AccountKit makes a series of distinctions about the people you interact with on a regular basis. This article explains the differences and how you can manage this important part of your practice. You can access this section through the logically named "People" heading from the main menu or the icon from the 'Tool Access Menu' from the left-hand side of the page.

 

Please note that this is split into the NEW v's the LEGACY user interface whilst we make available both UI's for customers. In time we will remove all references to the old user interface all together.

 

New User Interface

People - Client / Prospect / Affiliates / Contact List

Actions available in the People menu

The plus icon allows you to add various client/contact types. Upon setup, you can always select the entity to edit the practice type should you accidentally put them into the wrong area. 
 

Client Group Page

The client group page is a great resource for accessing each of the various tools and integrations connected to AccountKit for a client group. This is particularly useful when users are assigned tasks to specific client groups as they can access every element from this view.

To access the client group page you will need to click the magnifying glass from the left-hand menu and search for the client group you are working on.

Once you have selected the group it will take you to the following view which contains many of the same options as the client details page (explained above) with some additional elements:

Legacy User Interface

Client / Prospect / Affiliates / Contact List

Your Options for this tab

All tabs have the option to add a new entity to the current tab. Upon setup, you can always select the entity to edit the practice type should you accidentally put them into the wrong area. 
 

People Detail		Description
6	Add a new...	All tabs have the option to add a new entity to the current tab. Upon setup, you can always select the entity to edit the practice type should you accidentally put them into the wrong area. Simply select the Entity type from the list available and enter the legal name for the entity and press save to create the entity and enable entering of the rest of the applicable details.
7	Filter & Search	Advanced Filter: Select the icon to open the advanced filter list and options; See here for more details. Quick Search: Select the icon to open the quick filter dialogue; Used to find a client quickly. This particular filter you just have to start typing for it to start to filter. No need to press <enter>. See Filter / Search for more details.
8	Actions Menu	The actions menu gives you all manner of functions that you can complete in relation to the clients on the list. See the Menus & Shared Elements page for more details on the items within the action menu.

Client Group List

The middle tab contains a list of all groups within the practice, giving a snapshot and quick access to various elements of clients grouped under various different banners such as family groups or industry.


 

Client Group Detail

When you click through to a client group, you're presented with the following information - a snapshot of everything that's happening in regards to the group selected.


 

Section		Description
1	Client Group	This identifies the current group you have selected. Select the group and type to select an alternate group that you would like to view.
2	Tool View List	By selecting one of the applicable tool icons, a list of all related client records will expand in line for you to view and edit if required.
3	Client Entities	This is a list of all clients within the group. Click on the group will expand and show you client specific details such as the address, email or contact details.
4	Lodgements	This column identifies the due date for the current year tax return along with the year the last return was lodged.
5	Status	This identifies the status of any integrations in relation to this client.

Filtering Your Client List

Sometimes it's useful to be able to get to a specific subset of your client list without having to export and collate in excel.  This is where the flexible filtering system comes to the fore. 

To utilise the filter, simply select the icon where you are presented with some options:

Using the Filter

1. Applying a filter from the filter list - Simply select from the options in the filter list
   • My Filters - These are filters saved by the current user, visible only to them.
   • Shared Filters - These filters are those that have been made available to all users at the point of saving a newly created filter. Only the user who created the filter and Practice Administrators can edit it; Other users can utilise them, but otherwise if they want to modify them, they can elect to "Save as" a new filter.
   • System Filters - These are filters that are provided to all users by AccountKit and can not be edited or deleted.
     
     
2. Create filter - used to create a new filter
   • Simply select the (+) Create filter option
   • Add each of the applicable filter criteria.
   • Press save, give it a name and identify whether to share with other users.
     
     
     
3. Editing a pre-existing filter
   • Select the cog to the right of the filter in the filter list; OR
   • After selecting a filter from the list, click on the filter name to show the details
   • Press [SAVE] to overwrite the current filter or [SAVE AS] to save as a new filter.
     
     
     
4. Editing a pre-existing filters name
   • Open the filter for editing per the instructions above, then select the name to edit it inline
     
     
     
5. Clearing an applied filter
   • Select the cross that appears to the left of the filter name
     

Other uses for the filter

The filter is a great way to get to specific information about a client, but what do you do with that filtered information:

• Export to excel via the Actions menu - from here you can manipulate ready for importing into other software, or providing to a client for review.
• Get a quick look which organisations are connected to Xero
• See which Xero orgs have a broken connection, then reconnect them.
• Eventually you will be able to utilise these lists for doing things like pushing a client list into something like MailChimp for marketing purposes. We will announce when this is possible.

Merging Clients & Contacts

Sometimes you're going to find you have duplicated clients and contacts which makes it difficult to keep client data aligned. The best way to manage this is by merging them back to a single client/contact record. 

How do duplicates come about in the first place?

Before you merge records, it's worth understanding how the duplicate has come about.

• User creates a duplicate in an integrated piece of software;
• User creates a duplicated client and ignores the error at the time of creation.
• Integrated software requires or creates a duplicate. Eg.
  • Xero Practice Manager will often end up with contacts who are also clients due to the way integrations work with it)
  • If you merge a client in Xero HQ from a Xero Blue to a Xero Practice Manager client, XPM will delete the client in XPM and recreate it, which then archives the client in AccountKit and creates a new client.

What does merging do and what are its limitations?

Before you merge records, it's also worth understanding what happens in the background and what the limitations are.

• What does a merge do?
  • It copies all client data from the selected clients/contacts and copies it into the "merge-to" client/contact.
  • Where there is information in a field already, it keeps the data of the client/contact being merged into. Where it's blank, it'll bring in the data from the "merge-from" client/contact.
  • Any tool schedules associated with the "merge-from" clients/contacts will be move to the "merge-to" client/contact.

• Limitations of the merge.
  • You will lose all history of changes that have been made to the "merge-from" clients/contacts.
  • You can't merge two entities that are both connected to Xero;  The "merge-to" client / contact should be the only entity connected to Xero before attempting to merge.
  • As mention above, if you're integrated with XPM, any changes to clients or contacts should occur within AccountKit. If you change data in XPM, it will unmerge the contacts/clients meaning any changes will need to be rolled through each client and contact record in XPM.

How do I merge clients / contacts?

1. Go to clients or contacts and filter for the clients you're looking to merge.
   1. Select the clients or contacts that you're looking to merge / remove; (noting if they have different contact details, you may want to consider not merging together)
   2. Go to the action menu
   3. Select the merge option.
      
      
      
2. Type the name of the client / contact you want to merge to.
   • Those that you've already got selected will be in italics and won't be selectable.
   • Select the appropriate client or contact and press the Merge button
     
     
     
3. If you now check the applicable client or contact:
   • You can see that their record is now connected to multiple entities.
   • Any change to that client, will now update the underlying contact records within XPM.
     

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