Tutorial: Creating Departments and Locations

Last updated: January 26, 2026

This tutorial will guide you through creating departments, locations, and sublocations in Arda’s Coda-based workspace. We’ll start from the top level—departments—and work our way down. You don’t need perfect information right away; the system is flexible and allows you to adjust as you go.

Prerequisites

  • Access to your Arda workspace in Coda

Steps

  1. Access your My Business Section of Arda

  2. Create Your Department Structure

    • Open the table for Departments.

    • Create a broad list of your organization’s departments.

    • If you don’t have formal departments yet, here are some ways to group work:

      • By function – e.g., Administration, Production, Sales.

      • By process – e.g., Design, Printing, Assembly.

      • By physical area – e.g., Front Office, Workshop, Storage Room.

      • By team ownership – group locations by the people or teams responsible for them.

    • Example starting point: Admin, 3D, CNC.

    • Remember: You can always refine this list later.

  3. Assign Colors to Departments

    • Use the department color-coding feature to visually distinguish departments.

    • This will help when organizing locations later.

  4. Create Locations Under Departments

    • Option 1 (Recommended for your first location for each department) 

      • Select the location column for the department you would like to add a location. 

      • Select Add new and type the name of your location



    • Option 2 (Recommended after you create your first location for a department)

      • In the Locations table, click New Row to add a location.

  1. Enter the location name, such as Printer Workbench or Printing Supplies.

    1. Repeat this process for each department and location and sub location .
      Note: Sub-location creation is the same as location except from within the Location and Sub-location tables

  2. Optional Color-Code Locations by Department

    • If you'd like to color code your cards by Department (recommended if you have 7 or fewer departments) 

    • Go to Settings and Templates

    • Scroll to and expand Color Coding Options

    • Update Color Code Item. Names By to Department

Summary

You’ve set up a basic department and location structure in Arda, complete with color coding and placeholders for items you’re still organizing. This structure forms the backbone for inventory tracking, making future management more efficient.