Plan: Not Available: Intermediate Available: Pro or Elite
Users: Not Available: All users Available: FYI Admins or User Group permissions
Practice Management Source: Available: All sources
This article gives details and examples of the functions that are available in the Create Client and Update Client steps.
Process Steps
Create Client
This Create Client step is used to create new clients in FYI. This step is only available where:
- For practices on the Elite plan, with either:
- FYI as the Practice Management source.
- XPM as the Practice Management source with FYI as Primary enabled.
- For practices on the Pro plan, both of the following Betas must be enabled:
- The Automation Process Filter is set to CSV Data Import. The Create Client step is not available for any other filters.
When importing data using the CSV Data Import Automation Filter, the Create Client step must be the first step in the process if Match Clients During Validation is not selected.
The following is an example of the Create Client step.
In the Create Client step, select or enter the details for the client. Refer to Client Fields below.
If data is directly entered into a field, it will be applied to all clients created by the automation process. In the example above, if 10 clients were created by the automation process, all 10 clients would have "Anna Jordan" selected as the Manager, "Liz Hurst" as the Partner, and the Custom Field "Subscribe to Newsletter" would be ticked.
Merge Fields can be used to insert data from a CSV Import file or another source of data in FYI, by clicking the Merge Field icon. For information on using Merge Fields to insert data from other sources, refer to Using Merge Fields with Clients below.
Update Client
In the Update Client step, select or enter the details for the client. The fields available on the Update Client step depend on your practice settings. For details on each of the available fields, refer to Client Fields below.
For practices where FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance is enabled, the Update Client Automation Step will allow additional client fields to be updated.
For practices on the Pro plan where FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance is not enabled, the Update Client step can be used to update Client Custom Fields, Client Code and Export Code.
Note: If data is directly entered into a field (instead of a Merge Field), it will be applied to all clients updated by the automation process.
In the example below, if 10 clients were updated by the automation process, all 10 clients would have "Anna Jordan" selected as the Manager, "Liz Hurst" as the Partner, and the Custom Field "Office" would be set to Brisbane.
Data from an imported CSV file can be inserted Merge Fields by clicking the Merge Field icon. For information on using Merge Fields to insert data from other sources, refer to Using Merge Fields with Clients below.
The Update Client step includes the ability to clear fields currently populated for the client. Where the Eraser icon is displayed, the field can be set back to blank when the Automation Process is run, for example, to remove the value selected for a Custom Field.
When the Eraser icon has been selected, the icon will turn red, and Clear will be displayed in the selected field. If you don't want the field to be reset to blank, click the red icon to reset the field back to Unchanged.
Note: If the field is a date and set to Current Date, you must click the X to ensure "Clear" is displayed in the field, otherwise, the current value will not be removed from the client.
Client Fields
The fields available to update will vary depending on your practice settings.
All practices will be able to update the client fields below.
For practices on the Elite plan, or with FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance enabled, additional fields will be available. Refer to the section Fields available to practices with FYI as Primary enabled below.
| Field | Details |
| Client Code | Text field available for practices to enter unique codes used when searching for clients within FYI. Limited to 255 characters. |
| Export Code | Text field available for practices to enter unique codes used when searching for clients within FYI. Limited to 255 characters. |
| Cabinet |
The default cabinet selected when filing to the client. When you select a Cabinet, the relevant Categories display, and can be updated as required. If the Cabinet is cleared, the default cabinet will be set to blank for the selected clients on the Client - Settings tab. Refer to Setting Filing Defaults for a Client. |
| Custom Field |
If you select a Custom Field, a new field will be added to the drawer. Once a Custom Field has been selected, it will be removed from the drop-down list as it is already part of the update. You can add additional Custom Fields by selecting them from the drop-down. Update the added Custom Field by selecting a value from the drop-down, or clicking the Merge Field icon. If importing data from a CSV Import file, Custom Fields must have a separate column in the file. Use Merge Fields to select the relevant column for the Custom Field from the Trigger Data section. Columns must have the correct Type selected in the Automation Filter to be available to select. For example, a "Date" Custom Field will only show columns with "Date" selected as the Type in the filter. |
In addition to the fields available for all practices, the following fields are available to practices on the Elite plan, or the Pro plan with FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance enabled.
| Field | Details |
| Group | The Client Group the clients will be added to. If the Client Group doesn't exist, it will be created when the client is created. |
| Structure |
The applicable structure for the client. If a structure is not selected, this field will be left blank. If practices have enabled FYI as the Primary Source for Client Data, Business Structures in Xero Practice Manager will be synchronised with FYI after they have been assigned to a client. When creating clients from a CSV Import file, ensure the Structure is included in the file to ensure clients are created using the relevant structure. Use Merge Fields to select the relevant column from the Trigger Data section. |
| Name | 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, the First Name, Last Name, and Other Name fields should be updated. |
| Salutation |
The preferred name of the client. For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, as there is no client-level equivalent in XPM, client Salutation details will not be synchronised to XPM. |
| 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. Updating the client to add an Addressee will override the default Primary Contact details. |
|
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. When updating email addresses from a CSV Import file, a separate file should be used to only include clients where the Email Address should be imported. If the Email field is blank and a Merge Field is used to insert data from the CSV Import file, the email address for the client will be removed. Email addresses inserted from a CSV Import file will override the email address from the Primary Contact. Refer to Automation Filter Details - CSV Data Import. |
|
| Phone | The phone number for the client. |
| Mobile |
The mobile number for the client. For practices integrated with Xero Practice Manager, as there is no client-level equivalent in XPM, client Mobile details will not be synchronised to XPM. |
| Manager | The Client's Manager. Specific users can be selected from the drop-down, or Merge Fields used to automatically select the user. |
| Partner | The Client's Partner. Specific users can be selected from the drop-down, or Merge Fields used to automatically select the user. |
| Tax and Company fields | The Tax and Company Fields for the client, for example, the Business Number, Company Number, and Tax Number. The fields displayed will depend on the location of your practice, for example, Australia, New Zealand, or the UK. |
| Physical Address and Postal Address |
The address fields for the client. When updating the Postal Address users can select from the 'Same as Physical Address' merge field to match the client's physical address when the process is run. Refer to Merge Fields Glossary - Standard Fields. |
Using Merge Fields with Clients
Merge Fields are used to insert data from:
- From data from the selected Filter, for example, trigger clients or jobs.
- From steps earlier in the process.
- A CSV Import file.
Click the Merge Field icon to select from the available Merge Fields. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations and Merge Fields Glossary - Automation Fields. For advanced formatting options, refer to Formatting Merge Fields.
If you are importing a CSV file, the Merge Fields Trigger Data section displays the CSV file columns that can be selected. For example, the "Name" column for the client will be displayed as {{ TriggerDataName }}.
If the field has the Clear button available on the Update Client step, when selecting a Merge Field, an additional option will be available from the Merge Field Editor. If the data sourced by the Merge Field is blank, you can choose whether to retain the existing field value on the client or to clear it. For example, if you're updating the Client Manager to match the Client Partner, and no Partner is set, you can either keep the current Client Manager or set it to blank.