# Setting Up Sales Collaboration

Sales Collaboration allows people across your organization to participate in creating a sales plan at any level in the Item and Customer Group hierarchies. Through reconciliation, quantities entered at higher levels flow down to the lowest-level Item @ Customer Group in the Sales data.

## What's Already Set Up

Claret seeds some data for new tenants. Before starting, check what already exists:

* **Calendars** — Default calendars and calendar definitions have been created. Review at Master Data > Calendars.
* **Hierarchy Structures** — Default Finished Goods Item Hierarchy and Customer Group Hierarchy structures exist. Review at Master Data > Item Hierarchy and Master Data > Customer Group Hierarchy.

## Prerequisites

* Review [Global Settings](https://docs.claret.app/using-claret/getting-started/global-settings) to confirm calendars align with your fiscal year definitions

## Setup Steps

Sales Collaboration requires the following master data to be configured:

| Step | Data                     | Description                                          | Instructions                                                                             |
| ---- | ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1    | Item Hierarchy           | Define how your finished goods are organized         | [Item Hierarchy](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/item-hierarchy)                     |
| 2    | Items                    | The finished goods products you sell                 | [Items](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/items)                                       |
| 3    | Customer Group Hierarchy | Define how your customers are organized              | [Customer Group Hierarchy](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/customer-group-hierarchy) |
| 4    | Customer Groups          | Who you sell to                                      | [Customer Groups](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/customer-groups)                   |
| 5    | Item @ Customer Groups   | Which items are sold to which customers              | [Item @ Customer Groups](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/item-customer-groups)       |
| 6    | Sale Types               | Categories of sales data (Budget, Forecast, History) | [Sale Types](https://docs.claret.app/master-data/sale-types)                             |

{% hint style="success" %}
**Quick Win:** After completing steps 1-5, you can begin entering sales plans. Step 6 (Sale Types) determines what you're planning against, but you can start with the default types.
{% endhint %}

For detailed setup instructions, see the [Sales Collaboration](https://docs.claret.app/sell/sales-collaboration) documentation.

## Loading Data (Optional)

If you have historical and/or existing forecast sales data to import:

1. Go to Settings > Transactional Data > [Sales](https://docs.claret.app/transactional-data/sales)
2. Import sales data against your Item @ Customer Groups and Sale Types

Historical data isn't required to start planning but provides useful context.

## What's Next

* [Using Sales Collaboration](https://docs.claret.app/sell/sales-collaboration/using-sales-collaboration) — day-to-day usage
* [Collaborating on Sales Data](https://docs.claret.app/sell/sales-collaboration/collaborating-on-sales-data) — how reconciliation works

## Verification

To verify Sales Collaboration is set up correctly:

1. Navigate to Sell > Sales Collaboration
2. Configure a view by selecting a Sale Type and Calendar
3. Select your item or customer group level in the top picker
4. Your alternative hierarchy data should appear in a grid
5. You should be able to see, enter and save sales plan data

**If the page is empty:**

* Verify Items have been added to the Finished Goods hierarchy
* Verify Customer Groups have been added
* Verify Item @ Customer Group links exist for those items and customers

## Common Questions

### What sale types do I need?

At minimum, one sale type for the data you want to plan (e.g., "Budget" or "Forecast"). Many organizations also set up a "History" sale type for actual sales data.

### Can I plan at different hierarchy levels?

Yes. Data entered at a higher level reconciles down to the lowest Item @ Customer Group level automatically.