# How am I supposed to start?
# Setting up the Google Cloud Platform Project
The WitCloud platform connects to your Google Cloud Platform project. The results of WitCloud’s integrations and calculations are stored in the BigQuery records of your Google Cloud project that you own. This allows you to decide for yourself what you use this data for and with whom you share it.
In order to use the platform, you need a project on the Google Cloud Platform.
Go to link (opens new window) and press the free registration button.
After selecting try free, fill out the registration form with your company and payment information - each new user gets $300 to start,
to be used for 90 days of Google Cloud Platform use.
After creating an account on Google Cloud Platform, submit the project in the Google Cloud Platform console.
To do this, in the upper left corner we expand the list of projects.
Then, in the window that appears, click on the create new project button
In the next step, we configure the project. Just fill in the project name field, if the email that creates the project is in some G-suite organization, the project will also be available under that organization for the entire group. We suggest "WitCloud - COMPANY_NAME_ OR_PAGE_NAME" as the name, but of course you can choose any other name. After completing the form, press the create project button.
# Create an account and create a project in WitCloud Platform
You can register on Witcloud at this link link (opens new window) It is recommended that 1 person create an account on the platform and then send invitations to the project to others in the organization. Once you have successfully registered, verified your email address, and logged into your WitCloud dashboard for the first time, you will see the view below.
Enter the project name in the first field. The second step is to select your preferred location for the WitCloud project you are creating. There are currently two locations to choose from: EU (European Union) and US (United States).
Location is a very important aspect of configuring your WitCloud project. When you create a project, the WitCloud platform **automatically** creates a BigQuery dataset and a storage bucket at the desired location. Please note this when continuing to use the data provided by WitCloud
Currently, changing the location of WitCloud project data after configuration is not possible. So it is worth choosing the right one. Once you have made your selection, press the Next button.
The access configuration view appears.
The field Dedicated Service Account contains the email address generated for the WitCloud project. Use this address as the user address to whom we grant the appropriate permissions for the Google Cloud Platform. You can find an access authorization guide here: link (opens new window) If you receive a red message in the “Google Cloud project” field:
“The billing account for the owning project is disabled in state absent”
Problem solved:
Go to link (opens new window) click on the my projects tab
Check if your project is linked to an active payment
# Authorize the WitCloud project with your project on the Google Cloud Platform.
Log in to the Google Cloud platform link (opens new window) If you have not yet created a GCP project for WitCloud, read how to create it here. Link (opens new window) After logging in to GCP from the menu on the left choose Administration button.
In the bar at the top, select add
We specify the account generated by the WitCloud app. The process of obtaining a dedicated service account address was described in the previous step.Link (opens new window)
In the access fields 3 roles are added:
- BigQuery User
- BigQuery Data Editor
- Storage Admin
Press the Save button and return to WitCloud. After adding permissions to a project on Google Cloud Platform, and clicking the refresh button, the projects we have access to will appear in the window.
After you have filled out all necessary fields, click on the button Submit. The information about the founding of the project appears – congratulations!