> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.1archive.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing Organizations

> An organization groups your team members, sources, and billing under one account. Learn how to create, join, and switch between organizations in 1Archive.

An organization is the top-level container for your team in 1Archive. All sources, source groups, collections, and members belong to an organization. When you log in for the first time, you either create a new organization or join one you have been invited to. Everything you do in 1Archive (scanning drives, building collections, managing team members) happens within the context of your active organization.

## What an organization contains

* **Members:** everyone on your team who has been invited to the organization, each with an assigned role (Owner, Admin, Editor, or Viewer).
* **Sources:** the hard drives and storage locations your team has scanned and indexed.
* **Source groups:** folders that organize sources, with configurable visibility per group.
* **Collections:** curated sets of files that can be shared inside or outside the organization.
* **Billing:** each organization has its own subscription and billing settings managed through the account portal.

## Creating an organization

When you sign in to 1Archive for the first time and no organization exists for your account, you are prompted to create one.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in">
    Launch 1Archive and complete the sign-in flow. 1Archive uses your work email
    and your company's identity provider (SSO) if your organization has
    configured one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create your organization">
    If you are not already a member of any organization, you will see a prompt
    to create one. Enter a name for your organization and confirm. You become
    the first Admin of the new organization.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Invite your team">
    Once your organization exists, go to **Settings → Members** to invite
    colleagues by email. Each person you invite receives a role assignment; see
    [Roles & Permissions](/team/roles-permissions) for details.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Joining an organization

You join an organization by accepting an email invitation sent by an Admin. Clicking the link in the invitation email takes you through the sign-in flow and automatically adds you to the organization with the role the Admin selected.

<Note>
  You cannot browse or request access to an organization without an invitation.
  Contact an Admin on your team to send you an invite.
</Note>

## Switching between organizations

If you belong to more than one organization (for example, a freelancer working with multiple clients, or a studio with separate organizations for different projects), you can switch between them without signing out.

The **organization switcher** is located at the bottom of the sidebar. It displays your currently active organization name and avatar.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the switcher">
    Click your organization name at the bottom-left of the sidebar. A dropdown
    lists every organization you belong to, along with your role in each.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select an organization">
    Click the organization you want to switch to. 1Archive reloads the database
    for that organization. A brief loading dialog appears while the data syncs.
    This usually takes a few seconds.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  You can also add a brand new organization from the switcher dropdown by
  clicking **Add organization**.
</Tip>

After switching, the entire app (sources, collections, and team data) reflects the newly selected organization. Your role may differ between organizations; the permissions you have in one org do not carry over to another.

## Managing organization settings

Admins can access organization settings by clicking **Manage organization** in the organization switcher dropdown, or by navigating to **Settings → Members**.

From here, Admins can:

* View all current members and their roles
* Invite new members by email
* Change a member's role
* Remove members from the organization. See [Off-boarding](/team/offboarding) for what happens to a departing person's Collections and access

## Billing

Each organization has its own subscription. Billing is managed at the organization level, so charges apply to the organization rather than to individual user accounts. Admins can access billing information through the account portal linked in **Settings**.

<Note>
  Billing details and plan limits are per organization. If you switch to a
  different organization, that organization's plan and storage quota apply.
</Note>