Organizations
Organizations is Cooper's list of external organizations and companies (clients, vendors, subcontractors, suppliers and partners). Use it to add, find, edit and remove companies, link their people, rate their work, store their documents and check their compliance.
Organizations is the company directory in Cooper. Every external organization your company works with gets an organization record: clients, vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, partners and leads. Office admins, project managers, estimators and buyers use it to look up a company, keep its details current, see the people who work there, rate its work on projects, keep its documents in one place and check whether it is compliant.
Organizations hold company-level information. The people who work at an organization are humans linked to it.
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Organization | One external company. An organization has a name, a stage, a relationship type, an organization type and an industry, plus optional contact, address and finance details. |
| Stage | Where the relationship stands: Lead, Prospect, Opportunity, Counterparty, Dormant or Inactive. |
| Relationship type | How the company relates to you, such as Client or Subcontractor. Your admins define the list in Connect settings. |
| Organization type | What kind of company it is, such as Corporation. Defined in Connect settings. |
| Industry and Sub-Industry | The company's line of business. Each sub-industry belongs to one industry. Defined in Connect settings. |
| People | The humans who work at the organization. |
| Rating | A score of 1 to 5 stars that your team gives the organization for its work on one project, with optional notes. |
| Confidential document | An organization document that only members of selected teams can see. |
Open Organizations
- In the sidebar, open Connect.
- Click Organizations.
The list opens at /connect/organizations with the title All Organizations.
You need the Organizations permission in the Connect module to see this page. If your company's plan does not include Organizations, Cooper shows a plan-locked screen instead. See Permissions.
Read the Organizations list
Each row is one organization. The columns shown by default are:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Organization | The logo or initials, the name and the organization type. Click the name to open the organization's panel. Hover the row to show the copy icon. |
| Stage | The relationship stage. |
| Relationship | The relationship type. |
| Industry | The industry. |
| The company email. Click it to write an email in Cooper. A copy icon copies the address. | |
| Invoices | How many invoices the organization has. Click the number to open the Invoices tab. |
| People | Avatars of the linked people. Click them to open the People tab. |
| Ratings | The project of the first rating, the average star rating and the number of ratings. Hover to see every rating with its notes and dates. Click to open the Ratings tab. |
Hidden columns you can turn on: Phone, Website, Location, Tax ID, Chart of Account, Org Type, and the modified-by and modified-time columns.
Show or hide columns
- Click the Toggle Columns button (the columns icon) next to the search box.
- Tick or untick the columns you want.
Cooper remembers your choice.
Group the list
Drag a column header onto the bar that says Drag a column header here to group rows. You can group by Stage, Relationship, Industry or Org Type. To stop grouping, click the x on the column chip in the Grouped by bar.
The list loads more organizations as you scroll. The footer shows how many organizations are showing out of the total.
Search for an organization
Type in the Search organizations… box at the top of the list. The list shows organizations whose name contains your text.
Filter the Organizations list
Filter by stage
Click Relationship Stage and select one or more stages, for example Lead and Prospect.
Filter by type or industry
Click All filters. Choose a Relationship Type, Organization Type, Industry or Sub-Industry. Each filter applies as soon as you choose it. Sub-Industry lists the subcategories of the chosen industry.
Review or clear filters
Active filters appear as chips in the Filtered by row. Click the x on a chip to remove one filter. Click Clear all to remove every filter. In the All filters panel, Reset all clears the panel's filters.
The page address updates with your search and filters. Bookmark or share the address to come back to the same filtered list.
Add an organization
Open the form
Click Add Organizations at the top right of the list. The New Organization panel opens.
Fill in the organization details
Under Organization, enter the Organization Name and choose the Stage, Relationship Type, Organization Type and Industry. All five are required. Sub-Industry is optional and becomes available after you choose an industry.
Add a missing list value without leaving the form
If the relationship type, organization type, industry or subcategory you need is not in the dropdown, click + Add Relationship Type, + Add Organization Type, + Add Industry or + Add Subcategory at the bottom of that dropdown. A small form opens beside the panel. Fill it in and click the create button, for example Create Industry. The new value is selected for you.
Add contact, address and finance details
Optionally fill in Email, Phone (with country code), Website URL, the address fields (Street, City, State / Province, Zip / Postal Code, Country), Tax ID, Chart of Account and Description.
Save
Click Create Organization. Cooper shows "Organization created" and the organization appears in the list.
You add people, ratings and documents after the organization exists. Open the organization and use the People, Ratings and Documents tabs.
View an organization
Click the organization's name in the list. The organization panel opens on the right. The page address gains the organization's ID, so you can share a link that opens the same panel.
The top of the panel shows the logo, the name and two buttons: Copy organization info (the copy icon) and Edit.
The panel has these tabs:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Details | Name, stage, relationship type, organization type, industry, sub-industry, email, phone, website, address, tax ID and chart of account. |
| People | The humans linked to the organization, with email and call buttons. |
| Ratings | Project ratings for the organization. |
| Invoices | The organization's invoices with status, date, due date and total. Click View Invoice to open one. |
| Documents | Files stored on the organization, with confidential settings. |
| Compliance | The organization's compliance status, documents and evidence. |
| Timeline | Everything that happened with the organization, newest first. |
The People, Ratings, Invoices and Documents tab names show a count, for example People (3).
Edit an organization
Open the organization
Click the organization's name, or click the row's ... menu and choose View or Edit.
Switch to edit mode
Click Edit at the top of the panel. The same form as Add an organization appears.
Save your changes
Change the fields and click Save Changes. Cooper shows "Organization updated". Click Cancel to go back without saving.
Change an organization's logo
- Open the organization.
- Click the logo or initials in the panel header (tooltip Upload photo) and choose an image.
- Cooper saves the image right away and shows "Photo updated".
To remove the logo, click Remove photo.
Add or remove people at an organization
The people at an organization are humans. Linking a person here sets that human's organization.
Open the People tab
Open the organization and click the People tab.
Start editing
Click Edit People.
Link an existing human or create a new one
Click + Add Contact. To link someone already in Humans, turn on Link to existing person and pick them in Select person (Search by name...). To create a new human, leave it off and fill in First Name (required), Last Name, Title, Email and Phone.
Remove a person
Click Remove contact (the x) on the person's card. This only unlinks the person. The human stays in Humans.
Save
Click Save Changes. Cooper shows "People updated".
From the People tab you can also email a person (Email button) or call them from Cooper Phone (Call ... from Cooper Phone).
A person's relationship stage follows their organization's stage. To change it, change the organization's Stage.
Rate an organization's work on a project
Open the Ratings tab
Open the organization and click the Ratings tab.
Start editing
Click Edit Ratings, then + Add Rating.
Fill in the rating
Choose the Project (Select project...), click 1 to 5 stars under Rating, and add Notes if you want.
Save
Click Save Changes. Every rating needs a project and a star rating. If one is missing, Cooper shows "Please select a project and rating for each row".
Each saved rating shows the project, the stars, Submitted By, Last Updated By and the notes. To delete a rating, click Delete rating (the trash icon) on it and confirm. Deleting needs the Organizations Delete permission.
Upload and manage organization documents
Open the Documents tab
Open the organization and click the Documents tab.
Add files
Click Upload Files to upload from your computer, or click Import from your media library to pick files already in Cooper's Library. You can upload images, videos, PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, text, CSV, Markdown and RTF files. Each file can be up to 2 GB.
Preview or remove a file
Click a document to preview it. Click Remove (the x) on a document to remove it from the organization. Cooper shows "Document removed".
Make a document confidential
- On the document card, click Set confidential access (or Confidential: if it is already confidential).
- Turn on Confidential.
- Choose one or more Authorized Teams. At least one team is required. If you choose none, Cooper shows "Please select at least one authorized team".
- Click Save. Cooper shows "Confidential settings updated". Click Cancel to close without saving.
Only members of the authorized teams can see a confidential document.
Check an organization's compliance
Open the organization and click the Compliance tab. It shows the organization's compliance status with its Compliance Documents and Compliance Evidence. You can record compliance documents and notes here if you have the Organizations Write permission.
If the tab says "Could not load compliance status", click Retry.
See an organization's history
Open the organization and click the Timeline tab. It lists everything that happened with the company, newest first, grouped by day. It shows open items at the top, split into They owe us and We owe them. Filter by category (Money, Projects, Conversations, Meetings, Actions, Documents, Other), type in Search, and click Load more to see older entries.
Copy an organization's details
Hover an organization's row and click the copy icon (Copy organization info), or click the copy button in the panel header. Cooper copies the organization's details to your clipboard and shows "Organization copied to clipboard".
Delete organizations
Choose what to delete
To delete one organization, click the row's ... menu and choose Delete. To delete several, tick their checkboxes and click Delete in the footer.
Confirm
In the Are You Sure? window, click Delete. Cooper shows "Records have been deleted successfully."
Deleting an organization unlinks its people. The humans themselves stay in Humans.
Use the full organization page
Some links in Cooper, such as service providers in the Equipment register, open an organization as a full page at /connect/organizations/<id> instead of the panel. Click Back to return.
The full page shows Documents & Attachments, Contacts, Services Offered, Address Information, Recent Activities and Invoices. Click Edit to change the details. In edit mode you can also:
- Edit the organization fields under Edit Organization Details: Organization Name, Organization Type, Industry, Industry Sub Category, Relationship Stage, Relationship Type, Work Email, Mobile Number, Tax ID, Website URL and Description.
- Set Default Payment Accounts (optional). Click Add Default, then pick a Legal Entity and a Default Account. Each legal entity can have only one default account. Cooper suggests these accounts when you create payments to this vendor.
- Click Add Contact to add people.
- Click Add Service to record a service the organization offers, with Item Class, Item, Unit Rate and Lead Time (days).
- Click Add Activity to log an activity with an Activity Type (Meeting, Call, Email, Visit, Follow-up, Converted or Other), Date, Duration (minutes), Participants and Description.
Click Save Changes to save or Cancel to discard.
Fields reference
| Field | Required | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Organization Name | Yes | The company's name. |
| Stage | Yes | The relationship stage: Lead, Prospect, Opportunity, Counterparty, Dormant or Inactive. |
| Relationship Type | Yes | How the company relates to you. Comes from the Relationship Types list. |
| Organization Type | Yes | What kind of company it is. Comes from the Organization Types list. |
| Industry | Yes | The company's industry. Comes from the Industries list. |
| Sub-Industry | No | A subcategory of the chosen industry. |
| No | The company email. Must be a valid email address. | |
| Phone | No | The company phone number, with country code. |
| Website URL | No | The company website, for example https://example.com. |
| Street, City, State / Province, Zip / Postal Code, Country | No | The company address. |
| Tax ID | No | The company's tax identification number. |
| Chart of Account | No | The chart of accounts account linked to this organization. |
| Description | No | Free-text notes about the organization. |
People fields (People tab): First Name (required for a new person, 2 to 30 characters), Last Name, Title, Email (must be valid if entered) and Phone.
Rating fields (Ratings tab): Project (required), Rating (required, 1 to 5 stars) and Notes.
Permissions
Access is controlled by the Organizations permission in the Connect module of a role. An admin sets it in Settings → Roles.
| Action | Permission needed |
|---|---|
| See the Organizations list and panels | Organizations Read (or Write) |
| Add or edit organizations, people, ratings and documents; record compliance | Organizations Write |
| Delete organizations and ratings | Organizations Delete |
Without Write, the Add Organizations, Edit, Edit People and Edit Ratings buttons are hidden. Without Delete, Delete is hidden from the row menu.
An admin can also limit which organizations a role sees. In the role's Organizations access, restrict it to selected Relationship types, Organization types or Industries. People with that role then see only matching organizations.
Workspace owners can see and do everything.
Tips and best practices
- Set up your relationship types, organization types and industries in Connect settings before you import or add many organizations. The values you choose there drive filters, grouping and role restrictions.
- Keep the Stage current. Cooper shows the organization's stage for everyone who works there.
- Link people to organizations instead of typing company names into human records. The People column, the Timeline and AI agents then see the full picture.
- Use confidential documents for contracts, insurance certificates and bank details, and authorize only the teams that need them.
- Rate vendors and subcontractors at the end of each project. The Ratings column then helps you pick who to invite next time.
Troubleshooting
Your role does not have the Organizations permission in the Connect module. Ask an admin to grant it in Settings → Roles. If you see a plan-locked screen instead, your company's plan does not include Organizations.
Your role has Organizations Read but not Write. Ask an admin for Write access.
Click + Add Relationship Type, + Add Organization Type, + Add Industry or + Add Subcategory at the bottom of the dropdown in the organization form. An admin can also add values in Connect settings.
Choose an Industry first. Sub-Industry lists only the subcategories of the chosen industry.
Check the Filtered by row and click Clear all. If it is still missing, your role may be limited to certain relationship types, organization types or industries. Ask an admin.
Saving the People tab with no people left does not unlink anyone. To unlink the last person, open that person in Humans and change their organization.
Each file must be 2 GB or smaller. Split or compress the file and upload it again.
The document is confidential and you are not in one of its authorized teams. Ask someone in an authorized team, or an admin, to add your team.
For AI agents
Agents work with organizations through the CooperBuild MCP server.
| Tool | What it does | Key parameters |
|---|---|---|
search_external_orgs | Finds organizations with combined semantic and text search. Available to every user and returns summary fields only (id, name, email, phone, description, relationshipStage, relationshipStageLabel, status). | search (name, description, email, industry, city or role, for example "electrical sub NYC"), organizationType (an organization type ID), relationshipStage (Lead, Prospect, Opportunity, Counterparty, Dormant, Inactive), limit (1–50, default 20). Call with {} to list all organizations. |
person_timeline | The company timeline, the same data as the Timeline tab. | externalOrgId; optional categories, since, until, search, limit, pageNo |
crm_relationship_brief | Summarizes the relationship across every known contact at the company. Read-only. | externalOrgId |
crm_interaction_list | Lists logged interactions with the company. | externalOrgId plus filters |
compliance_check, compliance_documents, compliance_applicability, compliance_blocks_payment, compliance_dashboard | Read and record vendor compliance, the same data as the Compliance tab. | See each tool's schema. |
Rules and common errors:
search_external_orgsneeds no permission. Raw database tools (db_find,db_updateand so on) on theExternalOrgmodel need the Organizations permission.- The compliance tools are gated on Organizations. Any compliance write needs Organizations Write.
person_timeline,crm_relationship_briefandcrm_interaction_listneed Humans Read.- The stage "Active" is retired.
search_external_orgsstill accepts it and treats it asOpportunity. Never write "Active" to an organization; the record rejects it. - Creating or updating an organization requires
organizationName,organizationType(ID) andindustries(ID). Missing ones fail with "Field 'Organization Name' is required.", "Field 'Organization Type' is required." or "Field 'Industries' is required." - Relationship type, organization type, industry and sub-industry are IDs from the Connect settings lists. Look them up first. See Connect settings.
- Filtering by an invalid ID fails with "Invalid ID value in advancedFilters.…". Pass a valid 24-character ID.
- Deleting an organization unlinks its humans. It does not delete them.
Related
- Humans: the people who work at your organizations.
- Teams: group organizations into vendor lists, bid lists and subcontractor pools, and control who sees confidential documents.
- Connect settings: manage relationship types, organization types, industries and subcategories.
- Action items: what an organization owes you and what you owe them.
- Phone: call an organization's people from Cooper.
Humans
Humans is Cooper's people directory. Use it to add, find, edit and remove the people you work with (teammates, client contacts, vendor contacts and leads) and to see everything that has happened with each one.
Teams
Teams (also called groups) are named sets of people, organizations or both, such as a project team, a RACI group, a department-style functional team or a vendor bid list. Use them to assign work, control who sees confidential files, invite people in bulk and link people to projects.