Where to start
Accounts → open or create an accountBefore you start
- Search for an existing account before creating another customer record. A new project address usually belongs on a quote or job for the existing customer.
- Your permissions and shop settings affect the available controls. Account pricing-level locks and Same as Account Address are selected-shop features; they are not shown in every tenant.
1Find the correct account
Open Accounts, search for the customer and open its name. Compare the contact and billing details before editing. The account groups related quotes, jobs, contacts and files.
On the detail page, click a section heading to collapse or expand it. The plus beside Contacts, Price Lists or Quotes starts an action within that section.
2Create a customer when needed
Choose Create from Accounts. Enter the account name and type, then review the salesperson, price list, primary contact, phone, email, billing address and notes. Create Account saves the record; Cancel discards the draft.
An account type can supply a shop-configured default price list. Selecting a list yourself keeps that manual choice when you change the type. Add new type edits the shop's type options, so use it for a reusable customer category.
3Edit account information and billing details
Use the pencil in Account Info or Account Address. These sections share one edit draft. Check the name, type, salesperson, pricing level, payment terms, shop location and any configured custom fields, along with the address and primary contact details.
Save commits the edits; Cancel discards them. A revision-note prompt can follow a successful save. General account notes and address notes are separate fields: keep delivery or access instructions with the appropriate address. Reopen the record to confirm the saved values.
4Add a named contact
Click the plus beside Contacts. Enter the person's name, primary email, phone and role, such as site coordinator or accounting contact. Add Contact saves that person on this account.
The primary contact displayed in Account Address and the named people in Contacts are separate. Adding a person to Contacts does not replace the account's primary contact details.
5Keep extra phone numbers and email addresses
Inside the contact dialog, use Add phone or Add email for additional methods. Give each a useful label and enter the number or address. Remove a row with its X when it is no longer needed.
The fields scroll inside a long dialog while its title and Save or Add Contact controls stay visible. The contact's pencil reopens the saved record. Save Contact applies changes; Cancel leaves the saved contact unchanged. The contact's trash icon removes that person, so check the name before using it.
6Organize a parent and sub-account
On a parent account, choose Add Sub Account. Create a separate sub-account or use Link Existing to select an eligible account. A sub-account remains a full customer record with its own contacts, pricing and work.
Only one hierarchy level is supported. Linking an existing account keeps its work and balances; it does not merge those records into the parent. Expand its row to see jobs, click its name to open its full page, or use the parent link to return.
7Set the account's quote defaults
Choose Edit quote defaults in the Price Lists section. Set the default discount, payment terms, quote template, contract template and standard quote notes. Select an active template of the appropriate kind.
Save quote defaults stores these choices on the account. They are copied into new quotes. Later edits to the account do not rewrite the settings on saved quotes. Standard quote notes are separate from general account notes, so review their wording for the quote document.
8Clear a default or recover a failed save
Clear the discount to remove the account-wide discount. Shop default clears an account template or terms selection; blank notes remove the standard note. A blank price-list override can still inherit another account setting, so review the resulting quote.
Cancel discards an unsaved defaults draft. If saving fails, the editor remains open: read the error, restore the connection and save again. Do not treat a failed save as confirmation that the new values were stored.
9Assign a price list
Click the plus beside Price Lists, select the intended list and review Tax Rate and Default Payment Terms. The dialog can start with your company's tax label and first configured payment-term option. Add Price List saves the assignment.
The account table shows each assigned list's discount, tax treatment, payment terms, status and sequence. Removing an assignment removes that account-to-list link; it does not delete the price list itself.
10Set list-specific discounts and terms
Enter a Discount % for the assigned list and leave the field to save it. Choose Default Payment Terms from its dropdown to save the selection. A list-specific discount or nonblank terms takes priority over the account-wide default when a new quote uses that list.
Zero is an explicit zero discount. An empty discount inherits the account default. Clearing list-specific terms returns to account terms where set. Status and sequence are displayed in this table; they are not general inline controls here.
11Check tax and pricing-level choices
The account's Tax Rate column stores a tax-treatment label, such as GST or Tax Exempt. Verify the actual numeric percentage in the quote: its percentage is seeded separately from company settings or an explicit quote value. Changing this label alone is not confirmation that the quote's tax has changed.
Selected shops have per-list pricing locks. Where that feature is enabled, assign the permitted level for each list using the controls offered. Other shops use their normal pricing-level choices. Do not expect the selected-shop controls to appear in every account.
12Create a quote for this customer
Use the plus beside Quotes. The account is preselected and its assigned price list can supply the initial list. Review the account and list, enter the quote name and save. If your shop uses Quote Intake, complete its required customer and project fields instead.
For inherited discounts and terms, the quote's explicit choice takes priority, followed by an active list-specific override and then account defaults. Quote and contract templates and standard notes are copied where configured. Check the saved quote before sending it.
13Keep the project site separate from billing
Use the actual project address on the quote and job, even when the customer has a different billing address. Where Same as Account Address is offered, it copies a snapshot; verify the result and edit it for another site.
Changing the account address later does not update an already-saved project address. A second project for the same customer does not by itself require another account.
14Review quotes, jobs and balances
Filter Quotes by name, number or status. Quote Total is the quote's value, not a payment received. The caption reports the visible matches, and an empty filter explains that no quotes match. Open a quote by its name.
Use the Jobs filter and column headings to find or sort related work, then open the intended job. Where your role has access, AR Statistics shows sales, cash collected and outstanding invoiced balances. Click a card for its supporting records. Unknown cash collected means there are no linked invoices to calculate it from; it does not mean the customer paid zero.
15Use files, history and layout controls
Files supports uploads, photos and folders on the account. Put customer-wide documents here and project-specific documents on the relevant quote or job. Use the Files and folders guide for the full file workflow.
Board opens the account's discussion space. Change Log shows its recorded history. Page Layout opens the account-page arrangement settings: personal choices can differ from the shop default, which owners can configure. An empty Orders section is not evidence of an account order-entry workflow.
16Check recipients and system-email delivery
Before emailing from a related quote, job or invoice, review the intended recipient and document. An account's email address identifies a contact; it does not choose the sending mailbox.
System emails use the SlabOS mailing engine by default. To send them through your own Gmail or Outlook mailbox, connect that mailbox and enable Send system emails as me in its connection settings. Connecting a mailbox alone does not change system-email delivery.
Check the result
- Reopen the account and confirm primary details, named contacts, billing address, assignments and quote defaults.
- Create a sample quote and check its account, list, discount, terms, templates, notes, numeric tax and actual project address.
- Verify existing quotes retain their own saved settings after an account-default edit. Do not read Quote Total as money collected.
If something looks wrong
- If a list or pricing level is unavailable, check the account's active assignments and your shop's pricing restrictions.
- If a default template is unavailable, select an active replacement of the correct kind. Clearing a default and entering zero are different choices.
- If a saved value appears unchanged, check for an error and reopen the record. Discount fields on list assignments save when you leave the field.
- A contact with many extra numbers or addresses has a scrolling form. Scroll the fields to reach the entry you need; Save stays in the dialog footer.