Table of Contents
Support Guide
Multi-Branch Management in Shape Software
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Shape Software
Learn how Branching in Shape Software allows organizations to centrally manage multiple offices, regions, brands, or business units while giving each branch the flexibility to operate independently.
Multi-Branch Management
Scale Your Organization Without Sacrificing Flexibility
As organizations grow, so do their operational needs.
One branch may specialize in purchase loans while another focuses on refinance. An insurance agency may have separate offices dedicated to personal lines, commercial policies, or Medicare. Each location may also have its own marketing campaigns, phone numbers, users, licensing requirements, and internal workflows. Trying to force every office into the exact same CRM configuration often creates unnecessary complexity and slows teams down.
Shape's Branching architecture was built to solve that challenge.
Branching allows organizations to centrally manage multiple offices, regions, brands, or business units while giving each branch the flexibility to operate independently.
Instead of choosing between complete standardization or complete independence, Shape lets you have both.
What Is Branching?
Think of your organization like a family tree.
None
Corporate (Master Branch)
├── San Diego ├── Phoenix ├── Dallas ├── Seattle └── Denver
The Corporate (Master) Branch provides centralized administration, while each branch operates as its own independent Shape environment.
Each branch has its own database, users, phone numbers, automation, reports, and workflows, allowing local teams to work the way that best fits their business.
At the same time, corporate administrators can oversee and manage the entire organization from a single master account.
Why Use Branching?
Branching is ideal for organizations that need consistency across the company while still allowing individual locations to operate independently.
Common examples include:
- Mortgage companies with multiple branch offices.
- Insurance agencies with regional offices.
- Franchises.
- Multi-brand organizations.
- Enterprise sales organizations.
- Businesses operating in multiple states or regions.
Each location can have unique workflows while still benefiting from centralized oversight.
Independent When You Need It. Shared When You Want It.
One of the biggest advantages of Branching is flexibility.
Every branch can maintain its own configuration while still allowing corporate administrators to standardize resources across the organization when appropriate.
A branch can have its own:
- Users
- Phone numbers
- Email sending
- SMS texting
- Drip Campaigns
- Triggers
- Prioritized Views
- Shark Tanks
- AI Agents
- Dashboards
- Reports
- Landing Pages
- Websites
- Forms
- Branding
- LOS integrations
- API integrations
Or...
Corporate can build many of these resources once and distribute them to every branch using Sync to All Branches.
This allows organizations to maintain company-wide consistency while still supporting branch-specific customization where needed.
How New Branches Work
When a new branch is created, it automatically inherits the current configuration from the Corporate (Master) branch.
This provides a consistent starting point for new offices while significantly reducing setup time.
After the branch is created, administrators can customize its configuration to meet that branch's specific business needs.
For example, a branch might customize:
- Branding
- Automation
- Templates
- Prioritized Views
- Forms
- Websites
- Marketing campaigns
- User permissions
- Integrations
This approach provides consistency without limiting flexibility.
Syncing Resources Across Branches
Some resources are designed to be standardized across your organization.
Corporate administrators can create items such as:
- Email Templates
- Text Templates
- Drip Campaigns
- Prioritized Views
and distribute them across every branch using the Sync to All Branches feature.
This helps maintain consistency while eliminating the need to manually recreate the same configuration in every branch.
How To Sync to All Branches
Many configurable resources in Shape, such as templates, automation, and other supported settings, include a Sync to All Branches option. This allows Corporate administrators to quickly distribute changes across every branch without manually recreating or updating the same configuration multiple times.
To sync a supported resource:
1.
Navigate to the settings page for the resource you want to sync.
2.
Create a new item or edit an existing one.
3.
Select Sync to All Branches.
4.
Save your changes.
Shape automatically handles the rest.
- If the resource has not previously been synced, Shape will create it in each branch.
- If the resource has already been synced, Shape will update the existing version in every branch with your latest changes.
This makes it easy to maintain consistency across your organization while still allowing branches to operate independently where needed.
Note: The Sync to All Branches option is only available for supported features. If you don't see the option on a settings page, that feature is managed independently within each branch.
Branch Data Is Isolated
Each branch operates within its own database.
Records are not automatically shared between branches, and each record exists in only one branch.
This means:
- Each record has a unique Record ID within its branch.
- Branch users only see data within their own branch.
This separation helps organizations maintain clean, organized databases while supporting independent branch operations.
If records, users, phone numbers, or other resources need to move between branches, there are supported migration and API-based approaches available. If you need assistance, contact Shape Support to discuss the best option for your organization.
Cross-Branch Search
Finding a record across multiple branches doesn't require logging into each branch individually.
When using the Master Search from the Corporate (Master) branch, Shape first searches the Corporate database by default. If the record isn't found or you'd like to expand your search, use the Branch dropdown to choose where you'd like to search.
You can:
- Search the Corporate (Master) branch.
- Search a specific branch.
- Search across all branches simultaneously.
This makes it easy to quickly locate where a contact or record exists without switching between branches or performing multiple searches.
Why Use Cross-Branch Search?
Cross-Branch Search is especially helpful when:
- You're not sure which branch owns a record.
- Supporting multiple branch offices.
- Assisting customers who may have worked with different locations.
- Verifying whether a contact already exists elsewhere in your organization.
- Providing enterprise-wide administrative support.
Note: Cross-Branch Search is available from the Corporate (Master) branch using the standard Master Search. Simply choose the branch you'd like to search, or select Search Across All Branches to search your entire organization from one place.
Corporate Oversight
Although branches operate independently, corporate administrators maintain visibility across the organization.
Depending on permissions, Corporate users can:
- Search across multiple branches.
- Access cross-branch reports.
- View organization-wide user reports
- Log directly into individual branches as a branch administrator.
- Manage branch configurations.
- Distribute shared resources.
This allows corporate teams to provide centralized administration without interrupting local branch operations.
Logging Into a Branch
Corporate administrators with the appropriate permissions can access individual branches directly from the Manage Branches page.
To access a branch:
1.
Navigate to Settings → Manage Branches.
2.
Locate the branch you'd like to access.
3.
Select the ... menu.
4.
Choose Log Into Branch.
Once inside the branch, you'll have access based on your permissions within that branch.
When you're finished, simply select Switch to Master Login from your profile menu to return to the Corporate (Master) branch.
Choosing Between Branches, Teams, and Departments
Organizations sometimes wonder whether they should create another branch or simply organize users differently.
As a general guideline:
Use Branches when...
Use Teams or Departments when...
Offices operate independently.
Users simply need organizational grouping.
Each office has different automatio
Workflows remain largely the same.
Different phone numbers are required.
The same phone system is shared.
Different websites or branding are needed.
Branding remains consistent.
Each location manages its own configuration.
Only user organization is changing.
Branches are designed for organizations that need separate operational environments, while Teams and Departments are intended to organize users within a single branch.
Cross-Branch Email Campaigns
Corporate users don't need to log into each branch individually to manage organization-wide email campaigns.
Shape includes a Cross-Branch Email Campaign tool that allows Corporate administrators to create and send email campaigns across multiple branches from a single location. This makes it easy to communicate with contacts throughout your organization while managing the campaign from one centralized interface.
Benefits include:
- Send a single campaign across multiple branches.
- Eliminate the need to log into each branch individually.
- Save time managing enterprise-wide communications.
- Maintain consistent messaging across your organization.
This feature is especially valuable for company-wide announcements, marketing campaigns, seasonal promotions, compliance notices, and other communications that need to reach contacts across multiple branches.
Cross-Branch Email Campaign Report
Corporate users also have access to a Cross-Branch Email Campaign Report, providing a centralized view of email campaigns across the organization.
From a single report, administrators can:
- View email campaigns from all branches.
- Monitor campaigns that are currently sending.
- Review completed campaigns.
- See upcoming scheduled campaigns.
- Track organization-wide email activity without switching between branches.
Together, the Cross-Branch Email Campaign tool and Cross-Branch Email Campaign Report make it easy to both manage and monitor enterprise email communications from the Corporate (Master) branch.
Note: Cross-Branch Email Campaigns and the Cross-Branch Email Campaign Report are managed from the Corporate (Master) branch and respect each branch's records, permissions, and email configuration.
Best Practices
- Start with a strong Corporate configuration before creating branches.
- Share resources that should remain consistent across the organization.
- Allow branches to customize only where business needs differ.
- Â Keep naming conventions consistent across all branches.
- Review branch-specific workflows periodically to ensure they continue meeting operational needs.
- Use Teams and Departments for organizational structure before creating additional branches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the same record exist in multiple branches?
Each branch maintains its own independent database, so a single record belongs to only one branch and cannot be shared across multiple branches simultaneously.
It's possible for duplicate records representing the same person or organization to exist in different branches if they were created independently. However, each record has its own unique Record ID and is managed separately within its respective branch.
Can branches have different workflows?
Yes. One of the primary benefits of Branching is allowing each branch to operate using workflows that best fit its business while remaining part of the same organization.
Can Corporate see every branch?
Yes. Users with the appropriate permissions can search across branches, access cross-branch reports, and log directly into individual branches.
Can I customize branding for each branch?
Yes. Each branch can maintain its own branding, allowing organizations to support multiple offices, regions, or brands within the same Shape organization.
What happens when I create a new branch?
New branches inherit the Corporate (Master) branch's configuration as a starting point. Administrators can then customize the branch as needed.
Can I share templates and automation across branches?
Yes. Many resources, including email templates, text templates, drip campaigns, and Prioritized Views, can be distributed organization-wide using Sync to All Branches.
Can branches have their own phone numbers?
Yes. Phone numbers are unique to each branch, allowing every location to maintain its own communication channels.
Can I switch between branches without logging out?
Yes. Corporate users with the appropriate permissions can log directly into branches from the Manage Branches page and return to the Corporate (Master) branch using Switch to Master Login.
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