Company Hierarchy: Centralized Admin

Overview

Spotto supports nested parent-child company hierarchies. Each company can have one parent and one or more child companies, which lets you model structures such as managed service provider teams, customer groups, regions, business units, and individual customer companies.

Parent-child relationships let you:

• Centralize management - Administer multiple companies from a parent company
• Delegate access - Grant users permission to manage descendant companies without direct membership
• Organize customers - Use container companies to group customer companies by team, region, tier, or business unit
• Maintain separation - Keep data and resources isolated between companies while enabling oversight
• Automate onboarding - Create new child companies programmatically via API

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Company hierarchies can be nested up to 10 levels deep. The hierarchy is always a tree: a company can have only one parent, and circular relationships are not allowed.

How It Works

When you create or edit a company in Spotto, you can optionally assign it to a parent company. This establishes a relationship where:

1. The parent company gains administrative visibility over the child company and its descendants
2. Users with appropriate roles in the parent can manage descendant companies
3. The child company operates independently but remains linked to its parent
4. A child company can also be a parent of other companies, up to the hierarchy depth limit

Key Concepts

Term	Description
Root Company	The top company in a hierarchy tree. It has no parent.
Parent Company	A company that has one or more child companies. It can be the root or another company inside the tree.
Child Company	A company linked to a parent company. A child can also have its own children.
Descendant Company	Any company below another company in the hierarchy, whether direct or nested deeper.
Customer Company	A normal operational company that can own users, cloud accounts, notifications, integrations, and other settings.
Container Company	A company used to organize child companies. Container companies appear in the hierarchy but are not selected as the active company for operational pages.
Child Company Administrator	A role that provides administrative access to descendant companies.
Child Company Reader	A role that provides read-only access to descendant companies.

Roles and Permissions

When a company becomes a parent (has at least one child company), two new roles become available:

Child Company Administrator

Users with the Child Company Administrator role in a parent company can:

• View descendant companies under the parent
• Manage settings and configurations for descendant companies
• Add and remove users from descendant companies
• Connect cloud accounts to descendant customer companies
• Create new child companies

This role provides full administrative capabilities for child companies without requiring direct membership in each one.

Child Company Reader

Users with the Child Company Reader role can:

• View descendant company details and configurations
• Access dashboards and reports for descendant customer companies
• View cloud accounts and resources in descendant customer companies

This role provides read-only visibility across descendant companies, which is useful for auditors or stakeholders who need oversight without modification rights.

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Company Administrators in a parent company inherit administrative access to descendant companies.

Creating a Child Company

Via the Spotto Portal

1. Navigate to Company Settings in the Spotto Portal
2. Click Create Company
3. Enter the company details (name, etc.)
4. In the Parent Company field, select the parent company
5. Choose the Company Classification
6. Click Create

The new company appears as a child of the selected parent.

Use Customer for normal operational companies. Use Container for grouping companies in the hierarchy, such as "Trial Customers" or "Region - East".

Via API

When creating a company through the Spotto API, include the parentId parameter:

{
  "name": "Child Company Name",
  "parentId": "parent-company-uuid"
}

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API-created companies automatically become children of the company associated with the API key. The parentId parameter in the request payload is ignored—the parent is always set to the API key's company.

Managing Parent-Child Relationships

Changing a Company's Parent

You can reassign a company to a different parent or remove the parent relationship from the company settings screen:

1. Navigate to the child company's Settings
2. Edit the Parent Company field
3. Select a new parent or clear the field to make it a root company
4. Save changes

Requirements for changing parents:

• You need administrative access to both the current and new parent companies
• The new parent cannot be the same company or one of the company's descendants
• The move cannot make the hierarchy deeper than 10 levels
• If removing the parent entirely, the company needs at least one user with Company Administrator access

The Company Hierarchy page also provides a tree-based move flow for moving a company under another company in the same hierarchy.

Removing a Child Company

To remove a child company from a parent:

1. Either reassign the child to a different parent, or
2. Clear the parent relationship to make it a standalone root company

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Before you can delete a parent company, all child companies need to be reassigned or deleted first. A company with active children cannot be deleted.

Use Cases

Managed Service Providers (MSPs)

MSPs can create child companies for each client:

• Maintain separate data and billing per client
• Centralize administration through the MSP's parent company
• Grant client users access to only their specific company
• Use Child Company Reader role for account managers who need visibility

Enterprise with Multiple Business Units

Larger organizations can structure Spotto to mirror their organizational hierarchy:

• Parent company represents the corporate entity
• Container companies represent divisions, regions, tiers, or business units
• Customer companies represent operational teams or customer environments
• IT administrators manage all units from the parent
• Business unit staff access only their specific company

Partner Programs

Organizations with partner ecosystems can:

• Create child companies for each partner
• Provide partners administrative access to their own company
• Maintain oversight through parent-level roles
• Onboard partners programmatically via API

Practical Considerations

1. Plan your hierarchy - Use container companies for grouping and customer companies for operational work

2. Use appropriate roles - Assign Child Company Reader for oversight-only needs; reserve Child Company Administrator for users who need to make changes

3. Document relationships - Maintaining clear records of which companies are parents/children helps with organizational clarity

4. API key management - API keys create children under their associated company automatically, which is worth keeping in mind when planning API integrations

5. User access - When removing a parent relationship, make sure the child company has direct user membership to avoid access issues

Limitations

• Single parent only - A company can only have one parent
• Depth limit - Company hierarchies can be up to 10 levels deep
• No circular relationships - A company cannot be its own parent or be moved under one of its descendants
• Parent deletion blocked - Companies with children cannot be deleted until children are reassigned or deleted
• API key behavior - API-created companies always inherit the API key's company as parent

Troubleshooting

I can’t see a child company I expect

What you're seeing: A child company isn’t listed under the parent in the Portal.
Likely causes:

• You’re viewing the wrong parent company context.
• Your role in the parent company doesn’t include child access. How to fix:

1. Switch to the intended parent company in the Portal and refresh.
2. Ask a parent company administrator to confirm you have Child Company Reader or Child Company Administrator.

I lost access after removing a parent relationship

What you're seeing: Users can’t access a company after changing/removing the parent link.
Likely causes: The child company doesn’t have direct user membership and relied on parent roles.
How to fix:

1. Add the required users directly to the child company first.
2. Then remove or change the parent relationship.

I cannot select a company from the company selector

What you're seeing: A company appears in hierarchy management but cannot be selected as the active company for operational pages.

Likely causes: The company is classified as a container.

How to fix:

1. Select a customer company under the container for operational pages.
2. Use the Company Hierarchy page to browse or manage container companies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a child company have its own children?

Yes. A child company can also be a parent, as long as the hierarchy remains within the 10-level depth limit.

What happens to users when a company becomes a child?

Existing users retain their access. Parent company users with child roles gain additional access to the child.

Can I move a company between parents?

Yes, provided you have administrative access to both the current and new parent companies.

Can I make a company a root company?

Yes. In company settings, clear the Parent Company field to make the company a root company. Make sure the company has direct user membership before removing inherited access.

What permissions do I need to create a child company?

You need Company Administrator or Child Company Administrator access to the intended parent company.

Are cloud accounts shared between parent and child?

No. Each company maintains its own cloud accounts. However, users with child roles can view and manage child company cloud accounts based on their permissions.

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For assistance with parent-child company setup, contact us.