Clients¶
The central part of any billing system is the client. Everything revolves around them. Services are created for them and invoices are issued to them. Payments are tracked and, in the case of things such as credit card payments, are made automatically.
In VybeBooks we also include suppliers as clients so that there is a single interface to manage both. This also allows us to treat the same enterprise as a client and a supplier without having to create two different records which then have to be kept in sync.
The client can have multiple contacts associated with it. There can be separate contacts for billing, operations, sales, support and any other contact types defined by the administrator. If any fields in the contact are left blank they will default to the client information
Client fields¶
The fields on the interface are described here. Most of these apply to the contact edit screen as well.
Created¶
This is a display only field to show when the record was originally created.
Status (client only)¶
The status of the client. The client can have one of three statuses; active, inactive and in collections. Clients moved into collections will automatically have balancing entries made into the accounts receivable journal to bring their balance to zero in order to reduce revenue until monies are collected.
Account Rep (client only)¶
This is a drop down list of clients who have been designated as representatives. They can be selected here in order to show that they brought the client in and should be paid a portion of the client’s billing. Some may also be designated as a first-line support person for that client. The default rep for the client is “HOUSE”.
Master account (client only)¶
This only applies if VybeBooks is being used to manage an ISP. It is a drop down list of users under that client. One of them can be desgnated as the master. The primary purpose of this is to allow that user to pay bills through the control panel.
First¶
First name.
Last¶
Last name. This is a required field.
Terms (client only)¶
Text to add to the client’s invoices.
Email¶
Email address. The billing contact email is used for sending invoices. If there is no billing contact then the primary email address is used. If that is also blank then the client address is used.
Web page¶
This field is just for information but if a fully qualified URL is entered here there will be a link on this page to go to it. By “fully qualified” we mean that it begins with “http://” or “https://”. The best way to fill this in is to bring up their page and cut and paste the URL from the browser.
Marketing list¶
This field can be used to prevent sending out marketing materials to clients if they ask to be removed from such mailings. It defaults to checked in the client record and unchecked in the contact.
Invoice Method (client only)¶
This is a drop down list of invoice methods. The default is “Email” but it can be “Fax”, “Print” or even “None”. How that field is used depends on the individual installation.
Address¶
The address should be on a single line. The form “#123-456 Main Street” works for this when there are unit numbers but choose the format that works for you.
City¶
The city name goes here.
Province¶
This is a drop down list of Canadian provinces and, if configured to do so, will also include American states. There is no country field because the country information is built into the province/state entry. If you need to enter countries other than Canada and the United States the system can also be configured to include other countries in the drop down list. If you need one or two clients to have other countries you can ask the support department to add them in. You can also temporarily configure the system to display all countries, select one and the configure it back the no countries. The system will continue to display the country on that record.
Postal Code¶
The postal code or zip code can be entered here. The system will check that it is valid based on the state or province and will normalize the entry. If not a US or Canadian entry then this is basically a free form field.
Phone 1¶
Primary phone number for the contact.
Phone 2¶
Secondary phone number for the contact.
Fax¶
Fax phone number for the contact.
Mobile Phone¶
Mobile phone number for the contact.
SMS address¶
This is a special field that should hold a valid email address that allows sending SMS texts to the client.
SMS Message¶
If the SMS address is filled in then whatever is entered into this box will be sent to it. Note that if the SMS address is not filled in then this field will be labelled “SMS lookup” and there will be a link that brings you to a page to look up the text address for the cell number entered.
HST Exempt (client only)¶
If the client is exempt from HST for some reason, check this box. Note that clients outside Canada are automatically exempt so there is virtually no need to ever check this box.
Charge interest (client only)¶
By default clients with outstanding invoices will be charged interest. Uncheck this box to prevent that charge.
Statement (client only)¶
Issue statement. Currently does nothing.
Max credit (client only)¶
There is a report that can be generated daily for clients owing money for more than thirty days. If this field has an amount in it then that is subtracted from the total amount owing first to determine if they should be included on the list.
NAICS code (client only)¶
The North American Industry Classification System or NAICS (pronounced “nakes”) is used by business and government to classify business establishments according to type of economic activity (process of production) in Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.
Client Type (client only)¶
The client table also includes suppliers. This field differentiates them. A client can be an accounts payable (supplier), accounts receivable (purchaser) or both.
Payment type (client only)¶
How this client pays. Currently only invoice or credit card are supported. If invoice then an invoice is generated and they are expected to pay by whatever methods are allowed by the enterprise. If credit card is selected then after submitting the screen is redrawn and credit card information is requested.
New credit card # (client only)¶
This field is only displayed if credit card was selected in the payment type field. For security this field is always blank. If a credit card has been entered then a partial value is displayed next to the input box.
Expiry (client only)¶
This field is only displayed if credit card was selected in the payment type field. Select the month and year of the expiry.
Holder Name (client only)¶
This field is only displayed if credit card was selected in the payment type field. Enter the name on the card. Note that we do not ask for or store the CVV from the card as that would violate the rules of the credit card company.
Next try (client only)¶
This field is only displayed if credit card was selected in the payment type field. If it is filled in with a date then the system will not try to charge the card before that date. The sub-system that charges credit cards will fill this in if a card is declined. The field is automatically cleared if the credit card details are updated either on this screen or by the user through the control panel.
Anniversary (client only)¶
This field is used to restrict invoice generation to specific dates in a month. This is useful if someone buys many services and it is desired to not issue an invoice every time something is charged. For example, if “1” is entered here then the system will wait until the first of the month to charge for any outstanding transactions. You can also enter multiple dates here. For example, “1,15” will issue invoices on the first and fifteenth of each month.
Add note¶
This field is meant for adding notes about actions or events relating to the client. It is different than the comment box as it is displayed below the client edit screen as a list of events. The system will also add notes here. For example, changes to the client record will create a note showing what was changed, when it was changed and who changed it.
Comments¶
This field is used to track useful information about a client that does not fit in any other field. It is for reference only. Don’t confuse this with the “Add note” entry below.