# Pick the Right Setup for Your Business
Hyperswitch supports two account setups: a **Standard Organization** and a **Platform Organization**. The right choice depends on whether you're running payments for a single business (with one or more brands or sub-merchants) or operating as a parent that wants to onboard and manage other merchants programmatically.
This page lays out both paths and helps you pick.
### Two Setups, One Decision
| Setup | Use this when |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Standard Organization** | You run payments for your own business, or onboard a small set of sub-merchants whose accounts you administer from the dashboard. |
| **Platform Organization** | You manage payments for multiple sub-merchants and want to onboard them programmatically, with optional shared customers and saved payment methods across the connected group. |
***
### When to Choose a Standard Organization
A Standard Organization is the default when you sign up. It fits these scenarios:
* **Single merchant.** One business, one brand, one set of API keys.
* **Multiple brands or business units.** A single business operating multiple storefronts (e.g. a retailer with separate clothing, shoes, and accessories lines). Use multiple **merchant accounts** under the same Standard Org, each with its own API keys, or multiple **profiles** under one merchant account if you want to share an API key across business units.
* **Sub-merchants administered from the dashboard.** A Standard Organization can also support sub-merchants where the parent administers each sub-merchant manually from the dashboard. Day-to-day governance is handled by user roles and permissions. See [Manage Your Team](/integration-guide/account-management/manage-your-team.md) for how to grant role-based access at the org, merchant, or profile level.
In a Standard Organization, customers and saved payment methods are scoped at the **merchant** level. All profiles under the same merchant account share the same customer and payment-method data; different merchant accounts in the same org are isolated from each other.
Standard Organization - each merchant is fully isolated with its own customers and saved payment methods
For setup details, see [Standard Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/standard-organization.md).
***
### When to Choose a Platform Organization
A Platform Organization is for businesses that want **programmatic management of sub-merchants** through the Platform API Key. It also unlocks two resource-sharing models you can mix in the same Platform Org: shared customers and payment methods across a connected group, or full isolation per sub-merchant.
#### Connected Merchants (shared resources)
Use **Connected Merchants** when you want sub-merchants to share customers and saved payment methods across the connected group. Choose this if:
* You operate a **marketplace** where the same end-customer might pay multiple sellers (e.g. booking platforms, multi-vendor commerce).
* You want a **unified customer experience** across your sub-merchants. A customer who saves their card with Sub-Merchant A can reuse it with Sub-Merchant B.
* You want the **platform to initiate operations on behalf of** a sub-merchant: payments, refunds, captures, disputes, connector configuration. The Platform API Key acts as a privileged credential across the connected group.
#### Standard Merchants under a Platform Org (isolated)
Use **Standard Merchants** under a Platform Org when you want central account management plus programmatic onboarding, but **no resource sharing** between sub-merchants. Choose this if:
* You're a **VSaaS or franchise operator** where each sub-merchant must keep its customers and saved cards isolated for compliance, contractual, or data-boundary reasons.
* You want the platform to **provision accounts and generate API keys** for sub-merchants programmatically, but day-to-day payment operations stay with the sub-merchant.
For concepts and setup, see [Platform Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/platform-organization-concepts.md) followed by [Setting Up a Platform Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/platform-organization-concepts/setting-up-platform-organization.md).
***
### Quick Comparison
| Capability | Standard Organization | Platform Organization |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Manage merchants and profiles via the Dashboard | Yes (governed by user roles) | Yes (governed by user roles) |
| Onboard sub-merchants programmatically via API | No | Yes (Platform API Key) |
| Generate sub-merchant API keys via API | No | Yes (Platform API Key) |
| Customers and payment methods shared across the merchant group | No (scoped per merchant) | Yes for **Connected Merchants**; isolated for **Standard Merchants** |
| Platform initiates operations on behalf of a sub-merchant | No | Yes (Connected Merchants only) |
| Multiple merchant accounts under one organization | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple profiles per merchant account | Yes | Yes |
Both setups support full dashboard-based management of merchants, profiles, connectors, and team access. The Platform Organization adds programmatic management on top: a Platform API Key that can onboard sub-merchants and operate on their behalf where allowed.
***
### Examples by Business Type
| Business type | Recommended setup |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Single-business e-commerce store | Standard Organization |
| Retailer with multiple brand storefronts | Standard Organization, multiple merchants or profiles |
| VSaaS where each sub-merchant must stay fully isolated | Standard Organization, or Platform Organization with Standard Merchants |
| Marketplace with a shared customer view (e.g. multi-vendor commerce) | Platform Organization with Connected Merchants |
| VSaaS that wants a unified saved-card experience across its sub-merchants | Platform Organization with Connected Merchants |
| Franchise operator centralising onboarding while keeping sub-merchant data isolated | Platform Organization with Standard Merchants |
***
### Still Not Sure?
Start with a Standard Organization and convert to a Platform Organization later if your business model evolves. Conversion requires assistance from your administrator. If you're already certain about the platform model, set up a Platform Organization from the start to avoid migration overhead.
### Next Steps
* For a Standard setup: [Standard Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/standard-organization.md).
* For a Platform setup: [Platform Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/platform-organization-concepts.md), then [Setting Up a Platform Organization](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/platform-organization-concepts/setting-up-platform-organization.md).
* To understand the building blocks first: [Organization, Merchant, and Profile](/integration-guide/account-management/multiple-accounts-and-profiles/hyperswitch-account-structure.md).
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