Set up your first workspace

A new organisation is empty. Fill it in this order — company details, people, fleet, then work — because each step feeds the checks that run on the one after it. Budget an hour.

Before you start

Have your CAA Operator ID, your operating authorisation reference and your current Operations Manual PDF to hand. You need the Manage org settings permission for the first three steps and Manage employees for the fourth; organisation admins have both.

Steps

1. Record your operating credentials

   Open OrganizationSettings (/organization) and select CAA / Operating in the left-hand section list. Under Operating credentials, fill in Operator ID, Operating authorisation and OA reference, then select Save.

   Below that, Operations Manual takes a Version label (for example V5.1) and a PDF. Upload each version as you issue it; the newest is the one the Pre-Flight Survey references, and older ones stay for the audit trail.

2. Set your organisation defaults

   Still on the Company tab, select Organisation and set your HQ location — it drives commute time in the vehicle utilisation reports.

   Then select Project & flight defaults and work down the four settings: Coordinate reference systems (which systems projects here can pick from), Cancellation reasons (the pre-defined reasons offered when cancelling a job), Maximum VLOS distance (the default radius the flight area TOAL tool draws around each vertex) and Flight area operational defaults.

3. Give your people access

   People join the organisation through your identity provider’s organisation profile — select your organisation name at the top of the sidebar to open it and invite them there. There is no invite form inside echoMike itself.

   Once someone appears, open OrganizationSettingsEmployees (/organization/employees) and select Permissions. Choose a person, apply Manager, Surveyor or Viewer, and fine-tune the individual toggles beneath. Changes save as you make them.

4. Add your fleet

   Go to OrganizationEquipment (/organization/equipment) and select Add equipment for each airframe, battery, camera, GPS receiver and data logger. Serial numbers matter — they are what the flight logs and the CAA pack match against.

   Group things that always travel together under Kits. Needs the Manage equipment permission.

5. Record certificates

   Every pilot adds their own Flyer-ID, A2 CofC and UK GVC at /my-certificates — those three types are built in, so there is nothing to configure first. Company certificates such as Operator Insurance go to /organization/certificates.

6. Create a client, then a project

   Select Create in the top-right header, then New client. Repeat with New project and work through the Details, Location and Equipment steps of the wizard.

7. Draw a flight area

   Open the project and select the Spatial tab. Under Flight areas, select New flight area and draw your operating polygon. Flight areas belong to the project, so every job you schedule against it can reuse this one.

8. Schedule a job

   Select Create, then New job. Work through Details, Schedule and People. The job opens on Overview with its Forms tab already waiting.

What happens next

The job appears in the Operations panel on Home and on the Calendar. Its readiness checks start running immediately, so open the Forms tab and complete the Pre-Flight Survey — that is what turns a Blocker into a Met, and what lets you record a flight clearance.

Troubleshooting

A sidebar item you expect is missing. Sidebar entries are hidden, not disabled, when you lack the permission or the plan feature behind them. See Why can’t I see this?.

The Employees tab shows Access denied. You have reached /organization/employees without the Manage employees permission. Ask an organisation admin.