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

# Groups and offices

> Create groups of support recipients and team members, set office addresses, choose where each team member starts their day, and filter Elate by group.

A group links support recipients with the team members who support them, for example one round. Groups help you plan: you can schedule a group session, filter Elate to one group, and give a group its own office. Being in a group does not change who can see a record.

**Who can do this:** anyone whose role includes **Support recipients** or **Team** can open **Settings > Groups**, even without **Settings**. Adding, editing and deleting groups needs **Support recipients**. By default that is Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers, Care Coordinators, Team Leads and Finance Users. Read Only Auditors can see groups but not change them. Only Organisation Owners and Service Provider Admins can set the default office. Choosing where a team member starts their day needs **Team**. Your organisation can change this in **Settings > Permissions**.

Your organisation may use different words for some things, such as "Service users" instead of "Support recipients". Elate shows your organisation's words everywhere, so follow what you see.

## Add a group

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Groups">
    In Elate on the web, select **Settings** in the sidebar, then the **Groups** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start a group">
    Select **Add group**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it">
    Fill in **Name** and, if you like, a **Description**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose its office">
    Under **Office**, pick **Use the default office**, or **Set a different office** and type the **Office address**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose its members">
    Tick the support recipients and the team members who belong in it. Inactive support recipients are not offered.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Select **Create group**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Each group shows its team, its support recipients and a count. Select **Edit** to change it (then **Save changes**), or **Delete** to remove it. Visits already created from a deleted group keep their records.

### Add team members from the Team list

On the **Team** list, tick the people and select **Add to group**, or open one person's actions menu and choose **Add to group**. Pick the group and select **Add to group**. The group's current members are kept.

## Offices

Offices are only used as starting points for travel time estimates.

* **The default office.** At the top of the **Groups** tab, the **Everyone** entry holds your organisation's default office. Type it in **Office address** and select **Save office address**. Groups without an office of their own use this address.
* **A group's own office.** Set it with **Set a different office** when you add or edit the group.

## Where a team member starts their day

Travel to a carer's first visit of the day is measured from their home address unless you choose an office.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open their profile">
    Open the team member's profile from **Team** and select **Edit profile**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the start">
    Set **Starts the day from** to **Home address**, **Default office**, or one of their groups' offices (shown as the group's name followed by "office"). The address Elate will use appears underneath.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Select **Save profile**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Only groups the person belongs to, and that have their own office, are offered. If their chosen office stops being available, for example the group is deleted or they leave it, Elate goes back to their home address. See [Bank holidays and travel time](/schedule/bank-holidays-and-travel-time).

## Filter Elate to one group

When your organisation has groups, a group menu appears at the top right of the page, beside the notifications bell. It reads **Everyone** until you pick a group (on a narrow screen it shows only an icon). Choosing a group filters support recipients, the team, the schedule, reports, operations and the dashboard to that group. Eli always answers for the whole organisation.

While a group is chosen, pages show a banner starting **Showing**. Select **Show everyone** to clear it. The choice is your own and does not change what anyone else sees.

## Group sessions

To schedule a group's support recipients together, set **Visit type** to **Group session** when you create a visit, then choose the group. See [Creating and editing visits](/schedule/creating-and-editing-visits).

## Related pages

* [Team members](/account/managing-team-members)
* [Using the schedule](/schedule/using-the-schedule)
* [Bank holidays and travel time](/schedule/bank-holidays-and-travel-time)


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