Customers, sites and contacts

**Who this is for:** office administrators, dispatchers and managers. **What you will learn:** how FieldElite models a customer, its sites and the people on site — and how to give a customer portal access safely.  ## The three levels | Level | Meaning | Example | |---|---|---| | **Customer** | The company or individual who pays | Acme Facilities Ltd | | **Branch** | A physical site or building | Riverside Offices, Dublin | | **Location** | A named area inside a site | Plant Room (PR-01) | Jobs belong to a customer and a branch. Assets can also belong to a location, so the field worker knows exactly where to go. ## Create a customer 1. Go to **Customers**. 2. Select **New customer**. 3. Choose the **Type**: company or individual. 4. Enter the legal name, email, phone and VAT number. 5. Enter the billing address. This address is used on quotes and invoices. 6. Add internal **Notes** that help the office — never put passwords or card details here. 7. Select **Create**.  ### Add a site 1. Open the customer. 2. In **Branches**, select **Add branch**. 3. Give the site a clear name — the name the customer uses, not an internal code. 4. Add the address, postcode and map coordinates. 5. Mark the **Primary** site and **HQ** if they apply. 6. Add **Access notes**: gate codes, reception procedure, key collection, parking. ### Add a contact 1. Open the branch. 2. In **Contacts**, select **Add contact**. 3. Record the person's name, position, email and phone. 4. Mark the primary contact. This is the person the dispatcher calls first. ## Portal access To let a customer sign in: 1. Open the customer record. 2. Set **Portal enabled** to on. 3. Ensure the customer has a valid, unique email address. 4. Set a password, or send a reset link. 5. Tell the customer the portal address: `https:///portal/login`. Portal users only see their own customer account. They cannot see other customers, internal notes or other sites. > **Warning:** Disabling portal access stops new sign-ins immediately. It does not delete the customer's historical documents. ## Billing profile Open **Billing accounts** to control how a customer is invoiced: - Legal name and tax number - Billing email and accounts contact - Payment terms - PO required - Account reference and credit limit - Account hold Set **PO required** when the customer cannot be invoiced without a purchase order. The invoice screen will then insist on a PO or an authorised exception. ## Custom fields If your workspace uses **Custom fields**, extra fields appear on customers, branches, jobs and products. Custom fields are managed under **Settings → Custom fields** by an admin. ## Find a customer fast - Use global search for the customer name or email. - Filter the customer list by active status. - Sort by name or created date. - Open a customer and use the related tabs to jump to jobs, sites and documents. ## Tips - **Tip:** Put the site's *real* access instructions in the branch notes. Field workers see them on the job. - **Tip:** Use one branch per building, not one branch per job. - **Warning:** Changing a customer's legal name or VAT number after an invoice is issued does not rewrite history. Issue a credit note and re-invoice if the legal details were wrong. ## Check your understanding 1. What is the difference between a branch and a location? 2. Where do you turn on portal access? 3. What happens when a customer requires a PO? **Related:** [Jobs and the job lifecycle](03-jobs-and-workflow.md) · [Quotes, invoices and payments](05-quotes-invoices-payments.md)