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Managing Customers

Customers are the individuals or businesses that subscribe to your products. FlexPortal tracks customer information, orders, subscriptions, and lifetime value.

Customer Types

FlexPortal supports two types of customers:

Individual

Personal customers subscribing for their own use:
  • Single person billing
  • One billing address
  • Standard payment terms
  • Personal email and contact
Common use cases:
  • Consumer subscriptions
  • Personal device subscriptions
  • Individual accounts

Business

Companies or organizations subscribing for business use:
  • Company name and registration details
  • Business billing address
  • Extended payment terms (Net 7, Net 14, Net 30)
  • Business email and contact person
  • Can belong to Billing Groups
Common use cases:
  • Corporate device programs
  • Office furniture subscriptions
  • Employee equipment
  • Fleet management
Choose customer type at order creation. This determines available payment terms and billing options.

Creating a Customer

Customers are created when you create an order:
  1. Navigate to Orders
  2. Click New Order
  3. Enter customer information:
    • Email - Primary contact email
    • First name - Customer’s first name
    • Last name - Customer’s last name
    • Phone - Contact number
    • Customer type - Individual or Business
  4. For business customers, also enter:
    • Company name
    • Registration number (optional)
    • VAT number (if applicable)
  5. Add billing address
  6. Save the order
The customer is now in your system and can be selected for future orders.
Customers with the same email address are automatically linked. Use the same email for repeat customers.

Customer Information

Each customer profile includes:

Contact Details

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Customer type (Individual or Business)

Business Information (Business customers only)

  • Company name
  • Registration number
  • VAT number
  • Payment terms (Net 7, Net 14, Net 30)
  • Billing Group (if applicable)

Addresses

  • Billing address
  • Shipping addresses (can have multiple)

Financial Information

  • Lifetime value (total income collected)
  • Outstanding balance
  • Payment history
  • Number of active subscriptions

Viewing Customer Details

  1. Navigate to Customers in the left sidebar
  2. Click on a customer name
The customer detail page shows:

Overview

  • Contact information
  • Customer type
  • Active subscriptions count
  • Lifetime value

Active Subscriptions

List of all currently active subscriptions:
  • Product and variant
  • Monthly payment
  • Contract end date
  • Cost recovery

Order History

All orders placed by this customer:
  • Order date
  • Products ordered
  • Order status
  • Total value

Payment History

All payments made or pending:
  • Payment date
  • Amount
  • Status (Paid, Pending, Failed)
  • Associated subscription

Addresses

All addresses on file:
  • Billing addresses
  • Shipping addresses
  • Address history

Customer Addresses

Customers can have multiple addresses:

Billing Address

Primary address for invoicing:
  • Required for all customers
  • Used for payment processing
  • Can be updated anytime

Shipping Addresses

Delivery addresses for products:
  • Can have multiple shipping addresses
  • Used when fulfilling orders
  • Different addresses for different subscriptions

Managing Addresses

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. Scroll to Addresses section
  3. Click Add Address to add new
  4. Click Edit to update existing
  5. Set one address as default billing
  6. Save changes
When creating new orders, addresses from the customer profile auto-populate for convenience.

Viewing Customer Orders and Subscriptions

See complete history for each customer:

Active Subscriptions

  1. Open customer profile
  2. View Active Subscriptions section
  3. Click any subscription to see details
Shows:
  • Product and variant
  • Asset serial number
  • Monthly payment
  • Contract end date
  • Next payment date

Order History

  1. Scroll to Orders section
  2. See all orders placed
  3. Click any order to view details
Shows:
  • Order date
  • Items ordered
  • Order status
  • Total value

Payment History

  1. Scroll to Payments section
  2. See all payments
  3. Filter by status (Paid, Pending, Failed)
Shows:
  • Payment date
  • Amount
  • Status
  • Subscription reference

Customer Lifetime Value

Lifetime value shows total income collected from a customer across all subscriptions:
Lifetime Value = Sum of all payments received from customer
Example:
  • First subscription: 12 months × $89 = $1,068
  • Second subscription: 6 months × $129 = $774
  • Buyout payment: $300
  • Total lifetime value: $2,142

Viewing Lifetime Value

Customer detail page shows:
  • Lifetime collected - Total income to date
  • Active monthly income - Current recurring income
  • Average subscription value - Mean value per subscription
  • Number of subscriptions - Total count (active + ended)
Sort customers by lifetime value to identify your most valuable customers.

Business Customer Features

Business customers have additional capabilities:

Payment Terms

Set when invoices are due:
  • Net 7 - Payment due within 7 days
  • Net 14 - Payment due within 14 days
  • Net 30 - Payment due within 30 days
Configure payment terms:
  1. Open business customer
  2. Edit customer details
  3. Select Payment Terms
  4. Save changes
All new subscriptions for this customer will use these terms.

Billing Groups

Group multiple business customers for consolidated invoicing:
  1. Create or select a Billing Group
  2. Add customer to the group
  3. All subscriptions invoice to the Billing Group
Learn more in Payments - Billing Groups.

Company Information

Track business details:
  • Legal company name
  • Registration number
  • VAT/Tax ID
  • Billing contact person
This information appears on invoices and contracts.

Customer Search and Filtering

Find customers quickly:

Search by:

  • Customer name
  • Email address
  • Company name
  • Phone number

Filter by:

  • Customer type - Individual or Business
  • Active subscriptions - Has active subscriptions or not
  • Lifetime value - Value ranges
  • Billing Group - Group membership

Sort by:

  • Name (A-Z)
  • Lifetime value (high to low)
  • Number of subscriptions
  • Join date

Customer Communication

Document all customer interactions:

Contact History

  1. Open customer profile
  2. Scroll to Notes section
  3. Click Add Note
  4. Enter:
    • Date of interaction
    • Type (Email, Phone, Meeting)
    • Summary of conversation
    • Follow-up actions needed
  5. Save note
Use notes to track customer preferences, special requests, or issues. This helps maintain continuity across team members.

Editing Customer Information

Update customer details as needed:
  1. Navigate to Customers
  2. Click on the customer
  3. Click Edit in the top right
  4. Update:
    • Contact information
    • Customer type
    • Business details
    • Payment terms
  5. Click Save
Changing customer information does not affect existing subscriptions. Updates apply to new orders only.

Merging Duplicate Customers

If the same customer is created multiple times:
  1. Identify duplicate customer records
  2. Choose the primary record to keep
  3. Contact support to merge duplicates
  4. All orders and subscriptions move to primary record
Avoid duplicates by searching for existing customers before creating new orders.

Customer Segments

Categorize customers for targeted communication.

Segmentation Ideas

  • High-value customers - Lifetime value over threshold
  • At-risk customers - Recent payment failures
  • Loyal customers - Multiple subscriptions or extensions
  • New customers - First subscription within 30 days
  • Business customers - All business type customers

Creating Segments

Use filters to identify segments:
  1. Apply relevant filters
  2. Export customer list
  3. Use for marketing or support campaigns

Customer Preferences

Track customer-specific preferences:

Subscription Preferences

  • Preferred contract lengths
  • Payment methods
  • Billing frequency
  • Communication preferences

Product Preferences

  • Preferred product categories
  • Color or variant preferences
  • Upgrade patterns
Document preferences in customer notes for personalized service.

Common Scenarios

Repeat Customer Places New Order

  1. Search for customer by email
  2. Create new order
  3. Customer information auto-populates
  4. Add new items
  5. Confirm billing and shipping details
  6. Save order

Customer Changes Address

  1. Open customer profile
  2. Edit existing address or add new
  3. Save changes
  4. Next order uses updated address

Business Customer Needs Invoice

  1. Navigate to customer’s subscriptions
  2. View payment history
  3. Click on specific payment
  4. Download invoice PDF
  5. Email to customer

Customer Requests Account Information

  1. Open customer profile
  2. Review:
    • Active subscriptions
    • Payment history
    • Contract end dates
    • Outstanding balance
  3. Export data if needed
  4. Provide to customer

Customer Has Payment Issue

  1. View customer’s payment history
  2. Identify failed payments
  3. Contact customer about payment method
  4. Update payment information
  5. Retry failed payment or mark as paid

Best Practices

Data Quality

  • Verify email addresses at order creation
  • Keep contact information up to date
  • Use consistent naming conventions
  • Document business registration details

Customer Communication

  • Respond to inquiries promptly
  • Maintain communication history in notes
  • Set reminders for contract end dates
  • Proactively reach out to at-risk customers

Relationship Management

  • Track customer lifetime value
  • Identify and reward loyal customers
  • Address issues quickly
  • Provide excellent service

Privacy and Security

  • Only collect necessary information
  • Secure customer data appropriately
  • Honor communication preferences
  • Comply with data protection regulations

Business Customer Management

  • Understand payment terms
  • Set up Billing Groups appropriately
  • Maintain accurate business details
  • Provide consolidated reporting

Customer Analytics

Track customer metrics:

Key Metrics

  • Total customer count
  • Active customers (with active subscriptions)
  • Customer acquisition rate
  • Average lifetime value
  • Churn rate
  • Payment failure rate

Viewing Analytics

Navigate to Reports or Dashboard to see:
  • Customer growth over time
  • Lifetime value distribution
  • Customer segments
  • Active vs inactive customers
Use these insights to:
  • Identify growth opportunities
  • Reduce churn
  • Improve customer experience
  • Optimize pricing and offerings