The customer account
Every site has a customer account at /account, linked from the site’s header as Account, or
My Account once signed in. It carries the site’s name, logo and colours. It is only there while the site’s
status is Active.
Use this page to answer a customer’s questions about it. Customers don’t reach the admin panel, and staff don’t sign in here with their admin login.
Signing in
Section titled “Signing in”There are no passwords.
- The customer enters their email and clicks Email me a code.
- They enter the six-digit code and click Sign in. A code lasts two minutes.
Use a different email starts again. For security the screen says the same thing whether the address is known or not, so a customer who gets no code is often using a different address from the one you hold.
To be able to sign in, a customer needs:
- an Email on their customer record, and
- Active customer switched on. A customer created by a quote request has this on. One added by hand doesn’t until you turn it on, and otherwise their code is refused as invalid.
What a customer sees
Section titled “What a customer sees”They see only their own records, and only from the site they are signed in on. A customer who has bought from two sites has to sign in on each to see each one’s records.
History goes back 24 months by default, counted from each record’s date. Older records are kept, just not shown. An invoice with money still owed always shows, whatever its age. The months are set under Customer account in Settings, for all sites, along with the wording a customer agrees to when approving a proof.
They never see costs, margins, suppliers, purchase orders, or staff notes and tasks.
Dashboard
Section titled “Dashboard”Needs your attention appears when something does: proofs waiting, overdue invoices, quotes expiring within 7 days and orders on hold. Below are counts of open quotes and orders in progress, the balance owed, and lists of orders in progress and recent quotes.
Your contact shows their rep. With no rep, or a rep who no longer has a role, it shows the site’s details.
Quotes
Section titled “Quotes”Quotes that have been sent, with their lines, totals and notes, and Download PDF. Drafts and cancelled quotes don’t show. Tax shows only where the quote shows it.
| Staff see | Customer sees |
|---|---|
| Sent | Sent, or Expired once past its Valid until date |
| Accepted | Accepted |
| Converted | Ordered |
| Lost | Closed |
Expired is only a word on their screen. Nothing happens to the quote, and you can still act on it.
A sent quote also says who to contact to go ahead.
Quote requests
Section titled “Quote requests”What they submitted on the site, without prices: Received, then Quote sent. It reads Quote sent once staff use Create quote, even though that quote is still a draft and doesn’t show under Quotes until you send it.
Orders
Section titled “Orders”Orders from confirmation on, including cancelled ones. Drafts don’t show. They see the status, needed-by date, delivery address, lines and totals, the invoices and proofs, and each shipment with its date, carrier, tracking number and delivery date. An order on hold says who to contact, not why. There is no PDF of an order.
Invoices and credit notes
Section titled “Invoices and credit notes”Issued invoices, never drafts or void ones, with Download PDF. They see the lines and totals, the status (Overdue and Part paid are their words), and payments by date, method and amount. While money is owed, the site’s Payment details show under How to pay.
Credit notes are in the menu only for a customer who has one, with Download PDF.
Proofs
Section titled “Proofs”Proofs is in the menu only for a customer who has been sent one, with a count of those waiting. This is the one place where a customer answers you. On a proof marked as sent to them, they can:
- Download proof, the latest version sent to them.
- Approve, after a confirmation with the wording they agree to. That wording is kept on the proof. If a newer version has gone out since they opened the page, they are told to look at it first.
- Request changes, with their comments.
Their answer moves the proof the same way your own buttons do, goes on the timeline as theirs, and tells the rep in the admin and by email. Only versions you sent them show. An approved proof can’t be undone by the customer, who is asked to contact you.
My details and addresses
Section titled “My details and addresses”My details lets them change their name. Their email, VAT number and EORI number show read only, with who to contact to change them. Addresses lets them add, edit and delete addresses, and choose Use for billing and Use for delivery. A default address can’t be deleted.
New quotes and orders use these. Documents keep their own copies, so nothing already issued changes. Each change goes on the customer’s timeline.
What isn’t available
Section titled “What isn’t available”Customers can’t, from their account:
- accept a quote or place an order: they contact you, and you record the answer
- pay online: they pay using the details on the invoice
- change their email, VAT number or EORI number
- cancel or change an order
- undo a proof approval