Creating Customers
Customers form the core foundation of your business within the Octane model. Whether you're sending usage data or assigning price plans, customers are essential for Octane to operate effectively. This document provides insights into creating customers in Octane, outlining the key steps and considerations.
The method for creating customers in Octane largely depends on the nature of your customers:
- Self-Serve Customers: If your customers are self-serve, you can efficiently create them using the Octane API, automating the process to scale with your business needs.
- Enterprise Customers: For enterprise customers or cases requiring a more personalized touch, a sales representative can use the Octane UI to create customers manually, ensuring a tailored approach to customer management.
The customer codename is a unique identifier assigned to each customer in Octane. This identifier is customizable, giving you the flexibility to specify any ID you prefer. It is advisable to use your internal ID as the Octane codename whenever possible. This approach eliminates the need for maintaining a mapping system from your internal ID to the Octane codename. You will use this codename/ID when referring to the customer via Octane's API.
The customer display name is what the customer will be referred to as throughout the Octane user interface, including our analytics tools. It should be descriptive and easily understandable to humans. This display name ensures clarity and consistency in all customer-related interactions within Octane.
Customer contact information becomes crucial when Octane is utilized as your invoicing platform. It allows you to set essential details for seamless invoicing processes, including:
- Email ID: Specify the email address to which invoices will be sent. This ensures that customers receive invoices promptly and can communicate regarding billing matters effectively.
- Billing Address: Include the customer's billing address on the invoice. This provides clarity and transparency in the billing process.
- CC Email Addresses: You can designate additional email addresses for CC (carbon copy) recipients. This feature enables you to send copies of invoices to relevant stakeholders, such as finance departments or relevant team members.
Creating customers in Octane is a fundamental step in leveraging the platform's capabilities. Whether you opt for API-driven automation or prefer a more hands-on approach through the UI, paying attention to details like codenames, display names, and contact information ensures a seamless and productive experience for both you and your customers.
Octane seamlessly integrates with popular payment providers like Stripe and various accounting systems, including QuickBooks, Xero, and Netsuite. To harness the full potential of this integration, you must establish connections with your payment gateway and accounting platform via the Settings section in Octane. Once this linkage is established, you can effortlessly connect individual customers to these platforms.
There are two primary methods for linking your Octane customers to your payment gateway or accounting platform:
1. Manual Linking: If your workflow involves pre-existing customers within your payment gateway or accounting platform, you can link them to Octane by inputting their respective IDs into the Octane Customer detail page.
2. Auto-Generation: Octane offers an automated approach for generating customers in your payment gateway and accounting platform directly from the Octane platform. This method is particularly useful if you want to create corresponding customers simultaneously in multiple platforms without manual intervention.
To employ the auto-generation feature, use the create customer call in Octane's API. This call accepts two Boolean parameters: autogenerate_payment_gateway_customer and autogenerate_accounting_customer. Set these parameters to true to trigger the automatic generation of customers in the respective platforms.
Additionally, you have the flexibility to initiate the generation of these customers either from the Octane UI or via the API once the customer has been initially created in Octane. This versatility ensures that you can adapt the process to your specific workflow requirements.