---
title: Firms and firm users
description: Why every integration starts with a firm, how to sync firms and firm users with your own IDs, and how roles and permissions work.
---
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# Firms and firm users
## Why every integration starts with a firm, how to sync firms and firm users with your own IDs, and how roles and permissions work.
### What it is
A firm is an accounting or tax firm in Remitian. Every taxpayer belongs to a firm, so you create the firm before you add taxpayers or schedule tax payments. Firm users are the people at the firm who manage its taxpayers, either in Remitian directly or through your integration on their behalf.
### When you need it
- You are onboarding a new firm to your integration.
- You need to add, list or remove the staff who work with that firm's taxpayers.
- You want taxpayers assigned to a specific accountant.
### How it works
1. Create the firm with `POST /v1/firms`, sending your own firm ID in `externalId`. Remitian returns its `firmId`, which you use in later calls.
2. Optionally set the firm's approval `settings` (`requireInternalApproval` and `skipClientApproval`). You can change them later with `PATCH /v1/firms/{firmId}`.
3. Create firm users with `POST /v1/firms/{firmId}/firm-users`, again using your own user ID in `externalId`, a `role` and the user's name and email.
4. Use `GET /v1/firms?externalId=...` and `GET /v1/firms/{firmId}/firm-users?externalId=...` to find records by your own IDs instead of storing Remitian IDs everywhere.
Firm user roles:
| Role | What it can do |
| --- | --- |
| `Admin` | All permissions, including owning taxpayers. |
| `Accountant` | View, create, invite and edit clients. Can also be given `CanOwnClients` and `CanSendApprovalDirectlyToClient`. |
| `TeamMember` | Same base permissions and optional permissions as `Accountant`. |
| `ReadOnly` | View clients only. |
### Common questions
### Why can't I set an accountant as the owner of a taxpayer?
Owning a taxpayer requires the `CanOwnClients` permission. Admins always have it. For `Accountant` or `TeamMember` users, include `"CanOwnClients"` in `optionalPermissions` when you create them. Without it, assigning ownership returns `403 Forbidden`.
### Why does removing a firm user return 403?
A firm user who still owns one or more taxpayers cannot be removed. Change the owner of those taxpayers first, then call `DELETE /v1/firms/{firmId}/firm-users/{firmUserId}` again. A user who has not accepted their invite yet can be removed.
### Do I need to store the Remitian firmId?
It is useful, but not required. You can always look up a firm or firm user by the `externalId` you sent when creating it.
### What do the firm settings change?
They control whether tax payments need accountant approval before going to the taxpayer (`requireInternalApproval`) and whether eligible payments skip taxpayer approval and go straight to `QueuedForPayment` (`skipClientApproval`). Both default to `false`.
Full documentation
- [Use Case 1: Manage firms](https://docs.remitian.com/products/wqptjtsou5/p98vrdckmk/index.html)
- [Use Case 2: Manage firm users](https://docs.remitian.com/products/wqptjtsou5/m5p34axntb/index.html)
- [Use Case 3: Manage taxpayers (changing a taxpayer's owner)](https://docs.remitian.com/products/wqptjtsou5/b7uzbtciqy/index.html)
- [Accounting Firms](https://help.remitian.com/accounting-firms?hsLang=en#main-content)
- [Account Management](https://help.remitian.com/accounting-firms?hsLang=en#account-management)
- [Payment Management](https://help.remitian.com/accounting-firms?hsLang=en#payment-management)
- [Client Management](https://help.remitian.com/accounting-firms?hsLang=en#client-management)
- [APIs](https://help.remitian.com/accounting-firms?hsLang=en#apis)
- [Tax Payer](https://help.remitian.com/tax-payer?hsLang=en#main-content)
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- [Account Management](https://help.remitian.com/tax-payer?hsLang=en#account-management)
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- [Payment Management](https://help.remitian.com/frequently-asked-questions-faq?hsLang=en#payment-management)
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- [Setting up firms and taxpayers](https://help.remitian.com/api?hsLang=en#setting-up-firms-and-taxpayers)
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