# Master data (/docs/settings/master-data)

Master data is the reference data used from sales through release: employees, units, locations, machine
types, work areas, reason codes and more. **Settings > All master data** (`/config/setup`) lists every table
you can read in one page. The Org admin (Grace Ooi) looks after the list. Each table is edited by the role
that owns its app.

<GuideStep
  title="All master data"
  description="Tables grouped by the app that owns them. Search by name, or open a group."
  src="/guide/master-data/1.png"
  alt="All master data page on desktop with the table finder and groups"
  width={1440}
  height={1000}
  callouts={[
    { x: 30, y: 20, caption: "Find a table, for example moulds." },
    { x: 30, y: 40, caption: "Groups: Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Production, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, EHS, Settings." },
    { x: 70, y: 40, caption: "Controlled badge, field count and ISO clauses of each table." },
  ]}
/>

## Find a table [#find-a-table]

<Steps>
<Step>

Open **Settings > All master data**.

</Step>
<Step>

Type in **Find a table**. The count reads `{n} of {total} tables`. The search also matches the group name.
Choose **Clear** to start again.

</Step>
<Step>

Open a group to pick a table. A table with the **Controlled** badge is a controlled record.

</Step>
</Steps>

## Controlled and plain tables [#controlled-and-plain-tables]

A **Controlled** table needs a reason and an e-signature to change. Controlled documents issue a new
revision on every save. A plain table can be edited with a normal form.

## The tables most teams set first [#the-tables-most-teams-set-first]

| Table | Group | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| **Employees & roles** | Settings | Each login links to one employee. The role decides the screen after scanning an ID card at a machine, and which records the person may sign. Controlled. |
| **Units of measure** | Inventory | Item and stock units. |
| **Locations** | Inventory | Bins for stock, including the **Quarantine location** of a return. |
| **Machines** | Maintenance | Controlled. Production and maintenance both use them. |
| **Machine types** | Maintenance | The categories machines belong to. |
| **Work areas** | Maintenance | Where machines and permits sit. |
| **Reason codes** | Quality | Standard reasons for nonconforming product (ISO 13485 8.3). |
| **Downtime reason codes** | Production | Codes for why a machine stopped. |
| **Factories** and **Shifts & working hours** | Settings | See [Organization](/docs/settings/organization) and [Shifts](/docs/settings/shifts-and-calendar). |
| **Terms & conditions** | Sales | Reusable text on quotations and sales orders. |

<Callout type="note">

You only see the tables your role can read, and only those of standards that are switched on. A table that
is missing from the list may be hidden by your access letter or by a standard that the Org admin switched
off. See [Change what a role can see and do](/docs/settings/roles-and-permissions).

</Callout>

## Add a record [#add-a-record]

You do not type a code. Customers, suppliers, items, products, machines, moulds, gauges, production methods, machine
options, work instructions, checklists, utilities, employees, legal entities, factories, terms, inspection
characteristics, AQL plans and IPQC frequencies get their number when you save, for example `MCH-0010`.
The Add form shows it as **Assigned on save**.

<Steps>
<Step>

Enter the **Name** (or the description the table uses, such as **Description** of an item or **Title**
of a work instruction).

</Step>
<Step>

Optionally enter an **Internal reference**: the code your team already uses, a customer's part number or an
asset tag, for example `MC-07`. Each internal reference is used once in a table. Leave it blank if you have none.

</Step>
<Step>

Choose **Save**. Pickers then show the record as **Name · Internal reference**, with its number underneath,
and you can search by any of the three.

</Step>
</Steps>

A machine option has no name of its own: it is shown by its machine, mould and operation, for example
`MC-03 · M-217 · OP 10`.

You can change the name and the internal reference later. The number stays. Records made before numbering
keep their code as their number.

## Change a record [#change-a-record]

Open the table, then the record. Controlled records ask for a reason and your signature. A record that
other records point to cannot be deleted. The message names the records that use it. See
[Signatures and refusals](/docs/get-started/signatures-and-refusals#every-refusal).

## If the system refuses [#if-the-system-refuses]

Every message is in [Settings refusals](/docs/settings/refusals#master-data).

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| `You cannot change your own role, department or status. Ask another administrator.` | Another administrator edits your employee record. |
| `This is a controlled record. Enter the reason for the change.` | Type a reason. |
| `{key} is used by {records}. Remove those first.` | Change the records that use it, then delete. |
| `{field} {ref} is already used by {key}.` | Use another reference, or open that record. |

<NextSteps>

<NextStep href="/docs/settings/numbering-and-approvals" title="Numbering, purchase approvals and the change board" description="Set the document prefixes." />

<NextStep href="/docs/settings/users-and-invitations" title="Invite people" description="Link logins to employees." />

<NextStep href="/docs/settings/refusals" title="Settings refusals" description="Every message and the fix." />

</NextSteps>