Service connections, offerings, and agreements

The service network connects two Companies directly. A connection only expresses recognition; regular work handoffs also require an active offering and a directional agreement.

Availability: Company only; requires Manage service network. Level: Advanced.

Purpose

Use the network to agree which services a provider offers, how work enters its operation, which data the client may share, and whether later subcontracting is allowed.

Create a connection

1. In Network and collaboration, enter the email of the person you want to connect with. The sending Company neither chooses nor can inspect a recipient organization.
2. ReportArea always shows the same generic result: it does not confirm whether that email has an account, an eligible Company profile, or a previous relationship.
3. The recipient opens the link within 14 days, signs in or registers with that same email, and completes verification.
4. ReportArea shows only their active Company profiles where they can manage the service network. The recipient explicitly chooses one; a Professional profile or a profile without that permission is not eligible.
5. If no profile is eligible yet, they can create another profile in Company mode and reopen the email link to select it.
6. The connection with the selected Company is materialized only on acceptance. The session switches to that profile to open the network, but the account's primary profile is unchanged.

The recipient may reject without choosing a Company, and the sender may withdraw a pending invitation. It expires after 14 days. Accepted, rejected, withdrawn, and expired states retain their history; a closed invitation cannot be reused to choose another organization.

There is no directory. Each Company sees only direct connections, never its neighbors' connections.

The email uses ReportArea's shared visual format. If the address already belongs to an account, it uses that account's preferred language; otherwise it uses the sending Company's language without revealing which situation applied.

Invitations issued before profile selection already identified a recipient Company. Their links remain valid for accepting or rejecting that legacy relationship, without allowing the counterpart to be changed from the link.

Publish an offering

The provider defines a Spanish and/or English name, description, category, manual or automatic acceptance, subcontracting permission, receiving role, and entry point. An active offering requires report type and urgency; entry chain and line are optional.

Agree on service

1. On an active connection, the client proposes an agreement using one or more active provider offerings.
2. For each offering it can adjust acceptance, shareable data—details, reference, contact, equipment, and attachments—subcontracting, and status.
3. It adds Spanish and/or English terms.
4. The provider accepts or rejects. Either party can later terminate with a reason.

Rules and effects

• An agreement is directional: Client → Provider. The reverse direction needs another agreement.
• Only one current agreement can exist per direction.
• A connection alone never authorizes handoffs.
• Ending a connection or agreement prevents new handoffs and cancels pending ones; already accepted work continues until completed or explicitly canceled.
• Invitation, connection, and agreement history is preserved.

Required and optional information

Required: email for the invitation and explicit selection of an eligible Company profile on acceptance; at least one name, acceptance mode, type, and urgency for an active offering; connection and offering for an agreement. Optional: translations, description, category, chain/line, terms, shared categories, and subcontracting.

Practical example

Company A connects with Laboratory B. B publishes “Specialized diagnosis” with manual acceptance. A proposes an agreement allowing details and equipment but not contact or subcontracting. B accepts, and A can now hand off reports under those conditions.

Current limits

• The recipient must use and verify the exact invited email. They may register the account and create a Company profile before accepting.
• A Professional profile cannot be the counterpart of a service connection; it may remain separate while the recipient creates or chooses a Company profile.
• There is no global search, recommendation system, or transitive visibility.
• A connection shares no historical data and creates no work.
• Ending a relationship does not erase history or automatically cancel accepted work.