Customers
A customer is the billing entity responsible for subscriptions, invoices, payments, credits, and account-level billing communication.
Customer records should represent the legal or commercial entity being billed, not just an individual user.
Customer profile
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name | Legal or billing name shown internally and on invoices. |
| Billing contact | Person or mailbox that receives billing communication. |
| Destination for invoice, quote, payment, and dunning emails. | |
| Billing address | Used for tax, invoice documents, and customer identification. |
| Tax ID | VAT, GST, HST, reseller, or other tax identifier. |
| Tax exempt flag | Controls whether tax should be applied. |
| Credit balance | Tracks available customer credit. |
| Auto-pay setting | Controls whether saved payment methods can be charged automatically. |
Customers vs contacts
| Object | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | Acme Corp | The company or account that receives invoices and owns subscriptions. |
| Contact | [email protected] or Jane Doe | The person or mailbox that receives billing messages. |
Keep shared billing inboxes where possible, especially for B2B customers. Individual contacts can change jobs; billing obligations remain with the customer.
Customer setup checklist
- Name matches the legal or billing entity.
- Billing email is valid and monitored.
- Address includes country and region where needed for tax.
- Tax ID and exemption status are reviewed.
- Payment method and auto-pay preference are correct.
- Customer notes capture non-standard terms.
Customer lifecycle
| Stage | Recommended action |
|---|---|
| Prospect | Use quotes before creating production subscriptions. |
| New customer | Add billing profile, tax details, and payment method. |
| Active customer | Monitor subscriptions, invoices, payments, and usage. |
| Past due customer | Use dunning, outreach, and payment recovery. |
| Canceled customer | Preserve invoices, payments, credits, and audit history. |
Common issues
| Symptom | Check |
|---|---|
| Invoice sent to wrong person | Billing contact email and notification settings. |
| Tax calculation is wrong | Billing address, tax ID, tax-exempt flag, and product tax category. |
| Auto-pay did not run | Customer auto-pay setting and saved payment method. |
| Customer has unexplained balance | Open invoices, payments, refunds, credit memos, and credit balance. |