Clients: Create Profiles, Contacts, and Billing Setup

Clients: Profile, Contacts & Billing Setup

The Clients module is the central hub for all customer data. A complete, accurate client profile ensures smooth invoicing, accurate communications, and a reliable audit trail. This guide covers creating a new client from scratch, keeping profiles current, and preparing a client record for billing operations.

Prerequisites: You need Create Clients and Edit Clients permissions. Before creating clients, ensure your system's default currency and tax settings are configured under Setup > Finance > Tax Rates and Setup > Settings > Localisation.

Quick Steps Summary

Navigate to Clients > New Client
Enter company name, primary contact, email, phone, and address
Set currency, language, and billing preferences
Add secondary contacts if needed
Validate the profile by drafting a test invoice

1. Creating a New Client

Before creating a new client, always search the existing client list by email and company name to avoid duplicates. If a matching record is found, update it rather than creating a second profile.

Navigate to Clients in the main menu and click New Client. The client creation form opens.
Company / Organisation Name: Enter the full legal trading name of the business. This name appears on all invoices and documents — spelling and capitalisation must match what is on official documents for businesses requiring formal invoicing.
Primary Contact Person: Enter the name of the individual who manages the relationship. For sole traders this will be the same as the company name.
Email Address: Enter the billing email address — this is where invoices will be delivered. Confirm it is a monitored inbox, not a personal address that changes frequently.
Phone Number: Enter in international format for SMS delivery compatibility. Add direct and mobile numbers if available.
Billing Address & Shipping Address: Fill in the complete postal address. If billing and shipping addresses differ, enter both. These appear on invoice PDFs.
Currency: Select the billing currency from the dropdown. Once invoices are created for this client, changing currency requires careful review to avoid mismatched records.
Language: Set the client's preferred language for portal access and document generation.
Account Owner: Assign the staff member responsible for this client relationship for reporting and access filtering.
Click Save and verify the profile appears in the client list.

Tip: Use the Groups or Tags features (if enabled) to categorise clients by service type, region, or tier. This enables segmented reporting and bulk communications later.

2. Updating Client Profile and Contacts

Client profiles must be kept current. Outdated billing emails or incorrect addresses lead to undelivered invoices and payment disputes. Schedule a quarterly profile review for high-value clients.

Open the existing client profile from the Clients list. Use the search bar to find by name, email, or phone.
Update business details: Edit company name, VAT/tax registration number, and registered address if the client has moved or rebranded. All changes are saved to the profile history.
Update primary contacts: Edit the primary contact's name and email. If the account manager has changed on the client side, update this to ensure communications reach the right person.
Add secondary contacts: Navigate to the Contacts tab within the client profile and click Add Contact. Secondary contacts can receive invoice copies and portal access.
Add handover notes: Use the Notes section to record service preferences, special billing arrangements, or key account context for new staff handling this client.
Click Save on each section. Review the Activity tab to confirm changes are logged.

3. Preparing a Client for Billing

A client profile must be billing-ready before the first invoice is raised. Incomplete billing data causes invoice delivery failures and delays payment collection.

Confirm legal name: The company or individual name on the profile must match the name on their purchase orders or expected on their remittance. Any discrepancy can delay payment approval on their end.
Verify billing email: Send a test message or ask the client to confirm they received an earlier communication at this address before raising the first live invoice.
Check currency and payment terms: Confirm the currency matches what was agreed in the contract or proposal. Set default payment terms (e.g. Net 14, Net 30) on the profile so new invoices inherit them automatically.
Review tax settings: For VAT-registered clients, ensure the correct tax rate is applied. For clients in different jurisdictions, verify whether tax should be charged and at what rate.
Set invoice delivery preferences: Decide whether invoices will be emailed automatically upon creation or held as drafts for manual review. This is configurable per client.
Draft a test invoice: Create a ┬ú0 or internal test invoice to validate that the client profile produces a correctly formatted invoice PDF with the right name, address, and tax details. Cancel or delete the test invoice before going live.

Warning: Never raise and send a live invoice to a client whose billing email has not been verified. Undelivered invoices become overdue without the client's knowledge, leading to disputes.

Common Issues

Issue	Cause	Fix
Client profile not saving	Required fields missing	Check for validation errors — company name and email are typically required.
Duplicate clients in list	No pre-creation search performed	Search by email and company name before creating. Merge duplicates using the admin merge tool.
Invoice fails to generate correctly	Billing profile incomplete	Review billing email, currency, tax rate, and address completeness on the client profile.
Contact not receiving portal invites	Incorrect email or portal access not enabled	Verify contact email and enable portal access from the Contacts tab.

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