There are a few different ways you can create and manage customer data, as an admin, using PayWhirl.
This guide is for our Multi-Platform app only. If you are using our Shopify app click here instead.
To create a new customer, simply click "Create a Customer" in the main menu of your account under the "Customers" main menu item.
You can fill out the customer's basic information and select which payment gateway you'd like to store the customer's payment method and billing information. We recommend using the PayWhirl Test Gateway for all testing purposes.
WARNING: The gateway setting for a customer cannot be changed after the customer has been created! If you add a customer to the test gateway, they will NOT be able to be transferred to a live gateway at a later date.
To search through and edit EXISTING customer data, you can use the "Manage Customers" menu item in the main menu of your PayWhirl account.
On the Manage Customers page, you will see a list of all of the customers in your account. You can sort this list by clicking on any of the column headers or by using the search field in the top right corner of the table.
By default, the Manage Customers page lists the newest customers at the top.
Once you have located a customer you'd like to edit, click the edit button next to the customer you would like to view / edit. On smaller screens, you may have to click a plus symbol (+) to expand the row to view the edit button.
This brings you to the customer information page and displays the customer's basic details and statistics, including their name, email, default address on file, and any admin notes.
The tabs at the top of the page will allow you to view and manage all details of the customer:
Customer Information - View and edit the main account information and notes.
Subscriptions - View and manage existing subscriptions.
Invoices - View past invoices, edit, and retry current or unpaid invoices.
Payments - View all payments and process refunds .
Payment Method - View/edit/add customer credit cards and change defaults.
Customer Portal - View the customer portal as if you were the customer to make changes and act as if you were them.
Delete Customer - Removes the customer from the account.
Create Invoice - Create a one time charge or open invoice for a customer.
Customer Information - In this tab, you can edit the customer's login information, fix email typos, adjust the customer's main account address, and add "admin only" notes that are not viewable by the customer. You can also create a manual invoice to bill the customer's card on file.
Subscriptions - In this tab, you can add and remove subscription plans from customer accounts. You can also view the information about a customer's existing subscription(s) and any past subscription plans they've had.
To add a subscription, select the plan, and click subscribe. When adding a plan, you can adjust the quantity, add trial days, and a promo code if you would like.
To cancel a plan, click the cancel button next to the customer's subscription.
If there is a fixed number of installments on the plan the customer is currently subscribed to, the system will show how many installments are left.
You can also edit the customers' subscription (you may need to click on the plus sign to see the edit option), you can change the number of installments, see invoices related to the specific subscription, and/or switch the customer to a different payment plan.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind if you change a customer's plan:
Switching a customer to a new billing plan will keep the upcoming invoice billing date the same, however, that upcoming invoice's pricing will be changed to the new plan's charge amount (it is not prorated).
Invoices going forward will be generated based on the new plan's billing frequency. If you want the new plan to charge to happen immediately (not at the end of the billing cycle), you can cancel the existing subscription and add the new plan onto the customer's account instead of editing it. This will set up a new billing cycle based on the new plan's settings.
Invoices - In this tab, you can view the customers' past payments (paid) and upcoming invoices (unpaid).
To edit an invoice or see more information about a specific invoice, click on the "View" text on the invoice you'd like to see. Once open, the invoice will look like the image below.
On the Edit Invoice page you can:
Add/remove line items
Add/remove promo codes
Request a payment (if the invoice was created manually)
Reschedule the payment date
Edit the shipping/profile address
Skip the payment (generates the next invoice for the subscription)
Mark the invoice as paid - which can come in handy if you are testing and/or the customer has already paid by outside means.
Charge the invoice immediately
Print the invoice
If you do not see the "skip installment" button, you might need to enable it in your account settings. To enable the skip installment option go to the Account Settings > Advanced Settings. This will also give the customer the ability to skip installment payments from the customer portal.
The Invoice History section below the order summary will give you details about any changes that were made to the invoice. This includes things like rescheduling the payment date, promo code changes, declined payment attempts, refunds, etc.
Once an invoice has been paid, it cannot be edited but can be refunded. It will also display the payment details from the gateway after it's been processed.
If there was an error placing an order, you could also click 'retry order' to attempt the order again. This will only place the order and won't attempt another payment.
Customer Portal - The "other way" to edit customer data!
You can view and use the customer portal (just as customers see it when they log in) by clicking the "Customer Portal" tab when editing a customer. If you want to "act as the customer" to edit their account information, change their subscription(s), card(s) on file, etc., It's easy to do from the portal.
Once you are logged in as your customer, you will see a red notice appear in the admin section of PayWhirl to help remind you that you are currently acting as if you were the customer:
NOTE: If you are in the customer portal, acting as a customer, you will be able to change anything in the account, just as if you were the customer. You can add/remove subscriptions, change cards on file, addresses, profile questions, etc.
It's exactly the same view, and portal your customers use when they login to your embedded or hosted customer portal.
This can be very useful on customer support calls or if you need to walk customers through changes to their account because you can see exactly what your customers will see within their customer portal.
WARNING: Please make sure to logout of the customer account when you are finished to prevent editing another customer's account by mistake.
Customer Management Settings
By default, your customers are able to manage their own subscription(s) and are able to cancel subscriptions, remove their payment methods, change their information, and more. In many cases, this is ideal and will save businesses in administration costs; however, in some situations (like rentals scenarios, deposits, or layaway programs), it's often best to have the customer contact you before canceling.
You can control these settings and more from the Account Settings > Advanced Settings menu in your account.
You can also configure other customer management options such as requiring customer addresses (or not), allowing the customer to skip installments, and the number of failed payments the system should allow before a subscription is canceled automatically by the dunning system.
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Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The PayWhirl Team