Workspaces Guide

What are Workspaces?

A Workspace is an organizational container that allows you to compartmentalize and isolate resources according to your business logic. Rather than having all products, devices, and programs visible to every user in your organization, workspaces enable fine-grained control over what resources are accessible to different teams or divisions.

Workspaces are optional—if you don't create any, all users will see all resources they have permission to access based on their role. However, once you create workspaces, they become a resource-visibility filter for Operator through Executive roles.

When Should You Use Workspaces?

Use Workspaces If:

You operate a multi-brand organization where different brands have different products

You run multiple restaurant locations with location-specific products or equipment

You want to segregate by protein type, allergen, diet type, or cooking equipment across your organization

You need to limit product deployment so not all products go to all devices

You want to organize teams or divisions with separate resources

Do NOT Create Workspaces If:

You operate a single restaurant or small chain where all products and elaboration routes are shared

You want maximum simplicity with no visibility restrictions (all authorized resources visible to all users)

How Workspaces Affect Resource Visibility

Scenario 1: No Workspaces Created

If you have not created any workspaces, resource visibility is determined entirely by role-based permissions:

Operator can see all devices and products in the organization (but cannot edit, create, or delete them)

Manager can see and edit all assigned resources across the organization

Executive and above can see all resources according to their role permissions

There is no resource filtering—users see everything their role permits.

Scenario 2: One or More Workspaces Created

Once you create at least one workspace, the visibility rules change:

Operator through Executive roles can only see resources that are assigned to workspaces they are members of

Administrator and Owner can see all resources in the organization, but can optionally filter by selecting a specific workspace

Users not assigned to any workspace will see no resources at all, even if resources exist in the organization

This creates a dual-layer visibility system:

Role-based permissions determine what types of actions a user can perform

Workspace membership determines which resources a user can access

Workspace Hierarchy

Workspaces can be organized hierarchically in a tree structure with parent-child relationships.

How Workspace Visibility Works in a Hierarchy

When you are a member of a workspace, you can see resources in:

That workspace itself

All ancestor workspaces (parents, grandparents, up the tree)

All descendant workspaces (children, grandchildren, down the tree)

In other words: You have visibility across the entire tree branch—both upward to parents and downward to children.

Example Hierarchy

Organization

├── Beef Division

│ ├── Location A

│ │ ├── Grilling Station

│ │ └── Prep Station

│ └── Location B

└── Poultry Division

├── Location C

└── Location D

If you are a member of Location A, you can see resources in:

Location A (your workspace)

Beef Division (parent)

Grilling Station and Prep Station (children)

Organization (grandparent)

But you cannot see resources in Location B, Poultry Division, or their children.

Managing Workspaces

Who Can Create and Manage Workspaces?

Only users with Corporate role and above (Corporate, Executive, Administrator, Owner) can:

Create new workspaces

Edit existing workspaces

Delete workspaces

Assign resources to workspaces

Users with Manager or Operator roles cannot create or manage workspaces, but they can be assigned to them to access resources.

How to Create and Manage Workspaces

Location: Settings → Workspaces To create or edit a workspace:

Go to Settings → Workspaces

Select an existing workspace to edit, or create a new one

Set the workspace name and assign a parent workspace (if creating a hierarchy)

Assign resources to the workspace

To assign resources to a workspace:

Option 1: Go to Settings → Workspaces → Select workspace → Assign Resources

Option 2: Go to the resource (product, device, program, batch, report) → Edit → Select which workspaces it belongs to

A single resource can be assigned to multiple workspaces at once.

Creating Workspace Hierarchies

When creating or editing a workspace, you can set its parent workspace to create a hierarchy. The parent-child relationship determines visibility across the tree branch as described above.

What Happens When You Delete a Workspace?

When a workspace is deleted:

Users lose access to resources that were exclusively in that workspace

If a resource was assigned to multiple workspaces, users can still access it through those other workspaces

The resource itself is not deleted—only the workspace association is removed

Example: If a product is in both "Beef Division" and "All Products" workspaces, deleting "Beef Division" does not remove the product, but users who only had access to "Beef Division" will lose access to it.

Resource Behavior with Workspaces

Automatic Workspace Assignment on Creation

When a user with Executive role or above creates a resource (product, device, program, batch, report), it is automatically assigned to all workspaces they are currently viewing in the cloud portal.

Example: If a Manager is viewing the "Location A" workspace and an Executive creates a new product in that context, the product will automatically be added to "Location A". The Executive can later modify which workspaces the product is assigned to.

Editing Resource Workspace Assignments

After creation, workspace assignments can be modified at any time:

Select the resource (product, device, program, etc.)

Edit its properties

Change which workspaces it is assigned to

Administrator and Owner Behavior

Administrators and Owners have special visibility privileges:

They can see all resources in the organization regardless of workspace assignments

If they select a specific workspace, they see resources filtered to that workspace (for easier navigation)

They are not bound by workspace membership restrictions

This allows administrators to manage and monitor all resources without being assigned to every workspace.

Best Practices for Workspace Organization

1. Plan Your Workspace Structure Before Creating

Think about your business logic first:

Are you organizing by location, brand, equipment type, product type, or team?

Will you need a hierarchy (e.g., Division → Location → Station)?

Are there shared resources that should be in multiple workspaces?

Creating a clear structure upfront is easier than restructuring later.

2. Use Hierarchies for Complex Organizations

If you have nested divisions or locations, use workspace hierarchies so users automatically see parent and child resources.

3. Assign Resources to Multiple Workspaces When Appropriate

If a product is relevant to multiple divisions or locations, assign it to multiple workspaces rather than duplicating it.

4. Be Careful When Assigning Users to Workspaces

Remember that once workspaces exist, users not assigned to any workspace will see nothing. Always ensure users are assigned to at least one workspace if they need to see resources.

5. Document Your Workspace Purpose

Use clear, descriptive names for workspaces so users understand their purpose (e.g., "NYC Location - Beef Prep" rather than "Workspace 1").

6. Review Workspace Assignments Periodically

When employees change roles or locations, update their workspace assignments to match their responsibilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If I have no workspaces created, can I still see all resources?

A: Yes. Without any workspaces, all users see all resources according to their role permissions. Workspaces are optional—they only become a visibility filter once you create at least one.

Q: Can a resource be in multiple workspaces?

A: Yes. A single product, device, program, or other resource can be assigned to as many workspaces as needed. This is useful for resources that are relevant to multiple divisions, locations, or teams.

Q: If I assign a user to one workspace in a hierarchy, can they see resources in child workspaces?

A: Yes. When assigned to a workspace, users can see resources in that workspace, all parent workspaces (ancestors), and all child workspaces (descendants)—the entire tree branch.

Q: What happens if I delete a workspace that has child workspaces?

A: You can delete a workspace with child workspaces. The children will remain but will no longer have that parent. They become independent or you can reassign them to a different parent.

Q: Can Operators and Managers create workspaces?

A: No. Only Corporate role and above (Corporate, Executive, Administrator, Owner) can create, edit, and delete workspaces. Operators and Managers can only be assigned to them.

Q: If I have workspaces but an Administrator selects no workspace filter, what do they see?

A: Administrators and Owners always see all resources in the organization. When no specific workspace is selected, they have full visibility. When a specific workspace is selected, they see filtered resources for easier navigation.

Q: I created a workspace but no one can see resources in it. Why?

A: Users must be assigned to a workspace to see its resources. Simply creating a workspace does not automatically add users to it. Go to Settings → Workspaces → Select the workspace and ensure users are assigned to it.

Q: If I delete a workspace, do the resources in it get deleted too?

A: No. Deleting a workspace only removes the workspace container. The resources remain in the system. Users simply lose access to them through that workspace, but if the resources are in other workspaces, they remain accessible there.