> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.begin.eu/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Managing departments

> Edit department details, change their order and remove departments you no longer use.

export const BetaCallout = ({children}) => <div className="kb-beta-callout" role="note">
    <span className="kb-beta not-prose">Beta</span>
    <div className="kb-beta-callout-body">{children}</div>
  </div>;

export const Beta = () => <span className="kb-beta not-prose">Beta</span>;

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/beginltd/zq63WsozXjxZp5bp/images/cover/departments-managing-departments-light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=zq63WsozXjxZp5bp&q=85&s=0a9429c513dd16a9ed7aa633866a0a23" alt="A Kitchen department card with edit and ordering controls" className="block dark:hidden" noZoom width="1152" height="616" data-path="images/cover/departments-managing-departments-light.png" />

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/beginltd/zq63WsozXjxZp5bp/images/cover/departments-managing-departments-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=zq63WsozXjxZp5bp&q=85&s=8a1e38c2b204c64f68a6f2323a16e6c6" alt="A Kitchen department card with edit and ordering controls" className="hidden dark:block" noZoom width="1152" height="616" data-path="images/cover/departments-managing-departments-dark.png" />

Use the department's row menu to change its details, move it in the list or delete it. Open **Departments** and use the three-dot menu on the row you want.

## Change details or order

Choose **Edit**, make your changes and click **Save changes**. You can change the name, icon, colour, linked positions and **Payroll export code**.

Choose **Move up** or **Move down** to change the department's order. The first department cannot move up, and the last cannot move down. Moving one does not change its members or positions.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/beginltd/DggOGAcHnSUly9P0/images/articles/departments/departments-actions-screen-light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=DggOGAcHnSUly9P0&q=85&s=92622954a99f292e543cb8a7fbc55c92" alt="The Kitchen department row menu with Edit, Move up, Move down, See people, View cover rules and Delete" className="block dark:hidden" width="2944" height="1840" data-path="images/articles/departments/departments-actions-screen-light.png" />

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/beginltd/DggOGAcHnSUly9P0/images/articles/departments/departments-actions-screen-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=DggOGAcHnSUly9P0&q=85&s=516a3fb32dd9754cba155ec83270dac6" alt="The Kitchen department row menu with Edit, Move up, Move down, See people, View cover rules and Delete" className="hidden dark:block" width="2944" height="1840" data-path="images/articles/departments/departments-actions-screen-dark.png" />

If the row has no menu, your role can only view departments. Ask your workspace administrator to check your access.

## Remove a department

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check its assignments">
    Review its positions and use **See people** to check who belongs to it. Assign another
    department first if those people still need one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Delete the department">
    Choose **Delete** in the row menu, then **Delete department** in the confirmation dialog.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Deletion removes the department and its links to people and positions. The people and positions
  remain. There is no restore action in the interface.
</Warning>

The department disappears from the list. Deleting it can also change which department-based rules apply to its former members.

<h2 id="check-cover-rules">
  Check cover rules <Beta />
</h2>

<BetaCallout>
  Cover rules are rolling out gradually. If your row menu has no **View cover rules**, your
  workspace may not have them yet, or your role may not have access to policies. Ask us about
  enabling them.
</BetaCallout>

**View cover rules** opens **Policies** filtered to the department. Use it to find the department's rules; the department editor does not contain those rules.

* **Who can:** editing and moving require department update permission; deletion requires department delete permission. **View cover rules** also requires policy read permission.
* **Where:** right-clicking a department row opens the same actions as its three-dot menu.
* **Not supported:** no archive, merge or restore control is available for departments.
* **Limits:** deleting a department also removes the stored people ordering for that department group. It does not delete the people, positions or their other department assignments.

## Next

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Assigning people and positions" icon="users" href="/for-managers/departments/assigning-people-and-positions">
    Choose who belongs to the department.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Department reporting" icon="chart-simple" href="/for-managers/departments/department-reporting">
    Choose the right filter for people or their work.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Still need help?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Contact support" icon="envelope" href="mailto:support@heybegin.eu">
    Email the Begin team and we'll get back to you.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Ask Begin AI" icon="comment-dots" href="?assistant=open">
    Open the AI assistant and get instant answers based on these docs.
  </Card>
</Columns>