Creating clients in FYI

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

Adding 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 either be an FYI Admin or belong to a User Group with the Edit Clients permission enabled.

This feature requires FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance to be enabled.

Creating Clients

In FYI, select the + button and select Client, or press the shortcut key A.
FYI displays the Create Client drawer.
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 Users 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.

Repeat these steps for any additional Custom Fields.
Click Save.
FYI creates the client. The Client - Activity tab displays 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 (XPM) and synchronised to FYI after they have been assigned to a client. For practices on the Elite plan that are not integrated with XPM, new Business Structures can be created using the CSV Data Import feature.
Name	Enter the Name of the client. This is typically the client's legal name as registered with your governing tax organisation, and is 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.
Email	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. Email addresses cannot exceed 255 characters.
Phone Number	Enter the Phone Number used to contact the client.
Mobile Number	Enter the client's mobile number. 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. When sharing documents using Secure Link, the recipient's mobile number must use a supported format for FYI to send the verification code by SMS. If a country code is not included in the mobile number, FYI will default to the country selected in the Country of Origin practice setting. International clients must have a country code in the mobile number.
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 for the client.
Consider if Client Security is required and apply accordingly. Only an FYI Admin can configure client security.
Review the Client Settings, if any email or filing defaults are to be applied.
If Collaborate is enabled for the practice, review the Sharing Settings for the client.

FYI Client ID

When FYI creates a client, it generates a unique FYI Client ID. This code is displayed in the Client workspace on the Summary tab, 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 displays the Pending Sync tag while FYI synchronises the updates 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.