Customers

In BillPro, you can manage customers' orders, cards, and payments, as well as your customer base, by storing customer details, recording interactions in notes, and classifying customers with tags. You can also display all the events related to a customer account in the customer's event log.

You can add multiple customers before you start processing orders or add a customer while creating an order in the UI. Merchants can add customers using the UI, the CSV import, or the API.

Creating customers

When you create a customer, the required details are the full name and email address. BillPro will send notifications and payment requests via email. You can also add a billing address, a phone number for SMS notifications, a shipping address, and details of an organisation the customer belongs to.

To ensure compliance with PCI standards, users must enter card details with the 3D secure virtual terminal or payment links.

In the Customers list, you can use pagination or filters to locate specific accounts by name, ID, or email.

Managing customers

A customer account displays their details, active cards in the Wallet, and related orders. You can create an order for a customer directly from their customer account.

You can use the Notes feature to document customer interactions without the customer viewing this information, but you should not enter sensitive data in notes. You can edit a customer to modify customer details and tags. Tags are internal text labels for grouping customers (e.g., VIP). The Event Logs section within the customer account records actions taken on that account.

You cannot delete customer accounts, but you can deactivate them. This prevents order creation unless reactivated. Check for ongoing orders before deactivation, as BillPro will still process existing recurring payments. Inactive customers are marked with a grey flag and can be reported using the dormant status in customer reports.

Manage customer cards

BillPro allows users to manage customer cards for payments. Customers should enter their card details through secure payment links. Customers must save a card for subscriptions, instalments, and metered orders.

The Wallet section of the Customer Account displays active cards. Here, users can designate a preferred card and deactivate problematic cards. Expiring cards are highlighted with a yellow star.

Customers can manage their cards via links in email notifications, which use 3D secure payment links for card updates. BillPro sends reminders for expiring cards and notifications for failed billing events.

Users can add cards over the phone by entering card details into a secure iframe, which generates a pre-authorisation transaction. BillPro saves this registration securely without storing sensitive data.

Users can mark a card in the Wallet as preferred for easier selection at checkout. A preferred card is highlighted in the wallet and during order creation.

While cards cannot be deleted, they can be deactivated using the "Forget Card" option. Deactivated cards remain active in existing orders, and you must update the order if a customer obtains a new card.

It is crucial to manually update card details in existing orders when cards change in a customer's wallet because BillPro does not automatically update cards in orders.

Import customers from a CSV file

Admin users and accountant users can import customers using a CSV file to create multiple customer records in a single operation. Users must create a CSV file formatted correctly for BillPro. They can start by downloading a Sample Import File, which serves as a template, and modify the sample file. Users must save the file in MS-DOS-compatible CSV format with commas as separators. The required fields are Firstname, Lastname, and an Email address (unique within the merchant profile). You can add a customer_ID, but if you don't, BillPro will assign a random customer ID.

The entire import may fail because of incorrect CSV format or separators. If a customer record fails to import due to field errors, you can download an error CSV file from the Alerts section. You can fix errors in this file and upload the same file again. BillPro processes the errors in order of severity, so after you fix one error, another may appear on the same record. A new CSV file will be created with an additional error field next to any previous error fields. BillPro may create an active customer with empty address fields if you supply invalid billing or shipping address fields.