Getting started

1. Create your account

Go to the TinERP website and choose Start free trial. Enter your work email and select Continue.

We email you a link to set up your organization. The next page shows the address it went to, with shortcuts to Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo Mail - if it's the wrong address, choose use a different email.

The link works once and expires after 24 hours. If it has expired, just enter your email again.

Tip: Use your work email: you'll be the owner of the organization's account, and invitations and approvals are sent there.

2. Set up your organization

Open the link from the email. Enter your name, your organization's name and region, and choose a password - the list under it ticks off each rule (at least 12 characters, a symbol, both passwords matching) as you go. Then select Create account and start trial.

Your free trial starts straight away with everything included. No card is needed, and nothing is charged when the trial ends.

3. Find your way around the dashboard

You arrive on your Dashboard. My day at the top shows what needs you today. Below it, Get started lists the setup steps and ticks them off as you finish them.

The menu on the left holds every page you can use. To jump anywhere, select the search bar at the top, or press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) and type what you're looking for.

4. Add your company details

Go to Organization → Company. Enter your legal name as registered with CAC, your RC number, tax ID (TIN), VAT number, contact details and address.

These details are printed on the documents TinERP produces, such as invoices and purchase orders, so it's worth getting them right before you issue any.

5. Set up your structure

Go to Organization → Structure. Add your branches (offices, sites or warehouses - mark one as head office), your departments and, if you use them, cost centres.

Every module uses this structure: people belong to a department, approvals can depend on it, and reports can be filtered by it.

6. Check holidays and your work week

Go to Organization → Holidays. Nigeria's public holidays come from TinERP and stay up to date - including Eid dates once they're announced. Choose which ones you observe and add your organization's own days off with Add a day off.

Under Work week, choose your working days and the hours in a working day. Leave, timesheets and travel all count days using these settings.

7. Invite your team

Go to Access & security → Users and select Invite member (1). Enter the person's name and email, choose their role, and select Send invite.

They get an email with a link to choose their password. The link lasts 72 hours; you can resend it from the same page. Until they join, they're listed as Invited.

Tip: You don't have to invite everyone at once. Start with the people who will set up their own modules - for example your HR or finance lead - and invite everyone else when you're ready.

8. Choose what each role can do

Go to Access & security → Roles. TinERP starts you with four roles: Owner (everything, including billing), Admin, Manager and Staff.

Open a role to see and change its permissions, module by module - down to whether someone sees only their own records, their department's or everyone's. Select Add role for anything the four don't cover, such as a finance officer.

9. Set your approval rules

Go to Organization → Approval workflows. Each kind of request - leave, timesheets, expense claims, advances, requisitions, purchase orders and more - starts with sensible TinERP defaults, usually the person's manager.

Open a request type to change who approves it. A rule has conditions (for example Days is at least 10, or an amount over a limit) and steps in order. The first rule that matches a request decides who approves it.

10. Choose a plan

When you're ready, go to Organization → Billing. You can pay any time during your trial - the trial days you have left are kept.

Choose monthly or annual, then pay by card (securely through Paystack) or by bank transfer. Paid plans renew automatically until you cancel, and prices include VAT.