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Beam Machine Navigation and Layout

How the dashboard, sidebar, header, breadcrumbs, entity switcher, and portal navigation work in Beam Machine.

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Finding Your Way Around Beam Machine

This page shows you how to understand the sidebar, header, breadcrumbs, entity switcher, and portal layout so you stop getting lost.

Product: Beam Machine
Module: Navigation
Role: All users
Difficulty: Beginner
Time: 5 minutes
Last Updated: 2026-03-10
Version: Current Beam Machine app build in this repo

Before You Start

  • You should know whether you are in the staff app or the customer portal.
  • If you only need a raw route list, use 98-screen-map.md.

What is the Beam Machine layout?

Beam Machine has a standard layout so you can tell where you are before you start clicking. The staff app uses a left sidebar, a top header, and a main work area. The portal uses a simpler layout because it is meant for lighter external-facing access.

When do you use this?

Use this page when you are new, when you keep ending up in the wrong screen, or when support needs a common language for guiding someone through the UI.

If you do not understand the layout, you waste time in the wrong entity, the wrong workspace, or the wrong menu.

Where do you see these navigation parts?

Primary path: Open any staff app page under /dashboard/* to see the full sidebar and header.
Alternative: Open any portal page under /portal/* to see the lighter customer layout.

How the layout works

The staff app layout

Area What it does
Left sidebar Opens module families such as Finance, Operations, HR, Professional, Reports, Documents, and System
Top header Shows entity switcher, breadcrumb trail, search, notifications, profile, and language switcher
Main work area Shows the actual page you are working on

The left sidebar

The sidebar groups work into sections:

  • Overview
  • Finance
  • Operations
  • HR
  • Professional
  • Reports
  • Documents
  • System

Some items expand into child pages. If you click a parent with children, you are usually choosing a work area, not doing the task yet.

The header

Header control Why it matters
Entity switcher Changes which business entity you are working in
Breadcrumbs Shows where you are, for example Home > Accounting > General Ledger
Search Quick lookup entry point when enabled or wired for the current page
Notifications Shortcut to alerts and pending items
User menu Profile, settings, language, sign out
Language switcher Locale choice, which matters for formatting and user preference

The single most important navigation rule

Always check the active entity before you create, edit, approve, upload, or export anything.

If you skip that check, you can do correct work in the wrong entity.

How page names are built

Beam Machine uses route-based breadcrumbs. This means the system tries to label pages based on the current URL and a breadcrumb map.

Examples:

  • /dashboard/accounting/ledger becomes Accounting > General Ledger
  • /dashboard/payroll/pay-runs/new becomes Payroll > Pay Runs > New
  • /dashboard/settings/company becomes Settings > Company

Main route families users will see

Family Examples
Finance /dashboard/accounting, /dashboard/invoicing, /dashboard/banking, /dashboard/tax
Operations /dashboard/procurement, /dashboard/fleet, /dashboard/rental, /dashboard/inventory
People /dashboard/payroll, /dashboard/hr
Assurance and advisory /dashboard/practice, /dashboard/statutory, /dashboard/audit, /dashboard/controls, /dashboard/esg, /dashboard/valuation, /dashboard/transfer-pricing
Reporting and group /dashboard/reporting, /dashboard/multi-entity
Admin and control /dashboard/documents, /dashboard/approvals, /dashboard/settings

Customer portal layout

The customer portal is simpler than the staff app. It has:

  • its own sidebar,
  • a top bar titled Customer Portal,
  • and only a small set of routes: dashboard, invoices, rentals, profile, support.

The portal is not the same product experience as the staff dashboard. Do not train staff users from the portal manual, and do not train clients from the admin manual.

Common Questions & Issues

"I can see the page, but I do not know if I am in the right entity"

Why this happens: The header is easy to ignore when people rush.

Fix: Stop before doing any work. Check the entity switcher in the header first. Only continue once the correct entity is active.

"I cannot find the screen support told me to open"

Why this happens: The screen may be in another workspace, another module family, or hidden by role.

Fix: Use this order:

  1. Check the breadcrumb.
  2. Check the active entity.
  3. Check the left sidebar section.
  4. Confirm whether you are in the staff app or the customer portal.
  5. If the page exists but feels empty or thin, check the gap map before raising a bug.

What's Next

Related Pages

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