Adding a Business Customer

Overview

Business customers are commercial entities - property management companies, retail stores, offices, restaurants, or any non-residential customer. BlueClerk now distinguishes between two types of commercial customers: Commercial businesses (general commercial work) and Builders (home construction companies). This helps you better organize your customer base and tailor your workflow.

Understanding Customer Types

When adding a business customer, you'll choose between:

• Commercial: General commercial customers like property managers, retail stores, offices, or any business needing services
• Builder: Home building and construction companies that build new homes and manage subdivisions

Why Business Relationships Are Different

Commercial customers typically:

• Have multiple properties or locations
• Need recurring maintenance across many sites
• Have formal billing processes
• May require purchase orders
• Want detailed reporting
• Have multiple contacts for different locations

Step-by-Step Instructions

Adding a New Business Customer

1. Go to Customers in the main navigation
2. Click "Add Customer" or the + button
3. Select "Business" as the customer type
4. Choose business type: Commercial or Builder
5. Fill in customer details:
   • Company Name (required)
   • Business Type: Commercial or Builder
   • Contact Name (primary contact)
   • Email (for invoices and communication)
   • Phone (office or contact number)
   • Address (business location or headquarters)
   • City, State, ZIP
   • Notes (billing preferences, PO requirements, etc.)

What Happens Next

After creating:

• The business appears in your customer list with a Commercial or Builder badge
• You can add multiple properties for this business
• You can create tickets and jobs for any property
• All work is linked to the business customer

Managing Business Customers

Adding Multiple Properties

Commercial customers often have multiple locations:

1. Open the business customer
2. Go to "Properties" tab
3. Click "Add Property"
4. Enter property address and details
5. Repeat for each location

Adding Contacts

Businesses usually have multiple contacts:

1. Open the business customer
2. Go to "Contacts" tab
3. Add contacts with names, roles, phone, and email
4. Examples: Property manager, maintenance supervisor, billing contact

Creating Work for Business Customers

When creating tickets or jobs:

1. Select the business customer
2. Choose which property the work is at
3. Select the appropriate contact for this location
4. Everything is tracked under the business customer

Business vs. Builder Customers

Use Commercial For:

• Property management companies
• Retail stores and offices
• Restaurants and hospitality
• Industrial facilities
• Any general commercial customer

Use Builder For:

• Home building companies
• Construction firms building subdivisions
• Developers managing new home communities

Builders have additional features like subdivision management and construction phase tracking.

Tips

• Add billing contacts separately from maintenance contacts
• Use notes to track billing requirements (NET 30, PO required, etc.)
• Tag properties with location names or codes
• Set up recurring jobs for maintenance contracts
• Track all locations even if work is infrequent

Questions

Q: Can I convert a business customer to a builder customer later? A: Currently, you would need to create a new customer with the correct type. Contact support if you need to migrate data.

Q: What if a business has both commercial properties and builds homes? A: Create two separate customer records - one as Commercial and one as Builder - to keep workflows organized.

Q: How do I handle national chains with local franchises? A: Add the parent company as the customer, then add each franchise location as a separate property.

Q: Can I see all work across all properties for a business? A: Yes - open the business customer and view the "Work History" tab to see all tickets, jobs, and invoices across all their properties.