Account Creation and Closure - Setting Up and Closing Accounts
Every customer who makes purchases, holds a membership, or receives invoices needs an account. This guide covers creating new accounts, configuring their initial settings, and closing accounts when they are no longer active.
Creating a New Account
To create a new account:
- Navigate to the Accounts page from the Ecommerce portal
- Click the Add button
- The admin editing interface opens for the new account record
- Enter the Account Name — this is the primary identifier displayed throughout the system
- Save the record, then return to the Ecommerce portal to configure billing details
After creation, open the account in the Account List to configure its settings on the Details tab:
- Charge Method — how the account will be billed (On-Demand, Billing, or Credit). See the "Account Charge Method" help page for details.
- Billing Terms — days to pay for Billing and Credit accounts
- Notification — how the customer prefers to receive communications
- Primary Contact — the person responsible for the account (must be added as a user first)
Account Categories
Assign an Account Category to organize accounts by type (e.g., Retail, Wholesale, Internal). Categories are managed in the Account Categories data table, where each category has a name and description.
Categories help with filtering and reporting but do not affect billing or purchasing behavior.
Account Manager
The Account Manager field assigns a staff member who is responsible for the account relationship. This is used for internal tracking and does not affect customer-facing features.
Referral Codes and Commission Accounts
When creating an account that was referred by another customer or partner:
- Referral Code — enter the referral code provided when the account was created. This code is stored for tracking purposes.
- Commission Account — select the account that should receive commission on this account's gross sales. When purchases are made, commission transactions are generated and credited to the commission account.
Parent Accounts
An account can be set as a child of another account using the Parent field. Child accounts inherit membership settings from their parent account. When viewing the Membership tab on a child account, the membership fields are read-only and display the parent account's membership information.
This is useful for organizations where a parent account holds the membership and subordinate accounts share its benefits.
Legacy Account ID
The Legacy Account ID field is available for tracking purposes when migrating from another system. It stores the account's identifier from the previous system for audit trails and data reconciliation.
Account Status: Open vs Closed
Accounts have two statuses:
- Open — the account is active and can be used for transactions, purchases, and billing
- Closed — the account is archived. No new transactions can be created, but all historical data is preserved.
The status is displayed on the Account Details tab. The help text reads: "A closed account can no longer be used for transactions, but it still includes its transaction history."
Closing an Account
To close an account immediately:
- Open the account from the Accounts page
- On the Details tab, click the Close Account button
- The account status changes to Closed and you are redirected to the Account List
Before closing an account, consider:
- Outstanding invoices should be resolved (paid, credited, or written off)
- Active subscriptions should be cancelled
- If the account has a membership, the membership should be cancelled first
Scheduling a Future Closure
To schedule an account to close on a specific date:
- Open the account
- On the Details tab, set the Requested Close Date to the desired date
- Click Save
The system will process the closure on or after the requested date. This is useful when a customer gives notice but their current billing period has not yet ended.
Reopening a Closed Account
To reactivate a closed account, edit the account record through the admin editing interface and change the closed status. Once reopened, the account can be used for new transactions and billing.
Filtering Accounts by Status
On the Accounts page, use the Open Only checkbox to show only open accounts. Uncheck this filter to see all accounts including closed ones. The list description changes to indicate the current filter:
- When filtered: "All open accounts."
- When unfiltered: "All accounts. These include open and closed accounts."
Tips
- Always assign a Primary Contact and Charge Method when creating a new account — these are essential for billing and communication
- Use Account Categories to organize accounts for reporting and management
- Closed accounts retain their full transaction and membership history for auditing purposes
- The Account List displays 50 accounts per page with search and pagination available