How to create a customer account
So, you have your first customer, and now you want to set them up in Metis. Here's how to do that.
As always, log in to Metis to begin. Then, select the ' Add Customer' option from the left menu.
Adding a customer account is a three-part process.
- Add the customer's information (Company name & associated contact information)
- Add Pricing
- Add Call Rates.
Part 1: Add customer information.
Complete the information in the form and then 'Add customer' to proceed.
These fields have options as follows;
| Field Name | Description |
| Company Type | Limited Company Partnership PLC Sole Trader |
| Accounts Contact Email | You can add up to three email addresses to receive accounts related information. This includes invoices, credit notes, and payment reminders. |
| Credit Limit | This value is associated with your customer's call spend. You will receive notifications when your customer's monthly call spend reaches 80% of this value. This value does not stop the customer's ability to make phone calls if they exceed it. You should set this value as accurately as possible or at a low level and alter it over time as required. |
| Payment Days | This sets the maximum amount of days from the creation of an invoice that payment should be made. |
| Invoice Required | If this option is set to 'Yes', invoices and credit notes will be sent to the 'Account Contact Email' as they are created. If this is set to 'No', no invoices or credit notes are sent to the end-user or parent account. |
Part 2: Add Pricing
Start by entering the Overall Markup Percentage. This is the margin added to your cost pricing for resellers and channels.
After clicking 'Apply', the price information table will be updated as follows:
The above table shows the various product categories and their associated markup. Product categories can be enabled or disabled by toggling the tick box in the column to the right. For example, to change the percentage price increase of a specific 'Service Group', click on the 'Section Markup %' and change the value as required.
Individual pricing per product can be updated by expanding the 'Service Group'. Click Open to start, then update the price as required. To disable a specific product, toggle the tick box on the service line. *If a product has an active transaction associated, an error will be shown, and the product cannot be disabled until the transaction is closed.
Pricing changed outside the Overall Markup Percentage, or the Section Markup %, will be shown as Manually Updated equals Yes. To change the product's pricing to the 'Overall Markup Percentage' or the 'Service Markup %', select No, from the Manually Updated dropdown.
Markup Hierarchy
- Overall Markup Percentage
- Section Markup Percentage
- Individual Product Sell Price
Once you are happy with the pricing, scroll to the base of the page and select 'Add Services'.
So that you know, you will be notified if any services have been added with a zero price. You can either submit with Zero Prices or go ahead and make any changes you need.
Part 3: Add Call Rates
This has the same principle as adding service pricing. Apply a Global call rate percentage markup and submit. Be sure to tick the box about email updates, as this ensures that your customer will receive a notification email if any call rates change in the future.
On the next screen, a display of common UK call rates is shown. To update the call rates manually, click on the numbers in Peak, Off Peak and Connection columns and change as required.
Post Account Creation - How to access Metis
Once all three stages of the process are completed, an email will be sent to the main contact's email address. This will advise the Metis URL and the username associated with their account. In addition, the email will instruct the customer on how to create a secure password. No passwords are sent via email; all passwords are stored in the database as encrypted hashes. Passwords are not visible within Metis, but a reset password link can be issued from the customer's profile.
Additional Information
If the process of creating a customer account in Metis is not completed within 1 hour (all three stages), the account will be marked as closed, and a notification email will be sent to the parent reseller or channel account. If this happens, your options are as follows:
- Start the entire process from Part 1 onwards.
- Contact the Packnet support team and ask for the account to be activated. Following this, use the 'Pricing > 'Manage Customer Pricing' and 'Call Rates > Manage Customer Rates' options in Metis.
Service pricing must be enabled to allow your customer to use the Metis portal. If a user tries to add a service that doesn't have an associated price, an error will be shown to the user advising that they contact their provider.
Customers cannot edit their pricing. They can only view it.
That's it. You are done. Your customer is now active and can start to use their voice account.