Overview
Client records are the foundation of everything in Cloudclerk. Every document, task, invoice, and process is linked to a client. This guide walks you through creating a new client and filling in each section of the form.
Creating a New Client
- 1Navigate to Clients in the sidebar
- 2Click Add Client in the top-right corner, or press N from the client list
- 3Fill in the form sections described below
- 4Click Create Client (or press ⌘+↵) to save
Basic Details
The Basic Details card contains the core client information.
- Client Name (required) — the trading or registered name
- Business Type — Sole Trader, Limited Company, Partnership, LLP, Charity, or Other
- Source — how the client was acquired: Referral, Website, Existing Relationship, or Other
- Manager — the staff member responsible for this client overall
- Company Number — the Companies House registration number (up to 8 characters)
- SIC Codes — one or more industry classification codes, searchable by code or description
- Hourly Rate Override — a custom hourly rate (in GBP) for this client; leave blank to use each team member's default billing role rate
Click Import from Companies House in the Basic Details card to search by company number or name. This auto-fills the client name, company number, business type, SIC codes, registered address, key dates, and primary contact from the Companies House register.
Manager Roles
Assign staff members to specific engagement roles. These are all optional and can be set later.
- Accounts Manager
- Tax Manager
- VAT Manager
- Payroll Manager
- PAYE Manager
- Audit Manager
Manager role assignments are used by the workflow engine to automatically route process stages to the correct person.
Key Dates
Toggle on the tax dates that apply to this client. For each enabled date, set the date and frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, or Annually).
- VAT Quarter End
- PAYE Process
- Payroll Process
- Accounts Year End
- Self Assessment
- Confirmation Statement
Primary Contact
Add the client's main point of contact. If you imported from Companies House, this section is pre-filled with the primary officer's details.
- Title — Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Dr, or Prof
- First Name (required)
- Last Name (required)
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Contact Manager — optionally assign a staff member to manage this contact
The primary contact section is optional. If you leave it blank, it is skipped and no contact is created. You can always add contacts later.
Addresses
The Addresses card has three tabs: Main Address, Billing Address, and Registered Address. Each address has six fields: Address Line 1, Address Line 2, City, County, Postcode, and Country.
For billing and registered addresses, tick Same as main address to copy the main address automatically.
Custom Fields
If your organisation has defined custom fields for clients in Settings, they appear in a separate card below the addresses. Fill in whichever fields apply.
What's Next?
Once you have created a client, you can:
- Add more contacts to the client record
- Upload documents to the client's document store
- Create tasks and assign them to team members
- Set up portal access for client contacts