Clients

A client is a customer who buys from you. Everything else in AIOBilling hangs off the client: orders, services, domains, invoices, quotes, tickets, e-mails and credit. This chapter covers the client list, adding clients, the client record and its tabs, groups, contacts and sub-accounts, custom fields, credit, signing in as a client, mass mail and notes. All pages are in the Clients menu unless said otherwise.

The client list

Clients → View / Search Clients lists every client, 25 to a page, newest first. Click a column title to sort by ID, Name, Company, Email, Status, Created or Services.

The filter bar has three fields:

Each row ends with View, Edit (the Profile tab) and Login (sign in as that client). Tick rows to use the bulk actions: Set status: Active, Set status: Inactive, Close accounts, Move to group: ..., Remove from group and Delete clients (only for roles with the Delete Client permission).

Adding a client

Add New Client shows the same form as the Profile tab:

• First Name, Last Name, Company Name, Email Address (this is also the sign-in name), Address 1 and 2, City, State/Region, Postcode, Country, Phone Number, Tax ID.
• Password - leave it empty and the script makes one. If you do not send the welcome e-mail, the generated password is shown once on the next page. Generate fills a strong one.
• Currency, Client Group, Status, Language and Default Payment Method (Use the order default unless you pick a gateway).
• Options, each a tick box: Tax exempt; No late fees; No overdue reminders; Separate invoices for services; Disable automatic credit card processing; No auto-closing of tickets; Opt out of general e-mails; Marketing e-mails opt-in; Allow single sign-on; E-mail address verified.
• Admin Notes - private, never shown to the client.
• Your custom client fields, below the form.
• Welcome e-mail - tick Send the Client Signup Email with the login details.

The e-mail address must be new; the script refuses one that already signs in to the client area. A client can also sign up alone on the register page, see The client area.

The client record

Click a client to open the record. A sticky note, if any, is shown at the top. Then the header: the client's name and status, the client number, e-mail, group and credit balance, and the buttons Login as Client, Send Email, Add Order, Add Invoice and Open Ticket. Under it are the tabs:

Other Actions

On the Summary tab: Change Status; Mark Email Verified; Reset & Send Password (e-mails a reset link); Manage Credit; Close Client Account (sets the status to Closed - nothing is deleted); and Delete Client Account, which removes the client and everything that belongs to the client - services, domains, invoices, transactions, credit and more - and cannot be undone. Closing is almost always the better choice.

Send Email

Choose a Template (any general e-mail template) or write a Custom message, add Cc, a Subject and the Message. HTML is allowed. Merge fields: {$client_name}, {$client_first_name}, {$client_last_name}, {$client_company_name}, {$client_email}, {$client_credit}, {$client_status}, {$company_name}, {$system_url}, {$client_area_url}, {$signature}, {$date}. The result lands in the Emails tab.

Client groups

Manage Client Groups makes labels with consequences. A group has a Group name, a Colour (shown as a dot in lists), a Group discount %, Exempt from suspension and Separate invoices. The discount is taken off a group member's service when its renewal invoice is made, and the invoice line says N% group discount. Deleting a group leaves its clients without a group. Useful groups: VIP with 10 percent, Resellers, Do not suspend.

Contacts and sub-accounts

A contact is another person on the client's account - an accountant, a technician. On the Contacts tab press Add New Contact and fill the name, company, e-mail, address, phone and tax ID. A contact does not sign in unless you tick Activate Sub-Account; then set a Password and the Permissions:

Modify Master Account Profile; View & Manage Contacts; View Products & Services; View & Modify Product Passwords; View Domains; Manage Domain Settings; View & Pay Invoices; View & Accept Quotes; View & Open Support Tickets; View & Manage Affiliate Account; View Emails; Place New Orders/Upgrades/Cancellations.

E-mail preferences choose which mails the contact gets: General, Product, Domain, Invoice, Support and Affiliate E-mails. The sub-account signs in with its own e-mail and sees only what its permissions allow. The menu Contacts lists every contact of every client; its Type filter shows All contacts, Sub-accounts only or Without sign-in.

Custom client fields

Custom Client Fields adds your own questions to the profile, the order form and the invoices: a VAT number, a trade licence number, a national ID. Each field has a Field Name, Field Type (Text Box, Link/URL, Password, Drop Down, Tick Box, Text Area), Description, Validation (a regular expression with delimiters, for example /^[0-9]+$/), Select Options (for a drop-down), Display Order, and the switches Required Field, Admin Only, Show on Order Form and Show on Invoice. Deleting a field deletes its stored values.

Credit

Credit is money you hold for a client. Invoices can be paid from it, and overpayments, refunds to credit and Add Funds payments end up in it, see Invoices and payments. To change it by hand open Billing → Credit Balances (or the client's Credit tab): choose the client, the Action (Add credit or Remove credit), the Amount in the client's currency and a Description for the credit log. You cannot remove more than the client holds. The page also lists the clients holding credit and the whole log with the invoice and the administrator behind each line.

Logging in as a client

Login as Client opens the client area as that client in a new tab, without a password, so you see exactly what the client sees. It needs the Login as Client permission and is written to the client's Activity Log with your name. Sign out of the client area when you are done.

Mass mail

Mass Mail sends one message to a group of clients. Step 1 picks the recipients with any mix of: Client Status, Client Group, Product/Service (clients who own it), Product Status and Domain Extension. Count recipients tells you how many match. Step 2 asks for a Subject and Message (HTML allowed; merge fields {$client_name}, {$client_first_name}, {$client_last_name}, {$client_company_name}, {$client_email}, {$client_credit}, {$company_name}, {$client_area_url}, {$signature}) and sends it through the Mass Mail Template. At most 500 clients are mailed per run; run it again for the rest. Clients who opted out are skipped and counted. See Settings for the template and the mail setup.

Notes

The Notes tab and the box on the Summary tab keep private staff notes with the date and the writer. Tick Sticky and the note is shown at the top of every tab of the record, so the next person sees it first - "cheque customer, collect cash on delivery". Notes can be edited, made sticky or not, and deleted. The client never sees them. The profile's Admin Notes field is a separate single note.

Affiliates

The Affiliates tab turns a client into an affiliate with Activate Affiliate Account. It then shows the affiliate ID, signup date, visitors referred, referred services, pending commissions, available balance and total withdrawn, plus the Commission History. You can set a Commission type (use the default, Percentage, Fixed Amount, No Commission), the Commission amount, Pay commission once only, and the Balance. Disable Affiliate Account removes the account and its history. The full list is in Clients → Affiliates.