billing and payment methods
• Transfer ownership to another member
• Limit: Only one owner per organization

Admin

• Administrative access to organization settings
• Create and manage projects
• Invite and remove team members
• Configure billing (but not delete payment methods)
• Cannot: Delete organization or transfer ownership

Member

• Standard user access
• Can view projects they have access to
• Can create new projects (if allowed by org policy)
• Cannot modify organization settings
• Access: Determined by individual project permissions

Viewer

• Read-only access to organization information
• Can see organization projects (but not access them unless specifically granted)
• Cannot create projects or modify settings
• Useful for stakeholders who need visibility but not control

Inviting Team Members

1. Go to Organization Settings > Team Management
2. Click "Invite Team Member"
3. Enter their email address
4. Select their organization role
5. Optionally set an expiration date for the invitation
6. Click "Send Invitation"

The invited user will receive an email with instructions to join your organization.

Managing Existing Members

From the team management page, you can:

• Change roles: Promote or demote team members
• Remove members: Remove access to the organization
• View activity: See when members last accessed the organization
• Manage invitations: Cancel pending invitations or resend them

Billing and Subscriptions

Organization-Level Billing

Organizations can have their own billing configuration:

• Primary payment method for all projects in the organization
• Consolidated invoicing for all resource usage
• Usage-based billing across all projects
• Subscription management for organization-wide features

Project Billing Inheritance

Projects can either:

1. Inherit billing from the organization (recommended)
2. Use separate billing with their own payment methods

Benefits of inheritance:

• Simplified billing management
• Consolidated invoices
• Easier cost tracking across projects
• Reduced administrative overhead

Setting Up Billing

1. Go to Organization Settings > Billing
2. Add a payment method (credit card, bank account, or request invoicing)
3. Configure your billing address and tax information
4. Set up billing notifications and contacts
5. Choose your subscription plan (if applicable)

Organization Best Practices

Naming Strategy

• Use your actual company or team name
• Keep it professional and recognizable
• Avoid abbreviations that might be confusing to team members

Team Structure

• Start small: Begin with just essential team members
• Use appropriate roles: Don't give everyone admin access
• Regular reviews: Periodically review team access and roles
• Clear policies: Document who can invite new members and create projects

Billing Management

• Centralized approach: Use organization-level billing for most use cases
• Set up alerts: Configure billing notifications to avoid surprises
• Regular monitoring: Review usage and costs monthly
• Budget planning: Use project-level cost tracking for budgeting

Security Considerations

• Enable two-factor authentication for all team members
• Regular access reviews to ensure only current team members have access
• Audit logs to track important changes to the organization
• Compliance settings based on your industry requirements

Multiple Organizations

When to Use Multiple Organizations

Create separate organizations when you need:

1. Complete isolation between different business units
2. Separate billing for different companies or clients
3. Different compliance requirements (e.g., HIPAA vs. non-HIPAA projects)
4. Distinct team structures with no overlap

Managing Multiple Organizations

• Organization switching: Use the organization switcher in the top navigation
• Unified billing: Set up consolidated billing across organizations if needed
• Cross-organization collaboration: Invite the same users to multiple organizations
• Consistent policies: Apply similar security and compliance settings

Organization Consolidation

If you find you have too many organizations:

1. Evaluate necessity: Determine if separation is still needed
2. Plan migration: Move projects between organizations if possible
3. Billing consideration: Understand billing implications of consolidation
4. Team communication: Inform all stakeholders about changes

Next Steps

Now that you understand organizations:

1. Create Your First Project: Set up a project within your organization
2. Configure Team Access: Learn advanced permission management
3. Set Up Billing: Configure payment methods and billing policies
4. Explore Projects: Deep dive into project management