> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs-beta.layerfi.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Create business > Creates a new business in Layer. This endpoint is idempotent using the `external_id` field as the idempotency key, so subsequent requests with the same `external_id` will update or no-op. ## Response Status Codes * **201 Created** - A new business was successfully created * **200 OK** - An existing business was found and returned: * Archived business with matching phone number was unarchived * Non-archived business with matching external ID was found * **400 Bad Request** - Phone number matches an existing non-archived business with a different external ID The response includes `previously_imported: true` when an existing business is returned. ## OpenAPI ````yaml post /v1/businesses openapi: 3.0.1 info: title: API version: latest servers: [] security: - BearerAuth: [] tags: [] externalDocs: url: / paths: /v1/businesses: post: tags: [] summary: Create business description: >- Creates a new business in Layer. This endpoint is idempotent using the `external_id` field as the idempotency key, so subsequent requests with the same `external_id` will update or no-op. operationId: businesses.post parameters: - name: Content-Type in: header description: Content-Type must be set to application/json schema: type: string requestBody: content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/NewBusinessParams' responses: '200': description: >- An existing business was found and returned. This occurs when an archived business with matching phone number was unarchived, or a non-archived business with matching external ID was found. The response includes `previously_imported: true` when an existing business is returned. headers: {} content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiBusiness' '201': description: A new business was successfully created. headers: {} content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiBusiness' '400': description: >- Invalid business creation parameters. Common scenarios include: (1) Phone number already registered with a different external ID, (2) Invalid or missing required fields, (3) Invalid JSON structure. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiError' examples: phone_number_conflict: summary: Phone number already registered value: errors: - type: BadRequest description: >- That phone number is already registered with Layer by another business. invalid_parameters: summary: Invalid or missing required fields value: errors: - type: InvalidParameters description: >- Invalid JSON: Field 'id' is required for type with serial name 'AccountId', but it was missing at path: $.line_items[0].account_identifier general_bad_request: summary: General validation error value: errors: - type: BadRequest description: At least one field must be provided to update deprecated: false components: schemas: NewBusinessParams: type: object properties: external_id: type: string description: >- Unique ID of the business in your system for linking purposes. **Idempotency key**. legal_name: type: string description: Legal name of the business as it has been registered. tin: type: string nullable: true description: Tax Identification Number for the business. us_state: $ref: '#/components/schemas/USState' description: The state this business is incorporated in. country: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Country' description: >- 2 letter ISO country code representing the country this business is incorporated in. Defaults to US. entity_type: $ref: '#/components/schemas/BusinessType' description: Entity type of the business. Used to determine tax filing status. phone_number: type: string description: Phone number used for SMS based categorization. sms_enabled: type: boolean description: Whether SMS is enabled for this business sms_categorization_start_date: type: string format: date-time description: Date when SMS categorization starts for this business. activation_at: type: string format: date-time description: >- The activation timestamp represents the time at which Layer should begin displaying accounting data. Data before this time will not be displayed to users. This field is important for businesses migrating over from other accounting platforms. Defaults to Jan 1 of the current year. internal_bank_account_ids: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/NewBusinessUnitAccountId' description: >- List of internal bank account identifiers to associate with this business. unit_ids: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/NewBusinessUnitAccountId' description: List of unit account identifiers to associate with this business. plaid_items: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/CreatePlaidItem' description: Plaid items to link to this business. plaid_processor_tokens: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/CreatePlaidProcessorToken' description: Plaid processor tokens to link to this business. skip_onboarding: type: boolean description: Whether to skip the onboarding process for this business. industry: type: string description: Industry classification for the business. naics_code: type: string nullable: true description: 6-digit NAICS code used to identify the business's industry. stripe_connect_accounts: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/StripeConnectAccountInput' description: List of Stripe Connect accounts associated with this business. default_reporting_basis: type: string nullable: true enum: - CASH - ACCRUAL description: Default accounting basis for financial reports. ApiBusiness: type: object properties: id: type: string format: uuid description: Unique identifier for the business. type: type: string description: Resource type. Value will be “Business”. example: Business external_id: type: string description: >- Unique ID of the business in your system for linking purposes. **Idempotency key**. example: test-acme-id legal_name: type: string example: ACME LLC description: Legal name of the business as it has been registered. tin: type: string nullable: true description: Tax Identification Number for the business. us_state: $ref: '#/components/schemas/USState' description: The state this business is incorporated in. country: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Country' description: >- 2 letter ISO country code representing the country this business is incorporated in. Defaults to US. entity_type: $ref: '#/components/schemas/BusinessType' description: 'Entity type of the business. Used to determine tax filing status. ' industry: type: string description: Industry classification for the business. phone_number: type: string description: Phone number used for SMS based categorization. example: '+16504651359' naics_code: type: string nullable: true description: 6-digit NAICS code used to identify the business's industry. example: '484110' sms_enabled: type: boolean description: Whether SMS is enabled for this business sms_stopped: type: boolean description: Whether this business has responded to Layer's SMS with "STOP" sms_categorization_start_date: type: string format: date-time description: Date when SMS categorization starts for this business. activation_at: type: string format: date-time description: >- The activation timestamp represents the time at which Layer should begin displaying accounting data. Data before this time will not be displayed to users. This field is important for businesses migrating over from other accounting platforms. Defaults to Jan 1 of the current year. imported_at: type: string format: date-time description: >- Time when the business entity was created in Layer. **Eligible sort key**. updated_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true description: >- Time when the business's information was last updated in Layer. **Eligible sort key**. archived_at: type: string format: date-time nullable: true description: Time when the business was archived, if applicable. unit_accounts: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/APIUnitAccount' description: List of unit accounts associated with this business. plaid_items: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiPlaidItem' description: Plaid items linked to this account. plaid_processor_tokens: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiPlaidProcessorToken' description: Plaid processor tokens linked to this account previously_imported: type: boolean nullable: true description: >- True if an archived business with the same phone number was unarchived during creation. stripe_connect_accounts: type: array items: type: object description: List of Stripe Connect accounts associated with this business. default_reporting_basis: type: string nullable: true enum: - CASH - ACCRUAL description: Default accounting basis for financial reports. ApiError: type: object properties: {} example: '' description: '' USState: type: string enum: - AL - AK - AZ - AR - CA - CO - CT - DE - DC - FL - GA - HI - ID - IL - IN - IA - KS - KY - LA - ME - MD - MA - MI - MN - MS - MO - MT - NE - NV - NH - NJ - NM - NY - NC - ND - OH - OK - OR - PA - PR - RI - SC - SD - TN - TX - UT - VT - VI - VA - WA - WV - WI - WY description: Which United States state the business is incorporated in. Country: type: string enum: - AF - AL - DZ - AS - AD - AO - AI - AQ - AG - AR - AM - AW - AU - AT - AZ - BS - BH - BD - BB - BY - BE - BZ - BJ - BM - BT - BO - BA - BW - BV - BR - IO - BN - BG - BF - BI - KH - CM - CA - CV - KY - CF - TD - CL - CN - CX - CC - CO - KM - CG - CD - CK - CR - CI - HR - CU - CY - CZ - DK - DJ - DM - DO - EC - EG - SV - GQ - ER - EE - ET - FK - FO - FJ - FI - FR - GF - PF - TF - GA - GM - GE - DE - GH - GI - GR - GL - GD - GP - GU - GT - GN - GW - GY - HT - HM - VA - HN - HK - HU - IS - IN - ID - IR - IQ - IE - IL - IT - JM - JP - JO - KZ - KE - KI - KP - KR - KW - KG - LA - LV - LB - LS - LR - LY - LI - LT - LU - MO - MK - MG - MW - MY - MV - ML - MT - ME - MH - MQ - MR - MU - YT - MX - FM - MD - MC - MN - MS - MA - MZ - MM - NA - NR - NP - NL - NC - NZ - NI - NE - NG - NU - NF - MP - 'NO' - OM - PK - PW - PS - PA - PG - PY - PE - PH - PN - PL - PT - PR - QA - RE - RO - RU - RS - RW - SH - KN - LC - PM - VC - WS - SM - ST - SA - SN - SC - SL - SG - SK - SI - SB - SO - ZA - GS - ES - LK - SD - SR - SJ - SZ - SE - CH - SY - TW - TJ - TZ - TH - TL - TG - TK - TO - TT - TN - TR - TM - TC - TV - UG - UA - AE - GB - US - UM - UY - UZ - VU - VE - VN - VG - VI - WF - EH - YE - ZM - ZW description: Which country the business is incorporated in. BusinessType: type: string enum: - SOLE_PROP - C_CORP - LLC - S_CORP - PARTNERSHIP - NON_PROFIT - TRUST description: Type of the business. NewBusinessUnitAccountId: type: object properties: unit_id: type: string account_name: type: string nullable: true description: Name of the Unit account example: My Unit account opening_balance_init_to_zero: type: boolean opening_balance_do_not_init: type: boolean CreatePlaidItem: type: object properties: item_id: type: string description: Plaid's unique identifier for the item access_token: type: string description: Access token for the Plaid item sync_transactions: type: boolean default: true description: Whether to sync transactions for this item institution_plaid_id: type: string nullable: true description: Plaid's identifier for the institution CreatePlaidProcessorToken: type: object properties: processor_token: type: string description: ' The processor_token returned by Plaid upon generation via the [/processor/token/create](https://plaid.com/docs/api/processors/#processortokencreate) endpoint.' StripeConnectAccountInput: type: object properties: stripe_id: type: string APIUnitAccount: type: object properties: id: type: string description: The Unit account’s ID example: '111111' importedAt: type: string format: date-time description: When the Unit account was imported ApiPlaidItem: type: object properties: accessToken: type: string example: access-sandbox-a67d0be8-abcd-1234-5678-14fc7bc65366 institution: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ApiPlaidInstitution' itemId: type: string example: V3jvONy9xbroJVaRnm6oiAqVMv5Qz3TrNyLdL syncTransactions: type: boolean ApiPlaidProcessorToken: type: object properties: processor_token: type: string example: processor-sandbox-d8e791d1-1234-9876-a207-69acca316045 ApiPlaidInstitution: type: object properties: id: type: string description: The Plaid institution’s ID within Plaid example: ins_1 name: type: string description: The Plaid institution’s name example: Bank of America logo: type: string nullable: true description: The Plaid institution’s logo example: >- 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 securitySchemes: BearerAuth: type: http scheme: bearer bearerFormat: JWT ````