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How to set up a new client

Add a Direct Client to Agency Accelerator, from looking them up on Companies House to setting up their sites, contacts and billing, ready to activate.

Direct Clients are the care providers your agency works with outside Care Hires. Before you can post jobs for a client, schedule workers or raise invoices, the client needs a profile in Agency Accelerator.

Setting up a client takes you through three stages, in order: the client's Profile, their Site or sites, and their Billing. A panel on the right of the screen shows where you are. Each stage shows an amber warning until it is complete, then a blue tick. Once the three stages are done, you add a rate card and activate the client.

Most of the work is done once. Get it right at the start and the platform fills in jobs, timesheets and invoices correctly from then on.

 

Before you begin

  • You need permission to manage clients. See Who can create and manage clients in Agency Accelerator.
  • Have the client's Business Registration Number to hand if they are a registered company. Their Companies House details are then filled in for you.
  • Know the client's sites. For each one you need the name, address, site type, VAT treatment and at least one contact.
  • Know how the client wants to be billed. This includes who invoices go to, the email address they are sent to, the credit term, and whether they want one invoice or one per job.
  • Have their VAT details, including the VAT number and a supporting document, if the client is VAT registered.

 

Starting a new client

  1. Select Clients in the left hand menu.
  2. Select the option to create a new client. The Create Client panel opens on the right.

You can also create a client from the client pipeline. See How to manage your client sales pipeline.

 

Step 1: Look the business up on Companies House

The Create Client panel asks for the Business Registration Number first. The platform uses it to check the business with Companies House and fill in its official details.

  1. Enter the Business Registration Number, for example LP003389.
  2. Select the arrow at the end of the field.

What happens next depends on what is found.

A match is found. You will see "Is this the company you wanted to add?" with the company's name, Incorporated on date, Company Type and Registered office address.

  • If it is the right company, select Add as a client.
  • If it is not, select the red cross beside the company name and enter the number again.

No match is found. You will see "No results found". Check the number and select Try Again, or select Add as a client to carry on without the Companies House details.

The client has no registration number. Tick I don't have the Business Registration Number and carry on. This is common for sole traders and some public sector clients.

Please note: Companies House details are shown exactly as they appear on the public register. Care Hires does not take responsibility for their accuracy, so check them against what the client has told you.

 

Step 2: Profile

The Company House Information panel at the top shows the details found on Companies House: BR Number, Incorporated on, Company Type and Registered office address. You cannot edit these.

Under Client Information, complete the client's details. Several are filled in from Companies House, and you can change them.

  1. Select the pencil icon on the Client Logo to upload the client's logo.
  2. Check the Company Name.
  3. Choose the Company Type, for example Local Authority Provider. This is your own description of the client and is separate from the Companies House company type.
  4. Add the client's Website if they have one.
  5. Check the Client Post Code and Registered Office Address.
  6. Under Phone Number, choose the type of number, for example Office #1 or Mobile, and enter it. Select + Add Another to add more numbers.
  7. Under Client Head Office Contact, enter the name and phone number of your main contact at the client's head office. Select + Add Another to add more people.
  8. Answer Are they VAT Registered?
    • If you select Yes, enter the VAT No and upload a supporting document, such as their VAT certificate. VAT numbers are 8 or 9 digits.
  1. Answer Are they VAT Exempt?
  2. Select Save.

The Profile card on the right gets a blue tick, and the Site stage opens.

 

Step 3: Sites

A site is each place your workers attend, such as a care home or supported living service. Most clients have one site. Larger groups may have many. Jobs, rate cards, notifications and billing can all be set per site, so it is worth setting each one up properly.

Site information

  1. Enter the Site Name.
  2. Choose the Site VAT Configuration: VAT Exempt or VAT. This decides whether VAT is added to charges for this site.
  3. Choose one or more options under Site Specialism, for example Mental Health, Nursing or Residential.
  4. Choose the Site Type, for example Residential Home.

The site's address

  1. Select the Postal Code or Address field. The Enter Your Address window opens.
  2. Search for the address by entering a postcode or location name, then choose the right result. The address fields fill in for you.
  3. Check the map. If the pin is not on the right building, move it so it marks the exact spot. Workers use this to find the site.
  4. Check House/Building No, Street Name 1, Street Name 2, City, County and Postcode. Fields marked with an asterisk are required.
  5. Select Select to use the address, or Clear to start again.

Tip: Take a moment over the map pin, especially for large sites or ones with a separate entrance. A worker arriving at the wrong door for a 07:00 shift is a poor start for everyone.

The site's contacts

Each site needs at least one contact under Contact Details.

  1. Choose the Contact Types for this person. A contact can have more than one, for example Billing Related and Operations Related. Select Learn more for a description of each type.
  2. Enter the Contact Name, Email and Phone Number.
  3. Select + ADD ANOTHER CONTACT to add more people.

Contact types tell your team who to speak to about what. For example, a billing contact for invoice queries and an operations contact for day to day shifts. The same contacts appear in the client's Contact Details on the Client Activity panel.

Service information

Use Service Information to describe the site for agencies and workers. It is shown to them when they view shift and site details, so keep it accurate and professional. Useful things to include:

  • the type of care and the people supported
  • anything workers must bring or hold, such as an NMC pin
  • access instructions, such as which entrance to use or how keycodes are issued
  • uniform or dress expectations
  • any induction given to first time workers

Adding the site

  1. Select Add. You will see "Record created successfully." and the site appears in the table below.
  2. Repeat for each of the client's sites.
  3. Select Update when all the sites are added.

The table shows each site's Site Name / Address, Site Specialism, Service Information, Contact Information, Site Type and Status. Select the links in the table to view the specialisms, service information or contacts for a site.

 

Step 4: Billing

Billing tells the platform who to invoice, where to send invoices, when they are due and how jobs are grouped. There are two tabs.

  • GENERAL BILLING INFORMATION applies to the whole client.
  • CUSTOM BILLING INFORMATION lets you set different billing for one or more sites, for example where each care home pays its own invoices.

You only need one of them. If you set up custom billing without general billing, the first custom billing you save is used as the client's general billing.

General billing information

  1. Check Invoiced as. This is the name that appears on invoices.
  2. Enter Address bills in attention to, the person or team invoices should be addressed to.
  3. Enter the Digital billing Address. Invoices are sent to this email. Select + ADD ANOTHER EMAIL ADDRESS to send them to more than one address.
  4. Add a Cost Center if the client uses one.
  5. Enter the billing Postal Code and Billing Address.
  6. Under Payment Terms, choose the Credit Term, for example 45 Days. This is how long the client has to pay each invoice.
  7. Set the Invoice Settings (see below).
  8. Select Save.

Custom billing information

  1. Select CUSTOM BILLING INFORMATION.
  2. Choose the Site(s) this billing applies to.
  3. Complete the same details as for general billing: Invoiced as, Address bills in attention to, Digital billing Address, Cost Center, Postal Code, Billing Address and Credit Term.
  4. Set the Invoice Settings for these sites.
  5. Select Save. You will see "Billing info added successfully." and the sites appear in the table below, with their email, cost center and credit term.
  6. Repeat for any other sites that are billed differently.

Select the pencil icon in the Actions column to change a site's custom billing.

Invoice settings

These two settings decide how invoices reach the client.

Invoice Delivery. Tick Send invoice automatically after approval to email each invoice to the digital billing address as soon as it is approved. When this is off, invoices are not emailed as they are raised, and your team has to send them manually.

Invoice Configuration. Choose how jobs are grouped:

  • Consolidated invoice groups the client's jobs onto one invoice.
  • Invoice per job raises a separate invoice for every job.

On the general billing tab, this applies to the whole client, except any site with its own custom billing. On the custom billing tab, it applies to the selected sites only.

Tip: Ask the client's finance team which they prefer before their first invoice goes out. Larger groups often want one invoice per site, so a consolidated invoice on custom billing for each site is a common set up.

Finishing billing

Select Continue. The platform checks the profile and billing details, which usually takes less than a minute. You will see "Successfully Created a client." with two choices:

  • Set Rates & Activate (recommended): add the client's rate card now so you can start scheduling jobs and raising invoices straight away.
  • Finish Setup Later: save the client as a draft and add rates and activate them whenever you are ready.

 

Step 5: Add a rate card and activate the client

A client cannot be activated until they have at least one rate card. Until then, their status shows DRAFT and a progress ring at the top of the profile shows how far through setup they are, for example 3/4, next to Let's finish setting up this Client.

Select Update Details to see what is left. The You're almost done setting up this client checklist shows four steps:

  • Enter the client's basic information
  • Add the client's related sites
  • Fill in the client's billing information
  • Enter the client's rate cards

Completed steps show a green tick. Select a step with a blue arrow to go straight to it.

  1. Add a rate card for the client. See How to Configure Rate Cards for Your Clients.
  2. When every step is complete, the client's status changes to CLIENT PROFILE COMPLETE and an Activate Client button appears at the bottom of the profile.
  3. Select Activate Client.

The client's status changes to ACTIVE. You can now post jobs, schedule workers and raise invoices for them.

 

Finding your way around a client's profile

Once a client is created, open them from the client list on the right of the Clients screen. A column of icons beside the profile takes you to each part of it. The panel you are on is highlighted in orange, and you can hover over an icon to see its name.

Icon Panel
Information Client Information, including the Companies House details
Location pin Site Management
Bank Billing Information
Folder Client Document
£ Rate Card
Activity line Client Activity
Cog Settings, including special rate times, job notifications and PO numbers
List Audit Log

You can return to any of these at any time to update the client's details, add a site or change their billing.

 

Good habits worth adopting

  • Always try the registration number first. Companies House details are more accurate than anything typed by hand, and they show as Verified on the profile.
  • Set up every site before the first job. Jobs, rate cards and notifications all depend on the site existing.
  • Write service information for a worker who has never been there. If they could find the site, get in and know what is expected from your notes alone, it is good enough.
  • Agree billing with the client's finance team, not the care home manager. It saves invoices bouncing between departments.
  • Do not leave clients in draft. A draft client cannot be scheduled. If you chose Finish Setup Later, add the rate card as soon as rates are agreed.

 

If something looks wrong

The registration number is not found. Check for missing letters or leading zeros, then select Try Again. If the business is not on Companies House, select Add as a client or tick I don't have the Business Registration Number.

The wrong company was found. Select the red cross beside the company name and enter the number again.

You cannot activate the client. Check the progress ring. The client needs basic information, at least one site, billing information and at least one rate card before Activate Client appears.

Invoices are not reaching the client. Check the Digital billing Address and whether Send invoice automatically after approval is ticked. If it is off, invoices have to be sent manually.

Workers cannot find a site. Open Site Management, check the address and move the map pin to the right spot.

If something still does not look right, contact our Support Team with the client's name and reference number.