Video tutorial coming soon
Subscribe to the RouteNio YouTube channel to be notified when this guide is available as a video.
Clients are the businesses or individuals you perform work for. Once a client is in RouteNio, you can create jobs for them, send invoices, track what they owe, and optionally give them a self-service portal to view their own jobs and pay online.
Step 1 - Open the Client Form
- Navigate to Clients in the left sidebar.
- Click Add Client in the top-right corner.
- The client creation panel slides open on the right.
Step 2 - Business Information
Fill in the client's core details:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Business Name | The legal trading name - appears on all invoices |
| ABN / Tax ID | Your country's business identifier (ABN, ACN, EIN, VAT number, etc.) |
| Industry / Category | Optional, used for filtering and analytics |
| Website | Optional |
RouteNio auto-detects your country from Company Settings and validates the tax identifier format. For Australia, it validates ABN (11 digits). For the US, it validates EIN. For UK, VAT number. Configure your country in Settings → Company Info.
Step 3 - Primary Contact
- Contact Person - the main point of contact for this client.
- Email Address - invoices and portal login invitations are sent here.
- Phone Number - appears on job records and for driver reference.
After saving the client, you can add additional contacts from the client detail page. Each contact can have different notification preferences (e.g., one contact for invoices, another for job updates).
Step 4 - Billing Address
- Enter the client's billing address - this appears on every invoice you send them.
- If the billing address differs from their physical address, tick Separate Physical Address to add both.
The billing address is used to determine applicable tax rates (e.g., GST, VAT, or state sales tax) based on your country configuration.
Step 5 - Payment Terms
Set the default payment terms for this client:
- 14 days - payment due 14 days after invoice date
- 30 days - payment due 30 days after invoice date
- Custom - enter any number of days
Payment terms set here are the default for all invoices to this client. Tighter terms (e.g., 14 days) help cash flow. You can still override the due date on individual invoices.
Step 6 - Save the Client
- Review all fields.
- Click Save Client.
The client is immediately available in job creation, invoicing, and the Clients dashboard.
What Comes Next?
- Create their first job → Create Your First Job
- Send them a portal login → Set Up Client Portal
- Invoice them → Create an Invoice
- Enable card payments → Set Up Stripe
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| ABN/Tax ID validation failing | Check the format for your country - AU ABN is 11 digits with spaces (XX XXX XXX XXX) |
| Client not appearing in job dropdown | Try refreshing - newly created clients appear immediately |
| Can't send portal invite | Ensure the client's email is saved and valid |
Last updated: 2026-03-13