PROSPERO FINANCIALS

Prospero Financials — Version 36

Version 36 introduces multi-company support, transforming Prospero from a single-company bookkeeping tool into a platform that a bookkeeper or accounting firm can use to manage multiple client companies from one installation.

Multi-Company Architecture

Each client company gets its own isolated SQLite database file stored in a companies/ subfolder alongside the application. A separate registry database (prospero_companies.db) tracks which companies exist and which users can access them. All business logic routes automatically to the correct company database based on the logged-in session — no changes are needed to any of the existing financial modules.

System Management

The original prospero.db is repurposed as System Management — an administration-only database that handles users, sessions, and the company registry. It is never used as a bookkeeping company. When an administrator logs into System Management they see a dedicated two-tile home screen with Company Management and Security Settings rather than the financial navigation. The Setup Wizard never fires for System Management.

Company Management

Administrators can create, edit, clone, and remove client companies from the Company Management screen. Three clone scopes are available: Full Clone (everything including all transactions), Structure + Master Data (chart of accounts, vendors, clients, and products but no transactions), and Structure Only (chart of accounts and settings only, for a clean-slate template). Each new company automatically runs the Setup Wizard on first login so the bookkeeper can configure industry templates, segment labels, and company details.

Login Experience

The login screen places the Username field first. After the user leaves that field (via blur, Tab, or Enter), the Company dropdown populates automatically with only the companies that user is permitted to access. Administrators see all companies including System Management; regular users see only their assigned companies, and System Management never appears in their list.

User Security and Company Access

User accounts remain global (stored in prospero.db) but access to individual companies is controlled per user through an assignments table. Administrators see all companies implicitly. Regular users must be explicitly assigned to companies, which is managed from the Security Settings screen via a checkbox list on each user record. When a new user is created while logged into a specific company, that company's checkbox is automatically pre-checked for them.

Upgrade Migration

When an existing pre-v36 installation is upgraded, the app automatically detects the original prospero.db on first startup, reads the company name from it, copies it into the companies/ folder with an appropriate filename, registers it in the company registry, and assigns all existing regular users to it. A migration flag ensures this runs exactly once. The startup console reports the migration so the administrator knows what happened.

About Screen

The About screen now displays the full path to the active company database, injected server-side at page-load time. Logging into System Management shows prospero.db; logging into a client company shows that company's database path.