> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sync2books.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Companies & connections

> The shared object model behind every Sync2Books product: organizations, applications, companies, and connections.

Every Sync2Books product is built on the same small set of objects. Whether you are
syncing expenses to QuickBooks or pushing sales to KRA eTIMS, you work with the same
**companies** and **connections**.

## The object model

```text theme={null}
Organization ── Application ──┬── Credential (Development: sk_development_…)
   (you)        (your product)└── Credential (Production:  sk_production_…)
                     │
                     └── Company ──┬── Connection (QuickBooks / Xero / Sage)
                       (your SMB    └── Connection (eTIMS — Kenya compliance)
                        customer)
```

| Object           | What it represents                                                              |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Organization** | Your business on Sync2Books.                                                    |
| **Application**  | Your product or integration. Owns the API keys.                                 |
| **Company**      | One of your SMB customers. Everything syncable is scoped to a company.          |
| **Connection**   | A link from a company to an external system (an accounting platform, or eTIMS). |

<Note>
  A single company can hold **multiple connections** — e.g. QuickBooks for expenses
  *and* an eTIMS connection for Kenyan tax compliance — at the same time.
</Note>

## Create a company

A company represents your SMB customer. Create one with the `POST /companies`
endpoint; the response includes the company `id` you use in every subsequent call.

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "https://api.sync2books.com/companies" \
  -H "X-API-Key: {apiKey}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "name": "Acme Corporation" }'
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "company": {
    "id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "name": "Acme Corporation",
    "isActive": true
  },
  "authUrl": "https://appcenter.intuit.com/connect/oauth2?..."
}
```

Save `company.id`. For accounting integrations the response also returns an
`authUrl` to start the OAuth connection.

## Connect an accounting system (Expenses)

To sync expenses, connect the company to an accounting platform. The simplest path
is the [Link component](/link-integration); you can also drive the OAuth flow
directly with the `authUrl`.

```bash theme={null}
# fetch an authorization URL for an existing company
curl -X GET "https://api.sync2books.com/companies/{companyId}/auth-url?integrationKey=quickbooks" \
  -H "X-API-Key: {apiKey}"
```

<Note>
  The `authUrl` only carries a working `client_id` and `redirect_uri` once your
  Application has QuickBooks credentials configured — see
  [Set up the QuickBooks Online integration](/integrations/quickbooks-online/quickbooks-online-setup).
  Without that step, `authUrl` still comes back but silently fails to redirect anywhere.
</Note>

Once the OAuth flow completes, the connection is created and `status` becomes
`connected`. List a company's connections to get the `connectionId` you need for syncing:

```bash theme={null}
curl -X GET "https://api.sync2books.com/connections/company/{companyId}" \
  -H "X-API-Key: {apiKey}"
```

## Connect eTIMS (Kenya compliance)

For Kenyan tax compliance, the company is connected to **eTIMS** instead of (or in
addition to) an accounting platform. This is normally done **once, in the dashboard**
— you enter the KRA PIN, OSCU device serial, and branch details, and Sync2Books runs
the device onboarding for you. See [eTIMS provisioning](/etims-provisioning).

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="The sync model" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/concepts/sync-model">
    How data is pushed and how you confirm the result.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get started with Expenses" icon="receipt" href="/expenses-getting-started">
    Connect a company and sync your first expense.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>