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

# Prerequisites

> What you need before your first Minimum Wage Finder lookup: credentials for Portal or the API, the account setup your administrator completes, and the minimum wage entitlement.

Two things need to be in place before your first lookup: your own credentials, and your organization's account setup.

## Your credentials

Which one you need depends on how you plan to use Minimum Wage Finder.

| Surface    | You need                                          | Where it comes from                         |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Portal** | An authorization key, entered on the landing page | Your Symmetry Client Success representative |
| **API**    | An API key, sent with every request               | Your Symmetry Client Success representative |

<Warning>
  Production and staging use different credentials. A key issued for one environment will not work in the other.
</Warning>

To request either, contact your Symmetry Client Success representative or reach out through the [Client Support Center](https://support.symmetry.com).

## The minimum wage entitlement

Minimum wage rates are licensed. If your organization does not have the entitlement, Portal shows no rate data and the rate endpoints are unavailable.

This is the first thing to check if you can log in but see no rates. It is an account setting rather than anything you can configure yourself.

<Note>
  Reaching Minimum Wage Finder as a Payroll Point add-on rather than as a standalone product changes your endpoint paths. See [Standalone MWF or PRP add-on](/mwf/overview/standalone-or-add-on).
</Note>

## Account setup

Your account administrator configures your organization's profile before any lookup will work. This is a one-time step handled with your Client Success representative.

Settings applied at that level affect every user in your organization, not just you, so if results are not what you expect on a first lookup, they are worth checking before anything else.

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart: Look up rates in Portal" icon="rocket" href="/mwf/getting-started/portal-quickstart">
    Log in and run your first Maps or Batch lookup.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart: Call the MWF API" icon="rocket" href="/mwf/getting-started/api-quickstart">
    Authenticate and make your first rate lookup.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>