# Departments

Departments group users and appointment types together. Where a department is used determines what it does.

## Why this matters

Assigned to an [appointment type](/docs/appointments/appointment-types/), a department is used for appointment reporting and analysis. Assigned to a user record, a department is also used for user access control and for filtering of appointments, as well as appointment reporting.

## Before you start

Managing departments requires one of the **Account Owner**, **Account Administrator** or **Change Settings** privileges.

## The elements of a department

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| Name | A short friendly name for the department that your users will recognize. |
| Description | A longer description to appear in formal reports *(optional)*. |
{.table}

## Managing departments

Go to the **Settings** area and select **Departments**. The screen shows a list of your departments, showing each department's name and description.

### Adding or editing a department

Click **Add Department** in the toolbar to create one, or click an existing row to edit it.

### Deleting a department

Tick one or more departments in the list, then click **Delete**. Deleting a department is allowed even if users or appointment types are still assigned to it — Diarybook warns you first:

> [!warning]
> Deleting this department will remove it from any users and appointment types assigned to it. Users who rely on View/Edit Department Appointments permissions may lose access to appointments, and department-based filtering and reporting will no longer be available for this department.

### Assigning a department to a user

Go to the **Users** area, then add or edit a user record and select their department. A user can only belong to one department.

### Department permissions

Two permission fields on the user record control access to appointments outside the user's own:

| Field | Controls |
|-------|---------|
| View Department Appointments | Whether the user can view appointments belonging to other users in their department |
| Edit Department Appointments | Whether the user can edit appointments belonging to other users in their department |
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> [!info]
> These two fields only take effect when the user doesn't already have **Account Owner**, **Account Administrator**, **Can View All Appointments** or **Can Edit All Appointments** — any of those already grant account-wide access, so the department-level fields have nothing left to add.

## What to watch for

### View/Edit Department Appointments look like they're not working

They're silently overridden by broader permissions. Check whether the user already has **Account Owner**, **Account Administrator**, **Can View All Appointments** or **Can Edit All Appointments** — any one of those makes the department-level fields irrelevant.

### Deleting a department affects more than the list

Removing a department un-assigns it from every user and appointment type that used it. Users relying on View/Edit Department Appointments for that department may lose access to appointments they could previously see or edit, and reporting or filtering by that department stops being available.

## Related

- [Appointment types](/docs/appointments/appointment-types/)
- [Users and permissions](/docs/setting-up/users-and-permissions/)
- [Locations](/docs/setting-up/locations/)

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Source: https://diarybook.com/docs/setting-up/departments/