Agency Setup Guide
Use this guide to set up your agency in the right order. Each step prepares RAM for the next one and helps prevent missing choices or unavailable fields later.
Some features depend on earlier setup. For example, you must add Asset Types before creating assets, and members need Certification Templates before they can add certifications. Complete the steps in order to avoid interruptions later.
Setup Overview
Setup has five steps. Step 2 takes the most time because it covers the agency-wide settings that other features depend on. The remaining steps add your agency's certifications, equipment structure, and members.
| Step | What to Configure | Why This Order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agency Profile | Sets the timezone used by every notification, log, and expiration check |
| 2 | Walk Through Agency Settings | Lays the foundation everything else needs (positions, categories, notification recipients, etc.) |
| 3 | Certification Templates | Required before team members can add certifications |
| 4 | Assets — Configuration & Types | Required before any asset can be created |
| 5 | Team Members | Add users last so they walk into a fully-configured system |
Step 1: Agency Profile (Required)
What you will do: Enter your agency's identity and core settings.
Why this comes first: The timezone controls notifications, expiration checks, and audit-log times throughout RAM.
How to Get There
Go to Agency → Agency Settings → Agency Config → Agency Profile.
The Agency Info tab on the Dashboard shows a read-only summary of your agency. To edit any field, use the Agency Settings path above.
Configure These Settings
| Setting | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Agency name and Short name | Shown throughout the app and on reports |
| Timezone | Critical — controls notification timing, expiration checks, and logs |
| Contact Info | Phone, website, email for your organization |
| Address | Your physical location. A physical address is needed for mileage; a P.O. box isn't enough. |
| Logo and Agency Color | Appear on the Digital ID card and its wallet passes |
Tax Exemption (For Nonprofit Pricing)
If your agency is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or government entity, you can apply for tax-exempt status to receive nonprofit pricing discounts.
To apply:
- Turn on Tax-exempt nonprofit
- Enter your EIN (Employer Identification Number) in the format
XX-XXXXXXX - Select Upload IRS determination letter and choose your IRS letter
RAM enforces that EIN numbers are unique across active agencies. If your EIN is already in use, you'll see an error and can reach out to RAM support for help reconciling. See Agency Profile → Tax Exemption Status for details.
Verification Process:
- Your documentation will be reviewed by Rescue Agency Manager staff, usually within 1–2 business days
- The profile shows Status: Pending review, then Status: Verified
- Nonprofit pricing discounts are only applied after verification is complete
👉 See Agency Profile for full details.
✅ Complete this before moving on.
Step 2: Walk Through Agency Settings
What you will do: Review the agency-wide settings that the rest of RAM uses, including positions, ranks, activity categories, security, and notification recipients.
Why this comes now: Most of these choices are quick. Completing them together prevents missing setup from interrupting later work with members or assets.
How to Get There
Go to Agency → Agency Settings. Choose an area from the top bar, then open a page from the choices below it.
Settings save as you change them. There is no Save button. See Agency Settings.
What's in Each Area
Walk through them left to right:
| Area | Pages |
|---|---|
| Agency Config | Agency Profile (Step 1), Positions, Ranks, Access Roles (permission bundles; see Step 5), Groups |
| Certifications | Templates (Step 3) |
| Assets | Asset Types, Measurement Units, Asset IDs (Step 4). Note: Storage Locations is not here; it is a tab on the Assets page. |
| Activities | Rules, Categories, Skill Categories, Saved Locations |
| Notifications | One page: email delivery, the certification, animal, and asset reports with their schedules and recipients, personal alert defaults, email footer |
| Security | Access & Sessions, Audit & Logs, Data Retention |
| Integrations | Connected Services (Google Calendar, GPS feeds) |
| Maps | Map defaults |
| Chat | Message retention |
Qualifications are not in Agency Settings. They are a tab on the Certifications page. See Step 3.
What to Do Now vs. Later
In this pass:
- ✅ Set up Positions and Ranks now — required before you assign them to team members in Step 5.
- ✅ Create Activity Categories — most agencies have a small fixed list (Training, Meeting, Operation, etc.).
- ✅ Configure Notifications — turn on the certification (and asset) reports, set their schedule, and choose recipients.
- ✅ Review Security — session timeout, and how long to keep former members' personal details (Data Retention).
- ⏭️ Skip Certification Templates — that is the substantial data work in Step 3.
- ⏭️ Skip Asset Types and Asset IDs — those are the substantial data work in Step 4.
Positions & Ranks (the bit you most likely need to do)
Positions are job roles a member can hold (Team Leader, Safety Officer, Medical Officer). Ranks are seniority levels (Captain, Lieutenant, Member, Probationary). A member has many positions but one rank.
| Feature | Positions | Ranks |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Job roles and responsibilities | Seniority/hierarchy levels |
| Per Member | Multiple | One |
| Examples | Team Leader, Safety Officer | Captain, Senior Member |
👉 See Positions & Ranks for examples and assignment instructions.
✅ Complete this walk-through before moving to Step 3.
Step 3: Certification Templates
What: Define the certifications and records your agency tracks (CPR, SARTECH II, HazMat, background checks, etc.).
You must create Certification Templates before team members can add their certifications and records.
How to Get There
- From Agency Settings: Agency → Agency Settings → Certifications. The area opens on Templates.
- Or open the Certifications page in the left menu and select Certification Templates at the far right of its top bar.
Select New Template to create a certification or record template. You need Manage certification templates, or be an Agency Admin.
Create Templates For Each Certification Type
For each template, define:
- Subject Type — Person or Animal
- Record Type — Certification, Background Check, or Other (people); Certification, Vaccination, Medical Record, or Other (animals)
- Template Name — What members see (e.g., "CPR/AED", "NIMS IS-100")
- Assignment Type — Required, Optional, or Restricted
- Expiry Period — How many months the record stays valid
- Notification Timing — When to warn about expiring records (30, 14, 7, 1 days by default)
Common Certification Templates
| Template | Record Type | Typical Validity |
|---|---|---|
| CPR/AED | Certification | 2 years |
| First Aid | Certification | 2 years |
| NIMS IS-100/200/700/800 | Certification | No expiration |
| SARTECH I/II/III | Certification | 3 years |
| Swift Water Rescue | Certification | 2-3 years |
| FBI Background Check | Background Check | 5 years |
Then Build Qualifications
Once templates exist, you can combine them into Qualifications: named capabilities, such as Rope Rescue Technician, that members hold by holding the right certifications. Open Certifications and select the Qualifications tab. See Qualifications.
👉 See Record & Certification Templates for full details including all record types, field locking, and best practices.
✅ Create your certification templates before adding team members.
Step 4: Assets — Configuration & Types
What: Decide how assets are identified, where they live, what categories you track, and who hears about expirations. Asset Types, Measurement Units, and Asset IDs live under Agency → Agency Settings → Assets. Storage Locations is a tab on the Assets page. Asset expiration reports are set on the Notifications page. The order below matches the natural setup flow.
Asset Types must exist before you can create any assets in your inventory. Set up Asset IDs before assets are created (changing prefixes after assets exist is messy).
How to Get There
Agency → Agency Settings → Assets.
4A: Asset IDs
Why first: The ID format is hard to change once assets exist. Get it right at the start.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Assign asset IDs automatically | Turn automatic ID creation on or off |
| Prefix | Text before the number (e.g., "ASSET", "RAM") |
| ID format | How prefix and number are joined |
| Number of digits | Digits in the number (3 = 001, 4 = 0001) |
| Next number | Where the count continues from |
| Numbering by asset type | Give a type its own prefix and sequence |
A Next asset ID preview shows what the next ID will look like.
Example type-specific prefixes:
| Asset Type | Prefix | Example ID |
|---|---|---|
| Radio | RADIO | RADIO-001 |
| Medical Kit | MED | MED-001 |
| Vehicle | VEH | VEH-001 |
4B: Storage Locations (Optional but Recommended)
👉 Assets in the left menu, then the Storage Locations tab. It is a tab on the Assets page, not a section of Agency Settings.
Define where assets are physically stored. The hierarchy goes from largest to smallest:
Facility (e.g., "Main Station")
└── Area (e.g., "Gear Room")
└── Section (e.g., "Shelf A")
└── Bin (e.g., "Bin 12")
You can also designate Mobile Assets (vehicles, trailers) as storage locations for the gear they carry. To build out the inside of one, open the asset and use its Internal Storage section, which has the same hierarchy for that asset.
Members with View storage locations can browse this read-only; changing the structure needs Edit storage locations. See Roles & Permissions.
Skip if: you only have a few assets or track locations informally.
Why this matters:
- Standardizes check-in/check-out workflows
- Makes it easy to find equipment
- Improves inventory reports
- Tracks what's on which vehicle
4C: Asset Types (Required)
RAM provides a library of Standard asset types and lets you create Custom ones with Create custom type. The page can show All types, Standard, Custom, or In use.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Communications | Radios, Repeaters, Satellite Phones |
| Medical | AED, First Aid Kit, Oxygen Kit, Trauma Kit |
| Rescue Equipment | Ropes, Harnesses, Litters, Technical Rescue Gear |
| Vehicles | Trucks, ATVs, Boats, Trailers |
| Technology | GPS Units, Drones, Laptops, Cameras |
| Protective Gear | Helmets, PFDs, Turnout Gear |
Each type shows what it tracks (for example insurance, registration, expiration, or calibration) and can have a Contents template. A custom type can be removed only while no asset uses it.
Also on this area, Measurement Units sets whether the agency reads asset dimensions, weight, fuel, and mileage in imperial or metric.
4D: Asset Notifications
Asset alerts are set up on the Notifications area, not under Assets.
- Open Agency → Agency Settings → Notifications.
- In the Assets section, turn on the Asset compliance report. It summarizes asset requirements that are overdue or coming due: inspections, service, certifications, registrations, warranties, and expirations.
- Choose its schedule (how often, day, and time) and its recipients.
If you pick no recipients, the report goes to every agency administrator. Use Send me a test email to see exactly what members will get. See Agency Notification Settings.
Assign an Equipment Manager or Logistics Coordinator as the recipient to centralize asset tracking.
👉 See Asset Management for full details on creating assets and tracking.
✅ Complete all four asset sub-steps before creating assets.
Step 5: Team Members
What: Add users to your agency.
When users join now, they'll see a fully configured system. They can immediately:
- Add their certifications (templates exist from Step 3)
- Have positions and ranks assigned (defined in Step 2)
- Use assets (types exist from Step 4)
How to Get There
In the left-hand menu, select Agency. The Roster tab is first on the top bar. Select Add member.
Adding a Member
- Enter First Name, Last Name, and Email
- Optionally pick Access Roles (every member gets the baseline Agency User role; Agency Admin makes someone an administrator)
- Configure the password (auto-generate recommended). The member sets their own at first sign-in
- Choose whether to send the invitation by email
- Add contact information and an emergency contact
- Set membership type and status
- Select Create User
Admin vs. everyone else
| Access | What it means |
|---|---|
| Agency Admin role | Administrator: full access to all settings and data |
| Agency User role (everyone) | Baseline access; additional Access Roles add more |
Give it to agency leadership and whoever manages the system. For everyone else, assign only the roles they need. See Roles & Permissions.
What Happens Next
- The member receives an invitation email (if you left email on). Its link confirms their email address, signs them in, and asks them to set their own password. See Team Management
- Every new member is automatically assigned the Agency User role (baseline access)
- You can assign more roles from the member's page, or from Agency → Agency Settings → Agency Config → Access Roles
- You can assign rank and positions on the member's page, in the Agency membership section
👉 See Team Management for full details including all fields, archiving, and bulk import.
✅ Add team members after core setup is complete.
Quick Reference: Setup Dependencies
| Before You Can... | You Must First... |
|---|---|
| Send any notification | Set the Agency Profile timezone (Step 1) |
| Assign certifications to members | Create Certification Templates (Step 3) |
| Create an asset | Create Asset Types (Step 4C) |
| Use predictable asset IDs | Set up Asset IDs before any assets exist (4A) |
| Assign positions to members | Create Positions (Step 2 → Agency Config → Positions) |
| Assign ranks to members | Create Ranks (Step 2 → Agency Config → Ranks) |
| Build a Qualification | Create Certification Templates (Step 3) |
| Assign assets to storage | Set up Storage Locations (Step 4B) |
| Assign roles to members | Pick them when you add the member (Step 5), or assign them later from the member's page or the role |
Setup Checklist
Use this checklist to track your progress:
Step 1 — Agency Profile
- Agency name set
- Timezone set correctly
- Contact info and address filled in
- Logo uploaded
- Tax-exempt status submitted (if applicable)
Step 2 — Walk Through Agency Settings
- Positions created (Agency Config)
- Ranks created (Agency Config)
- Activity Categories created (Activities)
- Skill Categories defined (Activities)
- Notifications: certification report schedule and recipients, email footer
- Security: session timeout and data retention reviewed
Step 3 — Certification Templates
- Templates created for every cert your agency tracks
- Qualifications built from those certificates (optional)
Step 4 — Assets
- Asset IDs set (4A)
- Storage Locations defined (4B — optional)
- Asset Types added (4C)
- Asset compliance report schedule and recipients set (4D)
Step 5 — Team Members
- Team members invited
- Positions and ranks assigned
- Access Roles assigned (Agency → Agency Settings → Agency Config → Access Roles)
Detailed Documentation
For comprehensive guides on each feature:
| Topic | Guide |
|---|---|
| Agency Profile | Agency Profile |
| Certifications | Record & Certification Templates |
| Qualifications | Qualifications |
| Positions & Ranks | Positions & Ranks |
| Team Members | Team Management |
| Assets | Asset Management |
| Notifications | Agency Notification Settings |
| Roles & Permissions | Roles & Permissions |
Need Help?
- User Guides: User Guide
- Support: Contact us through the app's Support menu. See Getting Support
Your agency is ready for launch!