> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ocular.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setting up your workspace

> A three-step Ocular setup — create your brand, connect data sources, and watch your first dashboards populate after the initial 24–48 hour historical load.

**By the end of this page**, your first Ocular dashboards will be live with your real data flowing in. Three steps, \~20 minutes of configuration, plus a 24–48 hour data load.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="20 min" icon="clock">
    Configuration time
  </Card>

  <Card title="24–48 hrs" icon="hourglass-half">
    Initial data load
  </Card>

  <Card title="3 steps" icon="list-check">
    Brand → Sources → Verify
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Frame caption="Settings → Brands — replace with a real screenshot">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocular/OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW/images/brands-ss.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW&q=85&s=e101ccb55bd573df3c607ad379fceeec" alt="Settings Brands placeholder" width="2878" height="1528" data-path="images/brands-ss.png" />
</Frame>

***

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a brand" icon="building">
    A **brand** groups your data sources and analytics views. Most companies set up one brand per business line.

    **Where:** Settings → Brands → New Brand. Add a name, optional logo, and time zone.

    <Tabs>
      <Tab title="One unified brand">
        Multiple stores / channels under one parent. Use when the same team makes decisions across stores.

        **Trade-off:** all users see all stores.
      </Tab>

      <Tab title="Separate brands per line">
        Independent product lines or regional businesses. Use when different P\&L owners need walled views.

        **Trade-off:** no consolidated metrics out of the box.
      </Tab>
    </Tabs>

    <Tip>
      Picking the wrong pattern is painful to undo — switching later requires re-ingestion. Decide first.
    </Tip>

    <Frame caption="New Brand form — replace with a real screenshot">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocular/OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW/images/add-brand.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW&q=85&s=dcb504a1a21fce66a247d2ad1ae4cb79" alt="New Brand form placeholder" width="2878" height="1478" data-path="images/add-brand.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add data sources" icon="plug">
    **Where:** Settings → Data Sources → Add Source. Pick the source, follow the OAuth flow, set a historical start date, wait for "Connected".

    **Minimum viable set to see real data:** Shopify (or any quick-commerce platform you sell on) + Meta Ads + Google Ads + GA4. Once those are green, your first Quickstart Reports populate.

    For the full sequencing — which sources to add next and what each level unlocks — follow [Implementation checklist](/overview/implementation-checklist).

    <Warning>
      **Use one common start date across all sources.** If Shopify starts Jan 1 but Meta Ads starts Mar 1, every cross-channel chart between those dates will be wrong. Pick the date your latest-onboarding source can support.
    </Warning>

    <Frame caption="Data Sources status pane — replace with a real screenshot">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocular/OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW/images/connector.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW&q=85&s=716e2822bf9e8813e01e2aa91ecc482a" alt="Data Sources status placeholder" width="2876" height="1516" data-path="images/connector.png" />
    </Frame>

    <Tip>
      Per-source setup guides (Shopify, Meta, GA4, Blinkit, etc.) live in [Connect Your Data](/connectors/shopify) — each has prerequisites worth reading before you start the OAuth flow.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify your first views" icon="circle-check">
    The first load takes **24–48 hours**. During that window, Quickstart Reports show partial data — that's expected. The Data Sources status pane shows backfill progress per source.

    **Once it completes, sanity-check these three views:**

    <CardGroup cols={3}>
      <Card title="Quickstart Reports - Sales" icon="chart-column">
        Revenue reads correctly?
      </Card>

      <Card title="Quickstart Reports - Marketing" icon="file-spreadsheet">
        Ad spend matches platforms?
      </Card>
    </CardGroup>

    If anything looks off, jump to **FAQs → Reconciliation** for the per-source diagnostic flow.

    <Frame caption="Quickstart Reports — replace with a real screenshot">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/ocular/OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW/images/quickstart.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=OVLTuDCFkfm2U4mW&q=85&s=e0cd2b2b8da7c13c702529220cb89f40" alt="Quickstart Reports placeholder" width="2878" height="1522" data-path="images/quickstart.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Do these right the first time

Four things that are painful to fix later.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Plan your brand structure before creating brands" icon="building">
    Switching between unified vs. separate brands later requires re-ingestion. Decide up front.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Document your start dates" icon="calendar">
    Six months later, someone will ask why a chart's history starts in March. Keep a record per source.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Test each connection before moving on" icon="circle-check">
    Don't connect 12 sources in one sitting. Connect one, confirm green status and non-zero records, then move on. Catches misconfiguration early.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Set up ad tracking before connecting ad platforms" icon="link">
    UTMs, fbclid, gclid must be configured at the ad-platform level *before* Ocular ingests data. See the **Ad Tracking Setup Guide**.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## What's next

<Card title="Next: Implementation checklist →" icon="list-check" horizontal href="/overview/implementation-checklist">
  Level 1 / 2 / 3 sequencing — what to connect at each level and what unlocks. Especially useful if more than one person is involved in setup.
</Card>

<Note>
  **Other paths from here:** [Connect Your Data](/connectors/shopify) (per-platform setup) · [Settings & permissions](/overview/settings-and-permissions) (users and roles, once data is flowing) · [Start with the question](/overview/start-with-the-question) (the fastest way to put Ocular to work once dashboards populate).
</Note>