Process Step Details - Creating and Updating Clients

This article gives details and examples of the functions that are available in the Create Client and Update Client steps.

The Create Client step is currently available to practices on the FYI Elite plan that have signed up for the CSV Export Beta only. The Update Client step is available to all practices on the Elite and Pro plans.

Process Steps

Create Client (Beta)

Plan availability: Elite Plan

This Create Client step is used to create new clients in FYI. This step is only available where:

Practices are on the FYI Elite plan and have selected FYI as the Practice Management source.
The CSV Import Filter Beta has been enabled. Refer to Automation Process CSV Import Filter (Beta).
The Automation Process Filter is set to CSV Data Import. The Create Client step is not available for any other filters.

For practices with the CSV Import Beta enabled, the Create Client step can be modified to insert data from the imported CSV file. If the Automation Process filter is set to CSV Import, and the option Match Clients During Validation is not ticked, the first step of the Automation Process must be the Create Client step.

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.

Data from an imported CSV file, or from other sources, can be inserted via 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.

Update Client

Plan availability: Elite Plan Pro Plan

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

Fields available to all practices

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.
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.

Fields available to practices with FYI as Primary enabled

In addition to the fields above, practices on the Elite plan, or the Pro plan with FYI as Primary for Client Maintenance enabled will be able to create and update clients using the fields below.

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.
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.
Email	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.
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.

Using Merge Fields with Clients

Merge Fields are used to insert data from:

An imported CSV file.
From data from the selected Filter, for example, trigger clients or jobs.
From steps earlier in the process.

Click the Merge Field icon to select from the available Merge Fields. Refer to Including Merge Fields in Automations. 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.

Features