Plan: Not Available: Intermediate Available: Pro or Elite
Users: Not Available: All users Available: FYI Admins or User Group Permissions
Practice Management Source: Not Available: APS, Iris, MYOB AE & AO, CCH, MYOB Practice Management (formerly GreatSoft) Available: FYI or Xero Practice Manager
Creating clients directly in FYI allows your practice to easily manage client information in one place and ensure consistency across your workflow. For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager (XPM), any new clients created in FYI will be automatically synchronised to XPM, saving time and reducing duplication of data.
- Practices with FYI selected as the Practice Management source, or on the Pro and Elite plans where FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance is enabled, will be able to create clients within FYI.
- For all other practices, clients must be created in your integrated practice management solution and synchronised to FYI.
Users must be an FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Edit Clients.
This feature requires FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance to be enabled.
Creating Clients
- From FYI, click the + button and select Client, or press the shortcut key A.
- The Create Client drawer will be displayed.
- Select or enter the details of the client. For information on each of the fields, refer to Client Detail Fields below.
- The Assigned Users section displays "User" type Client Custom Fields, referred to as Custom User Roles. The fields displayed will vary depending on the Custom Fields created for your practice. Select a User from the drop-down as required.
- Click on the Tax & Company heading to display the additional options. The fields displayed will depend on the location of your practice, for example, Australia, New Zealand, or the UK. For information on each of the fields, refer to Client Detail Fields below.
- Click on the Physical Address heading to display the additional options.
The Address Search field uses the Google Maps API to automatically search for addresses. Click in the field and begin entering an address, autocomplete results will be displayed underneath and continue to be refined as you type more details. Click an address to automatically populate the address fields below.
To manually enter an address, click in the address text fields and enter the street address including the City, State, Postcode, and Country. - Click on the Postal Address heading to display the additional options.
If the Postal address is the same as the Physical Address, click the Same as Physical Address minus button to change it to a tick. The Postal Address fields will be hidden accordingly.
If the Postal Address is different, do not check the button, and instead repeat the steps for the Physical address to search for an address or manually enter each text field. -
In Custom Field, select the Custom Field you want to update. The Custom Field will be displayed above. Note that "User" type Custom Fields will be displayed in the Assigned User section above.
Select or enter a value, or press the X to remove the Custom Field. Once a Custom Field has been selected, it will be removed from the drop-down list as it is already part of the Step.Repeat the steps for any additional Custom Fields to be added
- Click Save.
- The client will be created. The Client - Activity tab will display details on the date the client was created, the user, and the initial values entered for the client. Refer to Client Activity.
Client Detail Fields
The following Client Details can be entered or updated when creating a client in FYI.
General Client Details
| Field | Details |
| Groups |
Type at least three characters of the Group name to display all groups containing those characters. Then click to select the required group. If a group has not been set up at this point, type the full name of the group and select "Create" in the drop-down. Refer to Displaying Information for Client Groups. |
| Structure |
Select the applicable Structure for the client. If a structure is not selected, this field will be left blank. For practices where FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance is enabled, Business Structures can be created in Xero Practice Manager and synchronised to FYI after they have been assigned to a client. |
| Name |
Enter the Name of the Client. This is typically the client's legal name as registered with your governing tax organisation, and used as the client name displayed in FYI. If you have selected "Individual" as the structure, in addition to the Name field, the First Name, Last Name, and Other Name fields will be available. |
| Salutation | The preferred name of the client. This is available as a Merge Field when creating documents. If a Salutation is not provided, FYI will default to the Primary Contact's Salutation, or remain blank if a Primary Contact has not been selected. |
| Addressee |
Used to personalise correspondence by identifying the recipient, for example, "The Directors" or "Mr F. Marshall". This field can be used as a merge field when creating documents and emails. If an Addressee is not entered, the field will default to the Primary Contact's Addressee, or remain blank. For practices where FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance is enabled, entering a Client Addressee on the Client - Summary tab will override the default Primary Contact details. |
|
Enter the email address for the client. If an email address is not provided, when the client is created, FYI will default to the Primary Contact's email address, or remain blank if a Primary Contact has not been selected. Note: Email addresses cannot exceed 255 characters. |
|
| Phone Number | Enter the Phone Number used to contact the client. |
| Mobile Number | The Mobile Number of a Client. If a Mobile Number is not provided, FYI will default to the Primary Contact's Mobile Number, or remain blank if a Primary Contact has not been selected. |
| FYI Client ID | This FYI Client ID is a system-generated number unique for each client, and cannot be edited. |
| Export Code | Enter an export code, if required. |
| Client Code | Enter a client code, if required. |
| Manager | The staff member assigned as the Client Manager. |
| Partner | The staff member assigned as the Client Partner. |
Tax & Company
The fields displayed in the Tax & Company section will depend on the location of your practice, for example, Australia, New Zealand, or the UK.
| Field | Details |
| Business Number | Enter the Business Number. Typically, this is the unique number that identifies a business or organisation. |
| Company Number | Enter the Company Number. For companies incorporated in Australia, this is the ACN. |
| Tax Number | Enter the Tax File, VAT or IRD number. This data cannot be duplicated. |
| Balance Month |
Select the last month of the client's financial period. When used as a Merge Field, this will return the month name, for example 'June'. |
| Prepare Activity Statement | Select Yes if you prepare activity statements for the client. |
| Prepare Tax Form | Select Yes if you prepare tax returns for the client. |
Create Client Contacts
The Client - Contacts tab displays a list of contacts added for the client, including the Primary Contact.
Where FYI is enabled as the Practice Management source, users will be able to create contacts within FYI, such as a Bookkeeper or Business Owner.
For other Practice Management sources, for example, Xero Practice Manager, the contacts will be synchronised to FYI for display only.
Refer to Client Contacts and Creating and Editing Client Contacts.
Create Relationships
Where FYI is enabled as the Practice Management source, users will be able to create and manage relationships.
For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, users will be able to view relationships maintained in Xero Practice Manager and synchronised to FYI.
Click the Client - Relationships tab to view current relationships for the client.
Refer to Client Relationships.
Update Custom Fields & Other Client Workspace Settings
When creating a client in FYI, consider other data and settings that require updating.
- Where applicable, review and update any required Custom Fields on the Client. Refer to Client Custom Fields.
- Consider if Client Security is required and apply accordingly. Refer to Client Security.
Note: only an FYI Admins can configure client security.
- Review the Client Settings, if any email or filing defaults are to be applied. Refer to Client Settings.
- If Collaborate is enabled for the practice, review the Sharing Settings for the client. Refer to Client Collaborate.
FYI Client ID
After a client is created in FYI, a system-generated code will be created, called the FYI Client ID. This code is displayed on the Client Summary, and in the URL when viewing the client. The FYI Client ID can be included in the Bulk Export for both AWS and OneDrive. Refer to Bulk Export AWS and Bulk Export OneDrive.
Pending Sync Status
For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, any new clients created in FYI are synchronised to Xero Practice Manager. Refer to Synchronising Clients, Staff, Jobs, Time, Tax Returns with Xero Practice Manager.
The new client will be marked with a 'Pending Sync' tag while waiting for the updates to be synced with Xero Practice Manager. This tag is located beside the Client Details in the Client Summary. Once the updates have synced to Xero Practice Manager, the tag will be cleared.