How many documents do I need to start a Company Brain?

Far fewer than most people expect. A focused first version for one department is often a couple of dozen well-chosen documents: pricing, product details, policies, key SOPs and a few examples of good replies. Quality and currency matter more than volume.

Which department should we start with?

Start where repeated questions cost the most, which is usually sales or customer support. One department is small enough to get right and large enough to show clear results.

What if our documents are messy or out of date?

That's normal. Part of setup is deciding which version is current and retiring the rest. It's better to load fewer correct documents than many conflicting ones.

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Company Brain20 September 20265 min read

Company Brain for a 20-Person Business: What Goes In First

You don't need to feed a Company Brain everything on day one. For a team of about 20, five categories of knowledge get you most of the value — and one department is the right place to start.

By Garvit Jain, Vardhan AI

The mistake most teams make with a Company Brain is trying to load everything at once. A 20-person business doesn't have a data problem; it has a handful of questions that get asked over and over and a few people who always know the answer. Start there.

Rule 1: start with one department

Pick the team where repeated questions cost the most — usually sales or support. One department's knowledge is small enough to get right and large enough to show results. The other departments follow once the first is trusted. (This is also how we scope Company Brain: one department first.)

The five things to load first

1. Pricing and offers. The current rate card, discount rules, bulk tiers, what needs approval. Wrong prices are the most expensive kind of wrong answer.
2. Product or service details. Catalogue, specs, what's included, what's not, delivery areas and timelines.
3. Policies. Returns, refunds, warranties, cancellations, payment terms — the ones that get asked at the worst moment.
4. Your SOPs for the top five repeated tasks. How you handle a new enquiry, a complaint, a quote, an order change. Even rough step lists count.
5. Your voice. A few real examples of replies you're proud of, so drafts sound like you and not like a template.

What to leave out for now

Old, superseded versions of documents — they cause wrong answers
Anything nobody owns and nobody would update
Sensitive HR or financial files, until access rules are set (see who can see what)
Everything else — you can add it in week six

A quick way to choose

Look at the last 30 days of WhatsApp, email and support messages. Write down the ten questions your team answered most often. Every one of those needs a home in the Brain before anything else does. If a question is asked more than a few times a week, the answer belongs in the Brain.

Then measure

Before you go live, note two numbers: how long it takes to answer a typical customer question today, and how often someone has to ask a colleague. Check them again after a month. That's your first real evidence — and it tells you what to add next. To see what an initial scope could look like for your team, Talk to us →.