Step 1 - Choose the Google account

Goal: pick the account that will own the data.

1. Use a Google account that belongs to the firm, for example office@yourfirm.in or a Google Workspace account. A personal account works for testing, but the firm loses access if that person leaves.
2. Make sure you can sign in to it on the computer you are using, and that no other Google account is in the way: open Chrome, click your profile picture at the top right, and check the email shown is the one you want. If not, use Add another account.
3. Keep the second step of 2-Step Verification (phone or authenticator) handy in case Google asks.

You are done with this step when you can see the firm's account email at the top right of a Google page.

Step 2 - Create the project

Goal: make an empty Apps Script project in the firm's account.

1. In the browser, open https://script.google.com.
2. Click the blue New project button (top left). A page with a code box opens. The top left says Untitled project.
3. Click Untitled project, type CA Office Manager and click Rename.
4. Look at the left side. You will see icons for Editor (<>), Triggers, Executions and Project Settings (a gear). The middle shows a file called Code.gs.

You are done when the project is named CA Office Manager and the Editor is open.

Step 3 - Paste the settings file (appsscript.json)

Goal: tell Google which permissions the project needs and connect it to the shared CA Office Manager code. This is what makes future updates automatic.

1. Click Project Settings (the gear icon on the left).
2. Scroll to General settings and tick Show "appsscript.json" manifest file in editor.
3. Click Editor (<>) on the left. A file called appsscript.json now appears in the file list on the left.
4. Get the file contents. Use the button below; it copies the file to your clipboard:

1. In the Editor, click appsscript.json. Click inside the code box, press Ctrl+A (select all) and then Ctrl+V (paste). The old text is replaced.
2. Press Ctrl+S to save (or click the floppy-disk icon).

You are done when appsscript.json shows "timeZone": "Asia/Kolkata" and the word CAOMS, and the left side of the editor shows CAOMS under Libraries. Both are needed: the file gives the project its permissions (Drive, Sheets, Gmail), the library gives it the application.

If CAOMS is not listed under Libraries, the file was not saved or was pasted in the wrong place. Paste it again and press Ctrl+S. If it is still missing, add the library by hand and then check that the file still contains the permissions list:

1. Click the + next to Libraries.
2. In Script ID paste 1bnTuUUTTsbb9AR2SY-MB42E2_8UBswDx5U2jUFzu5aUOhjX56e3AJ8GX and click Look up.
3. Set Version to HEAD (Development mode), set Identifier to exactly CAOMS (capitals), click Add and press Ctrl+S.

If Google cannot find the library, ask Techmin to confirm that it is shared with your account, or use the own-copy method at the end of this guide, which needs no library.

Step 4 - Paste the connector (Stub.gs)

Goal: add the small file that connects your project to the shared code.

1. In the Editor, click the file Code.gs in the left file list.
2. Get the file contents with the button below:

1. Click inside the code box, press Ctrl+A and then Ctrl+V. The default text (function myFunction() {...}) is replaced by a short file of about 20 lines. That is normal: the application itself is in the shared library.
2. Press Ctrl+S to save. Wait for the save to finish (a few seconds).
3. Check: click the function drop-down at the top of the editor. You should see names such as setupApplication, migrateSchema, installTriggers and showHealth.

If the copy button does not work (some browsers block it), use the Download button next to it, open the downloaded file in Notepad, press Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, and paste into the editor.

You are done when the function list contains setupApplication.

If you later see ReferenceError: CAOMS is not defined, the library in Step 3 is missing: go back to Step 3 and fix it, then deploy a new version (Deploy > Manage deployments > pencil > New version > Deploy).

Step 5 - Publish it as a web app

Goal: give your workspace an address that the page can talk to.

1. Click the blue Deploy button at the top right and choose New deployment.
2. In the window that opens, click the gear icon next to Select type and choose Web app.
3. Fill in:

* Description: CA Office Manager * Execute as: Me (your account) * Who has access: Anyone

Anyone only lets the page reach your workspace. Nobody can read any data without signing in to the application with an activated account.

1. Click Deploy.
2. Google asks you to Authorize access. Click it, choose your firm's account, and read the permissions. They are for Sheets, Drive, Gmail (to send your staff's activation emails) and your email address.
3. If you see Google hasn't verified this app, click Advanced, then Go to CA Office Manager (unsafe), then Allow. This warning is normal because the project is your own and has not been through Google's public review.
4. A window shows Web app and a URL ending in /exec. Click Copy next to it and paste it somewhere safe (a text file or an email to yourself). This is your workspace address.
5. Click Done.

You are done when you have your workspace address saved. It looks like https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycb.../exec.

Step 6 - Check that the address responds

Goal: make sure the web app is working before you continue.

1. Open a new browser tab and paste your workspace address, then add ?ping=1 at the end. Example: https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycb.../exec?ping=1
2. Press Enter. You should see a short line of text: {"ok":true,"name":"CA Office Work Management System","version":"1.0.0"}.

If you see "Sorry, unable to open the file at this time" (or any Google error page or sign-in request), try these in order:

1. Open the address in a private window. In Chrome press Ctrl+Shift+N, paste the address with ?ping=1 at the end and press Enter. This message very often appears when you are signed in to more than one Google account in the same browser; Google then opens the address under the wrong account. If the private window shows the line of text, the web app is fine: carry on to Step 7.
2. Check the address. It must be the Web app URL from Step 5, starting https://script.google.com/macros/s/ and ending /exec. It is not the Deployment ID, not the editor address, and not a URL ending in /dev. It must be copied completely, with no spaces.
3. Check the access settings. Go back to the Apps Script tab: Deploy → Manage deployments → pencil icon. Check Execute as: Me and Who has access: Anyone (not Anyone with Google account). Under Version choose New version and click Deploy.
4. Check that Step 5 finished. If you never saw the Authorize access step, run setupApplication once from the editor (Step 7) and allow the permissions, then deploy again.
5. Wait one minute and try again; a new deployment can take a short while to start.

If the private window still fails, do not continue; write to Techmin support with a screenshot.

Step 7 - Run the one-time setup

Goal: create the database, the Drive folders and your administrator account, and have your activation key emailed to you.

1. Go back to the Apps Script tab. Click Editor.
2. In the drop-down next to Run and Debug at the top, choose setupApplication.
3. Click Run. Wait about 30 seconds. Google may ask you to authorize again; allow it as before.
4. At the bottom a panel called Execution log appears. When it shows Execution completed and a message starting SETUP COMPLETE, setup worked. The log also shows the link to your new database and your activation key (10 letters and digits).
5. Write the activation key down. Setup has also emailed it to your own Gmail inbox, with a subject Your CA Office Manager administrator activation key. Check Spam if it is not there.
6. If the log says Set Script property ADMIN_EMAIL: click Project Settings, scroll to Script properties, click Add script property, type ADMIN_EMAIL as the property and your own email address as the value, click Save script properties, return to the Editor and run setupApplication again.

The activation key works once and expires in 3 days. If you lose it, set the script property ADMIN_EMAIL as in point 6 and run resetAdminAccess to get a new key.

You are done when you have the activation key and you can see a new spreadsheet CA Office Work Management - Database in your Google Drive.

Step 8 - Activate your administrator account

Goal: choose your password and sign in for the first time.

1. Open https://tools.complypro.co.in/ca-office-manager/ (the page address in the email from Step 7).
2. The page asks for your workspace address. This is the Web app URL you copied in Step 5. If you did not save it, get it again: in the Apps Script tab click Deploy → Manage deployments; the Web app URL is shown there with a Copy button. It starts https://script.google.com/macros/s/ and ends /exec. Paste it into the box.

1. Click Connect. The sign-in card now says Connected to and shows your workspace.
2. Click First time? Activate your account with your activation key.
3. Enter your email address (the firm account's email), the activation key, and a new password: at least 10 characters with an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter and a digit.
4. Click Activate account. You see Account activated.
5. Enter your email and the new password and click Sign in. You are the Firm Administrator and you see the Dashboard.

Important: the email from Step 7 may show a firm link ending in /dev, or no address at all. That happens because setup was run from the script editor, which only knows the owner-only test address. Do not use an address ending in /dev; it cannot be opened by anyone else and the page will refuse it. Use the /exec Web app URL as described above. Once you are signed in, Administration → Settings shows the correct firm link for your staff.

If you have a firm link (a long address containing ?ws=), you can either open it in the browser's address bar and press Connect, or paste the whole link into the workspace box; both work.

What you should see next: because you are the administrator and the firm is not yet registered with Techmin, a page titled Register your firm with Techmin opens instead of the Dashboard. That is Step 9.

Step 9 - Register your firm with Techmin

Goal: tell Techmin that your firm uses the software, so Techmin can support you and send you update and payment notices. This is a one-time form that opens by itself after your first sign-in.

1. On the page Register your firm with Techmin, fill in every field marked with a star: Firm name, Address, City, Pincode (6 digits), State (choose from the list), Firm PAN (for example ABCDE1234F), Contact person, Mobile (10 digits) and Firm email.
2. GSTIN and ICAI firm registration number are optional. If you enter a GSTIN, characters 3 to 12 must be the same as the PAN.
3. Read the grey box What Techmin receives / What Techmin never receives. Your clients and all other records are never sent.
4. Tick the consent box and click Register firm.
5. If a red message appears, read it, correct the field it names and click Register firm again. A message ending in [DUPLICATE] means this PAN is already registered: contact Techmin support. [RATE] means too many attempts: wait an hour.
6. If Techmin cannot be reached (for example no internet), you can click Cannot reach Techmin right now? Continue for this session. The registration form appears again at your next sign-in until it succeeds.

What you should see: the Dashboard opens, a message Your firm is registered with Techmin appears. Under Administration → Techmin account you see your firm id, registration date and status.

You are done when Administration → Techmin account shows a firm id starting with F-.

Step 10 - Check the firm's details and settings

Goal: check the details copied from the registration form and set the working rules. Nothing here is shared with Techmin.

1. In the left menu click Administration, then the Settings tab.
2. At the top you will see the card Firm link for your staff. Click Copy link and keep it: this is the exact link to send to your staff (Step 12). The card also shows the workspace address with its own Copy address button, for anyone who is asked for it instead of using the link.
3. Check firm_name, firm_address, firm_email, firm_gstin and firm_state; they were filled in from Step 9. To change details that Techmin also holds, use Administration → Techmin account instead, so both stay the same. Set work_days and holidays if they differ from the defaults.
4. Registration settings: open_registration = Y lets staff register themselves; registration_approval = Y (recommended) means you approve each person before they can sign in; registration_default_role is the role a self-registered person gets (normally CLERK).
5. Click Save settings.

You are done when Settings saved appears.

Step 11 - Check the daily reminders and the mandatory backup

Goal: turn on the automatic jobs.

1. Click Administration, then the Backup & triggers tab.
2. The jobs install themselves when the administrator signs in. If the trigger list is empty, click Install / re-install triggers. They are a daily job (about 7 am: reminders, recurring tasks, stopping forgotten timers) and a nightly backup check (2 am).
3. In Automatic backup, choose the day your firm wants (every day, or one weekday) and press Save day. Backups are mandatory and cannot be switched off; if none succeeds for too long, administrators get an alert.
4. Click Back up database now once to prove that backups work. A dated copy appears in your Drive folder CA Office Management → Backups.

You are done when the trigger list shows two entries and the backup list shows OK.

Step 12 - Invite and approve your staff

Goal: give people access.

Option A: they register themselves (recommended). Send each person the firm link from Step 10. Each person:

1. Opens the link and clicks Connect.
2. Clicks New here? Create an account, enters name and email, ticks the consent box and clicks Register.
3. Opens their email. A message Your activation key - (your firm name) arrives from your firm's Gmail account within a minute or two (check Spam).
4. Clicks First time? Activate your account, enters their email, the key and a password.
5. Waits for your approval if you left approval on.

You approve them: Administration → Users, find the person with the Pending approval badge and click Approve. They get an email. Afterwards you can change their role with Edit.

Option B: you add them. Administration → Users → Add user, fill in name, email and role. The system shows an activation key once; give it to the person privately. They follow steps 1, 2 and 4 above.

You are done when your staff can sign in and each sees only the menu items that fit their role.

Step 13 - Do a short test

1. Add one test client: Clients → Add client.
2. Create a task for it: Tasks → New task, assign it to a staff member.
3. Sign in as that staff member in another browser, acknowledge the task, start the timer, tick the checklist and submit it for review.
4. As partner, review and approve it.
5. Leave: as the staff member open Time & leave → Leave → Apply for leave; the blue box shows who will decide it. As partner or administrator, open the alert, the dashboard card Leave waiting for my approval or Time & leave → Leave, and press Approve or Reject. If you are the administrator, your own leave goes to another approver; if the firm has no other approver it is recorded as approved automatically.
6. Messages: open Messages → New message, send a message to a staff member, sign in as that person and open it; the sender then sees Read with the time. Replies stay in the same conversation, and sending and reading are recorded in the audit log (the text of a message is not).
7. If you use fees: Fees → New invoice, issue it, record a receipt.
8. Keep a note of these test records so that your team can ignore them, or use real clients from the start.

If something fails, note the error code in square brackets and see Error codes in Help.